- Dinner
- Lunch
- Salads
Repeat after me, friends: Salads are not boring.Salads are not boring.
Now that we have that out of the way, on to these super easy, adorable, easily packable mason jar salad recipes! Hooray!
I feel like salads are the stereotypical meal of vegans, or really anyone who tries to eat healthy. People be hatin’ on salads, calling them boring and tasteless and gross. Well, I don’t know what kind of traumatizing salad experiences those people have had in the past, but we’re moving on to good days of loaded salads with lots of nutritious ingredients and, most importantly, FLAVOR. I try to have a big salad for one meal a day; I make it by literally adding every vegetable I have in the fridge, drizzling on some dressing and eating it out of the biggest bowl I have. THAT’S how you do salads. 🌱
As great as it is to lounge around with a huge bowl of salad, we don’t always have the luxury of having a calm, relaxing meal at home. Most of us arego go goall the time, whether it be for work, school or whatever else you have going on. Enter: mason jar salads! First off, who doesn’t love mason jars? They’re cute AF. Second, you can prep a few at the beginning of the week and not have to worry about lunch one bit during the week. Just grab and go go go!
this RECIPE
I’m sharing 5 deeeeelicious mason jar salad recipes for you today: Crunchy Asian Salad, Mexican Black Bean Salad, Fruity Kale Salad, Greek Chickpea Salad and Protein-Packed Quinoa Salad. There’s something for everyone to love! Now, these really aren’t legit recipes – more just the ingredients you’ll need and how to layer them. It’s up to you how much you want of each ingredient (or really, how much you can stuff in the jar). But I do provide the measurements forthedressings for one serving.The most important thing to remember is dressing first, then tougher veggies, soft veggies, protein, extras, then greens!
[Tweet “Need some lunch-packing inspo? These 5 vegan mason jar salads will transform your lunch routine!”]
We’re dispelling two rumors in this post: 1. that salad is boring, and 2. that packing lunch is hard. Nope, not with these mason jar salads! You’ll be eating lots of nutritious vegetables and fruits in an adorable little jar that took you approximately 5 minutes to arrange. BOOM. You go head, lunch champ.
Let me know if you try any of these mason jar salad recipes! Take a pic for Instagram and tag me @emilieeats & #emilieeats. I hope these help you make lunch easier & a lot more fun!
1. Crunchy Asian Salad
- For the dressing: 1 tablespoon peanut butter + 1 tablespoon organic soy sauce + 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
- For the salad:
- Shredded cabbage
- Diced red bell pepper
- Chopped broccoli florets
- Shredded carrots
- Shelled edamame
- Chopped peanuts
- Sliced green onions
- Romaine lettuce
2. Mexican Black Bean Salad
- For the dressing:2 tablespoons salsa + 1/2 teaspoon chili powder + 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- For the salad:
- Dicedgreen bell pepper
- Corn kernels
- Chopped tomatoes
- Quinoa
- Black Beans
- Chopped avocado
- Spinach
3. Fruity Kale Salad
- For the dressing: 1 tablespoon lime juice+ 2 teaspoons maple syrup + 1/4 teaspoonsalt
- For the salad:
- Chopped broccoli florets
- Chopped cucumbers
- Blueberries
- Shelled edamame
- Choppedpecans
- Kale
4. Greek Chickpea Salad
- For the dressing: 1 tablespoonhummus+1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- For the salad:
- Chopped cucumbers
- Diced red onion
- Chopped tomatoes
- Chickpeas
- Chopped olives
- Parsley
- Spinach
5. Protein-Packed Quinoa Salad
- For the dressing: 1 tablespoonbalsamic vinegar + 2 teaspoons tahini
- For the salad:
- Chopped broccoli florets
- Corn kernels
- Green peas
- Quinoa
- Chickpeas
- Pumpkin seeds
- Spinach
Liked these mason jar salad recipes? You’ll love these easy recipes that are great for lunch-packing:
10 Healthy Vegan Lunches for Work (or School!)
Strawberry Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwich
5 Vegan Sandwiches from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken
August 16, 2016
Tagged with:
avocados beans berries black beans chickpeas corn Dinner Gluten Free Grain Free kale Lunch Nut Free nuts peanut butter quinoa Salads Soy Free spinach
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21 comments
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21 comments
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Emily says: All the vegan friends I have have reminded me that salads are definitely not boring, and these look so beautiful. Seeing the layers of the salad is really cool, and I love how you put the dressing at the bottom. Thank you for sharing the formula for doing it, because I wouldn't have known that!
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Emilie says: I'm glad you found it helpful! I hope you get to pack some of these. :)
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kerri mcgrail says: I am right there with you! Everyone who tells me they don't like salads, I'm like well what do you put on them? iceberg lettuce, tomato, and cucumber is no salad to me! I make lots of salads like these too! I love the tex-med style salad! I need to actually start using mason jars for salads because they look so pretty! You always make veganism so approachable- love that!
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Emilie says: Aw thank you so much, Kerri! That means the world to me! I agree with you on salads - you gotta load 'em up. The Mexican style is one of my faves!
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Lisa says: I have to say while these were delicious some of the salads do not have a lot of longevity in the fridge, especially the ones with broccoli. I like to make all my salads for the week ahead of time and by the end of the week the ones with broccoli were very smelly! Otherwise, great recipes!
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Emilie says: Raw broccoli definitely doesn't last too long! I would just keep it separate and add it the day you plan to eat it. :) I'm glad you enjoyed them!
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Jessica says: What size mason jars do you use for these salads? 16oz? Thanks!
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Emilie says: Yes, I used the 16 ounce jars!
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Shanasy says: Thanks for these great ideas for super quick lunches! I've featured them (the link) on my FB site "Super Quick Plant-Based Recipes" https://www.facebook.com/SuperQuickPBRecipes/ - as we all LOVE PB recipes that we can do in 20 minutes or less.
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Emilie says: Thank you so much for the love!
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Eleonore says: Hi Emilie what is the size of your mason jar for the salads?
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Emilie says: Hi Eleonore! I used a 16-ounce jar for these, but use a bigger jar if you need to satisfy your hunger!
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Carla says: Emilie, thank you so much for your awesome recipes and ideas. Although I am not a vegan I have 10 major food allergies and with your helpful tips and recipes, making food changes have been a little easier. Some days are hard to follow a healthy food plan but when i do i feel so good! Also, i have to remember that making major food changes is not always easy but it is possible! I love receiving new recipes and getting ideas especially the mason jar lunches! Thank you so much for all your help and inspiration. You are quite knowledgeable for a 20 year old!Carla Shavel
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Emilie says: Hi Carla! I'm happy that my recipes can help you in your journey. Let me know if you ever need anything!
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کم کاری تیروئید says: that's really wonderful I made it at home easily thanks for sharing this awesome jar
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Emilie says: Awesome!
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Shon says: Besides the dressing, how much of the remaining ingredients do you put in the jars? Thanks!
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Emilie says: Feel free to customize the ingredient quantities to your liking!
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Rosie Nash says: Emilie, how do you eat these? I would make mine in a large-mouth quart jar as that's how much I'd eat to make a MEAL. I can't imagine how you get to the dressing with each bite!?? My only idea is dump everything out onto a paper plate and scrap out the dressing with a spatula. Is that what you do? I would rather layer it in a quart-size Pyrex with a cover. Then I could reach the dressing with each bit or even give it a stir when I sit down to eat. I guess a quart bowl wouldn't look so pretty, but I believe it would "eat" easier!
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Emilie says: Feel free to shake the dressing around in the jar! That distributes it well. I know some people like to eat them outside of the jar also, whatever work for you :)
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raena patel says: The kale salad is amazing!! But if you want to enhance the flavor by 10x, I suggest that some of the dressing be massaged into the kale leaves. I promise it's life-changing.
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