7 Healthy Mason Jar Salad Recipes

You look up from the email you’re typing and wowza, it’s already 2 pm! How did that happen? Acknowledging your hunger, you make your way to the office kitchen. But you already know. There’s nothing to be found other than a carton of Greek yogurt and a piece of day-old birthday cake that Pat from H.R. has already claimed.

We’re not above running out for a quick bite – in fact, you can see our favorite healthy NYC lunch spots right here. But make a daily habit of it and that’ll put your bank account in the red.

So, how to keep it interesting when you either A.) don’t have access to a few healthy joints to choose from, or B.) are tired of eating the same damn turkey & swiss on rye every single day?

Enter: the mason jar salad.

Easy to make, portable, and nutritious: the trifecta of healthy lunches. Also, who doesn’t love a mason jar? It’s just too cute, food in a jar. So Instagram worthy.

The key here is layering, and there’s a specific order that works best. Let’s take some notes from Pieces in Progress:

If mornings are crunched, you can assemble your salad the night before and grab it from the fridge on your way out. You’ll want to pack the ingredients as tightly as possible and follow the layering order. Otherwise, the dressing gets all up in the greens and you’re stuck with a soggy salad. Nobody likes a soggy salad.

To recap, here’s how to layer it:

1. Dressing on the bottom: 3-4 tablespoons (assuming you’re using a quart-sized jar – for pint-sized jars use 1-2 tablespoons)
2. Base layer produce (these won’t absorb the dressing): tomatoes, carrots, snap peas, peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower
3. Next layer of produce (absorbent vegetables): avocado, cabbage, celery, onions, sprouts, squash, zucchini, peaches, strawberries, fresh herbs, etc.
4. Optional carb or protein: brown rice, quinoa, black beans, chicken, etc.
5. Leafy greens: arugula, spinach, kale, romaine, etc.
6. Optional nuts or cheese: a crumbly or soft option like goat or feta works best

Come chow time, just give the jar a good shake and either pour it into a bowl or grab a fork. Easy!

Now, for some recipe inspo:

Tropical Sriracha Chicken Salad, The Healthy Maven

Pomegranate and Pear Salad, Fake Food Free

Mango Avocado Black Bean Salad, Green Plate Rule

Sunny Kale Cruncher, The Lunchbox Bunch

Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad, Food and Other Stuff

Chickpea Veggie Salad, The Blonde Buckeye

Burrito Bowl Salad, StrictlyDelicious

P.S., should you find yourself throwing one of these bad boys together, we sure wouldn’t mind if you shared a pic. Tag us on Instagram and use #ctkeats – we wanna see your healthy mason jar salad masterpieces!