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These Mason Jar Salads are a game-changer for your weekly meal prep. Whether you are looking for a quick, healthy lunch you can take on the go, or just prep ahead of time. These salads are just for you; they’re layered perfectly to stay fresh for days, they’re endlessly customizable, super satisfying, and the perfect grab-and-go option for busy weekdays.
These salads are gluten-free, healthy, and downright delicious. You can also make these dairy-free and vegetarian.
Why Mason Jar Salads Work So Well
There’s something so satisfying about opening the fridge and seeing neatly stacked mason jars filled with colorful, wholesome salads. These salads aren’t just pretty to look at, they’re convenient.
The key to their success is in the layering. When packed correctly, the ingredients stay fresh and crisp for up to five days, making them a go-to for meal prep. And since everything is contained in a single jar, cleanup is minimal, and they’re easy to grab on your way out the door.
Mason jar salads are a real win because of their flexibility. You can rotate ingredients based on seasonality and also use up produce from the fridge. They’re also easy to tailor to different dietary needs—gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian—you name it.
The General Order
- Dressing: Always goes at the bottom. This keeps the rest of your salad ingredients from getting soggy.
- Hearty Veggies: These act as a barrier between the dressing and more delicate ingredients. Think cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and red onions.
- Protein & Grains: Add your cooked chicken, beans, tofu, quinoa, or pasta here.
- Softer Veggies or Fruit: Avocado, berries, roasted veggies—add these next.
- Greens: Top it off with your greens like romaine, spinach, arugula, or kale.
- Crunchy Toppings: Keep nuts, seeds, or croutons separate and add them just before eating for max crunch.
Again, depending on the density and moisture of your ingredients, you may layer them a bit different, so make changes where necessary.
Tips for Freshness and Storage
When it comes to meal prep, a little extra care goes a long way. Ensure all your ingredients are completely dry and cooled before assembling your jars—moisture can cause soggy greens and spoil your ingredients. A salad spinner is your best friend here. Once packed, store the jars upright in the refrigerator to keep the layers in the correct order.
Again, wide-mouth quart-sized jars are ideal for lunch or dinner portions, while pint-sized jars work well for lighter meals. To serve, you can either shake the jar vigorously to mix or pour the contents into a bowl and toss.
Kitchen Tools I Use
- A wide-mouth quart-sized (32 oz) mason jar is ideal for a true meal-sized salad.
- These lids
- These tongs!
Mason Jar Salad Ideas to Try
Need a little inspiration? Here are some favorite combos:
1. Grinder Salad (adjusted from my anipasto salad)
- Dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- Pepperoni
- Sliced red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chickpeas
- Salami
- Pepperoni
- Shredded chicken
- Mozzarella balls
- Lettuce
2. Ginger Sesame Salad
- Ginger dressing (copied from the Lexi’s Clean Kitchen cookbook and by clicking here)
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp olive oil1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- Shredded cabbage (green and purple)
- Edamame
- Shredded chicken
- Green onions
- Sliced almonds
3. Taco Salad (adjusted from my Taco Salad, here)
- Salsa
- Pickled jalapeno
- Diced red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Taco beef (this recipe)
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Lettuce
How Long Do Mason Jar Salads Last?
This is largely dependent on the ingredients you add to the salad. Always start with the freshest ingredients possible. Because of the nature of how the salad is stacked, it can last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Some ingredients like certain proteins (such as tuna or possible seared steak) might not last as long. Use common sense to decide what salad ingredients will keep the best. You can also check out this post about Leftovers as it gives a ton of tips about storing make-ahead and leftover foods!
How to Layer a Mason Jar Salad
- While there are some nuances in the order of how your salad is layered, the basic rule of thumb is that you want to layer your ingredients in terms of their moisture content, hardiness, and density (as in–how heavy they are!).
- Layer in the wettest ingredients first. And then in ascending order, move up, factoring in how hardy an ingredient is (such as how absorbent they are) and how heavy they are. You want the heaviest ingredients to be at the bottom so they do not compact the salad.
- Almost always, the mason jar layered salad starts with the salad dressing and ends with the lettuce; then, what goes in between depends on how each ingredient interacts with the others.
More Ideas for Your Mason Jar Salads
Here are some of our favorite salad recipes that work well in a mason jar. Don’t forget to follow our tips for successful layering of the salads.
- Easy BBQ Chicken Salad
- Thai Chicken Quinoa Salad with Thai Peanut Dressing
- Chicken Fajita Salad
- Mason Jar Thai Chopped Chicken Salad
- Chopped Antipasto Salad with Chicken
- Grinder Pasta Salad
- Cheeseburger Salad with Mustard Dressing
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- Greek Lentil Salad
FAQ’s
When layered properly, they can last up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Freezing is not recommended. Most fresh vegetables and greens don’t thaw well.
Not at all! While you can eat it straight from the jar, many people prefer to pour the contents into a bowl and toss everything together.
Vinaigrette-style dressings work great since they’re lighter and won’t weigh down the salad. Creamy dressings can be used too—just be sure they go at the very bottom.
Mason Jar Salads
Ingredients
- Salad ingredients of choice! See above for them
Instructions
- Prepare all of your ingredients you plan to use in your salad.
Layer the salad in this order in a mason jar:
- Layer 1: The salad dressing.
- Layer 2: Hardy veggies or fruit with high moisture content, ascending in order of moisture and density (the wettest and heaviest on the bottom).
- Layer 3: Softer veggies or fruit, ascending in order of moisture and density.
- Layer 4: Protein (if using) or grains.
- Layer 5: Cheese, seeds, nuts. Ideally this layer is a “dry” layer between the salad ingredients and the lettuce. It is best to not have anything wet touching the lettuce as that will cause it to wilt.
- Layer 6: Lettuce.
- Place a lid on the mason jar and seal tightly. Store for about 3-5 days.
Notes
It is now that I learn of Mason jars and meal preps. I do not have a refrigerator. Is it possible to store them on shelf and how long would they last? This is just desperate me trying to find ways to actually save some of my ingredients.TIA
You definitely need a fridge to store these!
Salad in a jar, great
Question. You state mason jar, but what size?
32 oz!