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This Easy Winter Chili in a Jar recipe is the perfect easy gift to give someone on your list. Whether it’s the holidays or someone is feeling under the weather, this soup will make them feel special!
I was at Chloe’s school for lunch last week and her teachers asked me about the recipe for the “bean stew” they noticed in Chloe’s lunch box. They said it looked incredibly tasty, especially on such a cold day. That was all the prompting I needed to share with them my uber-excitement over this DIY Easy Winter Chili in a jar.
As you can see from the picture, you can layer all of the ingredients in a mason jar (add a pretty label with the recipe and a note and it’s a perfect holiday gift, by the way!) and just tuck it away until you are ready to make it. I explained to Chloe’s teachers that all you had to do was dump the contents of the jar into a pot along with a can of chopped tomatoes and water and…voila! In just an hour you have chili!
No soaking the beans, they asked? Nope. No other ingredients? You got it, everything you need for this dish is in the jar (except for the can of tomatoes). I then surprised them by mentioning how it cooks in only one hour. How could that be, they asked when beans supposedly take so long to cook. Well, one of the random pieces of knowledge you acquire attending culinary school is the difference between a bean and a legume (also known as a pulse). This chili is made with lentils which are considered a pulse (at this point in the conversation even the kids were listening in to understand more).
Some of the major beauty of using lentils in a recipe like this is that they’re inexpensive, high in vegetarian protein, and — as I just described — cook in a fraction of the time as beans. This mild chili is one of my new favorite recipes. And if you have friends who may despise cooking but still love to eat good wholesome food, this recipe in a jar is a culinary gift you can give them that will keep on giving!
Let me know if you make this and what you think by tagging me on social media!
Easy Winter Chili In A Jar
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup brown or green lentils
- 2/3 cup yellow split peas
- 2/3 cup green split peas
- 1 cup barley
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 10 cups water
Instructions
- In a quart-sized mason jar, layer 1/2 of the lentils, 1/2 of the yellow split peas, 1/2 of the green split peas, the barley, 1/2 of the green split peas, 1/2 of the yellow split peas, 1/2 of the lentils. Top with the spices and bouillon cubes.
- To make the soup: combine contents of jar with the tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until the lentils and barley are soft.
I love anything in a jar so this is right up my alley.
Yum! This is perfect. I will be making some for myself for sure!
I would use this mix within 6 months!
This looks great but im just wondering how long do you think they would stay fresh when they are jarred.
Do you add the spices right on top of the beans? Don’t you need to wash them before cooking?
Great idea! What spices would you use if you wanted to make this into a curry?
If you’re going to leave them out then definitely cook in broth! Replace at least half the water with broth!
Do you have a substitute for the bouillon cubes as we don’t use those? Would it be the same if we left them out but cooked in broth? Thanks
All of the ingredients listed here go into 1 quart sized mason jar! So the 1 can of tomatoes gets mixed with the 1 jar of soup mix (which is the full recipe you see listed)! Hope this helps!
Would the 28 oz jar of tomatoes be for one jar (one half) of this recipe or enough for the entire recipe? If it’s only for one mason jar’s worth, shouldn’t the ingredient list include a quantity of 2?
Quinoa cooks much quicker than everything else in this recipe. So I would sub something heartier like Amaranth, Buckwheat or Millet. Just make sure to check the cooking times and use something that will cook in the same time frame as the lentils and split peas!
Would quinoa be a good gluten free substitute for the barley or is there a better grain to use? This recipe looks amazing!
Make sure to check your bouillon cubes, too, if you’re making it gluten-free. Some contain gluten!
I bet brown rice would work.
Looks wonderful. But could you suggest a good substitute for the barley? I’d like to make these as gluten-free gifts. Thank you!
Love it. I’m a big fan of edible gifts, especially if I can whip them up from the pantry!