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Home » Best Of

Best Soups to Pack In a Thermos for Lunch

By Laura Fuentes Updated Dec 13, 2024

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Cold weather or not, soups are always a great idea to pack for lunch! They can be made ahead of time, served for dinner, and the leftovers packed for lunch later in the week. Plus, soup is always better the second day.

In this post, I am going to share with you my family’s favorite soups to bring to school and the office; and therefore, they are my best soups to pack inside a thermos for lunch!

a collage of soups to pack in a thermos for lunch

Thermos Soup Recipes

On cold winter days, there is no better lunch to pack for school than a delicious warm soup! For older kids, I use one of these classic thermoses and with younger kids I use these bright Funtainer thermoses.

Be sure to fill your child’s thermos with one of these delicious soups for lunch this week! If you are new to packing thermos lunches, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know below!

Easy Chicken and Rice Lunch Soup
5 from 16 votes
Easy chicken and rice soup recipe that’s full of veggies, tender rotisserie chicken, and rice.
Make This Recipe
Enchilada Soup – the Perfect Thermos Lunch!
5 from 15 votes
Looking for a new soup to add to your winter meal rotation? Warm your family with the familiar flavors of cumin, chile powder and smoky paprika with this Enchilada Soup Recipe that comes together in minutes.
Make This Recipe
Veggie Mac and Cheese Soup Thermos Lunch Idea
4.88 from 25 votes
Your kids are going to love this cheesy veggie mac and cheese in their thermos!
Make This Recipe
grilled cheese stick dipping into a small dish of tomato soup
Grilled Cheese Dippers with Tomato Soup
5 from 14 votes
Homemade grilled cheese dippers take an easy dinner idea & transform into a fun school lunch kids will love. Plus, an easy dippable veggie tomato sauce.
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tomato pasta soup in a thermos
Tomato Pasta Soup Thermos Lunch
5 from 10 votes
Turn dinner leftovers into an epic school lunch idea with this delicious thermos recipe. Plus, all the tips to keep it warm!
Make This Recipe
Thermos Ramen Noodle Soup
5 from 24 votes
It’s like the packaged version we all know but so much better with fresh veggies and whole wheat pasta in a savory broth. Toss in leftover chicken for a little extra protein.
Make This Recipe
Chicken Noodle Soup in a Thermos
5 from 16 votes
This list wouldn’t be complete without the classic Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s comfort food at it’s best. I recommend purchasing a rotisserie chicken, using half for another meal, and the rest to make this soup even more effortless.
Make This Recipe
Tomato Tortellini Soup in a Thermos
5 from 17 votes
This creamy tomato tortellini soup is a quick and easy meal you can make for dinner or pack for a hot thermos lunch! 
Make This Recipe
blue thermos of potato soup
Potato Soup Thermos Lunch
5 from 3 votes
Learn how to pack potato soup in a thermos so it stays warm until lunchtime -and leak-free!
Make This Recipe
Lasagna Soup
All the flavors of lasagna in a warm, hearty soup! Pack with Garlic Parmesan Rolls for dipping.
Make This Recipe
Mexican Bean & Veggie Soup
This hearty, robust soup is a great way to use up all those lone veggies in your fridge and pantry. Make it on the stove-top for a quick meal or set it in the slow cooker overnight, to pack in the morning.
Make This Recipe

How to Pack Soup in a Thermos

When packing soup for lunch, it’s important that you keep everything hot! Make sure that the soup is piping hot before placing it in the thermos. While the soup is heating up, you can preheat the thermos as well.

I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step so you can pack hot soup lunches all winter long:

  1. Boil water
    In a kettle or pot, boil some water.
  2. Preheat the thermos
    Pour the boiling water inside of the thermos container. Close it with the lid and let it heat up for about 5 minutes.
  3. Heat up the soup
    Grab the soup container from the fridge, open the lid a little to let the steam escape, and place the container in the microwave for one minute. Stir and heat up again for an additional minute. The soup must be pipping hot, meaning you would burn your lips if you do a taste test -don’t do it!
  4. Pack the soup
    Drain the water out of the thermos and immediately pour the heated soup inside. Close with the lid and pack it in a lunch bag.

Check out this video to see the process:

What is the Best Thermos Container for Hot Soup?

If you want your soup to stay warm, you will NEED a durable thermos container to pack any of these delicious soups or hot lunch. Check out my top thermos picks to see which one is the right fit for your family.

At the end of the day, the best soups to pack in a thermos for lunch, in my book, are simple recipes that incorporate ingredients that I keep a stock of in my fridge or pantry.

That’s another reason I love using the Weekly Meal Plan for my family. The recipes always help me incorporate ingredients we love and leftovers make terrific thermos lunches!

How to Freeze Soup for Future Lunches

Go for it! These recipes are 100% freezer-friendly. Place the chilled soup into a large freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months for a family-sized meal.

For a thermos serving, transfer 1 cup to 1 ½ cups of chilled soup into a quart freezer bag. This will vary by thermos but a 1 cup is a decent lunch serving.

To use, thaw in the fridge before heating and enjoying.

Which one of the soups above will you make first?

by Laura Fuentes
onSeptember 26, 2018

If you enjoyed the article, please share it with others. Thank you!

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  1. Christy says

    December 16, 2022 at 12:47 pm

    If making soup, my son likes lipton chicken noodle from box, I make the soup in am and then add to thermos how do u do it so the noodles r not mushy?

    Reply
    • MOMables-Laura says

      December 21, 2022 at 6:17 pm

      Hi Christy, I can’t really provide any tips to prevent the Lipton noodles from getting mushy. Soup mix pasta has a different, softer texture than dried noodles used in homemade soup.

      Reply
laura fuentes momables holding a lunch bag and lunch boxes

My name is Laura Fuentes
I’m here to help you simplify school lunches with fresh ideas your kids will actually eat.

Mom of 3. Certified in Integrative Nutrition. 5x Cookbook Author.

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