Learn to layer the perfect mason jar salad with this “how-to” tutorial. Mason jar salads, often called salad in a jar, are the ultimate meal prep recipe! You can prepare five mason jar salads on Sunday to enjoy a healthy lunch all week. You’ll also find my favorite mason salad recipes!
Since 2011, I’ve been a mason jar salad queen. I love making these salads and really can’t imagine life without them.
There are hundreds of mason jar ideas floating around Pinterest, so I’m not sure who the original mason jar salad brainchild was, but she is my hero. Seriously, I love you!
I feel I have become quite the expert on making mason jar salad recipes, so I put together this tutorial with my best advice and tips.
Jump to:
- Reasons You’ll Love Preparing a Salad in a Jar.
- How To Make The Perfect Mason Jar Salad
- Layer 1: The Salad Dressing
- Layer 2: Hearty Vegetables
- Layer 3: Beans And Other Less Hearty Vegetables
- Layer 4: Pasta And Grains
- Layer 5: Protein And Cheese
- Layer 6: Lettuce, Nuts, And Seeds
- Final Step: Seal Tightly And Store in the Fridge
- The Best Salad In A Jar Recipes
- FAQs
- What is the best size jar for mason jar salads?
- Where can I buy mason jars?
- Why do you use mason jars and not plastic containers?
- How do you eat the mason jar salads? Do you eat them straight from the jar?
- Doesn’t the lettuce get soggy?
- Do the ingredients layered in the dressing get soggy?
- I don’t like tomatoes. What other vegetables can I use?
- Doesn’t the avocado turn brown?
- Do you vacuum seal your mason jars?
- Do you have to use a mason jar, or can you use any glass jar?
- Are these salads challenging to transport? They seem heavy.
- Which are the best salad dressings to use?
Reasons You’ll Love Preparing a Salad in a Jar.
- Meal prep champion! Make all your lunches for the week every Sunday.
- Money-saving. Instead of wasting money on take-out, bring a homemade lunch to work.
- Eat healthier. Mason jar salads make it easy to bulk up your daily intake of veggies.
- Lots of variety. You can make the same salad each week or switch up a few ingredients when you want different flavors.
- A grab-and-go healthy lunch recipe. This is the same as meal prep, but it’s awesome to grab an already prepared portable healthy lunch as you’re running out the door.
How To Make The Perfect Mason Jar Salad
Preparing the best salad in a jar recipe is all in the layers.
Layer 1: The Salad Dressing
The first layer of the mason jar salad is always the dressing. You can use any dressing you like!
I prefer a vinaigrette dressing, but I like a creamy ranch and blue cheese. My favorite dressings are this homemade Italian dressing, homemade balsamic vinaigrette, or a simple olive oil and vinegar dressing. Ultimately it depends on your preference.
But also, keep in mind that the vinaigrette dressing will come out of the mason jar easier. If you use a thicker salad dressing, you will have to give it a fair shake and probably use your fork to scrape it out.
I use about 2-3 tablespoons of dressing per salad.
Layer 2: Hearty Vegetables
This layer is essential because it shields the dressing from the lettuce and other vulnerable ingredients. In this layer, you’d use vegetables that can hold up to being in dressing for a week or so.
Think vegetables that would do well in a marinade or pickled. For example, the vegetables I have in layer two of a salad in a jar are:
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red onion
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Celery
- Carrots
- Peppers
Pretty much any other hearty vegetable you like! Add whatever you want.
Layer 3: Beans And Other Less Hearty Vegetables
This layer is where you’ll put beans and other less hearty vegetables like:
- Chickpeas
- Black beans
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Sprouts
- Green beans
- Corn
This layer acts as a second defense between the dressing and lettuce. You don’t want this layer to be marinated in the dressing, but it will be fine if some ingredients are exposed.
If you are using an avocado, that would go in this layer. More on using avocado in the FAQs section.
Layer 4: Pasta And Grains
This salad layer is where you will add pasta, quinoa, and other grains; that’s if you’re using them. At this point, layers two and three should keep the dressing away from this layer. However, if, by some chance, the dressing does make its way to this layer, no worries! Everything should be fine.
You can use any variety of pasta, rice, couscous, or quinoa for the pasta and grains. Anything would work, even gluten-free pasta, so get creative.
Layer 5: Protein And Cheese
I put chicken breasts, steak, bacon, boiled eggs, and cheese in this layer. I like to keep these ingredients away from the dressing because I do not feel they do well if sitting in dressing for a couple of days or more.
If you use shrimp or other seafood, I would add those ingredients to this layer.
For cheese, I have used:
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Feta cheese
- Goat cheese
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Cubed cheese
Each has worked fine in all of my salads in a jar!
Layer 6: Lettuce, Nuts, And Seeds
In this last salad layer, you want to put ingredients that would wilt or become too soft and soggy if exposed to the salad dressing too soon.
This layer includes any lettuce or green. I also have nuts in this layer because some nuts can lose their crunch in the dressing.
My favorite greens to use are:
- Arugula
- Baby spinach
- Kale
- Field greens
- Chopped romaine lettuce
But, of course, you can use whatever salad green you prefer.
Final Step: Seal Tightly And Store in the Fridge
After filling the mason jar with the different salad layers, you put the top on and close them tightly.
Also, there is no rule when choosing the number of ingredients to add to the salad layers. The most critical layer is layer 2, with the hearty veggies. You want to have enough hearty vegetables to keep the dressing and lettuce away from each other.
If you are concerned with calories or the nutritional information in the mason jar salads, you can always calculate that information ahead of time using My Fitness Pal. You can also make a smaller salad using a pint size mason jar.
The Best Salad In A Jar Recipes
Here are some of my favorite mason jar salad recipes to add to your meal plans.
See all of my mason jar salad recipes.
FAQs
I want to go over some common questions I get every time I post a new mason jar salad recipe. Hopefully, I get them all, but if you have a question you don’t see answered here, leave a comment below, and I will answer!
What is the best size jar for mason jar salads?
I use a wide mouth quart jar (32-ounce) for my mason jar salad recipes. These make for a lot of salad, so if you wanted to use a smaller size (16-ounce), you certainly could, but the 32-ounce is the size I most often use.
Whatever size you use, I recommend getting the wide-mouth mason jars. Using a wide mouth makes filling up and dumping out the mason jar salad ingredients is much easier.
No matter what size you use, always follow the same steps for layering the ingredients.
Where can I buy mason jars?
You can purchase mason jars from any grocery store! I’ve seen them at Target, Walmart, Wegmans, Whole Foods, and even Rite-aid. Of course, Amazon also sells mason jars.
Also, I recommend picking up a package of plastic mason jar lids. Again, you can purchase these on Amazon. Mason jars come with metal lids, but those will eventually rust, and the plastic lids work great!
Why do you use mason jars and not plastic containers?
I’ve used plastic and glass jars to store salads in, and I prefer mason jars for several reasons.
- First, in my experience, I feel the mason jars keep my salad fresh for much longer. I ate a mason jar salad seven days after making it, and it was just as fresh as the first day. I can’t say the same for plastic containers. A mason jar keeps out more air than a plastic container, which helps keep food fresh longer.
- The whole appeal (at least to me) behind a mason jar salad is that you can store the salad dressing in the same container. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about remembering to bring salad dressing with you.
How do you eat the mason jar salads? Do you eat them straight from the jar?
No, I don’t eat straight from the jar. I shake the salads in the jar and then dump the salad into another bowl or large dish I bring with me.
When I first started to eat these, I tried eating them from the jar, but it was awkward. I prefer putting the mason jar salad into a bowl.
Some people think that is too much work or too many bowls to bring to work, but it doesn’t bother me.
I find the benefits of eating a fresh, healthy, delicious salad every day outweigh the annoyance of bringing an extra bowl with me.
Doesn’t the lettuce get soggy?
I can honestly say that in the decade I’ve been making mason jar salads, I never had soggy lettuce – not one time. Even when my jar tips over in my bag, everything’s still okay.
The key to non-soggy lettuce is to layer ingredients correctly and keep the dressing at the bottom away from the lettuce.
No worries, though- I will go over all that below.
Do the ingredients layered in the dressing get soggy?
For a mason jar salad to work, you need to have hearty vegetables as a barricade between the dressing and lettuce. I typically use:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Peppers
- Onions
These vegetables pickle in the dressing, so any vegetable you think would taste good if pickled would be okay in the barricade layer. By the end of the week, these are delicious!
The tomatoes pickle the best and are my favorite part of the salad.
For a mason jar salad to work, you need to have hearty vegetables as a barricade between the dressing and lettuce. I typically use:
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Peppers
- Onions
These vegetables pickle in the dressing, so any vegetable you think would taste good if pickled would be okay in the barricade layer. By the end of the week, these are delicious!
The tomatoes pickle the best and are my favorite part of the salad.
I don’t like tomatoes. What other vegetables can I use?
Like I said above, any hearty vegetables you can pickle would do fine in the dressing. I’m shared some of my favorites in the how-to instructions.
How long do mason jar salads last?
I make these salads for work, so I always eat them within five days. So at a minimum, they will last at least five days.
Doesn’t the avocado turn brown?
I sometimes use avocado in my mason jar salads, especially when making a cobb salad or taco salad.
Whenever I do, I always squirt lime or lemon juice on it before I layer it into the mason jar salad.
That, combined with being in the mason jar, seems to do the trick with keeping the avocado green.
I think the mason jar does a great job of keeping air out, which helps keep the avocado fresh.
But you can also cut the avocado fresh when you’re ready to eat the salad or consider chopping and freezing avocados to have prepared to eat.
Do you vacuum seal your mason jars?
No, I do not. I fill the mason jars with ingredients (using my layering method), put the top on, and twist it closed. I have never had an issue with freshness doing it this way, so I do not see a need to use a vacuum seal.
Do you have to use a mason jar, or can you use any glass jar?
I have personally only used mason jars. But, as long as the jar has a tight-fitting lid, I am sure any glass container would do!
Are these salads challenging to transport? They seem heavy.
Glass is undoubtedly heavier than plastic, but I would not consider these heavy enough to become a burden to transport. Again, it is a small price to pay for eating a healthy lunch every day.
Which are the best salad dressings to use?
I think it entirely depends on your taste. I have used both vinaigrettes and creamy dressings for my salad in a jar recipes.
My personal favorites are the vinaigrettes because I love how the tomatoes and other vegetables taste after they have been marinating all week. But the creamy dressings are good too!
Keeping in mind with the creamier dressing, you have to shake the jar a bit more to get it all out. Not a biggie but one difference between the creamy and vinaigrette dressings when making mason jar salads.
I love salad in a jar recipes, and I hope you found the information in this tutorial helpful so you can also start to enjoy them as much as I do. Share a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook if you decide to try any of these salad recipes!
Angela says
Great ideas, thank you.
Question: Does the mason jar have to be packed to the top to keep everything fresh?
Also I was thinking of maybe putting the dressing in a small container instead of in the jar.
Tammy Kresge says
No they don’t have to be packed all the way to the top. Sure if that works better for you then great.
Melanie says
I love tuna on my salads. Canned, solid white, in water, drained, obviously. How would this work in the jars?
Emily Price says
Thank you so much for sharing this great information! As a single person, wanting variety, I am curious if you have any suggestions on managing ingrediants so they don’t go bad or picking recipes with a lot of overlap in ingrediants? If I make a different salad for each day of the week I am concerned that the specific ingrediants will go bad before I can use them all up . I have considered developing a salad club, where people can swap salads, but the commitment and organization required is too overwhelming for most people.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Theresa says
Have you ever premade smoothies in a mason jar for the week?
Tammy Kresge says
Not for the week but I have made them the night before. texture is different but still good.
hamletta says
Blender blade assemblies are sized to fit regular-mouth Mason jars. You could store your ingredients in the jar, then blend when you’re ready to leave the house. There are lots of sipping/straw-ready lid replacements available
Melissa says
I was so impressed with this idea and I am glad I found your recipes to try. I’ve followed the black bean, cobb and greek/veggie salad recipes so far – exactly as written. All three salads are absolutely delicious, from the first jar to the last. Thank you for what is one of the best pages on the internet! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!!!
Gail says
My daughters did this and gave me 4 salads – what a great idea. Question, as I attempt this on my own: I noticed that the lids actually did seal down tightly – they could no longer be depressed in the center (as with canning – that’s how you know you have a good seal). Can those lids be reused? Hoping the answer is yes – makes it more economical.
Heather says
Hi, you can buy white plastic reusable lids for the mason jars.
anxious introvert says
This is such a great detailed post. I hope you don’t mind I shared a link to your tutorial on my blog.
My third day in trying out mason jar salads and it’s already made such a difference! The salads taste fresh and it is so easy to just grab a jar and go! I even tried avocado, which is risky, it hasn’t browned yet. Thanks so much! 🙂
Alex says
God bless you
Becky S says
I am wondering about beets, I love to add them to my salads but I am a little bit confused on which layer to add them. I am thinking the 3rd layer, after the hearty vegetables?
Tammy Kresge says
I have never used beets in a salad but I agree I think after the hearty vegetables would work.
Keith says
I put beets in my salad — I put them right after the hearty vegetables. Sometimes they’ve made their way down to the bottom with the tomatoes, but that was okay by me. I found them delicious, even on Friday!
Liz says
Have you had any problems with cruciferous vegetables? I’ve made my first batch of mason jar salads today using your principles. When I posted on FB several friends said I shouldn’t have used broccoli and cauliflower because the gasses will build up in the mason jars. Have you found this to be true? Thanks 🙂
shammy says
Many people have asked about adding eggs and meat to the salads. I have been eating salads in a jar for about 5 months. I make enough for the week on Sunday. When I add meat or eggs I put them between my pasta/grains and lettuce layer ( I don’t add cheese if I did that would go on top of my eggs). I have never had an issue with my Friday salad. Everything has been very fresh. One note to that is that I don’t use canned meat or anything too juicy. If I added anything from a can (tuna/chicken) I would make sure to drain and pat it dry. I like to use the pre cooked and seasoned chicken like Tyson or Kraft carving board.
Dottie Taylor says
I apparently love grape tomatoes as much as you do. Slicing them was slowing me down though. I tried putting them between two container lids but had trouble getting my knife all the way through. I found Good Grips Grape and Tomato slicing guide on Amazon. Love it! Really made slicing the tomatoes fast. Though I’d share.
Amy Laitinen @ Produce with Amy says
Tammy,
Thank you so much for linking to my Glowing Green Mason Jar Salad. Your tutorial is fantastic and I linked it to my “Featured On… page” and I will definitely be sharing it with my readers on FB. I love all the healthy and sensible tips that you share on your site. Thank you!
Tammy Kresge says
You are welcome! And thank you!
Healthy Food Recipes For Children says
Fantastic web site. Lots of useful information here. I am
sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious.
And obviously, thank you to your effort!
Doris says
Thanks for the tutorial…is there a way I can print this off ??? I would love to have this in a concise sheet so that I could pass it along to others …thanks
LisaB says
How do you wash the jars and lids and seals? Can you put them ALL in a dishwasher? Also… I would love it if you provided some sort of printable step-by-step instruction I could print out to refer to while making my jars for the first few times. 😉