With just a little bit of prep work, you can enjoy these 4 easy mason jar salad recipes throughout the week as a lunch or dinner, maintain your healthy eating, and have a great grab-and-go meal ready to go.
If I am hungry and I have to make myself something from scratch - even if I have ALL the ingredients -- I rarely do it. One of the biggest barriers for me to eat healthy is having yummy food ready to eat when I want it.
There's something that goes off in my head when it's time to eat that I want it to be easy. Duh, right?
Given this, I've found meal prep to be so important to staying on track with my healthy eating.
When the tummy starts growling, just head on over to the fridge (or cooler, if you're on the go) and grab yourself a delicious, perfectly balanced, nutritious meal.
Sounds amazing, right?
That's 'cuz it is -- and it's way easier than you might think to prep your meals, especially if you use these 4 easy mason jar salad recipes I'm sharing with you today.
Plus: look how pretty!
Why Make A Mason Jar Salad?
It seems so many people, including myself for a very long time, get super confused by mason jar salads.
That seems silly and difficult to eat a salad out of a jar...
Why would I carry around a glass container like that?
What's the point of a mason jar salad?
I've asked myself, and been asked by many people, those same questions.
BUT let me tell you why the mason jar salad is a masterpiece of delicious salad perfection. I know: bold words - but just stay with me on this...
With this type of meal prep, you place the salad dressing on the bottom of the jar and the greens at the top of the jar, which makes it so your greens stay fresh (read: not soggy or wilted at all) all the way up until you eat them. See? Perfection.
Stacking all the ingredients in a certain order (dressing, hard vegetables, proteins, softer vegetables, cheeses, greens) make it so you can preserve the freshness of each of the ingredients until it's time to pour it all out into a bowl and enjoy.
And, yes, you totally pour it out into a large bowl or plate to enjoy when you're ready to get all the goods all mixed up and coated with the dressing - it WOULD be silly to eat out of the jar, I agree!
Protein Packed Chopped Mason Jar Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing
What Size Mason Jars For Mason Jar Salads?
While you can choose whatever mason jar or meal prep container you prefer, I love using these 1 quart mason jars for my mason jar salads. The 1 quart size really helps you pack in a lot of veggies, proteins, and greens without things getting too crowded in there.
Since I treat mason jar salads as a full meal, the quart size jars are perfect since they're large enough to handle a good-sized salad. Incidentally, they also make great glasses for healthy iced teas...just sayin'.
If, however, you're choosing to just make a side salad and don't want an entire quart, you can use a pint or half-pint mason jars, depending on how much you want.
Also, now that you're ready to become a mason jar salad fiend, I totally recommend you invest in a wide mouth funnel like this one for making your salads. This will make adding your various tasty ingredients immensely easier and less messy. Trust me on this one.
Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing
How Long Do Mason Jar Salads Last?
Yay, I am so glad you asked!
This is one of the most commonly asked questions I get about mason jar salads. And I love the answer because it's awesome.
You ready?
They last up to 5 days! FIVE days of crispy, fresh, nutritious salad goodness.
So exciting.
Are you doing a fresh salad happy dance right now, too?
Right, me neither...
As long as you stack the salad correctly, starting with the dressing on the bottom, the harder veggies/fruits next, followed by the proteins, then softer veggies/fruits, seeds/cheeses, and then topped off with the greens, all sealed tightly, you can bet your salad will last you all week.
This means you can make the same salad for a meal every day of the week (like I did with this amazing mason jar salad) or you can make a different salad and enjoy a little more variety each day with these 4 mason jar salad recipes I've got for you today.
Hopefully, by now, you're all excited to go try these mason jar salad recipes for yourself.
Each one listed here has very unique and different flavors and textures which will make each day you enjoy your salad in a completely different way. Every time I eat one of them, I think THIS one is definitely my favorite. I mean it's Healthy Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing | Perfect For Meal Prep!.
But, alas, I eat the next one and it's back to square one on picking my fave. They're all really yummy and a great nutritious and filling lunch or dinner, though so it is really a win win.
Asian Chopped Salad Recipe with Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette
For some great mason jar grab and go breakfasts, you can check this blackberry cobbler overnight oats! Feel like a rock star and have your whole day planned with healthy, prepped-ahead meals.
4 Easy Mason Jar Salad Recipes
4 Easy Mason Jar Salad Recipes
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
For The Protein-Packed Chopped Mason Jar Salad:
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, whole
- ½ cucumber, peeled and diced
- ½ cup chickpeas
- 1 cup cooked turkey meat, diced
- 1 hard-boiled egg, diced*
- 1 cup raw baby spinach
For The Creamy Italian Dressing:
- ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. dried basil
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
For The Asian Chopped Mason Jar Salad with Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette:
- 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
- ½ yellow bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup shelled edamame
- ½ red bell pepper. diced
- 2 tbsp. raw peanuts
- 1 cup mixed baby greens
For The Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp. mandarin orange juice approx. 2-3 mandarin oranges
- ½ tsp. mandarin zest
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. raw honey
- 1 tbsp. shallot minced
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
For The Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:
Taco meat
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ½ tsp. cumin
For the Taco Salad:
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, whole
- 1 cup taco meat, cooled
- ¼ cup jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup mixed baby greens
- ½ avocado, diced (optional, when serving)
For The Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tsp. lime juice
- 1 tbsp. cilantro, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
For The Beet And Goat Cheese Mason Jar Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing
- 2 beets, cooked and diced*
- ½ granny smith apple, diced
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tbsp. pecans, toasted
- 2 cups baby arugula
White Wine Vinegar Dressing
- 2 ½ tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp. sea salt
Instructions
For The Protein-Packed Chopped Mason Jar Salad:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine plain greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, sea salt, and ground black pepper, and stir to combine.
- Add the creamy italian dressing to the bottom of a quart sized mason jar to start our mason jar salad.
- Next, add whole grape tomatoes, peeled and diced cucumber, rinsed and drained chickpeas, diced turkey meat, a hard-boiled egg, and then topped off with raw baby spinach.
- Seal the jar tightly with a lid and place in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later.
For The Beet And Goat Cheese Mason Jar Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing
- To make the dressing, combine olive oil, white wine vinegar, raw honey, dijon mustard, and sea salt in a small mixing bowl, and stir to combine.
- Pour the dressing into the bottom of a quart sized mason jar, followed by cooked, diced beets, diced granny smith apple, crumbled goat cheese, toasted pecans, and then topped off with baby arugula.
- Seal the jar tightly with a lid and place in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later.
For The Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:
- First, we need to prepare the taco meat for our salad, so heat some olive oil over medium high heat in a skillet and then add diced yellow onion, minced garlic, lean ground beef, sea salt, ground black pepper, and ground cumin and stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is well-browned and the onion is tender, about 6-8 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- To make the creamy cilantro lime dressing, combine plain Greek yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, freshly squeezed lime juice, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, and sea salt in a small mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- To assemble the mason jar salad, pour the creamy cilantro lime dressing into the bottom of a 1 quart mason jar, followed the whole grape tomatoes, the cooled taco meat, shredded jack cheese, and mixed baby greens.
- When you’re ready to serve, top just shake the contents of the mason jar out onto a bowl and then top with fresh avocado.
For The Asian Chopped Mason Jar Salad with Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette:
- Start by making the mandarin orange vinaigrette by combining freshly squeezed mandarin orange juice, mandarin orange zest, rice vinegar, raw honey, minced shallot, and olive oil in a small mixing bowl.
- Follow the dressing with shredded purple cabbage, diced yellow bell pepper, shelled edamame, diced red bell pepper, raw peanuts, and then top off with mixed baby greens.
- Seal the jar tightly with a lid and place in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Laura
I made the protein-packed salad yesterday for my teenage son and he loved it! Used shelled edemame in place of turkey and egg to make it more plant-based yet still high protein. This dressing is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing these recipes!
Dustin
love mason jar salads
Laura T
Thank you SO MUCH for these recipes. I start a long term sub position on Monday and this is exactly what I need to get me through the week. LOVE!!!!
Tricia
Thank you so much Lacey!! I love the combinations and that they are make ahead lunches!