100+ Meals in a Jar Recipes

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101 Meals in a Jar Recipes - Just Add Water

A warm, home-cooked meal can be soothing and even healing during stressful times. That’s why we like to make them for loved ones and appreciate them as gifts. However, preparing these meals can take time and resources that might not be available during an emergency.

Fortunately, there’s a way to have a variety of healthy meals in your pantry that need only water to prepare. Using layered shelf-stable ingredients, meals in a jar work well in emergencies when the power is out, on camping trips, or just when life gets too busy to cook.

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What are Meals In A Jar?

Meals in a jar typically are mixtures of ingredients layered into a Mason jar that you can pour into one pot and cook with water. The recipes for meals in a jar can include fresh refrigerated ingredients as well as freeze-dried or dehydrated ingredients. For the purposes of this article, we will be focusing on shelf-stable foods.

To get started, you’ll need a collection of wide-mouth quart-sized jars, jar lids (they come with new jars, but you can order separately if needed), food-safe oxygen absorbers, and freeze-dried or dehydrated ingredients for the recipes you choose. (see below for ideas). Labe ls for the jars on which you can note the ingredients and the assembly date are also a good idea.

You can dehydrate or freeze-dry your own ingredients or purchase them locally or online. Here are a few of the companies that specialize in shelf-stable foods for emergency pantries: Augason Farms, Thrive Life, Emergency Essentials, Honeyville Grains, and The Ready Store.

How to Assemble Meals In A Jar

How many meals you prepare at one time is up to you, depending on your time, storage space, and food budget. If you’re preparing multiple jars using the same recipe, you may find it convenient to set up an assembly line arrangement on your counter.

In other words, you could line up your jars to place the same ingredient in each jar one at a time before moving on to the next ingredient. The time it takes to assemble your jars will vary according to the recipe and the number of jars you are preparing.

After you layer in each ingredient, gently shake the jar to help it settle. Avoid banging the jar or hitting it on the counter. When you’ve completed the layers, place an oxygen absorber on top. Now, you’re ready to seal the jar.

Wipe the jar rim with a clean cloth to clear away any particles of food that could affect the lid seal. Place the lid on the jar and tighten with the ring. You should hear a slight noise that indicates an air-tight seal.

(Note: Working in a dry environment and warming the jar lids ahead of time with dry heat helps soften the gasket.) You can also use a FoodSaver to vacuum seal the jars.

Store your jars in a cool, dark, dry location. How long your meals in a jar will last will vary depending on your storage environment, but 12 to 18 months is a standard rule of thumb for dehydrated foods. Use the first in, first out rotation method for best results.

Advantages of Meals In A Jar

Here is a list of reasons to try this type of food storage:

Most homemade meals in a jar require only water to prepare.
They do not include sodium and other preservatives found in many commercial “instant” meals.
You can tailor recipes to your family’s tastes and dietary needs.
These meals are portable for camping or emergency travel.
Meals in a jar require less water and energy than traditional meals, making them good to have on hand in the event of power outages and emergencies.
Meals in a jar work well as gifts to friends, relatives, and neighbors at holiday times and during times of need.

Meals In A Jar Recipes

You can find many recipes online for meals in a jar, and there are even entire cookbooks (see links below) devoted to the concept. Here's a list of my favorite recipes: