A smiling woman in a teal shirt and gray striped apron holds a tall mason jar. The jar is filled with layered salad ingredients, including dressing, tomatoes, peppers,and lettuce. The jar has a white lid.

When I first discovered mason jar salads about 10 years ago, it created a huge shift in my eating habits. Before learning how to meal prep salads, eating a salad for lunch always seemed like such a hassle! It took forever to get everything cut up and ready to go. I really enjoyed eating salad for lunch, but not as much as I loathed the inconvenience of it all.

Then enter salads in a jarโ€”pre-made, perfectly fresh salads just sitting in the fridge waiting to be enjoyed. I was sold! And I havenโ€™t looked back. Iโ€™ve been making mason jar salads weekly for almost a decade, and itโ€™s my single biggest trick to getting on the healthy eating bandwagon. If you make nourishing food the easiest choice, itโ€™s going to be what you choose. And my goodness, are mason jar salads easy!

Three tall mason jars sit side-by-side in front of a white wall. Jars are layered with salad ingredients.

Hold up, but how do you keep the salad from getting soggy and the lettuce from going limp?

This is the very first question I get from mason jar salad skepticsโ€”doesnโ€™t the lettuce go limp? Doesnโ€™t it get all soggy? Nope, nope, and nope! If you stack the jar in the proper order (more on that in a sec), youโ€™ll have lettuce on day seven that is just as crisp and fresh as the day you packed it. I promise!

How do you pack a mason jar salad so it doesnโ€™t get soggy?

The key to a good salad in a jar staying fresh all week long is the packing order. All you have to remember is one thingโ€”keep the wet ingredients away from the greens. This means that things like salad dressing, chopped tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, etc. go to the bottom of the jar and greens go at the very top of the jar, with a buffer of other ingredients in the middle. That way, if you keep the jar upright, everything stays in its place. Not a soggy leaf of lettuce in sight!

Tall mason jars are layered with different salads. Jar in front includes mandarin oranges, sprouts, and lettuces.

Whatโ€™s the best size jar to use for mason jar salads?

All size jars work for salads in a jar, so itโ€™s more a question of what size salad you want in the end. I do recommend going with wide-mouth jars, just because they are easier to pack, but regular-mouth jars work as well. Hereโ€™s a quick guide to mason jar salad sizes:

  • Jelly Jar (8 ounces)โ€”This is usually too small to pack a mason jar salad in, but I have occasionally packed one for my young child in this size. For slightly more space, a 12-ounce jelly jar is also a good kid-size salad.
  • Pint (16 ounces)โ€”This is a good size for a side salad. I like to use this size when Iโ€™m combining a salad with a soup in a jar for lunch. These can also be used for a light lunch or a snack.
  • Pint and a Half (24 ounces)โ€”These are my FAVORITE size jars for mason jar salads! They are big enough to be a full meal, but not so huge that you need to dump it into a mixing bowl to eat it. In fact, this jar is my favorite of all the canning jars because itโ€™s one of the most flexibleโ€”I use it for everything from freezing bone broth to canning tomatoes.
  • Quart (32 ounces)โ€”If youโ€™re a super veggie-lover, a quart size is a good option for a dinner-sized salad for one, or a lunch-sized salad for two. It also works as a side salad for 3-4.
  • Half-Gallon (64 ounces)โ€”This big, bad mamma jamma is a good size for pitch-ins, potlucks, or big families. I sometimes will make ahead a nice salad for a potluck and stash it in one of these in the fridge so itโ€™s ready to go when I am.
A hand holds a tall mason jar with a white lid. Jar is layered with salad ingredients, including dressing, chickpeas, vegetables, seeds, and lettuce.

Do you have to use a canning jar or can you use something else?

Canning jars work well because they donโ€™t absorb smells and flavors like plastic, they last forever, and they are tall and skinnyโ€”the key to making sure your salad doesnโ€™t go limp. If you want to use upcycled glass or plastic jars (like from pasta sauce), you absolutely canโ€”just as long as it has a lid that seals well and is tall and skinny, you can use it!

I do not recommend meal prepping salads into wide containers where the dressing has a higher chance of coming in contact with the greens. The key here is to get as much separation as possible between the dressing and the greens, and the way to do that is through a tall, narrow vessel.

Whatโ€™s the best lid for a mason jar salad?

Any well-fitting lid will work to keep your salad fresh, but I really like the plastic storage caps for mason jars from Ball Canning. They are great because they donโ€™t rust, are easy to clean, and are a single pieceโ€”no searching for both a lid and a ring to close your jar.

Three tall mason jars are layered with salad ingredients. A hand places a white lid on the middle jar.

How long do mason jar salads last in the fridge?

What ingredients you use in your salad will impact how long it can last in the fridge, but I will say a salad made of just dressing and veggies will easily last 7-10 days in the fridge. Yes, really! Toward the end of that time, your lettuce might start to look โ€œrustyโ€ (itโ€™s actually not rust, itโ€™s called โ€œrusset browning,โ€ and itโ€™s caused by exposure to ethylene gasโ€”and itโ€™s completely safe to eat), but other than that, itโ€™ll be good to go!

When animal-based products like meat and cheese are added to the mix, youโ€™re looking at closer to 3-5 days in the fridge.

When you use sliced fruit in your jar, youโ€™ll get the least amount of prep-ahead time out of itโ€”I wouldnโ€™t prep a fruit-containing salad more than three days in advance.

Ten tall mason jars are layered with salad ingredients.

Are there any ingredients that donโ€™t work well in mason jar salads?

Almost anything that you would put in a fresh salad can go into your meal prepped salads, with one exception: I recommend skipping foods that oxidize if you want the longest-lasting jar. Foods like avocado, apple, and pear are great additions to salads,but even when treated with Fruit Fresh, theyโ€™ll only last a day or two in a jar salad. Which is fine if youโ€™re just prepping for tomorrowโ€™s lunch, but not if youโ€™re trying to get through a full week. I tend to add those ingredients just before serving.

This sounds great, but how do you actually eat a mason jar salad?

My preferred method is to dump it and enjoy! Some people try to shake the salad and then eat it in the canning jar. But because I pack the ingredients in so tight, I donโ€™t really get good distribution if I do that, and so I always carry a salad bowl with me. When I was working in an office, I kept a bowl for my mason jar salads right in my desk! When lunch was over, Iโ€™d just rinse it out in the office kitchen and pack it away in my desk drawer for the next day.

A hand pours a salad from a jar into a teal bowl. The bowl sits on a white and brown plaid dishtowel. A fork with a teal handle sits to the side of the bowl.

My protips for making fresh, crisp, healthy mason jar salads thatโ€™ll last all week in the fridge:

Iโ€™m the self-proclaimed worldโ€™s foremost expert in mason jar salads (ha!), and hereโ€™s what Iโ€™ve learned over my literal thousands of jar-packing experiences:

  • Liquid ingredients on the bottom, greens on the top. Keep this in mind, and youโ€™ll be able to โ€œgo rogueโ€ and experiment with crafting your own mason jar salad creations!
  • Really jam-pack the jars full. Not only does this give you the most veggies for your space, but it also helps keep things from shifting and moving around (which is particularly helpful if you are packing a jar in a lunchbox and it happens to tip over on its side). I shove so many greens in that I have to hold them down with one hand while I place the lid on with the other. It should be like a lettuce jack-in-the-box when you open that jar!
  • Use the fridge time to your advantage by marinating foods in the dressing. Cooked grains, tofu, chicken, beansโ€”they all will soak up some of the flavor of the dressing.
  • Keep your jar upright. This is not the time to let your lunch roll around on the floor of your car (anyone else? just me?). Keep that jar upright so the dressing stays at the bottom.
  • Label, label, label your jars! If you get into making salads in a jar, youโ€™ll want to really keep track of whatโ€™s in your salads and when they were made. My best trick for labeling mason jar salads (and any food stored in glass) is to write on the glass with a Sharpie. When itโ€™s time to clean the jar, a quick swipe of a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol takes the writing off the jar.
Smiling woman in teal shirt and gray apron uses a permanent marker to write on a jar filled with salad ingredients.

Ready for some mason jar salad recipes?

At the bottom of this article, youโ€™ll find a basic formula for making salads in a jar that you can follow to craft your own fun salads, but if youโ€™re looking for some salad inspiration, boy do we have you covered! Here are all of our home kitchen tested salad in a jar recipes:

 
Tall mason jars are layered with different salads. Jar in front includes mandarin oranges, sprouts, and lettuces.

Basic Mason Jar Salad Recipe

Yield: 1 24-ounce jar
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Prep your salads ahead of time with magical Mason Jar Salads! Have a crisp, fresh salad ready to go anytime with our easy method for meal prepping salads.

Ingredients

  • 1 wide-mouth pint and a half jar
  • 3 tablespoons salad dressing
  • 1/2 cup protein (cooked chicken, cubed tofu, beans, etc.)
  • 1/2 cup chopped veggies (peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.)
  • 1/4 cup nuts or seeds (pepitas, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, etc.)
  • 1-2 cups chopped romaine

Instructions

  1. Layer the salad ingredients in the order listed into the jar, packing in as much romaine as you need to create a tight pack. Cover the jar, and place it in the fridge for up to a week.
  2. To eat, dump the entire contents of the jar into a bowl, toss, and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 24 ounces
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 606Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 602mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 8gSugar: 6gProtein: 48g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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213 Comments

  1. Last weekend I did my first ever food prep & boy am I ever loving it! This post came at just the right time for my next prep! Thank you soooo much! I can’t wait to make these recipes!

  2. I first saw these over at Happy Healthy Life
    http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/06/vegan-salad-in-jar-make-ahead-bliss.html

    I don’t think she was the first person to post them, but she has some amazing recipes! I love the idea, but I feel like I’d have to dump the salad out to eat it, which sort of defeats the purpose of carrying it to work in a jar. Still puzzling over that. Maybe I should keep a big salad bowl at work.

    Anyway, as usual your photos are a-freakin-mazing! so inspiring!

    1. I think it’s really a two part great idea, that only one part may work for you. The first one is doing all the prep work in advance by making several salads at once that store super well in jars in the fridge. The second part is the ease of grabbing the jar and going. This part may not be so great for you, but grabbing a salad jar made with no dressing, dumping it in the container you like, grab the dressing like you have been, and then going might tweak it enough for you.

  3. I made two of these last night, not using one of your specific recipes, but following the overall guidelines. One I ate for lunch today and I’m saving the second for tomorrow. Delicious! And easy. Reading your post reminded me that I’ve wanted to try to make salad-in-a-jar for a while, and now I finally have! Thanks. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. WHAAAAAT???
    OMG! Love this. I’m on my way to BB&B right now to buy my jars.
    On the way back I’ll stop at Aldis to get food and dressing stuff.
    This is not only healthy but fun! fun! and I need fun to do this whole
    “eat healthy-weight loss thing”
    Can’t wait to share this with my friends and family!
    Please keep it coming.

    Sophia

  5. This sounds like something my hubby and I could totally get excited about! Also a great way to save and not buy tupperware.

  6. I have a jar suggestion! Get your hands on some wide mouth pint jars. They are a little harder to find but SO DAMN WORTH IT. Since they have straight sides they are freezer friendly as well. And the wide mouth makes getting things on and out of them a breeze.

    If you have an ACE hardware out there (not sure if that’s an east coast only place) they will special order jars for you at no extra cost. I had them do this for my wedding. We did pies in wide mouth half pint jars for favors/name cards for place settings.

  7. I’ve seen theses ALL over the place lately but haven’t tried making my own just yet since I tend to go all out when it comes to salads and I figure I’ll run out of room…wonder if they make 1/2 gallon Mason jars?!

    Love all the ideas! And I’ve really wanted to try making some new homemade salad dressings as I’m getting bored with the combos I’ve been using! That sesame lemon one is calling my name!

    1. Cathryn In answer to the 1/2 gal jar: Yes Ball and Mason both make 1/2 gal jars, also gallon (for pickles or tomato sauce, I think0 and the whopper of a 2gallon but I have no clue what a home canner might put in one of those bad-gals. Howeve, only the 1/2 and 1 gallon sizes are readily available for purchase through canning supply stores.

    2. I just tried my salads in a mason jar and I am very happy plus satisfied. Lettuce, romaine or otherwise still crispy. Yummmmm!!!

  8. Yay! Thank you SO MUCH for posting these food prep posts. For someone who didn’t grow up in a house that ate anything fresh, little tips on how to prep seriously help. (Speaking of which, do you wash all the lettuce you’ll need for the week? How do you keep it fresh and not sad, soggy and wilted?)

    These salads look awesome! Next’s week’s lunch plan for sure!

      1. But how do you store it? Do you cover it with plastic or wrap it in a towel? Covered in a bowl?
        Do you put paper towels in the bowl to continually soak up water? How long does it typically last?

        Also, wow. I kind of feel like a moron for not knowing this. :\

        1. I just store it in the jars. If I have any extra leftover, I just make sure it’s really dry with my salad spinner and put it in a Pyrex container or Ziploc bag. And it’ll last 7-10 days before it starts to get a little rusty, and even then, I can just toss out those pieces.

  9. Thank you for this post! I make salads in a jar but I’ve been looking for a way to mix it up-these are great salad ideas!