Protein Salad in Jar layered with quinoa, chickpeas, and eggs! This recipe is delicious and will keep you satisfied all afternoon!
Do you know what my favorite kind of recipe is? One that I throw together using up ingredients I already have on hand. Yep! I love fishing through my pantry and fridge to see what I can create without having to go to the grocery store and spend more money. However, most of the time these recipes are created out of necessity not because I feel like playing a game of Chopped.
That’s how this new mason jar salad recipe was born.
I had every intention of making my smoked turkey, chickpea, sun-dried tomato, and crumbled blue cheese mason jar salad. Buuuut I forgot the sun-dried tomatoes and blue cheese. Annnnd I got the wrong turkey so instead of going to the store I decided to work with what I had. Yes, it wasn’t my best meal prep moment.
Anyway, I wanted my salad to be filling so I searched for high-protein ingredients. In my pantry, I had a big bag of quinoa, in the fridge I had eggs, and I already had cans of chickpeas. And I always have feta in the fridge. Perfect!
So I put together this salad and fell in love with first bite. It’s semi-vegetarian since it includes eggs but you could leave the eggs out and add more beans if you’d like.
I love that there’s no meat. I’m not a vegetarian but I do feel better when I eat more plants and beans so I was happy to create a salad that didn’t include meat.
How to Make Protein Salad in a Jar
For the dressing I used Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar. I’ve used balsamic vinegar dressing and also made my own. In my opinion, this salad taste best with an oil-based dressing. To keep the calories and fat low I only used 1 tablespoon of dressing. This might not seem like a lot but it was just enough to coat the ingredients. If you need more then up the dressing to 2 tablespoons per jar. But make a couple with just 1 and see if that works for you.
You can also lower the calories by reducing the feta to 1 tablespoon. But I love feta so I’d rather reduce calories in other ways.
Like all of my mason jar salad recipes I used grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. Typically, I use baby cucumbers but for this recipe I chopped 2 regular cucumbers and divided it between the salads.
Out of all my mason jar salad recipes this is one of my favorites – if not my favorite. I’ve made it for about 2 months straight now. Not only because it’s delicious but it uses simple easy ingredients.
Just in case you’re wondering, I got my mason jars and lids from Amazon. You can find mason jars at any grocery store, Target, and I’ve even seen them at drugstores. If you don’t feel like driving all over town then purchase a pack from Amazon. Also, I highly reccomend getting the plastic mason jar lids. The metal ones that come with the jars will eventually rust. I wish I got the plastic lids sooner. Again, you can get both right from Amazon.
Check out my mason jar salad tutorial to learn how to make your own salad in a jar recipes.
Protein Salad in a Jar
Equipment
- 5 32-ounce mason jars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry white quinoa
- 2/3 cup water or vegetable broth
- 10 tablespoons homemade Italian vinaigrette or store-bought
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 5-6 mini cucumbers cut into slices
- 1 15-ounce chickpeas drain and rinsed
- 10 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- 5 hard-boiled eggs chopped
- 5 cups baby spinach
Instructions
- Start by cooking the quinoa. First place the dry quinoa into a bowl and fill it with water. Stir with a spoon until the water becomes cloudy. Drain and rinse the quinoa using a mesh strainer.
- Place the quinoa into a small pot with 2/3 cups of water or broth. Cover and bring to a bowl, then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 10 minutes until water is absorbed.
- Set the quinoa aside for ten more minutes, and then fluff it with a fork. Cook the quinoa before using it in the salad. It's helpful to make the quinoa ahead of time.
- Put the salad together: Divide the ingredients among the five mason jars. Start with the dressing, continue with tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, quinoa, feta, eggs, and finish with the baby spinach.
- Tightly place the lid on and store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- When you're ready to eat, shake the jar and pour the salad onto a plate.
Shera says
This is my favorite of your main jar salads! I haven’t made it for a little over a year so I went back to the recipe to refresh my memory. I noticed there are no onions (which I love) now but I added them. I’m going to check the other salads now and see what else has changed. Keep up the good work!
Ginger Kearney says
I made this particular one this past week and Am in love with the simplicity of the mason jar salads. Love how fresh it stays and very convenient for my lunches for work too !
Tammy Overhoff says
Yay! I love that you love these salads! Makes eating a bunch of greens so easy.
Julie Gerard says
I’ve made this mason jar salad many times now. It’s so tasty, filling, and I appreciate how easily I can adjust the vegetable choices to my taste. I’ve also found that if I put some iceberg lettuce below the spinach layer, the iceberg stays crunchy and fresh. The prep time is well worth the ultimate ease of grabbing a jar in the morning and bringing it to work with me. Thank you for the recipes!
Juliet llano says
How many days does it stay fresh for?
Tammy Overhoff says
This mason jar salad stays fresh for 5 days.
Amanda says
What would you recommend to substitute for chick peas? I am not a fan but everything thing else in this salad sounds delicious.
Thank you
Tammy Overhoff says
Any bean will work or you can leave them out.
Jo Harper says
Can I use chopped roma tomatoes instead? Not a tomato fan, but trying to eat more and Roma’s are tolerable. Thanks!
Tammy Overhoff says
Yes you can switch up the tomatoes. Chopped Roma will work.
Dawn says
This has become one of my go-to salads, it’s so easy to make. I used kidney beans this week instead of garbanzos and that was a hit as well. I have made one of your salad recipes every week since July. This salad and the Doritos Salad have gotten the most repeats!
Jordan says
I’m going to start doing mason jar salads, but I was wondering, what could I substitute for feta cheese? I notice you use a lot of feta and blue cheese and those are the only ones I don’t like. I don’t want to omit cheese at all, I would love a recommendation!!
Tammy Kresge says
I feel any cheese you like will work just fine.
KathyD says
I thought I would like this salad, but I LOVED it! There is something about the combination that hits all the right notes. I’m so happy I have this for my lunch for the rest of the week. Thank you!
Tammy Kresge says
This is my all time fav! I think I’ve made it for almost a year straight now!
Mary says
Is the nutritional information for this recipe per jar? Or the total for all five? Due to health reasons, I was put on a carb restriction of 15-30 total carbs per meal/snack. The total for this receipe is 39g carbs
Tammy Overhoff says
It’s per jar.
Julia says
Thanks so much Tammy! I’ve long admired your blog but haven’t made a recipe in a long time. Loving this one for lunch today (and the rest of the week!!)
Mary Mulcahy says
So it’s 1/4 cup of cooked quinoa per salad?
Tammy Kresge says
yes that’s correct
Andrea says
This looks yummy and easy! How many ounces are your jars? The link is not working for me.
Tammy Kresge says
they are 32 ounces
Shelli says
This is a definite winner! I didn’t have any oil & vinegar dressing, so instead I used a tablespoon of fig balsamic vinegar and it’s great! I’m so glad you’re good at experimenting because I’m good at following other people’s recipes! 😉
Tammy Kresge says
Yum that dressing sounds amazing! SO glad you liked this recipe.
Tammy Kresge says
Yes I made this with balsamic dressing too and loved it.
Kelly Mahan says
I really like these mason jar salads, they’re practical and so easy to prepare ahead!
Tammy Kresge says
This one is my favorite!
Sharonda says
I will be trying this recipe. Quick and easy. Thanks for sharing.
Tammy Kresge says
You got it!