These Mason Jar Instant Noodles are the perfect work lunch. The jars are packed full of veggies, vermicelli noodles and shredded chicken!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – swap out for chicken thighs or another meat of your choice. Feel free to leave the meat out altogether for a vegetarian version.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Sriracha chili garlic hot sauce – if you’re not a fan of hot sauce, leave this out or use another seasoning like lemon pepper, Italian seasoning or Old Bay.
- Lime juice – fresh or bottled lime juice can be used.
- Vegetable bouillon cubes – chicken bouillon cubes would also work.
- Julienned veggies – use any combination of veggies of your choice. More veggie ideas include beans, chickpeas, lentils, spinach, kale, zucchini, cabbage or cooked mushrooms.
- Rice vermicelli noodles – miso noodles or zucchini noodles would also be good!
- Sunflower sprouts – cilantro or bean sprouts are great garnishes or you can leave these off altogether.
How to make mason jar noodles
- Cook and shred the chicken.
- Prep your veggies.
- Layer the ingredients in the jars.
- Store for later!
Mason jar soup variations
There are lots of different ways you can customize these mason jar noodles to your liking. Try out different combos until you find something you love!
- Protein: Chicken thighs, chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, tofu, shrimp, beef, edamame, beans, chickpeas, lentils
- Veggies: Spinach, kale, zucchini, cabbage, mushrooms, bell peppers, bok choy
- Noodles: Miso noodles, zucchini noodles, rice vermicelli, cellophane noodles, ramen
- Seasoning & Sauces: Sriracha, sweet chili sauce, lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, Old Bay, hoisin sauce
- Toppings: Hard-boiled egg, green onions, bean sprouts, cilantro
Frequently Asked Questions
When you’re ready to enjoy your soup jars, all you have to do is pour some boiling water in the jar until the bouillon cube dissolves and the noodles have cooked. You may need to stick the jar in the microwave for a couple minutes if need be. Dump everything into a bowl then dig in!
When it comes to layering your mason jar soup, add the shredded chicken first, followed by the sauces (so the soy sauce, sriracha and lime juice), then the vegetables, the bouillon cubes and the noodles.
Fill the mason jar about 3/4 of the way to the top. You never want to fill it all the way to the top of the lid.
All of the prep work for these mason jar soup lunches can be done in advance. Take the time to cook and shred the meat as well as cut the veggies on the weekend. Pack everything into the jars and you’ll have a stash of healthy lunches ready to go.
Mason jars are perfect for this meal prep recipe. The 1L jars will hold plenty of food for lunch. Unlike plastic, glass is completely safe and will not leach chemicals into your food. You can find mason jars everywhere and they are easy to clean. They also work perfectly in the refrigerator. Because they are vertical, you can fit a lot more in a small space. The tall mason jars keep your liquids at the bottom and away from the noodles. There is no chance of soggy ingredients before you are ready to mix it all together.
Storing and reheating
Your mason jar noodles will last in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If you don’t eat all of your soup, you can stick it back in the fridge for another day or two. Just pop it back in the microwave for a couple minutes to reheat it.
Keep in mind that if you let the soup sit for more than one day after you’ve already added the boiling water and cooked the noodles, the noodles and veggies will get soggy and the soup won’t be as good.
Freezing this recipe
The best way to freeze this mason jar soup is to make it completely, including the boiling water. Then you can cool and freeze it in glass bowls with lids for up to 3 months.
You can freeze anything right in the mason jar too. They are great for all kinds of storage, including in the freezer. To reheat from frozen, simply microwave the soup for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring halfway through.
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- These are the mason jars I use.
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Mason Jar Instant Noodles
Ingredients
- 4 (1 L) Mason jars
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 4 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 4 tsp Sriracha chili garlic hot sauce
- 4 tsp lime juice
- 4 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 1/2 cup each julienned broccoli stems, carrots, bell peppers and green onions
- 1 lb package rice vermicelli noodles
- Sunflower sprouts or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- To shred chicken, boil breasts in a large pot of hot water for 12-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Pull apart with your hands or with a fork once cooled.
- Divide the shredded chicken into each mason jar evenly, then add 1 tsp of soy sauce, Sriracha and lime juice to each jar.
- Layer in vegetables, then drop in bouillon cubes. Finally, finish by dividing vermicelli noodles evenly among each jar and keep in fridge until ready to eat.
- When ready to serve, pour boiling water in to fill jar and carefully stir contents, making sure to dissolve bouillon cube completely and saturate noodles. You may also need to microwave the jar for 1-2 minutes depending on the type of noodles used (some varieties of vermicelli are harder than others). Let the jar sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- Pour contents of the jar into large bowl when ready to eat (should be within 5 minutes of pouring boiling water) and eat right away!
Comments & Reviews
Sarah says
Do you use rice vermicelli or the pasta kind? And do you have an idea on what I could sub if I want to reduce the refined carbs? Maybe other veggies or shredded cabbage, I’ll brainstorm! But this looks just delicious!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Sarah! I use rice vermicelli – if you’re looking to reduce carbs there are usually other kinds of noodles in Asian markets (or even your local grocery store depending on how big its international section is) that are made from sweet potato starch or green bean starch.
If you would prefer to opt out of having any kind of starch altogether you could sub in some extra veggies like you mentioned (red/green cabbage would be delish!!) or you could use a spiralizer to create some zucchini noodles, etc. Worst comes to worst you could always just include a TINY bit of the rice noodles and instead use the whole chicken breast in one mason jar as opposed to dividing it in both jars.
What I honestly love about this recipe is how easy it is to change it up – I’m on a high protein, low carb diet right now myself so I just dumped in double the chicken the recipe calls for and tons of veggies (I made this the other day – ha), then included a teensy tiny bit of vermicelli noodles made with green bean starch.
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
This is such a great recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks so much Olivia!
Ana says
Can you microwave the jar? We don’t have a kettle at work
Taylor Stinson says
You can definitely microwave the jar Ana! 🙂
Deepika@EasyBabyMeals says
This is a really fun idea for lunch. I loved the photography too.
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you Deepika, that means alot 🙂
Zahra says
Oh wow! That’s super cool! I can honestly say I have never seen something like this. I too am trying to eat healthier and pack healthier lunches for work but I keep falling behind on that. This is a great idea for making ahead of time 🙂
Lisa H. | Lisa’s Lemony Kitchen says
Yumms 😀 love the idea… its meal on the go.
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Lisa! Yes it’s perfect for on-the-go 🙂
Priya says
I’m loving this idea of instant noodle jar and so tempted to make it right away!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Priya!! If you make it let me know how it turns out!
Chandra@The Plaid & Paisley Kitchen says
What an interesting concept! Take to work lunches won’t be so boring anymore. Thanks for sharing
heather @french press says
I LOVE noodle jars! I make them all winter long for my husband to take to work. So handy, delicious, and healthy!
Taylor Stinson says
I had never made them before if you can believe it!! Sooooo good 🙂
Iman Brooks says
Love this idea for lunch during the week.
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Iman!!
John says
Perfecto! Great idea, thanks for sharing. I used some mini jars for personal servings and sent a half dozen to work and surprised the crew at lunch ????
Taylor Stinson says
Woo hooooooo! Lemme know how they liked them!!! (btw, you sound like an AWESOME boss/co-worker 😉 )