6 Simple Salad in a Jar Recipes
on Jan 19, 2019, Updated Apr 23, 2024
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Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Quick, easy andhealthy. A salad in a jar is the best way to have a healthy meal or side ready in a snap. Prep a bunch of jars on the weekend complete with customized homemade salad dressings and you’ll be eating well all week long.
Plus, the jar is perfectly portable. Throw it in a lunchbox along with a hard boiled egg made in the air fryer and an apple, and you have a delicious healthy lunch on the go.
All you have to do is unscrew the lid, find a fork, and give it a little stir. There’s no reason not to be eating more salad!
And while you’re prepping a few of the salads in a jar, you could also make a few fruit on the bottom yogurt cups and put together some snacks in a jar so you a little extra prepared for the week.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love These Recipes
- Recipe FAQs
- Expert Tips
- More Salad Recipes to Consider
- Berry Chicken Salad with Feta Recipe Recipe
- Chickpea Taco Salad in a Jar Recipe Recipe
- Greek Pasta Salad in a Jar Recipe Recipe
- Garden Salad in a Jar Recipe Recipe
- Hearty Tuna Salad in a Jar Recipe Recipe
- Mediterranean Salad in a Jar Recipe Recipe
Why You’ll Love These Recipes
- They can be made in advance making them a super easy healthy meal.
- Your whole family will be more likely to eat salad because they are ready to go.
- By layering ingredients in a specific order, the salads can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days to a week.
- Great option to bring a healthy meal to work or eating on-the-go.
- They have endless possibilities for customization with a variety of ingredients, dressings, and flavors.
Recipe FAQs
Put the salad dressing in first. Then add your protein, add your “fixins,” and then add your greens last. No matter the recipe, placing your ingredients in the jar in this order is best.
Salad in a jar can last 3 to 10 days in the refrigerator. Three days if the salad includes meat and up to 10 days for salads that have firm veggies and no meat.
No. But wide-mouth pint and quart sized mason jars work well. The pint is good for a side salad and the quart size is better for a full meal.
Expert Tips
- When layering your ingredients be sure to keep the moisture of the dressing away from the lettuce.
- Add things like eggs, cucumbers, and avocado when you’re ready to use the salad jar because these things tend to get old the fastest.
- Wide mouth jars are easier to fill, eat from, and clean.
- Use a pint jar for a lunch or single serving and use a quart jar for a large dinner serving or a side salad for a family meal.
- Make homemade salad dressing. It is easy and tastes the best!
More Salad Recipes to Consider
Salads
Avocado Salad
Condiments, Marinades, & Spreads
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Condiments, Marinades, & Spreads
Blue Cheese Dressing
Side Dishes and Salads
Antipasto Salad
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Berry Chicken Salad with Feta Salad in a Jar
You can’t beat fresh berries, chicken, and feta. These classic flavors tossed with some spinach and paired with a simple balsamic vinaigrette is forever a favorite.
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Berry Chicken Salad with Feta Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 1 as a meal and 4 as a side 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup fresh berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and/or blackberries)
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the cooked chicken.
- Top the chicken with the berries and then add the almonds and feta.
- Fill up your jar with baby spinach.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- This is the best balsamic vinaigrette recipe.
- Get tips for and a recipe for cooking chicken here.
- Eat this within 3 days, if not sooner because it contains fresh berries and chicken. If you are making a few kinds of salad in a jar, eat this one first.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 406
- Sugar: 14.2g
- Fat: 22.7g
- Carbohydrates: 36.2g
- Protein: 29.2g
- Cholesterol: 78.7mg
Chickpea Taco Salad in a Jar
Tacos never ever get old! And neither does taco salad. The roasted chickpeas add a bit of crunch to the salad and they are a great medium for a whole lot of flavor.
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Chickpea Taco Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 1 as a main dish or 4 as a side salad 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup roasted chickpeas
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- 1/4 cup sweet corn (fire roasted if you can find it)
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet bell peppers
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the roasted chickpeas, rice, and corn.
- Top the corn with the bell peppers then tomatoes.
- Fill up your jar with the lettuce.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to a 7 days.
Notes
- Roast the chickpeas with salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika (a hearty shake of each) and then use them in this taco salad and the Mediterranean salad below. Here are the full instructions for an easy way to roast chickpeas.
- You can use quinoa instead of rice and/or skip the corn altogether if you would like.
- Add some chopped avocado or shredded sharp cheddar cheese on the day you are going to eat it.
- Don’t skip making homemade ranch dressing.
- Store in the refrigerator and eat within a week.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 189
- Sugar: 3.1g
- Sodium: 200.1mg
- Fat: 6.8g
- Carbohydrates: 28.4g
- Protein: 4.3g
- Cholesterol: 2.9mg
Greek Pasta Salad in a Jar
This is a hearty, robust, and meaty salad, and a fun change of pace from all the salad greens. It’s perfect for a dinner side or as a meal on its own.
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Greek Pasta Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves one as a main dish and 4 as a side salad 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup cooked chicken
- 1/4 cup chopped salami or pepperoni and/or cooked crumbled bacon
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet bell peppers
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 2 cups chopped cooked pasta, I used rotini
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the cooked chicken and salami.
- Top meat with olives, cherry tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, and carrots.
- Fill up your jar with the cooked pasta.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to a 3 days.
Notes
- Add some salad greens on top of the pasta if you’d like to get even more vegetables into this dish.
- Top this salad jar with some sliced cucumber and feta cheese on the day you’re going to eat this salad.
- Make this easy balsamic vinaigrette recipe if you can.
- There are great tips on how to how to cook chicken here.
- This salad will store well in the refrigerator up to three days.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 213
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Sodium: 317.9mg
- Fat: 3.3g
- Carbohydrates: 39.7g
- Protein: 11.6g
- Cholesterol: 16.2mg
Garden Veggie Salad in a Jar
This salad in a jar has all the veggies! It is a great clean-out-the-crisper salad because it has a little bit of everything in it. You can add or take away anything you’d like; it’s very flexible.
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Garden Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves one as a main dish and 4 as a side salad 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons creamy dressing (I like ranch or roasted garlic on this a lot)
- 1/4 cup radishes
- 1/4 cup chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower
- 1/4 cup red cabbage
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet bell peppers
- 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 2 cups salad greens, such as baby spinach and baby kale mix
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the radishes, then broccoli/cauliflower, red cabbage, bell peppers, mushrooms, and carrots.
- Fill up your jar with the lettuce.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to a 7 days.
Notes
- Beans would make a great addition to this salad and you could add them when you prep it.
- You could add some chopped ham or turkey, boiled eggs, or cheese the day you serve it.
- Find a great ranch dressing recipe here.
- This doesn’t have any protein added, so it will last up to 7 days in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 145
- Sugar: 4.5g
- Sodium: 264.4mg
- Fat: 10.7g
- Carbohydrates: 10.7g
- Protein: 2.1g
- Cholesterol: 5.4mg
Hearty Tuna Salad in a Jar
Why I love this salad: I’m always looking for new ways to get excited about eating tuna. I like tuna and I know it’s a pretty inexpensive/easy way to get in a lot of protein and healthy fats. This salad in a jar has a whole can of tuna, grapes (because I love fruit with tuna), veggies, nuts, and greens. It was awesome and I can’t wait to make it again. This salad need to be eaten within 3 days though, because of the meat. If you don’t have grapes, some chopped apples would work well too. I liked the whole crunchy almonds in this (though they do soften a bit with everything else), but sliced almonds would work too. You can find my dressing recipe here.
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Hearty Tuna Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 1 as a main dish or 4 as a side salad 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons creamy dressing (roasted garlic dressing is wonderful with this)
- 1 can tuna, drained
- 1/4 cup halved grapes
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet bell peppers
- 1/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup almonds, slivered or whole
- 2 cups salad greens (I used a baby kale and baby spinach mix)
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the tuna.
- Top the tuna with the grapes, bell peppers, carrots, and almonds.
- Fill up your jar with the salad greens.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to a 3 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have grapes, chopped apples would work well too.
- You can substitute sliced almonds for whole almonds if you want.
- You can use any creamy dressy for this salad in a jar, I used this roasted garlic salad dressing.
- Store in the refrigerator and eat within three days.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 154
- Sugar: Sugars 3.2g
- Sodium: 131.8mg
- Fat: 9.4g
- Carbohydrates: 5.6g
- Protein: 12.1g
- Cholesterol: 21mg
Mediterranean Salad in a Jar
Feta, olives, artichoke hearts… what’s not to love?! The roasted chickpeas are delicious and a lot of fun, too.
Print
Mediterranean Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 1 as a main dish and 4 as a side salad 1x
Description
Life gets busy, but that doesn’t mean that daily salads are out of your grasp – prep a salad in a jar in advance, and you’ll eat well all week long!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup roasted chickpeas
- 1/4 cup calamata olives, halved
- 1/4 cup chopped artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2–3 tablespoons feta cheese
- 2 cups greens, I used Romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Place the dressing in the bottom of the jar.
- Add the roasted chickpeas.
- Add the olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and feta cheese.
- Fill up your jar with the lettuce.
- Screw on the two piece lid (flat and band) and store in the fridge for up to a 7 days.
Notes
- Roast the chickpeas with salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika (a hearty shake of each) and then use them in this Mediterranean salad and the taco salad above. Here are the full instructions for an easy way to roast chickpeas.
- If you want to add cucumber to this salad, throw it in the day you’re going to eat or serve the salad.
- Prep a few of these for the week and you can use up the whole can artichoke hearts.
- This salad is perfect with homemade balsamic vinaigrette recipe
- Store in the refrigerator and eat within 3 days.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: meal prep
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 84
- Sugar: 2.1g
- Sodium: 519.5mg
- Fat: 4.6g
- Carbohydrates: 11.1g
- Protein: 3.5g
- Cholesterol: 8.3mg
Thank you for the recipes! What size jars are these? I didn’t see it mentioned but may have missed it.
Thanks!
These are 1/2 pint (1 cup) wide mouth jars, I LOVE this size and use it all the time for little recipes, leftovers, putting it in the lunchboxes…
Great idea, I love salad but hate preparing them all the time. This gives me a break from smoothies. Started gym workouts so this really helps.
They make eating those veggies a little easier, that’s for sure!
I want to fill my fridge with these colorful jars ~ great tips and a fabulous post!
I had forgotten how good jar salads are. Thanks for posting some I have not tried.
I go through cycles of not doing them too and I’m always happy when I come back to it! These were some really tasty ones. ENJOY friend!