Mason Jar Salad for Meal Prep + A Killer Clean Honey Mustard Dressing!

Add more salads into your weekly meals and make these delicious mason jar salads for the entire week in just a matter of minutes.  Trust me that you'll want to slurp up this killer honey mustard dressing!

This is great inside the meal prep for weight loss plan.

this RECIPE

To be honest, it took me a shockingly long while to get on the whole mason jar salad bandwagon.  Not that I have anything against mason jars… I use them for mason jar meals like this chocolate chia pudding and these banana nut overnight oats like ALL the time.  And I love salad recipes.  And you know I’m all about meal planning.  Mason jar meal prep is so fun and easy.  But, for whatever reason, I never tried mason jar salad recipes.

Then, one day, I just decided to make a salad in a jar and see what all the fuss was about. And I’m SO glad I did.  GUYS!  Mason jar salads are amazing – they’re super easy, delicious, and really do keep everything nice and fresh until you’re ready to eat them.  Salad meal prep was something I never used to do because I hate soggy lettuce.  I mean – soggy lettuce = eww, right?

Mason jar salad recipes completely solve this problem because you put the lettuce at the very top so you don’t have to worry about it getting touched by all the dressing and entering the dreaded mush zone.

So, when it’s time to enjoy your salad, just grab it out of the fridge and shake it out into a bowl.  Your salad will taste like you just made it and you’ll continue on your delicious, clean eating lifestyle — one that gets to enjoy tasty and clean salads for lunch.  Woot!!

Check out my tips on this post for how to pack your mason jar salad to keep everything as fresh as possible – I’ve learned there is definitely a strategy to it, but it’s pretty straightforward and you’ll be on your way to enjoying mason jar salads in no time.

This recipe is for an amaze-balls chicken salad recipe with a clean honey mustard salad dressing. Yep: clean. honey. mustard. salad dressing.  It’s so easy and so good – you will likely be licking your mason jars once you’re done.

HOW TO MAKE MASON JAR SALAD

As I said, making a salad in a jar requires a little bit of strategizing but the process is so darn easy. After all, all you have to do to make mason jar salads is to…

1. prep the ingredients;
2. make the dressing;
3. layer the salad in a jar recipe ingredients in a mason jar;
4. enjoy the mason jar salad or store it in the fridge.

See? All the steps for how to make mason jar salads are easy to follow.

SALAD MEAL PREP TIPS

Guys, I really do love my mason jar recipes including my salad in a jar recipes. And I’m all about saving time and eating healthy so, obviously, I HEART grab-and-go lunches. I want to make sure you’ll get on board too ,so here are my tips for making healthy mason jar salad recipes.

• Choose your container for salad in a jar wisely - any glass canning jar with a lid can be used, but wide-mouthed jars are the easiest for both packing the salad into the jars and shaking them out again when you’re ready to eat. I use these quart-sized jars for larger lunch and dinner salad portions because I like to have a lot of extra veggies and goodies in my salads.
• The next tip is for how to make mason jar salads meal prep easy and I have to say that if you prep the ingredients first, the process is definitely easier. So chop the veggies, cook the protein and the grains if you have to, prep the salad greens, use your kitchen scale for portion control and divide the ingredients into separate piles.
• The most important step of this salad in jar process is layering. Learn how to build a mason jar salad and embrace those salad layers. Tips for how to layer a mason jar salad in the next section.

HOW TO LAYER A MASON JAR SALAD

Why did I say that this part is the most important one? Because learning how to layer a mason jar salad properly will keep your salad fresh. This is the key to successful mason jar salad meal prep. No more soggy lettuce. Just fresh, delicious ingredients.

To build a mason jar salad…

1. Start with the dressing. At the bottom, add 1-4 tablespoons of dressing, depending on how many ingredients you’re going to add and how much dressing you prefer in your salad. In this way, you’ll prevent the lettuce and veggies from getting mushy. WIN!
2. Continue to assemble the mason jar salad by adding the hard veggies and fruits.
3. Follow the hard veggies and fruits by a layer of grains, if you’re using any.
4. Add protein.
5. Then add soft veggies, fruits, roasted nuts or seeds.
6. Top this layer with cheese, if using.
7. Add salad greens. Salad greens such as lettuce have to always be on top. Add as much as you can squeeze into the jar.

Make sure you know how to make homemade croutons for the best salad topping.

HOW DO YOU EAT A MASON JAR SALAD?

Ok, obviously, you cannot eat salad out of a jar. I mean, you could try but it won't be easy. For sure. So, how do you eat a mason jar salad?

Well, when you are ready to eat the mason jar salad, just…

1. give the mason jar salad a vigorous shake to mix the dressing with the rest of the ingredients;
2. unscrew the cap;
3. shake the salad into a bowl or a large plate;
4. toss to combine, as needed.

Bon appetite!

HOW LONG DO MASON JAR SALADS LAST?

This recipe, as written, will get you through an entire work week of enjoying a tasty mason jar salad each day for 5 days!

In general, mason jar salads last for 4-5 days in the fridge if you store them properly. By that, I mean placing them in the fridge and making sure the lid is tightly sealed.

Perfect grab-and-go lunches for a week ready in less than 30 minutes!

Can I get a HECK YEA?

3 MORE HEALTHY MASON JAR SALAD RECIPES

The thing with mason jar meals is that they are so quick and easy to make they become addictive. This is what happens with all mason jar recipes. Mason jar salads included. I can guarantee! But the thing is, I don’t want you to be bored, which will happen if you make the same salad in a jar every week. So more mason jar recipes are in order then.

CHICKEN COBB MASON JAR SALAD

Another great salad in a jar is this Chicken Cobb Mason Jar Salad. This salad is healthy, clean, and packed with nutrients.

This Chicken Cobb Mason Jar Salad is a great way to transform chicken cobb salad into a grab-and-go lunch. Plus you get tips for how to make chicken cobb salads healthy. And don’t even get me started on the healthy homemade ranch dressing. It's so good! 

HEALTHY TACO SALAD RECIPE

If you are a fan of Mexican food, the next salad in a jar is definitely a lunch option you'll love. Introducing the Healthy Taco Salad Recipe.

This Healthy Taco Salad is a great way to cut down on carbs but still enjoy the amazing flavors and textures of tacos.

BEET & GOAT CHEESE SALAD WITH WHITE WINE VINEGAR DRESSING

This Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing is the last salad in a jar of the day.

The sweet and savory Beet & Goat Cheese Salad with White Wine Vinegar Dressing is packed with protein, fiber, and vitamins and it makes a great lunch or light dinner.

Make-Ahead Mason Jar Salads For The Week + A Killer Clean Honey Mustard Dressing!

Lacey Baier

Add more salads into your weekly meals and make these delicious mason jar salads for the entire week in just a matter of minutes.

4.67 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Meal Prep

Cuisine American

Servings 5 salads

Calories 434 kcal

Equipment

• Glass Mason Jars

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

  

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For the Honey Mustard Dressing:

• ▢ ¼ cup full fat plain greek yogurt
• ▢ ½ cup yellow mustard
• ▢ ½ cup raw honey
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

For The Mason Jar Salad:

• ▢ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, whole
• ▢ 2 large cucumbers, peeled and diced
• ▢ ⅓ cup sliced almonds
• ▢ 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• ▢ 7 ½ cups mixed baby greens

Instructions

 

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the kosher salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder, and then add to the hot pan. Cook, flipping occasionally, until the chicken is well-browned on both sides and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes, or until the inside reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Once cooked through, remove from the pan and let cool. Then, dice into bite-sized cubes.
• To make the honey mustard salad dressing, in a small bowl, combine the plain Greek yogurt, clean yellow mustard, raw honey, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Whisk until this is very smooth.
• To assemble the mason jar salads, start with the dressing at the bottom. This will keep it as far away from the lettuce as possible and will allow us to add in other items later that can avoid getting mushy. You can add about 1-4 tbsp. of the dressing, depending on how much you prefer and how many other ingredients you’re going to add.
• Follow the dressing layer with the grape tomatoes, followed by the diced chicken breast. In the next layer, add the cucumber, followed by the sliced almonds. Top this layer with the crumbled goat cheese. Finally, for the remainder of the jar and always on top, add as much baby greens as you can squeeze into the jar.
• When you're ready to eat your salad, just unscrew the cap and shake the contents out into a bowl. Everything gets pretty compacted in the jar, so some vigorous shaking might be needed. This shaking also helps to toss the salad ingredients with the dressing. Once the salad is in the bowl, you can toss it some more with your fork to make sure everything is evenly coated.
• With the lid sealed tightly and packed like I showed you, mason jar salads last 4-5 days in the fridge and are perfect for grab and go lunches or dinners during the week.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1 saladCalories: 434 kcalCarbohydrates: 33 gProtein: 32 gFat: 20 gSaturated Fat: 7 gCholesterol: 79 mgSodium: 811 mgPotassium: 584 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 29 gVitamin A: 1285 IUVitamin C: 19.1 mgCalcium: 124 mgIron: 2.4 mg

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This post contains affiliate links for products I use frequently and highly recommend.