mandarin Archives • A Sweet Pea Chef

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 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 (plus it's less than $5!). 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 amaze-balls 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. Taco Salad Recipe with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing 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. 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 these out, too! 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 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 and maintain your healthy eating. For The Protein-Packed Chopped Mason Jar Salad:1 cup grape tomatoes, (whole)1/2 cucumber, (peeled and diced)1/2 cup chickpeas1 cup cooked turkey meat, (diced)1 hard-boiled egg, (diced*)1 cup raw baby spinachFor The Creamy Italian Dressing:1/2 tsp. dried oregano1/2 tsp. dried basil1/4 cup plain greek yogurt1 clove garlic, (minced)2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar1/4 tsp. sea salt1/4 tsp. black pepperFor The Asian Chopped Mason Jar Salad with Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette:1 cup purple cabbage, (shredded)1/2 yellow bell pepper, (diced)1/2 cup shelled edamame1/2 red bell pepper. (diced)2 tbsp. raw peanuts1 cup mixed baby greensFor The Mandarin Orange Vinaigrette3 tbsp. mandarin orange juice (approx. 2-3 mandarin oranges)1/2 tsp. mandarin zest1 tbsp. rice vinegar1 tsp. raw honey1 tbsp. shallot (minced)1/4 tsp. sea salt2 tbsp. olive oilFor The Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:Taco meat1 tbsp. olive oil1/2 yellow onion, (diced)2 cloves garlic, (minced)1 lb. lean ground beef1/2 tsp. sea salt1/4 tsp. black pepper1/2 tsp. cuminFor the Taco Salad:1 cup grape tomatoes, (whole)1 cup taco meat, (cooled)1/4 cup jack cheese, (shredded)1 cup mixed baby greens1/2 avocado, (diced (optional, when serving))For The Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:1/4 cup plain greek yogurt2 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk2 tsp. lime juice1 tbsp. cilantro, (minced)1 clove garlic, (minced)1/4 tsp. sea saltFor The Beet And Goat Cheese Mason Jar Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing2 beets, (cooked and diced*)1/2 granny smith apple, (diced)1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese2 tbsp. pecans, (toasted)2 cups baby arugulaWhite Wine Vinegar Dressing2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil2 tbsp white wine vinegar1 tsp raw honey1 tsp Dijon mustard1/2 tsp. sea salt 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 DressingTo 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. * Each of these recipes will last you up to 5 days and will be fresh and delicious. * Nutrition Information provided is for Protein-Packed Chopped Mason Jar Salad. * To hard-boil eggs, cover uncooked egg in a saucepan with water and place over high heat, covered, until the water begins to boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and keep covered for 12 minutes. Then, add to an ice bath to cool and then peel. * To cook beets, you can microwave, lightly covered, in a deep dish with 1/4 cup water for 8-10 minutes, then peel OR wrap in foil, lightly covered with olive oil, and place in a 375 degree F oven for 45-60 minutes. Dinner, Lunch, mason jar salad, Salad, Salad DressingEasyeasy mason jar salads, mason jar recipes, mason jars salad size This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.