Mason jars are the best way to pack a salad for lunch! Not only are they super quick and easy but you don’t have to worry about your lettuce getting soggy or bringing a separate container for dressing! Check out this post for all my mason jar salad tips.
Ever since Mason Jar Salad Week, I wanted to share an actual ‘how to’ resource for building salads in a jar! They’re so fun to make and a great for taking on-the-go. Any salad can be prepped in a mason jar – have fun with creating your own but use this guide to make sure you keep your salad nice and fresh!
The one thing to remember about salad in a jar is that your dressing goes on the bottom and you should only use things that do well “marinating” in dressing (like hearty veggies, tofu, beans, etc.) for the next layer as it’s going to be touching the dressing. The rest is pretty easy, but here’s a quick guide on how I made my salads in a jar. The most important thing to remember = put your dressing at the bottom! This prevents #soggysalad because nobody likes that…
A few bonus tips:
Want some mason jar salad inspiration? Check out these recipes!
Here are a few Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings you can try.
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I love, love, love this post. Thank you for inspiring me to eat healthier lunches.
You wanted to add chicken, where would you put it?
I’d add it right before the spring mix on top of all the veggies.
Assemble this salad in your mason jar for a quick gra and go lunch option. I love it
You don’t need to use a glass canning jar. I have done this many times using the Ziploc or rubbermaid containers. The dressing spreads on the bottom and the other vegetables keep the lettuce from touching the dressing. Easy to toss all ingredients and can eat from the same container.
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our website. Keep up the great writing.
Hi nice idea – would you get any different results if you prepared them the same way in advance in a Tupperware bowls?
Hey Matthew. It might work, but not as well because if you added the dressing to the bottom of a tupperware bowl, most of the lettuce would touch it and wilt. The reason mason jars work so well is they give the height to keep the dressing separate. Also, salad ingredients stay fresher in glass jars.
I need to try this! Looks so good.
We have tried this using all the same ingredients, putting the tom, cukes, etc on the bottom, then the lettuce but we don’t add any dressing. We did this for a sewing group and just brought different dressings for the people to add their favorite and then top with croutons. A great idea serve with a fresh roll, garlic bread, etc.
We did not use vacuum jars, saved large jars that we had it and worked fine.
do you vacuum seal the jars? if not, how long do they keep?
Hi Christina. I didn’t vacuum seal them and they lasted about 5 days.
There’s no way to transport these without the dressing sogging up the salad. Instead, carry TWO jars, one with the salad, and a smaller one with the dressing!
Thank you so much for the inspiration! The middle shelf of our fridge now has salad in a jar at all times. So quick and easy and prepared a week in advance.
Yum!! I love those salads although I haven’t tried preparing them ahead of time. That’s awesome.
I really like your idea that you put the salad onto jar . I am always looking for a different idea since I love eating salad but more on from the restaurant. I wanted to try salad on my own and when I saw your article, I was impressed and probably tomorrow, I will do this for my lunch and dinner.
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Cooking Recipes for One
If I made 5 will it last without welting for the week?
Such an awesome idea!!!! I’m gonna make these for lunch next week!
Fabulous idea. Simple, easy, and looks delicious. I only wish I had thought of it.
Amazing idea. I only wish I had thought of it.
I am officially in love with your blog! This is such a great idea. I am always trying to find ways to jazz up my salads. Not only does this give me options, but it is also a great way to transport my lunch! Thanks for the suggestion. I am going to check out the rest of your blog now!
This was totally on my to-do list when I went through my salad craze last week but I forgot! Have no fear, there will be plenty more salads to try this out next week! 😉
Thanks for sharing a great idea! I can’t wait to try this when I start school this fall!
By the way I made your overnight oats recipe (oats and almond milk) and I LOVED it! I prefer this one over the one with yogurt and chia. I also made your Berry Hot flax cereal yesterday morning…it was delicious!
Hope you have a great day 🙂
This is fantastic. I need to do this ASAP.
A great idea, my husband and I have a salad with lunch and a salad with supper and occassionally as supper. I will be making these tonight! Thanks for sharing!
What a fab idea and they look so tasty. Will look for jars this weekend. Just wondered how long salad will last in them as they are ideal for work lunches. Thank you for sharing.
What a great idea … thanks for sharing, and I know what I’m doing for lunch tomorrow!
This is the first time I have seen this, but you should have seen my facial expression when I first started reading! What a great idea, I can’t wait to try it…my tupperware salad containers are such a drag