This is such a fun and colorful way to plan your lunches for the upcoming week! 🥗 Pack mason jars with layers of fresh chopped veggies, kale or arugula, garbanzo beans and a spoonful of quinoa for a little protein! Then, toss them right in the jar with oil and vinegar or your favorite salad dressing. Our friend Ana just gave us this fabulous idea and we were so enthralled that we put it into practice right away! Ana says that she preps her salads on Sundays so they’ll be easy to grab for the busy work week. We find that the veggies stay really fresh and crunchy all packed into the jars this way. In case you like to keep berries fresher longer, try storing them in a glass jar, unwashed. They keep so much longer!
We probably have some kind of salad for lunch nine times out of ten, so this idea is right up our alley. We like to add a little turkey and cheese or nuts sometimes too, and those could also be pre-packaged, but I would leave those out of the jars with all of the veggies so they stay nice and fresh and it keeps the veggies more crunchy, too.
Next time we are going to try this with our cabbage salad, because we serve that a lot for lunch! It’s just so wonderful to have everything neat and organized as you jump into the hectic work week! Let us know if you try this and what veggies you choose for your Mason Jar Salads!
Mason Jar Salads
Equipment
- 5 1 pint Mason Jars with lids This makes 5 salads. Multiply it by the number of people you have eating lunch that week!
Ingredients
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded or thinly slices
- 5 radishes, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cucumber, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 stalks celery, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained
- 20 of your favorite olives, cut in half
- 1 1/2 cups arugula
- 1 cup cooked quinoa any color you like
- 15 banana pepper rings
- 5 cherry tomatoes
Dressing
- oil and vinegar or your favorite dressing, or mix it up every day!
- season with lemon pepper, salt and pepper
Instructions
- Be sure to wash your jars and lids and thoroughly dry before using.
- Chop and shred all veggies and keep them in separate containers or piles until you’re ready to assemble your Mason Jar Salads.
- Layer the most firm veggies on the bottom and the most tender veggies at the top. The garbanzo beans can go anywhere in the stack, and we like to put the quinoa at the very top, just above the greens and below the cherry tomato.We keep the cherry tomato whole, because if you cut them ahead of time, the arugula or kale could get soggy.
- Pack the veggies in with a spoon, put the lid on all of the jars and store in the refrigerator until you pack them up for your lunch. Bring your dressing in a separate container, or leave a bottle of your favorite in the refrigerator at home or at work. That’s it! You’re ready for lunch:)
These are great to make ahead on Sundays and have ready for a whole week’s worth of lunches!