Salad in a Jar Recipes

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 Sauce mixed 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.