Everything You Wanted to Know About Mitchell’s Mixes

Have you seen our handmade, layered, bagged meal mixes and wondered how they work? Well, we’re here to spill the beans on everything about Mitchell’s mixes! 

What's in the bag?

Each bag contains a healthy and high-quality mix of dried ingredients, such as beans, legumes, rice, and dried vegetables (many of which are grown right here in Canada!). Additionally, each mix comes with a soup base and a herb & spice blend to ensure a delicious meal every time. 

You can find full ingredient lists alongside each product on our website and on the physical product labels. We always recommend checking these lists as ingredients can change from time to time. 

Do you have gluten-free mixes? Visit our FAQ HERE for more information. 

How do Mitchell’s mixes work?

While there are a few recipe variations from mix to mix most have very few steps which will save you time when you are looking for an easy, healthy meal to hit the table with little effort! We provide stovetop cooking instructions (found on the product label and on the website) along with some recommended fresh, canned or frozen ingredients you can add to further enhance your meal. 

One of the best parts about these mixes is that they are very forgiving, allowing you can add or omit ingredients based on your personal preferences or so you can use what you happen to have on-hand or what you find on sale. 

Begin by prepping the ingredients you will add. You can follow our suggestions or get creative and mix it up! You might decide to add more fresh ingredients to bulk up your meal or perhaps you are serving fewer people so you can add less meat and veggies.

(To make it easier, we have added handy shopping lists alongside each product on our website along with additional substitution ideas.)

Sample Recipe Steps:

(please find specifics alongside each product on our website or on the product label). 

Step One: Brown your meat of choice and sauté your chopped onion in a pot. 

Step Two: Add water and the contents of the package to the pot. 

Step Three: Add any other preferred veggies (fresh, canned or frozen) to the pot. 

Step Four: Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for the specified amount of time, stirring occasionally. 

Serve and enjoy!  

Are there ways other than the stovetop to cook Mitchell’s mixes?

Yes! For most of our mixes we have tried and tested Instant Pot recipes. You can find these alongside each product on our website as shown in the image below. 

Prefer to prepare meals in the crockpot/slowcooker? While we don't have recipes for each mix we have collected some tips for you HERE. 

Do you have to add meat and veggies to your meal?

All Mitchell’s meal mixes can be made by just adding water (or stock) and will provide you with a delicious, healthy and hearty meal! That said, we have created recipes that allow you the flexiblity to add a range of meat or seafood as well as fresh, canned or frozen veggies. Feel free to get creative! 

Each recipe will tell you when to add the various ingredients but here are some common tips that apply to most recipes. 

• Onion is sautéed and meats are browned at the beginning of the recipe. 
• Veggies and potatoes are added at the beginning of the cook time, alongside the meal mix. 
• Some dried ingredients are held back to cook later in the process such as pasta noodles, which require less time to cook than the rest of the meal. 
• Leftover (already cooked) meats and veggies should be added near the end of the cook time just along enough to warm them up. 

Do you have vegan/vegetarian mixes available?

We do! Many of our mixes can easily be made into hearty vegan or vegetarian meals with some simple substitutions.

For a full list, visit our FAQ HERE. 

How long does the meal take to make?

If you are making your meal on the stovetop and depending on the mix, your meal will simmer for 1-2 hours. 

If you are making your meal in the Instant Pot and again, depending on the mix, your meal will cook for approx. 1 hour. 

How much does each mix make?

The full-size mixes will make a nice big batch of 8-10 servings which is the perfect amount to serve a large family or allow for tasty leftovers for a smaller family. 

Many of our customers like to freeze their leftovers to make a quick meal at a later date. 

TIPS for freezing your soup:

• Most Mitchell’s products freeze very well! For best quality, soups will last about 3 months in the freezer.

• Be sure to label your soups with the date and the type of soup you are freezing along with any notes you might need to know about finishing off the recipe.

• Let your soup cool to room temperature before placing in your freezer safe container or freezer bag. Remember that your soup will expand as it freezes so don’t overfill your container.

• Avoid freezing soups with starch in it (pasta, rice, potato) or dairy as the texture can become ‘grainy’ when you thaw them. You can hold these ingredients back and add them in once the frozen portions have thawed. 

• All vegetables will be slightly softer after freezing and reheating. If you prefer your veggies with more bite, undercook them just a bit before freezing so they are firmer when you finally eat them.

Where can I find more information about sodium content and other nutritional values?

We provide this information on the Nutritional Facts Tables located alongside each product on our website. Just click on the image to enlarge the table. 

Please note that the values we provide only include the dried ingredients that are found within the package. Any additional ingredients that you choose to include in the meal should be added on top of the values that we provide. 

Can you split the full-size mixes?

Sometimes the full-size mixes just make too much and you may want to split them. This is very easy to do and just takes a few minutes! 

How to: 

Pinch off the portion of ingredients above the soup base & spice blend. Mix well in a bowl or bag then take the soup base and spice blend and mix that very well in another bowl or bag.

Split each mixture in half. Place half of each into an airtight container for use later and use the other half right away.

Important Notes:

If you are using a mix with pasta in it you will want to keep the pasta separate as it takes less time to cook and is added later in the cooking process.

If you are making Rockin’ Moroccan please note that you will want to keep the chickpeas and fruit at the top of the package separate as they take longer to cook and are added first in the cooking process.

Pro-Tip:

Attach the original package to your airtight container so you have the recipe and Best Enjoyed Before date handy! (Alternatively you can tape the Best Before date onto your airtight container and visit our website for the recipe instructions.)

What is the shelf life of Mitchell's mixes & what is the best way to store them?

Mitchell’s mixes have a shelf life of 14 months.
The ‘Best Enjoyed Before’ date is located on the back label of your mix. This date lets you know when the ingredients and spices are at their finest in terms of freshness. After that spices may start to lose their flavour and beans may become difficult to fully cook. 

It is recommended that you store Mitchell’s Soup Co. mixes in a cool, dry, dark place such as a pantry or cupboard.

Do you have additional questions? Visit our FAQ HERE. 

Still can’t find the answer to your question? Get in touch by emailing us at: customerservice@mitchellssoupco.com 

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