I love salads, hubby loves salads…I, however, do not like the time it takes to make salads on a daily basis…the washing, the cutting…ehh…so…we have found the perfect solution…salads in a Mason Jar! These are truly awesome. Can not say enough about how awesome these are! You layer all the ingredients in a certain way to prevent the lettuce from getting mooshy (yes that is a real word) and they’ll keep in the refrigerator for about a week or so (we’ve had them go up to 2 weeks without getting soggy). I love these cause you just make them on Sunday and then they’re there in the refrigerator to grab all week…super fast lunch or lazy dinner when I don’t want to cook.
Most of these recipes call for dressing on the bottom…which works good, but I do find that the chicken or veggies on the bottom tend to soak it up and leaves for a drier (yet, still tasty) salad, so now we just make little individual cups of dressing to leave in the refrigerator with them. We do make sure they’ll fit in the jar though, along with the forks we pack so it’ll all go in the jar and make for super easy clean up (and keeps hubby from leaving the dressing containers and forks at work…and keeps me from losing them in my car).
So without further ado…some recipes…just layer them in the exact order starting at the top and you’ll be good. (and learning to make your own combos in no time!)
Caesar Salad:
-Caesar dressing
-shreds of carrots
-diced cooked chicken ( I used a Quoron veggie substitute)
-lettuce
-parmesan
-Freshly ground black pepper
I pack this with a small ziploc bag of croutons to be added when I eat the salad, no matter how you pack salads if you add croutons they’ll get mushy, so just take the extra step and put them in a ziploc bag.
Garden Salad
-Ranch dressing
-shreds of carrots
-cucumbers
-tomatoes (grape tomatoes cut in half work best)
-diced up onion
-lettuce
The picture on this shows it differently…follow these directions…I learned from my mistakes.
Cranberry and Walnut Salad
-Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing
-diced up chicken
-tomatoes
-onion
-Lettuce
-shredded mozzarella cheese
And take a ziploc bag with dried cranberries, croutons and walnuts to be added in when eating
Those three are my personal favorites…and my own personal recipes…I have some recipes included below that I know you’ll all love, plus the source that I got them from.
Poppyseed:
-poppyseed dressing
-carrot shreds
-green peas
-pineapple
-blueberries
-raspberries
-lettuce
Asian:
-light asian ginger dressing
-peapods
-carrot shreds
-cabbage shreds
-water chestnuts
-green peas
-bean sprouts
-quinoa
-toasted sesame seeds
-lettuce
Seafood
-dressing (I make a light dressing with light mayo, skim milk, salt and pepper, and Parmesan)
-cabbage shreds
-cherry tomatoes (halved)
-black olives
-celery
-drained canned crab / drained canned salad shrimp
-lettuce
These next ones come from
The Daily Muse, and are truly amazing alternatives to the regular salads.
Caprese Pasta Salad
2 tbsp basil pesto (homemade or store-bought)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 ½ oz fresh mozzarella, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 oz cooked penne pasta
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
Chickpea Salad
2 tbsp easy lemon vinaigrette (see below)
1 cup chickpeas½ cup sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes
¼ cup spring onion, chopped
¼ cup red onion, chopped
½ cup olives, chopped
¼ cup piquillo peppers, chopped
½ cup fresh spinach
Greek Pasta Salad
2 tbsp easy lemon vinaigrette (see below)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
¼ cup red onion, chopped
1 cup cucumber, chopped
½ cup feta, crumbled
2 oz rigatoni, cooked
½ cup mixed greens
½ cup fresh mint, chopped
Easy Lemon Vinaigrette(will make enough for 3-4

mason jars)Juice from one large lemon½ cup olive oilGood pinch of saltCouple of grinds of black pepperShake all ingredients together in a small container
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