Mason jar salads are healthy, full of flavor, and one of the easiest lunches you’ll ever make. This mason jar salad guide will walk you through everything you need to know in order to make the best salads that won’t turn soggy while stored in the fridge!
Below are six delicious flavor options, steps on how to salads in mason jars, and full recipes. There’s something here for everyone no matter what your tastes are!
Healthy Mason Jar Salads
Do you feel too busy to make time for healthy lunches? At noon, life can get a little chaotic. If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you might be dealing with a big to-do list and hangry kids. Or if you’re working, it can be easy to grab something fast and convenient nearby. These quick fixes only lead to energy crashes mid-afternoon. But luckily there’s a great solution to this problem… mason jar salads!
Mason jar salads are great because they can be batch prepped in advance and then stored in the fridge. They last a long time if you assemble them properly (I go through that in detail below). Plus, they’re full of healthy nutritious ingredients you need at this time of day to give you a boost of energy.
If you’ve ever seen mason jar salads at local markets or coffee shops, they usually sell for $10-$12. But if you make them at home, they will only cost you about $1-$2 to make! I don’t know about you, but I love a good budget-friendly meal!
I started prepping my own mason jar salad lunches in advance to avoid my own bad habits of reaching for quick-fix snacks at this time of day. And these mason jar salad recipes have quickly become a staple in my house. My husband loves them too! Keep reading to see how you can easily prep these for yourself.
Tips And Tricks For Making Mason Jar Salads
- Store your salads in a mason jar. If you’re new to mason jar salads recipes, you might be wondering, “why do I need to use a mason jar?” The reason these jars are so great is that they keep your ingredients fresh and crisp longer by separating your ingredients into layers. I’ll talk more about this below.
- Prep any ingredients in advance. Mason jar salads are really easy to assemble. But some ingredients require some prep time in advance. You want to make sure you plan ahead to allow yourself some time to do this. Advanced preparation will include cooking grains like quinoa or buckwheat groats, baking chicken, and boiling eggs. I like to do all of this stuff the night before I assemble my mason jar salad recipes.
- Layer your jars properly. This step is key to avoiding a mushy soggy salad! When you’re putting together your mason jar salad recipes, put your salad dressing on the bottom. Next, layer hard veggies (like broccoli, carrots, and radishes) or grains (like buckwheat). Then you can layer in softer veggies and fruit (like corn, blueberries, strawberries, and tomatoes). And after that add your proteins like chicken, hard-boiled eggs, fish, or quinoa (quinoa is a great source of protein). And lastly, top with mixed greens.
- Make your salads enjoyable for your own tastes. Once you try out a few recipes and learn what you like, start playing around with different combinations! These salads are easily adaptable – if you like a different flavor of the dressing, don’t be afraid to swap it out! Or if you want to add more greens and less soft veggies, go for it!
- When you’re ready to eat, shake it up. The first time I tried a mason jar salad recipe I was a little confused… I mean, how exactly do you eat it? Well, the trick is in the shake. Before you open the jar up to eat, you want to shake it upside down to help the salad dressing move around to all the ingredients. And after the first few bites, it’ll get easier to start mixing around the ingredients.
That’s it! When you know these simple tips and tricks, you can easily make your own creations! To get you started, below are six delicious mason jar salad recipes to try at home. In each recipe, I reference one of the salad dressings I used in my blog post about healthy homemade salad dressings. Feel free to swap them out for a different one if there’s something you like better. Like I said earlier, these salads are really forgiving – it doesn’t matter what you use, they’ll still taste great!
1. Nourish Mason Jar Salad
This Buddha bowl has a wonderful wholesome flavor and texture to it. I used my homemade seed butter dressing (you can find it here) and it tastes so good! To make your own buddha bowl, simply layer your mason jar with seed butter dressing, red onion, chopped carrots, beans, quinoa, and mixed greens.
To make this salad, layer these ingredients in the order listed below. Start by pouring in the salad dressing:
- ½ cup seed butter dressing – get homemade recipe here
- 1 cup chickpeas – drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup red onion
- handful of mixed greens
2. Cobb Mason Jar Salad
Nothing beats a classic cobb salad! I love the mix of sweet dressing and salty bacon. To make this mason jar salad, I started with my homemade honey mustard dressing (you can find it here). Next, I added grape tomatoes, cucumber, canned corn, chopped carrots, egg, bacon, and greens.
Here’s the recipe for the cobb salad. Start by pouring the dressing in first then layer in this order:
- ½ cup honey mustard dressing – get homemade recipe here
- 1 medium carrot – peeled and chopped
- ½ cup canned corn – drained
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes – sliced in half
- ½ cup cucumber – sliced in half
- handful of mixed greens
- 1 hard boiled egg – sliced
- 2 cooked bacon strips – chopped small
3. Rainbow Mason Jar Salad
Jane Fonda recommends you eat from the rainbow, especially dark greens, blues/purples, and yellow/oranges. This salad is a lovely rainbow that tastes oh so good! To start, I used a homemade balsamic vinaigrette (you can find it here) and then added quinoa, chopped carrots, snap peas, red onion, red and yellow peppers. There are no mixed greens in this one however, you can add some if you’d like. Just use less bell pepper.
Here’s the recipe for the rainbow salad. Start by pouring the dressing in first then layer in this order:
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar dressing – get homemade recipe here
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 medium carrot – peeled and chopped
- 1 cup snap peas – cut in half
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
4. Chicken Avocado Taco Mason Jar Salad
I love this salad recipe! It’s one of my favorites. There’s protein from black beans and roasted chicken. Plus healthy fats in the homemade creamy avocado dressing (you can find the recipe here). For veggies, I added corn, cherry tomatoes, and mixed greens. And for the crunch, I added crushed tortilla chips.
For this chicken avocado taco salad, add ingredients to the mason jar in this order. Start by pouring the salad dressing in first:
- ½ cup avocado dressing – get homemade recipe here
- 1 cup black beans – drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast – chopped
- ½ cup grape tomatoes – sliced in half
- ⅓ cup canned corn – drained
- handful of mixed greens
- ½ cup tortilla chips – crushed
5. Apple and Cheese Mason Jar Salad
This apple and cheese salad is simple, sweet and crunchy. To make it, I started with apple cider vinegar dressing (you can find the recipe here). It’s topped with chopped apples, white cheese cubes (you can use any kind of cheese you want here. Feta would also taste great!) baby spinach and raw pumpkin seeds. I love this salad because it’s simple and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.
Here’s the recipe for this mason jar salad. Start by pouring in the dressing, then work down in this order to prevent a soggy salad:
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar dressing – get homemade recipe here
- ¾ cup diced apples – 1 small apple
- handful of baby spinach
- ¼ cup cheese cubes – mozzarella, monterey jack, or feta will work
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds – raw or roasted
6. Antioxidant Mason Jar Salad
This antioxidant salad is perfect for summer when fresh blueberries are in season. It’s light and full of sweet flavors. Start with homemade blueberry vinaigrette (you can find the recipe here), then add quinoa, snap peas, carrots, spinach and fresh blueberries.
To make this salad, start by pouring in the dressing then add other ingredients in this order:
- ½ cup blueberry vinaigrette – get homemade recipe here
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- ¾ cup snap peas – chopped in half
- 1 medium carrot – peeled and chopped
- handful of mixed greens
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
Six Healthy Mason Jar Salads
Ingredients
Nourish Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup seed butter dressing
- 1 cup chickpeas - drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup red onion
- handful of mixed greens
Apple and Cheese Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar dressing
- ¾ cup diced apples - 1 small apple
- handful of baby spinach
- ¼ cup cheese cubes - mozzarella, monterey jack, or feta will work
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds - raw or roasted
Chicken Avocado Taco Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup avocado dressing
- 1 cup black beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast - chopped
- ½ cup grape tomatoes - sliced in half
- ⅓ cup canned corn - drained
- handful of mixed greens
- ½ cup tortilla chips - crushed
Antioxidant Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup blueberry vinaigrette
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- ¾ cup snap peas - chopped in half
- 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
- handful of mixed greens
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
Cobb Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup honey mustard dressing
- 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
- ½ cup canned corn - drained
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
- ½ cup cucumber - sliced in half
- handful of mixed greens
- 1 hard boiled egg - sliced
- 2 cooked bacon strips - chopped small
Rainbow Mason Jar Salad:
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar dressing
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
- 1 cup snap peas - cut in half
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a mason jar in the order listed. Start by pouring in the salad dressing, then add hard veggies, beans or grains. Then add other ingredients. Seal jar with lid and store in the fridge until ready to use.
- How To Eat: Give the mason jar a really good shake upside down to help mix in the dressing. You can eat with a fork right from the jar, or dump all ingredients into a bowl and serve.
Equipment Used
Please note these nutritional values provided above are just an estimate. Actual numbers will vary based on brands and ingredients you choose, and your preferred portion sizes.
More Salad Recipes To Try
I have lots of other delicious salad recipes on my blog. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Ranch Taco Chicken Salad – this salad is loaded with good stuff. Filled to the brim with beautiful colors and simple flavors.
- Burger Salad Bowl – this takes all the best parts of a traditional burger and turns it into a salad. It’s YUM!
- Asparagus Tomato Feta Salad – and easy side dish for any meal.
- BLT Pasta Salad – the perfect salad for BBQs and picnics.
- Watermelon Arugula Salad – one of my favorite salads EVAR! It’s just so yummy and simple.
- Kale Caesar Salad – The first time I made this recipe I loved it so much that I ate the whole bowl! Not joking.
The