Mason jar meals are a great way to put aside whole meals for your food storage or for every day. If you are looking for food storage, use canning or dry vacuuming to create your jar meals.
Otherwise, you can easily prep a whole week and have them ready to make when you need them.
This list contains jar meal ideas that you can eat now – or prep for a long-term storage option.
101+ Easy Meals in a Jar Recipes
Mason jar meal ideas are broken down by meal type making it easy to plan your week, or food storage plan.
Breakfast Mason Jar Meals
- Almond Pancake Mix
- Apple Pie Oatmeal (Instant)
- Blueberry Scones (not shelf-stable for the long term)
- Breakfast Omelet
- Camper’s Eggy Delight
- Cherry Chocolate Pancakes
- Cinnamon Pancakes
- Cranberry Almond Cereal Mix (not shelf-stable for the long term)
- Hearty Pancake Mix
- High Protein Overnight Oats
- Oatmeal (make your own flavored varieties to store)
- Overnight Oats with Frozen Fruit
- Pancakes
- Strawberries and Cream Instant Oatmeal
- Whole Grain Pancake Mix
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancake
- Yogurt Cups (not shelf-stable)
Main Course Meals in a Jar
- Baked Ziti
- Beefy Spanish Rice
- Cheesy Sloppy Joe Hotdish
- Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Broccoli Cheese
- Chicken Chili
- Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry | Video
- Chili “
- Chili Mac
- Double Cheeseburger Sauce Mix – like Hamburger Helper
- Hamburger Stew
- Hawaiin Style Teriyaki Beef
- Hearty Chili
- Instant Chicken Salad
- Jambalaya
- Kansas City Chicken BBQ
- Kicked Up Mac n Cheese
- Mac and Cheese
- Quiche
- Rosemary Chicken and Rice
- Sausage Frittata
- Sausage Lasagna
- Sloppy Joes
- Spaghetti Sauce with Meat
- Stroganoff Skillet
- Stuffed Chicken and Gravy
- Taco Beef and Cheese | Video
- Turkey Noodle Casserole
Soup Mason Jar Meals
- Beef Barley Soup
- Beefy Bean Soup
- Buffalo Chicken and Rice
- Chicken and Rice Soup “>Chicken and Rice Soup
- Cream Soup Mix
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup
- Curried Lentil Soup
- Friendship Soup
- Ham Sausage and Bean Soup
- Instant Cheese Soup | Video
- Layered Dried Bean Soup
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Love Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Painted Desert Chili in a Jar
- Palouse Soup
- Potato Soup
- Ramen Soup
- Soup Starters
- Split Pea Soup
- Taco Soup
- Tortilla Soup
- Turkey Noodle Soup
- Zombie Soup Mix
Sides in a Jar
- Curried Rice Mix
- Cranberry Orange Rice
- Creamy Herbed Rice Mix
- Herbed Rice Mix
- Lemon Dill Rice
- Pot Roast Gravy Over Mashed Potatoes
- Refried Beans (this is basically just dehydrated refried beans, but when all you have to do is add water, it makes a quick and easy side or protein replacement!)
- Chicken Flavored Rice Mix
- Scalloped Potatoes | Video
- Yellow Rice Mix
Desserts in a Jar
- Blondie Brownies
- Cookies (lots of Betty Crocker-Esque cookies in a pouch mix.)
- Cornmeal Cookies
- Monkie Munches Cookies
Other Treats in a Jar
Assorted Mixes in a Mason Jar
- Alfredo Sauce Mix
- Basic White Sauce Mix
- Bisquick Substitute
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Chicken Coating Mix
- Mock Onion Soup Mix
- Ranch Dressing Mix
- Taco Seasoning Mix
Drinks in a Mason Jar
- Cappuccino Mix
- Chai Tea Mix
- Fireside Coffee Mix
- French Vanilla Cocoa Mix
- Hot Cocoa Mix (you can even use dehydrated marshmallows to make it more shelf-stable)
- Snowman Soup
- Spiced Hot Cocoa
- Mocha Cocoa
Salads in a Jar
These salads are not shelf-stable, but they are a great way to prepare a week’s worth of meals and have them tucked away in the fridge to save you tons of time.
- Cornbread & Turkey
- Versatile Salads in a Jar
- Wheatberry Apple salad
- Strawberry Spinach with Rotisserie Chicken
can i use #10 cans?
You can use #10 cans for basic meals, but your long-term shelf life will be reduced. Since you’re reusing the cans the food you put inside them won’t last as long as the original product. Your foods will only last a few years as opposed to the suggested 25 years of the original product.
mason jar meals make great gifts
Think what a blessing a few of these meals would be to someone who is homebound from sickness or has lost a job and could use a nice meal or two to help them out!
You can also give meals in a jar as wedding gifts to a newlywed couple to help them establish their food storage – like old-fashioned pound parties. They are also great for new parents to give them some quick meals for hectic nights when Mom needs a break!
These gifts would be so much better used than simply a few #10 cans of ‘raw material’ (i.e. freeze-dried foods) that may not be understood nor may the recipient be knowledgeable about how to use them in their everyday life.
But a jar they can pour out, add some water and a few fresh ingredients, and wham! Dinner is served! That’s how Hamburger Helper became famous!