Mason Jar salads have been around a while, but recently, I experimented with a whole lot of add-ins and landed on my favorite combination. When I make this lunch, I find myself looking forward to it all morning. The combination of sweet fruit, crunchy items (I call these “crunchies”), and a little bit of kick make this a flavorful combination that I really enjoy.
I use wide-mouthed 32-ounce mason jars. We bought a set of 12 on Amazon here.
It is very quick to make five salads at once, so I definitely recommend doing that. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, I just make one for the day, but when I have all my goodies out anyway, it really does make sense to make them all at once. I timed it the last time I made these, and it only took about 10-12 minutes (not including boiling the eggs). That was for five lunches all week! It was a good feeling every day to know I didn’t have to plan for lunch, and it was a healthy lunch because I didn’t wait until the last minute to find something. These salads will last about five days, but that last day, I will say, the crunchies aren’t nearly as crunchy, so you may want to start with three and see what you like best.
In case you haven’t done this before, the concept of the Mason Jar Salads is to put the ingredients in backward (toppings on the bottom) which helps them last longer because the ingredients don’t mix together. You can then either shake it up and eat it straight from the jar, or just empty it onto a plate or bowl, and the dressing ends up on top.
So here is my special, extra-fancy, super-secret, only-shared-with-a-select-few Mason Jar Salad Recipe.
You will need (x5):
- Mason jar
- Salad dressing
- Shredded cheese
- Hard-boiled eggs and/or grilled chicken
- Blueberries
- Cherry tomatoes
- Mandarin oranges
- Grapes
- Almond slivers
- Imitation bacon bits
- Sunflower kernels
- Wasabi peas
- Glazed pecans (just a 3-4 per jar)
- Spinach
- Put in your dressing first. I use Ranch because it’s lower on WW points than some of my other favorite creamy dressings, but you can certainly use any dressing you like.
- Put in the protein. I recommend putting in a couple of different types so that the salad “sticks to your ribs” a little more, as my aunt used to say. For protein, grilled chicken works really well. I also love boiled eggs in mine. The chicken and eggs are free for WW points, so I add a lot of those. I like a little cheese too, so I usually use shredded cheese. I have sometimes used cottage cheese as well.
- Then I put in my sweet goodies! I use blueberries, mandarin oranges, and grapes as my sweet fruit, and then cherry tomatoes as my vegetable-that-is-really-a-fruit fruit. The sweetness of those blueberries and grapes makes it feel like dessert!
- Now for the crunchies. This is where most of my WW points are, and I choose to use them here because I really like the textures and flavor they bring to the mix. I use imitation bacon bits, sunflower kernels, almond slivers, and my two favorites: wasabi peas for a little kick and candied pecans for a more sweet flavor. I limit these to try to keep my points low, but seriously, this is my favorite part of the salad.
- The last part is the salad greens. My favorite type is spinach. I add enough spinach to fill to the top of the jar.
- Refrigerate and enjoy one each day!
- I like to eat mine straight from the jar as it’s fewer dishes to wash.
By the way, here is a note about the eggs. This is my personal “hack” that probably exists somewhere else, but I promise I feel like I invented it because everyone looks at me like I am crazy when I do it. Once I boil my eggs, I rinse them with cold water and then drain the water. Then, I shake the pot/pan back and forth “vigorously,” until the eggs collide with each other and make many, many tiny cracks in the shells. I do this for at least a minute, and then the shells just slide right off each egg! It’s the fastest way I know of to peel eggs.
Watch this little video below to demonstrate just how easy this salad is to make.
Enjoy!
We Love This Life
