Mason Jar Salads – WellPlated.com

Meet your new go-to lunch: meal prep Mason Jar Salads! They’re simple, contemporary, and flavorful; extremely transportable, customizable, and just about every thing you need in a salad, conveniently layered right into a jar.

Why You’ll Love Meal Prep Mason Jar Salads

• The Good Meal Prep Lunch. They final within the fridge for days, they’re simple to place collectively, and so they’re tremendous satisfying. What extra are you able to ask for?!
• Colourful and Flavorful. These are salads you’ll sit up for consuming! All these colourful elements layered into the jars makes you wish to seize a fork and dig in—plus, every layer brings totally different flavors and textures to the desk, supplying you with a pleasant selection in each chunk.
• Customizable. I share some particular salad concepts for inspiration beneath, but additionally some mix-and-match concepts that will help you provide you with your individual.

Make Mason Jar Salads

When you may simply throw every thing right into a jar and hope for the perfect, mason jar salads require a little bit little bit of technique.

Placing the dressing on the underside retains your lettuce and crunchy bits from getting soggy; plus, whenever you dump the jar right into a bowl, which means the dressing will pour over every thing else.

Any measurement of jar will work, relying on how large (or small) you need your salad, however I exploit a wide-mouth quart-sized jar as a result of I like a BIG salad. Pint jars are good for smaller salads. No want to purchase jars, both—jars from pasta sauce, jam, mayo, and so forth., will work.

You possibly can select a number of choices from every class (properly, aside from the dressing—persist with one there!), however remember to layer every thing within the order outlined beneath for excellent meal prep salads.

Layer 1: Dressing

Add about 2 tablespoons of store-bought or home made dressing. Listed here are some dressings that I like utilizing in my mason jar salads:

Layer 2: Sturdy Veggies and/or Legumes

These are greens that may stand as much as (or are improved by) soaking in dressing:

• English or Persian cucumbers
• Thinly sliced crimson onions or shallots
• Sliced mushrooms
• Shredded or sliced carrots, radishes, or beets
• Thawed frozen peas or corn
• Broccoli or cauliflower florets
• Diced or sliced bell pepper
• Entire grape tomatoes
• Diced or sliced celery
• Shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts
• Chickpeas, black beans, lentils, edamame, and different legumes

Layer 3: Proteins

You don’t want a protein in the event you’re serving your salad alongside a sandwich or leftovers, however I all the time like so as to add one thing from this class if my meal prep salad goes to be my whole lunch.

Layer 4: Grains

Once more, not a should, however a good-to-have in the event you’re making it a meal!

Layer 5: The Accoutrements

Think about this the layer of elements price getting enthusiastic about. 

• Nuts and seeds
• Dried fruit
• Recent fruit that received’t brown (mango, plums, citrus, blueberries)
• Solar-dried tomatoes
• Cooked crumbled bacon (Baked Bacon, Air Fryer Bacon)
• Chilly leftover roasted greens
• Tortilla or wonton strips
• Croutons

Layer 6: Greens

Pack these into the remaining house on the prime, however don’t pack them in too tightly, or they received’t be crisp and contemporary.

• Romaine
• Spinach
• Kale
• Spring combine or different bagged salad greens
• Shredded Brussels sprouts or cabbage (in the event you want extra uncooked taste and crispiness; to mellow the flavour and texture, add them within the second layer)

My Favourite Recipes for Mason Jar Salads

You may make nearly any salad right into a meal prep mason jar salad, however these are those I’ve on frequent repeat:

Asian Cabbage Salad. I modify up the unique recipe by including complete wheat noodles and add a little bit additional oil to the dressing to skinny it out. In the event you’ve ever had Ramen Salad (a Midwestern staple!), you may completely add a few of these ramen noodles too for additional crunch.

Black Bean Corn Salad. To bulk up this recipe, I add romaine lettuce. The frozen roasted corn from Dealer Joe’s could be fan-freaking-TASTIC on this Mexican-inspired salad.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. That is one other the place I add romaine; actually, you are able to do this with any bean salad recipe to take it from a aspect dish to a full meal. Letting the chickpeas sit within the dressing marinates them and makes them additional delish!

Italian Chopped Salad. For a flavorful, filling salad, this Italian chopped salad recipe can’t be beat. It’s simply so good, with olives, chickpeas, mozzarella pearls, salami, and a zippy French dressing. In the event you’re not a fan of the chunk of uncooked crimson onion, place it instantly within the dressing to mellow it.

Extra Salads to Assemble in Mason Jars