A Guide to Making My VIRAL Mason Jar Salads

Mason Jar Salads

4 meal prep salads in mason jars

Meet your new go-to lunch: meal prep Mason Jar Salads! They’re easy, fresh, and flavorful; highly transportable, customizable, and pretty much everything you want in a salad, conveniently layered into a jar.

Why You’ll Love Meal Prep Mason Jar Salads

The Perfect Meal Prep Lunch. They last in the fridge for days, they’re easy to put together, and they’re super satisfying. What more can you ask for?!
Colorful and Flavorful. These are salads you will look forward to eating! All those colorful ingredients layered into the jars makes you want to grab a fork and dig in—plus, each layer brings different flavors and textures to the table, giving you a nice variety in every bite.
Customizable. I share some specific salad ideas for inspiration below, but also some mix-and-match ideas to help you come up with your own.

Overhead view of chickpea mason jar salad in bowl

How to Make Mason Jar Salads

While you could just throw everything into a jar and hope for the best, mason jar salads require a little bit of strategy.

Putting the dressing on the bottom keeps your lettuce and crunchy bits from getting soggy; plus, when you dump the jar into a bowl, that means the dressing will pour over everything else.

Any size of jar will work, depending on how big (or small) you want your salad, but I use a wide-mouth quart-sized jar because I like a BIG salad. Pint jars are good for smaller salads. No need to buy jars, either—jars from pasta sauce, jam, mayo, etc., will work.

You can choose a few options from each category (well, except for the dressing—stick with one there!), but be sure to layer everything in the order outlined below for perfect meal prep salads.

Layer 1: Dressing

Add about 2 tablespoons of store-bought or homemade dressing. Here are some dressings that I love using in my mason jar salads:

Caesar Dressing
Green Goddess Dressing
Tahini Dressing
Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing
Mango Dressing
Creamy Lemon Dressing
Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip (just thin it out a bit)

Layer 2: Sturdy Veggies and/or Legumes

These are vegetables that can stand up to (or are improved by) soaking in dressing:

English or Persian cucumbers
Thinly sliced red onions or shallots
Sliced mushrooms
Shredded or sliced carrots, radishes, or beets
Thawed frozen peas or corn
Broccoli or cauliflower florets
Diced or sliced bell pepper
Whole grape tomatoes
Diced or sliced celery
Shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts
Chickpeas, black beans, lentils, edamame, and other legumes

Chickpeas, feta, and cucumbers in mason jar

Layer 3: Proteins

You don’t need a protein if you’re serving your salad alongside a sandwich or leftovers, but I always like to add something from this category if my meal prep salad is going to be my entire lunch.

Chicken (rotisserie, Shredded Chicken, Baked Chicken Breast)
Tofu (Baked Tofu, Air Fryer Tofu, Crispy Tofu)
Drained canned tuna
Cubed ham (leftover Baked Ham or Crockpot Ham)
Hard-boiled eggs (Instant Pot Boiled Eggs, Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs)
Deli meats and charcuterie meats like salami
Shredded, cubed, or crumbled cheese

Layer 4: Grains

Again, not a must, but a good-to-have if you’re making it a meal!

Farro or wheat berries
Quinoa
Rice (Brown rice or Instant Pot Brown Rice, wild rice, Turmeric Rice, or Lemon Rice)
Couscous
Pasta or Asian noodles

Chickpeas, feta, cucumbers, peppers, and herbs in mason jar

Layer 5: The Accoutrements

Consider this the layer of ingredients worth getting excited about.

Nuts and seeds
Dried fruit
Fresh fruit that won’t brown (mango, plums, citrus, blueberries)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Cooked crumbled bacon (Baked Bacon, Air Fryer Bacon)
Cold leftover roasted vegetables
Tortilla or wonton strips
Croutons

Layer 6: Greens

Pack these into the remaining space at the top, but don’t pack them in too tightly, or they won’t be crisp and fresh.

Romaine
Spinach
Kale
Spring mix or other bagged salad greens
Shredded Brussels sprouts or cabbage (if you prefer more raw flavor and crispiness; to mellow the flavor and texture, add them in the second layer)

My Favorite Recipes for Mason Jar Salads

You can make almost any salad into a meal prep mason jar salad, but these are the ones I have on frequent repeat:

Asian Cabbage Salad. I change up the original recipe by adding whole wheat noodles and add a little extra oil to the dressing to thin it out. If you’ve ever had Ramen Salad (a Midwestern staple!), you could totally add some of those ramen noodles too for extra crunch.

Black Bean Corn Salad. To bulk up this recipe, I add romaine lettuce. The frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe’s would be fan-freaking-TASTIC in this Mexican-inspired salad.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. This is another where I add romaine; really, you can do this with any bean salad recipe to take it from a side dish to a full meal. Letting the chickpeas sit in the dressing marinates them and makes them extra delish!

Italian Chopped Salad. For a flavorful, filling salad, this Italian chopped salad recipe can’t be beat. It is just so good, with olives, chickpeas, mozzarella pearls, salami, and a zippy vinaigrette. If you’re not a fan of the bite of raw red onion, place it directly in the dressing to mellow it.

More Salads to Assemble in Mason Jars

Taco Salad
Winter Salad
Greek Salad
BBQ Chicken Salad
Caribbean Chicken Salad
Moroccan Chickpea Salad
Nicoise Salad
BLT Chopped Salad
Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad
Detox Salad

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Mason Jar Salads

Learn how to make meal prep mason jar salads for quick and easy lunches and never eat another sad desk lunch again! The tips and recipes you need.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings salad

Author Erin Clarke / Well Plated