Bored of your lunch or want some new exciting ideas? Here are 5 Mason Jar Salads To Meal Prep for a Week of Lunches you can prep in just one hour for your entire week ahead! Plus tips for making the perfect mason jar salad.
Happy Wednesday! Hump Day seemed like the perfect day to share these recipes with you. I’ve been making meal prep salads for well, forever, but when I discovered Mason Jar salads, it kind of pretty much changed the salad game for me. It’s not even about being “hipster” – putting your salad in a mason jar can bring about a world of possiblities:
Now if you’ve never meal prepped before, you should check out my Meal Prep 101 Post: my best healthy meal prep recipes. Meal prep makes a world of differences, saves you so much time in the long run and helps to keep you on track with being healthy. I know for me, when I’m hungry and there isn’t any prepared food or healthy snacks, it’s a bad situation. I’ll pretty much eat anything. Meal prepping solves that – glorious, healthy and already prepared food is sitting in your fridge, just waiting to be devoured.
Pictured: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Avocado Dressing and Harissa Tahini Dressing
So on to these Mason Jar Salads. Even though I work at home, stopping to cook lunch can kill so much time so having food already prepared is a life saver. If you work in an office, these are even better for you! You can prep all of these meal prep salads on Sunday night for the entire week of work lunches. You can even make more to carry over into dinner, or check out some of my favourite meal prep dinner recipes too. Either way, you’ll be surprised how little rush there will be in the morning, and how much money you’ll save on lunches. Now, I have just a few small tips before I give you the recipes for the salads, and they will help with just how great your salads turn out.
I’m kind of a Mason Jar addict, I have them in every kind and for every purpose. I found that the pint jars from Ball work best for me and my salads. If you want something a bit bigger, you can purchase the Quart jars. Now, I’m not counting out tupperware here at all. I think it’s perfect for if you want to assemble your salad the morning you leave (totally fine too). Cut up all the veggies and portions needed for the salad, place into your tupperware containers (I love labelling them). and then divvy it up in the morning. I don’t necessarily stick to just one brand when it comes to these, but I do love the Rubbermaid Stackables and the Glad containers.
This will make your jar or ruin it. Jar layering is a science…just kidding. It’s super easy. Start with non-absorbent/thick & hard veggies (think cabbages, tomatoes, carrots), then your soft veggies (chickpeas, beans), and end with your leafy greens at the top. If you’re using cheese, I like to put it a layer below the veggies, and if using nuts, I like to put them on top. P.S. – these are my three favourite dressings that work for all of these jars.
Friends! This is so crucial. Fresh ingredients make all the difference with how long your Mason Jae Salads taste and how great they taste. I like to go to the farmer’s market on Saturday with my grocery list (P.S. FREE and printable for you) and then meal prep the next day.
Find the recipe for this salad here.
Find the recipe for this salad here. P.S. Here’s my recipe for vegan cheese
Find the recipe for this salad here. I used the Avocado Dressing in place of sliced avocados because it can double as a dressing, and lasts longer than sliced avocados.
Find the recipe for this salad here. P.S. Here’s my recipe for vegan cheese
P.S. are you watching our Youtube Channel?! Click below to subscribe and watch our latest video!
Send this to a friend
Hi I made jars with different ingredients but followed the layering and my salads only lasted until Wednesday. Not sure what I did wrong:(
Hi Beejal,
Do you mean it spoiled? It sounds like you didn’t use fresh enough ingredients. If you use fresh ingredients it will definitely last. I hope that helps!
I love these!
Thank you!
I make 4 at a time and they are great as a meal or a hearty snack.
I feel very futuristic having my meals in jars in the fridge 🙂
Thanks Patty we’re glad you love them!
Hi Jessica, how do you make the Avocado dressing?
Hi Ama the link to make the avocado dressing is right here!https://jessicainthekitchen.com/creamy-vegan-avocado-dressing/ I hope this helps!
Excellent, resources. They’ve been a great blessings for me.
Hi Rachel, Thank you so much!!
Do you eat the salad out of the jar or pour it into a bowl?
Hi Seri. You can do either, from the jar if you want that no fuss less mess situation or if the jar is just for transportation, you can scoop it out into a bowl if you prefer. I hope this helps. Thanks for reading!
These look amazing!! What size mason jars do you use?
Hi Lydia,
16 oz mason jars. Here’s the link to the jars!