This is such a time saver during the week. To be able to grab a salad to take to work, or to have one ready to eat with dinner is great! Makes it easy to get your veggies in!
How To Make Salad In A Jar
First, let’s start with the dressing. If you want a dressing recipe, check out Chef Malena’s Balsamic vinaigrette. I love it! I also often make vinaigrette using the Pampered Chef Measure Mix and Pour. (Find it here on Amazon).
Next is the prep! All you need to do is prep the veggies like you would do for a salad but keep them in their own piles.
Once the veggies are ready, then use the following recipe for the assembly.
Salad in a Jar Recipe Ideas!
For a one person salad, I use a quart sized mason jar. You can use a larger jar for a 2-4 person salad.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Options for marinated veggies:
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Legumes
- Tofu
- Onions
- Celery
Options for hard veggies:
- Onions
- Celery
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Bell peppers
Other ingredients:
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Romaine
- Kale
Instructions
- Place the veggies that would be good marinated in the jar first and add dressing (2T for a quart jar, adjust accordingly depending on the size of your jar). For example, carrots, cucumbers, legumes, tofu, onions, celery are very tasty after marinating a day or two in the dressing.
- Layer any other of the “hard” veggies. In the picture above, from the bottom, I have onions, then celery, then carrots, then cucumbers, then green pepper. Be sure to add the dressing either first, or anytime up to this point.
- After the veggies and dressing have been added, then put in some mini tomatoes. I do not cut these, as I imagine they would get soggy after a few days in the jar. Leave them whole and they will be delicious.
- At the very top, you cram in your lettuce. I chose an artisan romaine that was at Harris Teeter. Any of your favorite lettuce should work. Kale (which could probably handle the dressing), spinach, spring mix, iceberg. Pick your favorite. I like Romaine as it’s a bit darker, but still crunchy. I find it easy to chop/slice and cram into the top of the jar. You do NOT want dressing on the lettuce. Put as much lettuce as you want, or as can fit.
- Put the top on and place in the fridge!
- Take a picture and share it with me on Facebook, cause I want to see the beautiful creation! <img draggable=”false” data-mce-resize=”false” data-mce-placeholder=”1″ data-wp-emoji=”1″ class=”emoji” alt=”🙂” src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.4/svg/1f642.svg”>
- For 6 quart salads, I bought 2 small heads of artisan romaine lettuce, one small pack of full size carrots, one small head of celery, one green pepper, one pint of tomatoes and I used about 2 cups worth of black eyed peas leftover from my freezer.
How Long Does It Last?
These salads were very delicious, even 4 days later! The lettuce was crisp, the marinated veggies very tasty and the lettuce wasn’t even brown at all. I was pretty amazed. Now, if you’re a picky person when it comes to the veggies, you probably want to eat it all by 3 days.
There are many variations on this recipe. I found this article interesting. Maybe it will inspire you!
Oh my goodness, they all look really good! I’m not really a salad person, but this makes it so easy and so tasty that it’s giving me a change of heart. 🙂
– Julie
This looks delicious and healthy!