Salad in a Jar Recipes (2024)

Delicious and healthy salad in a jar recipes filled with vibrant veggies, filling protein and tasty dressings. Creative and convenient ways to enjoy fresh salads on the go!

These mason jar salads are the perfect way to eat healthy when you are busy. Delicious, easy and great for warm weather!

Ingredients

The ingredients for this salad in a jar are literally endless. You can make just about anything work! Any veggie, grain, protein with any sauce. You can even do sweet versions with fruit.

Use these salad jar ideas to customize your own creation! Pick at least 1 from each category, but don't be afraid to add extras:

Sauces/dressing:

• Vegan Ranch Dressing
• Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
• Vegan Buffalo Saucemixed with a creamy base, vegan sour cream or mayo
• Vegan Spicy Cilantro Cream Sauce
• Fresh Mexican Salsa mixed with a creamy base, vegan sour cream or mayo
• Lemon Herb Sauce
• Tangy Vegan Creamy Dill Sauce
• Citrus Salsa mixed with citrus cream sauce
• Olive oil and vinegar

Protein:

• Chickpeas (learn how to cook dried chickpeas here)
• Lentils (learn how to cook dried lentils here)
• Black beans (learn how to cook dried black beans here)
• Pinto beans
• White beans
• Tofu (this crispy tofu recipe is amazing)
• Tempeh
• Vegan sausage
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Dairy free cheeses

Veggies:

• Onion
• Cucumber
• Tomato
• Corn
• Avocado
• Carrots
• Edamame
• Peppers
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Zucchini
• Squash
• Radishes
• Mushrooms
• Asparagus
• Peas
• Brussels sprouts
• Potatoes
• Green beans
• Celery

Grains:

• Rice
• Pasta
• Quinoa (a great protein too)
• Crushed chips
• Farro
• Barley

Greens:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Arugula
• Microgreens

Fruit:

• Bananas
• Strawberry
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Apple
• Pear
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Orange
• Grapes
• Kiwi
• Cherries
• Watermelon

How to Make Salad in a Jar

These healthy mason jar salads are really easy to make. Knowing how to layer salad in a jar is key, but most of the work comes in the prep. But as I said above, the ingredients can be used for loads of other recipes so my advice would be to base your salad creation on what other meals you want to make that week.

1. Prep ingredients.
2. Start by adding the dressing at the bottom of the jar.
3. Next add the beans, grains, and veggies.
4. Last add the greens on top.
5. Store in the fridge until you're ready to eat.
6. Shake it up and dig in!

Flavor combinations

While you can combine all of those ingredients in infinite ways, here are some of our favorite salad jar recipes that we came up with:

1. Greek: Olive oil/vinegar/basil/salt dressing, chickpeas, pasta, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, vegan feta and spinach
2. BBQ Ranch: Ranch dressing with BBQ sauce, black beans, corn, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, crushed tortilla chips and lettuce
3. Asian: Teriyaki sauce, tofu, edamame, carrots, quinoa and cabbage
4. Taco style: Salsa mixed with creamy dressing, black beans, pinto beans, peppers, avocado, rice, lettuce and cabbage

See the recipe card below for more details on these options!

How to Meal Prep and Store Jar Salads

The best thing about making salads in a jar is that you can prep everything at once. The ingredients can be used in so many other recipes too so it's a win win.

Here are the ways I prep it to make it super easy:

• Chop and wash the and veggies.
• Pre-cook any grains and proteins.
• Make the dressings.

Then work on assembling the salads.

• Set up all the ingredients in a line.
• Build the salads going down the counter top salad bar style.
• Store the leftover ingredients in containers so you can use them for another meal.

The prepared salad jars will be best within 2-3 days, but they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How do you eat salad in a Mason jar?

How long does a salad in a jar last?

If you follow the tips and put the dressing at the bottom and the greens at the top, these mason jar salads should still taste great after 2-3 days and can still be decent up to 5 days. After that, the ingredients start to wilt and loose texture and flavor.
If made the night before, these are perfect as a vegan picnic food! They travel well and are easy to eat!

Why use Mason jars for salads?

Mason jars are great because they seal well and are a good size for holding a salad. The height and shape of them allows for the ingredients to be properly stacked so they don't get soggy.

How do you keep salad from getting soggy?

My biggest gaggy (is that a word?) thing ever is mushy stuff and limp greens. I cannot stomach it. So when creating these salads in a jar, the first thing I did was test ways to keep them from getting soggy.
Because I wanted this a full grab and go option, I had to find a way to include the dressing in the jar and keep the soggy factor low. And here is what every trial told me: put the dressing at the bottom and the greens at the top.
It's really that simple. Things like beans and veggies won't absorb the dressing like greens will. Surprisingly, the cooked rice and pasta did well towards the bottom as well.

Can you prep salad for a week?

You can! Make these salads in a jar, or prep all of the ingredients for the week and build your salad the night before.

Salad in a Jar Recipes

Sophia DeSantis

Delicious and healthy salad in a jar recipes filled with vibrant veggies, filling protein and tasty dressings. Creative and convenient ways to enjoy fresh salads on the go!

Shop Ingredients on Jupiter

Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 13gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 579mgPotassium: 611mgFiber: 8gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2358IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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