Unique and Easy Layered Quinoa Mason Jar Salad Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

I love taking salads to work for lunch, but they are so time consuming to prepare at work.  But, I also don’t like to throw everything together in a container because it gets soft & mushy.  I found that layering the ingredients in a mason jar is perfect! Layered Quinoa Mason Jar Salad is a great example!

Then when it’s lunch time, you can just shake it up & either eat it right out of the jar, or pour it on a plate.  Although you can use any ingredients you like, there is a science to this method; dressing & always heaviest (non-mushy) ingredient on the bottom.

If you are a salad lover, don’t sleep on this one… 

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MEAL PRER SALAD TIPS AND TRICKS

LAYERING IS IMPORTANT

The order in which you place each ingredient in your mason jar salad is critical. Pour your dressing in first, for example, so it settles at the bottom of the jar and doesn’t turn all of the ingredients in your salad mushy!

Begin with the dressing and work your way up! For a visual on how to make a mason jar salad, see the image below these tips and tricks!

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE INGREDIENTS FOR YOUR MASON JAR SALAD?

Choose ingredients that will keep in a meal prep container in the refrigerator. We chose spinach, quinoa, beans, and corn because they are all hearty ingredients that keep well in the fridge!

The avocado is the only ingredient in this salad that should be added right before serving.

MASON JAR INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTION

If you don’t have all of the ingredients for this mason jar salad, here are some great substitutes!

• garbanzo beans –> black beans
• corn–> carrots, chopped
• romaine lettuce–> spinach
• Quinoa vs. rice
• roasted sweet potatoes–> tomatoes

HOW TO LAYER A MASON JAR SALAD?

Properly layering the salad ingredients is critical to allowing the salads to last for days in the fridge without becoming soggy.

• Dressing – Always put this at the bottom to keep it separate from the other ingredients and keep things crisp.
• Proteins – Because this recipe is vegan, we’re using chickpeas as the protein, but you could also use chicken in this layer.
• Vegetables – Any vegetable that isn’t a leafy green.
• Quinoa is a grain.
• Leafy greens are always added last, so they are farthest away from the dressing.

HOW TO MAKE THE DRESSING FOR OUR LAYERED QUINOA MASON JAR SALAD?

The dressing is simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. The key to stretching this dressing is to add just a little bit to the jars and let the veggies soak up all of the dressing.

We’re making a dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, honey, a hint of Dijon, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. They’re just pantry staples, but when combined, they’re the perfect blend of lemon and herb, with a hint of sweetness at the end. They complement the robust sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in our salad jars.

Alternative Video Recipe: Mason Jar Quinoa Salad

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE INGREDIENTS FRESH?

When meal prepping salad jars, the key to keeping everything fresh is to put the ingredients that won’t get soggy in the dressing itself. I started with the artichoke hearts because they will improve as they soak up the dressing.

I then add sliced roasted red bell peppers, chickpeas, cucumbers, quinoa, marinated olives, chopped onions, feta cheese, herbs, and lettuce or spinach. Remember that if you add the salad greens to the salad jars, you’ll end up with more jars because, believe it or not, the greens take up a lot of space!

And, while I found prefilled jars with lettuce (spinach) to be filling, my husband prefers his jars with baby spinach in a zip top baggy on the side.

When you leave these jars in the refrigerator for a while, they almost form a self-seal. Because the suction on these was so strong, I had to use the clips! And what about the chopped basil? My quinoa salad jars are still as fresh as the day I packed them.

EXPERT TIPS

• Replace the ingredients with ones you already have or like! If you don’t want to use quinoa, you can replace it with cooked pasta, brown rice, pearl couscous, regular couscous, or even farro.
• You can also swap the beans! If you prefer white beans, you can substitute them.
• Don’t like one of the ingredients? You are free to omit it.
• These jars will keep in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days; we pushed ours to day six just to see how they held up, and while most of the ingredients were fine, the cucumbers and onions did start to lose their freshness a little!

And there you have it. These colorful, flavorful meal prep salad jars are packed with filling ingredients. They were even better than the fresh salads he usually orders at work, according to the husband.

That’s like music to my ears!

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Frequently Asked Questions

MORE MASON JAR SALAD TO TRY:

• Southwestern Quinoa Mason Jar Salads
• Rainbow Quinoa Mason Jar Salad
• Sweet Potato & Quinoa Mason Jar Salad