Healthy Salad in a Jar Recipes

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make salad in a jar? The search is over because these are not only healthy but fool proof too!

I’m not going to lie, I’m not usually a salad dinner kinda girl. I often find that salads lack in flavor and depth, so while I love them as an appetizer, I don’t usually feel they make the best main meal. And then I discovered the salad in a jar.

Salad in a Jar Recipes

It’s no secret that I am a jar addict. I love them! And really use them for just about anything. Apparently even salads! They not only make eating a salad fun, but they also make creating them fun!

How do you eat salad in a mason jar?

While it seems like it would be challenging to eat from a jar, it’s actually quite easy and I love it! Jars are portable, easier to eat at your desk, and I love that they are a grab and go option…as in grab it from my fridge and go to my table, lol. Other than that, you just eat it with a fork!

Tips to 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.

How long does 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 lose texture and flavor.

If made the night before, these are perfect as a vegan picnic food! They travel well and are easy to eat!

Prepping tips

The best thing about making salad 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 prepped to make it super easy:

• Chopped, washed and put the veggies, grains and proteins I wanted to use in bowls.
• Made the dressings.
• Cooked any grains.

Then I got out my jars and built the salads going down the counter top salad bar style. I stored the leftover ingredients in containers so I could use them for another meal.

I put the jars in the fridge so I had easy meal options any time we needed them!

How to Make Salad in a Jar

These mason jar salads are really easy to make. 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. Gather your ingredients.
2. Build the salads by putting the dressing at the bottom, then the beans, rice and veggies.
3. Last add the greens on top and you’re good to go!

Ingredient options

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. Here are some of my favorites within each category:

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

Flavor combinations

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

1. Greek style: 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

Healthy Salad in a Jar Recipes

Sophia DeSantis

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make salad in a jar? The search is over because these recipes are not only healthy but they are fool proof too!

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Asian, Greek, Mexican

Servings 4

Calories 330 kcal

Equipment

• mason jars

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Greek style:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil , or broth if oil free
• 1 teaspoon vinegar , balsamic or red wine
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• pinch sea salt
• 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1/4 cup pasta
• 2 tablespoons red onion
• 2 tablespoons cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons vegan feta
• 1 cup spinach

BBQ Ranch:

• 2 tablespoons vegan ranch dressing
• 2 teaspoons BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 1/4 cup corn
• 2 tablespoons cucumber
• 2 tablespoons tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons avocado
• 2 tablespoons crushed tortilla chips
• 1 cup lettuce

Asian:

• 2 tablespoons vegan Teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup tofu
• 1/4 cup edamame
• 1/4 cup carrots
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1 cup cabbage

Taco style:

• 2 tablespoons Fresh salsa
• 2 teaspoons creamy dressing , I use the base of this one
• 2 tablespoons black beans
• 2 tablespoons pinto beans
• 2 tablespoons peppers , I like hot peppers for spice
• 2 tablespoons avocado
• 1/4 cup rice
• 1/2 cup lettuce
• 1/2 cup cabbage

Instructions

 

• Build the salads in 4 different jars, one flavor in each, by putting the dressing/sauce at the bottom of each jar, then the beans/tofu, then the veggies and grains and finally the greens.
• Store in the fridge until ready to use.
• When ready, shake the jar with the lid closed until the dressing is covering the contents.
• Open the lid and eat!

Notes

• This recipe makes 4 jars, 1 jar per serving.
• The nutrition facts are all of the ingredients for all flavors added together and divided by 4 to average out for total info.

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.

Keyword Healthy lunch ideas, portable salads

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!