6 Healthy Mason Jar Salad Ideas

Below are six delicious mason jar salad options. There’s something here for everyone no matter what your tastes are!

Why Store Your Salads In A Mason Jar?

If you’re new to mason jar salads recipes, you might be wondering why do you need a mason jar? The reason these jars are so great is that they keep ingredients fresh and crisp longer by separating them into layers.

This is key to avoiding a mushy soggy salad! When you’re putting together your mason jar salad recipes, put the salad dressing on the bottom. Next, layer hard veggies (like broccoli, carrots, and radishes) or grains (like quinoa or rice).

Then add softer veggies and fruit (like corn, blueberries, strawberries, and tomatoes). And after that add your proteins like cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs, or fish.  And lastly, top with greens.

To get you started, below are six mason jar salad recipes to try at home. In each recipe, I reference one of my easy homemade salad dressings. Feel free to swap them out for a different dressing if there’s something you like better. 

1. Nourish Mason Jar Salad

This nourish salad has a wonderful wholesome flavor and texture to it. I used my homemade peanut butter dressing (you can find it here) and it tastes so good! To make this, simply layer the mason jar first with salad dressing, then chickpeas, quinoa, carrots, red onion and mixed greens.

To make this salad, layer these ingredients in the order listed below. Start by pouring in the salad dressing:

• ¼ cup peanut butter dressing - quantity can be more or less depending on what you prefer
• 1 cup chickpeas - drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• ½ cup chopped carrots
• ½ cup red onion
• handful of mixed greens

2. Cobb Mason Jar Salad

Nothing beats a classic cobb salad! I love the mix of sweet dressing and salty bacon. To make this mason jar salad, I started with my homemade honey mustard dressing (you can find it here). Next, I added carrots, corn, cucumber, tomatoes, chicken, egg, bacon, and mixed greens.

Here's the recipe for the cobb salad. Start by pouring the dressing in first then layer in this order:

• ¼ cup honey mustard dressing
• 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
• ½ cup canned corn - drained
• ½ cup cucumber - sliced in half
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
• ½ cup cooked chopped chicken
• 1 hard boiled egg - sliced
• 2 cooked bacon strips - chopped small
• handful of mixed greens

3. Rainbow Mason Jar Salad

Here's the recipe for the rainbow salad. Start by pouring the dressing in first then layer in this order:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar dressing
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
• 1 cup snap peas - cut in half
• ½ cup chopped red onion
• ½ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
• handful of mixed greens

4. Chicken Avocado Mason Jar Salad

• ¼ cup avocado dressing
• ½ cup black beans - drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast - chopped
• ½ cup grape tomatoes - sliced in half
• ¼ cup canned corn - drained
• handful of mixed greens
• crushed tortilla chips

5. Apple and Cheese Mason Jar Salad

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar dressing
• ¾ cup diced apples - about 1 small apple
• handful of baby spinach
• ¼ cup cheddar cheese cubes - mozzarella, monterey jack, or feta will work
• ¼ cup pepitas

6. Antioxidant Mason Jar Salad

• ¼ cup blueberry vinaigrette
• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• ¾ cup snap peas - chopped in half
• 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
• handful of mixed greens
• ½ cup fresh blueberries

How To Assemble a Mason Jar Salad

The key to a successful mason jar salad is to layer the heartier ingredients at the bottom with the dressing. This will help to keep the salad ingredients fresh until they're ready to eat.

Here is the order:

• Salad dressing (bottom layer) - You can use any style of salad dressing or vinaigrette that you like. I've been using my easy homemade dressings for all the recipes here, but you can also use your favorite store-bought dressings. You can use or ¼ cup or ½ cup of salad dressing per mason jar depending on how much you want.
• Heavy Ingredients / Sturdy Vegetables (second layer) - The first things that will go in the mason jar are ingredients that can sit in the salad dressing without going soggy. For example, black beans, chickpeas, quinoa, carrots, and apples.
• Proteins (third layer) - Typically any cooked chicken, steak, salmon, bacon or hard boiled eggs will go in next.
• Mixed Greens (top layer) - The last layer is the mixed greens which will be at the top. You can also add crushed tortilla chips or a sprinkle of seeds here too.

Once you try out a few recipes and learn what you like, start playing around with different combinations! These salads are easily adaptable – if you like a different flavor of the dressing, don’t be afraid to swap it out! Or if you want to add more greens and less soft veggies, go for it!

How Do You Store A Mason Jar Salad?

These salads can be stored sealed with a lid in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

How Do You Eat A Mason Jar Salad?

The first time I tried a mason jar salad recipe I was a little confused… I mean, how exactly do you eat it? Well, you don't need to eat it in the mason jar. The whole purpose of a tall skinny mason jar is to protect the softer ingredients from wilting or going soggy.

To eat the mason jar salad, just dump the ingredients into a bowl, mix together with a fork and then serve. Feel free to add more mixed greens to the bowl as well!