Everyone knows what a meal in a jar recipe is, and I’ve been obsessed with recreating new recipes. We love using these shelf stable meals, for days when I forgot to pull and defrost meat or on days when we are tempted to eat out. I know that each meal is a balanced and nutritious complete meal. When I make up my jar recipes I typically make 4-5 of the same meals to stash away on the shelf.
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Here are my TOP meal in a jar recipes.
Freeze Dried
Many of you have seen I got a Harvest Right Freeze dryer and have partnered with Thrive Life freeze dried foods. I can’t even begin to tell you all the benefits of freeze dried foods because the possibilities are seriously endless. Making meal in a jar recipes have become a new obsession. If you’ve been considering purchasing a freeze dryer now is a wonderful time to use Harvest Right’s layaway program and lock in the May sale price.
If a freeze dryer is completely out of your budget you have some options! This is why I’ve partnered with Thrive Life Freeze Dried Foods. If you use my link you can save 15% off your delivery order of freeze dried pantry staples! You can order the freeze dried onions, and chicken I use in my cream of soup base and even grab a can of dried mushrooms so you can make my shelf stable cream of mushroom soup too.
Cooking
Many of these jar meals are just add water. You can cook them on the stove top, oven, or with just boiling water. One of our favorite ways to cook these meal in a jars is by using our HotLogic Portable Oven. Think of it as a slow cooker for casseroles but it wont EVER burn your food! SO even if you leave it for 5 hours you will still have delicious hot food.
They even have portable ones for your car! Cook a family casserole or grab their mini style to keep your lunch hot at work.
Use code (thebudgetpreppers10) so they know I sent you! You can go check them out here.
Cheesy Ham & Scallop Potato Casserole
This is my families FAVORITE meal in a jar recipe and we have this in the monthly rotation! So filling and so yummy. Many of the ingredients can be found on Amazon and on Thrive Life Freeze Dried Foods.
Chicken Pot Pie In A Jar
Talk about comfort food! I grew up eating the microwaveable pot pies because my mother didn’t cook so this is a delicious healthier and shelf stable version of that delicious nostalgic dish. The best part is, I even have a shelf stable pie crust you can mix in a jar and have next to your Chicken Pot Pie Jar. This makes a complete dinner by simply adding water.
Shelf Stable Lasagna Skillet
I don’t always have the time to put together a massive lasagna and sometimes I just don’t have all the ingredients to put it together. That is when this delicious mock lasagna meal in a jar comes in handy. It is so delicious it was even approved by my picky eaters!
Shelf Stable “Side In A Jar” Green Bean Casserole
You might be thinking huh? But that’s right, I invented the “side in a jar”. I got a bit tired of creating all these wonderful Meals in a jar but never having any side dishes to go along with the main. So I went to the kitchen and created this unheard of side dish in a jar. Perfect for holiday season or when traveling out of town and need a side dish that wont last the entire journey. We love green bean casserole so much and my kids request it almost weekly. You can find my shelf stable “Cream of Mushroom Soup” recipe here or grab a copy of my Shelf Stable, Pantry Staples, Mixes & Seasonings.
Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Orzo
I tried to stray away from the typical “taco soup” meal in a jar and create dishes that I would normally make but make them shelf stable. I also wanted meals that you could make over the fire if you wanted as well.
Vegan Chickpea Coconut Curry
This recipe is by far one of my absolute favorite quick easy meals that I know is dairy free and meat free. I created it as a meal that all my family can enjoy. This is budget friendly and was made using dehydrated ingredients. Dehydrated meals don’t store as long as freeze dried, but they are more obtainable for those on a budget. You can get a good dehydrator to re create this meal for under $50. Or you can use freeze dried ingredients to extend the shelf life. The sky is the limit with this one!
Vegan Chessy Bacon Potato Soup Meal In A Jar
This recipe is by far one of my absolute favorite quick easy meals that I know is dairy free and meat free. I created it as a single serving meal in a jar because by family is not allergic to dairy like I am but this recipe could easily be doubled or tripled to make it into a huge one pot meal.
Cold Soak Tomato Cucumber Basil Couscous Meal In A Jar
What’s not to love about the idea of a well balanced meal that’s shelf stable and can be whipped up as a quick dinner or even during a power outage? If you’re here….welcome. I feel like most of us know what meals in a jar are and the reasoning behind having these magnificent jars lined up in our pantry for whenever we need. But if you don’t, let me share just a few quick reasons why I LOVE having shelf stable meals in a jar ready to go on my shelves.
Vegetarian Alfredo Ravioletti Meal In A Jar
This is one of my favorite dishes to make when I forgot to pull meat from the freezer the night before. (this happens a lot) 🙈 It is meat free but if you have Thrive Life sausage crumbles or even some TVP it’d make a delicious and balanced meal. We typically eat it as is but this recipe is extremely flexible.
Red Lobster Cheddar Chicken Casserole Meal In A Jar
My family LOVED this recipe! We used a box of the Red Lobster Biscuit mix to make this a hearty meal! We gave this recipe a 10/10
Shelf Stable Shepherds Pie Meal In A Jar
This is my husbands FAVORITE meal! Like all time favorite. With that said I don’t always have time to throw it together on the fly when he’s craving it. That’s how the idea of re inventing a shelf stable version of it was born. Now any time he’s craving this dish we can pull this off the shelf for a quick and easy delicious meal. This is one of my top dishes to make in our HotLogic portable oven and takes 2 hours to fully cook which is mess free and I can set it and forget it! You can use code (Thebudgetpreppers10)
In Closing
Meals in a jar are the best way to have complete meals all ready to go. You can use them for emergences, camping, or busy week days. Be sure to check back often as this post adds more and more delicious meal and side dishes in a jar!