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This Beef & Bean Stew in a Jar is one of my favorite meal in a jar recipes<\/a>!\u00a0 I think it is such a great option for food storage, incorporating plenty of veggies and protein in one hearty meal.\u00a0 And best of all, it doesn’t taste like “food storage” at all!<\/p>\n One of the tricks is making sure to use the right beef.\u00a0 For this recipe, I prefer to use freeze-dried diced beef.\u00a0 You could use freeze dried ground beef, but that makes it a bit more like a hamburger soup.\u00a0 Which is still good, don’t get me wrong!\u00a0 But I’ve just always been partial to the chunkiness of a really great beef stew, so diced beef it is for me!<\/p>\n I’m also one to like potatoes and carrots in my stew, and I’ve never turned down corn and peas as additional options, although they aren’t very “traditional” in stews.\u00a0 Then again, neither are beans … However, I feel like they are a great addition to this beef stew recipe, both to add extra vegetables (which can be hard to fit in when you’re eating from food storage) and to add extra “filling” power to keep you fuller longer.<\/p>\n The recipe is adapted from one that I got from Chef Tess’s blog<\/a>, and you can see her original recipe at the link provided.<\/p>\n You’ll need to store the jar(s) where it will not be jostled as this can inadvertently pop the seal.\u00a0 And you should check on the seal periodically to make sure that it is holding.\u00a0 Most of the time this has not been a problem for me, but occasionally I find one that loses the seal over time.\u00a0 Using an oxygen absorber in combination with the vacuum sealing with the FoodSaver will help keep that seal extra tight.<\/p>\n Be especially vigilant in periodically checking the jars that contain freeze-dried meats, as they will tend to soak up moisture from in the air once that seal pops.<\/p>\n There’s no need to get fancy with these if they are going into your food storage, but you should make sure to label them, and it helps to write the cooking instructions on the lid as well.\u00a0 If you’d like, my friend Amy at\u00a0The Happy Scraps<\/a> has designed printable label stickers that you can use, and she also has gift tags available that you can cut with a Cricut machine if you’d like to give these meals in a jar as gifts!<\/p>\n As long as they are stored properly and the seals stay holding, these jars are shelf-stable for up to 10 years!\u00a0 Shelf life for the meal is calculated using the shelf life of whichever ingredient in the meal has the shortest shelf life on its own.\u00a0 In this case, that is the cheese powder, which has a typical shelf life of about 10 years.<\/p>\n Quick cook beans are ones that have been partially cooked and then dehydrated.\u00a0 Because of this, they don’t take nearly as much time to reconstitute and soften when using in meals.<\/p>\n Regular dry beans need to be soaked first, and the nature of the meals in a jar makes that hard to do.\u00a0 You could use dry beans and put them in a baggie to separate them from the other ingredients so you could soak them the night before.\u00a0 But that’s an awful lot of work, and the recipe has not been tested for that, so you’d need to wing it on cook times and water amounts.\u00a0 I really recommend just sticking with the quick cook beans here – honestly.<\/p>\n Yes!\u00a0 Because it is real meat and due to the complicated nature of the freeze-drying process, freeze-dried meats are not cheap!\u00a0 And with the ongoing pandemic, it can be VERY hard to find!\u00a0 If you are needing to stay on a budget for these, you can substitute a vegetarian meat substitute known as “textured vegetable protein\u201d, sometimes referred to as TVP for short.\u00a0 It is soy-based, and made to have a similar taste and texture to the \u201creal\u201d stuff.\u00a0 For this recipe, if you decide to use TVP, I recommend using Beef Flavored TVP<\/a> for best flavor.\u00a0 There are several options available ranging from ground beef texture, to chunks, to shredded.\u00a0 I recommend the “chunks” in this particular recipe.<\/p>\n Update for 2020:<\/strong> As the pandemic has progressed, it has become increasing more difficult to find freeze-dried items, especially freeze-dried meats.\u00a0 And if you are lucky enough to find some, it is often marked up beyond belief.\u00a0 SO, for right now, I DO NOT RECOMMEND using freeze-dried beef in this recipe unless you can find it at a reasonable price and have the budget for it.\u00a0 A great alternative is to use the TVP option above OR make the meal as written, but leave out the ground beef all together.\u00a0 Then, purchase some canned shredded beef<\/a><\/em> online or at a warehouse such as Costco (although I haven’t seen any at Costco for quite some time now)(, or even can your own, and store that or gift that together with the jarred meal.\u00a0 You can even make the meal without any meat and then add fresh browned ground beef when you make the meal.\u00a0 You could also easily swap out beef for chicken in this recipe, and use canned chicken from online<\/a>, or from Sam’s Club<\/a> or Costco<\/a>, or even chicken you can yourself<\/a>, to be stored together with the jarred meal and then added at the time of cooking.<\/em><\/p>\n Stove Top Instruction:<\/strong> To make the meal, remove the ring and gently pry off the sealed lid.\u00a0 Remove oxygen packet (if used) and discard.\u00a0 Empty the contents of the jar into a large stock pot or dutch oven.\u00a0 Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil of medium-high heat.\u00a0 Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until veggies and meat are tender.\u00a0 Simmer slightly longer if you like a very thick stew.<\/p>\n I like to serve this with a great crusty bread, but it is also fabulous with my Best Ever Make-Ahead Cornbread<\/a>!<\/p>\n And if you’re looking for other great meal in a jar recipes, be sure to check out these others from the blog:<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.makeaheadmealmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BeefAndBeanStewMealinaJar_Final2_compressed.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nHow to Make Beef & Bean Stew Meal in a Jar<\/h2>\n
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A Note on Storing or Gifting the Meals in a Jar<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nQuestions and Substitutions<\/h2>\n
How long are these Beef & Bean Stew in a Jar meals good for?<\/h3>\n
What are quick cook beans?\u00a0 Can I just use regular beans in this recipe instead of the quick cook beans?<\/h3>\n
Freeze-dried meat is so expensive (or hard to find right now) – can I use something else?<\/h3>\n
How do I make the Beef & Bean Stew to eat?<\/h3>\n
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