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.
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How to make this recipe
- Cook and shred the chicken.
- Prep your veggies.
- Layer the ingredients in the jars.
- Store for later!
How to serve this soup
While mason jars are perfect for storage and travel, they aren’t the best for eating out of. Make sure to take a bowl with you so you can pour your mason jar soup into the bowl and eat it from there. Struggling to get a spoon in and out of a mason jar can be a pain!
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your typical instant noodles that come in a package are not very healthy and the flavour packets are normally full of preservatives. This recipe offers a healthier spin on your favourite noodle dish. There are just 369 calories per seasoning with way less sodium, since you’re adding your own sauces and toppings. Keep in mind that the calorie count will vary depending on what you add to your jars.
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.
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 soup jars 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 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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Meal prep tools for this recipe
- These are the mason jars I use.
- These are the vermicelli noodles I buy.
- This is the brand of tamari I like, and I love this low-sodium soy sauce.
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!
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!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Cheryl says
Fill the jar to the lid with water or fill leaving some space?
Taylor Stinson says
You’ll need to leave some space always with mason jars – never fill right to the top.
Oliver says
I tried making this with a different type of noodle and they all stuck together! It was like chewing gum. Do the noodles you use ever stick together? Do you cook them before hand?
Taylor Stinson says
I highly recommend following the recipe exactly the first time to ensure it works out. As listed, I use rice vermicelli and have never had an issue with them sticking, they also do not need to be cooked ahead of time.
Erica says
I noticed the purple cabbage or onion in the picture is not listed in the ingredients for the recipe. Can you clarify what the purple is in the picture? I love red onion but not cabbage .
Taylor Stinson says
I just used a blend of veggies I had on hand in the fridge, including red cabbage. I would not recommend adding onion to this recipe as it won’t get cooked through.
Sonia says
If I was to substitute the chicken with tofu would you suggest I cook the tofu first?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Sonia – you could add the tofu raw. I would just dice up into small pieces and add the seasonings directly overtop of it so it can marinate and soak up the flavours.
Angela says
What a great idea for lunches.
Holly says
This is absolutely delicious! I actually mixed all the ingredients -except the noodles and the hot water- in a large bowl, divided it into 1 cup portions, and froze them. In the morning, I put 1frozen serving in a jar along w the noodles and put the lid on. For lunch I pour the boiling water in, wait til the noodles are cooked (doesn’t take long at all), and voila! An easy, delicious, nutritious lunch! Since the veggies are julienned, they cook a little w the noodles. And the seasoning in the recipe was perfect! A little tang from the lime, a little heat from the sriracha, salt from the soy sauce and vegetable bullion. Delish! This will be a staple for me now.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for leaving your review, Holly 🙂
Natasha says
Just a suggestion on the freezing aspect, you can definitely freeze the contents in the mason jar but be sure to let it vent and cool down before sealing and freezing the jar. The rapid change in temp from boiling to freezing can cause the jar to crack and you’ll end up with broken glass in your freezer. I’ve had it happen before with sauces and it was not fun to clean up.
Sarah says
I love this recipe! As a college student who needs healthy and easy meals to make, this is perfect. I used bell pepper, green onions, shredded carrots, onion, mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, and chicken in mine. For the sauce I used 2tsp of soy sauce, the juice of a while lime, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp of better than bouillon chicken flavor, and red pepper flakes. I also used broth instead of water. I had this for dinner three nights in a row lol
Sandy says
I made this the other day and my son loved it. Two jars was enough for 4 servings for us. We added hard boiled eggs, hoisin sauce, bamboo shoots, and tofu. What brand noodles do you use? I’m having a hard time finding instant vermicelli noodles.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed, Sandy! I don’t ever buy a particular brand, I usually find the rice vermicelli in with other rice noodles at the grocery store (the same ones used for pad thai). Here’s an example: https://www.amazon.com/Asian-Best-Premium-Stick-Noodle/dp/B012U8CWDC
Dina says
iI can’t want to prepare this for my daughter who is a huge fan of Pho. However, I am concerned with the hot liquid in the mason jar. Pouring the hot water into the jar is dangerous. its gonna be hotter than Hades. You may want to rethink that in the recipe
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Dina – mason jars are actually heat safe 🙂 They are commonly immersed in boiling water when canning/making pickles so you can feel perfectly safe adding boiling water.
Crimson says
I’m so excited to try this prepping sunday. One question….the fresh veggies you put in, do they soften up in the boiling water? What’s your thoughts on a frozen veggie mix or canned mixed veggies?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Crimson – they do soften up with the water but you could use frozen veggies, those would work fine!