Fresh & Healthy Meal Prep Salads

Let’s talk LUNCH. Or dinner, or really any meal you want something delicious and hearty. Today I’m bringing you over 40 fresh and healthy meal prep salads that make the absolute best lunches and dinners during busy work weeks.

After updating and re-sharing these amazing 4 mason jar salads, I wanted to put together an even bigger roundup of salad recipes that are protein-packed and easy to meal prep during the week. Each of these hearty salad recipes packs at least 8g of protein and plenty of fiber to keep you full and satisfied.

Get all of my tips for meal prepping salads below, and then scroll through and pick out your fav recipes to try!

Our favorite way to meal prep salads

We LOVE loading up mason jars to make cute, delicious salads in jars for the week! Get all of my tips & tricks for making mason jar salads, plus 4 great recipes to get you started right here.

Tips for meal prepping salad recipes

Salads are probably the easiest meals to prep ahead of time, which makes them perfect for busy weekdays. Here’s how I like to meal prep salads:

• Cook your proteins: if you’re adding a protein to your salad that needs to be cooked, cook this a day ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble your salad. Learn all of the best ways to cook chicken here!
• Chop your produce: do your fruits & veggies require dicing or chopping? Probably! Chop them all up one day and store them in the refrigerator for easy assembly.
• Make your dressing(s): whether you’re making multiple salads or just one, I recommend making the dressings ahead of time and storing them in the fridge as well.

Once these are complete you can either keep the ingredients separated and quickly assemble multiple salads throughout the week, or add your ingredients together in a jar or meal prep container without the dressing for an even faster option!

What’s in these meal prep salads?

The flavor combinations are truly endless in these easy meal prep salad recipes, so you have TONS to choose from. Each salad follows a similar “formula” that makes it both delicious and satisfying:

• Protein and fiber: to keep you full, of course! We have plenty of options for meat & plant-based proteins like chicken, chickpeas, nuts, seafood, beans, quinoa, pasta, and more. You can always add any of them to any salad. Yes, pasta packs a protein and fiber punch!
• Healthy fats: additional ingredients to fill you up like avocado, nuts, and cheeses.
• Fruits & veggies: is it even a salad without produce?! We love greens like spinach, arugula and romaine lettuce, veggies like broccoli, cucumber, bell pepper, carrots and red onion, and fruits like berries, peaches, tomatoes, mango, and more. This is where you can really get creative!
• Dressing: each salad is tied together with a flavorful homemade dressing. Get all of my homemade salad dressings here!

How long do meal prep salads last?

Feel free to store your salad ingredients separately from the dressing in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days. If you add dressing to your salad and have leftovers, the salad won’t stay as fresh, which is why I recommend storing your salad ingredients separately from the dressing until you’re ready to eat it.

Our favorite salad tools

• 16 ounce mason jar
• Meal prep container
• Salad chopper
• Salad spinner
• Salad dressing shaker
• Reusable storage bags

Get all of our fav kitchen tools here!

V = salads that are vegan

VT = salads that are vegetarian

Our Favorite Salads in Jars

Greek Chicken Salad in a Jar

Southwest Chicken Salad in a Jar

Balsamic Chicken Berry Salad in a Jar

Thai-Inspired Chicken Quinoa Salad in a Jar

Chickpea, Tuna & Chicken Salads

The Easiest Chopped Greek Chickpea Salad VT

15-Minute Healthy Moroccan-Spiced Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Vegan Curry Chickpea Salad Collard Wraps V

Honey Mustard Apple Tuna Salad

Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad with Pineapple Corn Salsa V

Vegan Pecan Apple Chickpea Salad Wraps V

Easy Mediterranean Pesto Chickpea Salad V

Green Goddess Tuna Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salads

Vibrant Curry Cashew Chickpea Quinoa Salad V

Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing V

Avocado Blueberry Quinoa Salad VT

Famous Crunchy Cashew Thai-Inspired Quinoa Salad V

Fresh Strawberry Basil Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese, Sunflower Seeds & Lemon Vinaigrette VT

Fiesta Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad V

Kale, Edamame & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette V

One Pot Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad V

Roasted Veggie, Chickpea & Pesto Quinoa Salad V

Pasta & Grilled Salads

Damn Good BLT Pasta Salad with Creamy Jalapeño Cashew Dressing

Avocado & Tomato Chickpea Pasta Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette VT

Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Herby Olive Italian Orzo Salad VT

Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad V

Peach, Tomato & Corn Arugula Pasta Salad VT

Street Corn Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto + Goat Cheese VT

Spinach, Arugula & Mixed Green Salads

Grilled Carrot Arugula Salad with Fig, Goat Cheese & Avocado VT

Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad with Avocado VT

Summer Peach Spinach Salad with Avocado, Toasted Almonds + Goat Cheese VT

Roasted Sweet Potato & Arugula Salad with Turmeric Honey Mustard Yogurt Dressing VT

30 Minute Honey Garlic Salmon with Apple Dijon Green Salad

Broccoli Salads

Spicy Cashew Thai Chickpea Broccoli Salad V

Healthy Summer Broccoli Salad V

Vegan Curried Broccoli Chickpea Salad V

Chickpea Apple Broccoli Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing V

Brussels Sprouts & Cabbage Salads

Italian Chopped Brussels Sprouts Salad

Spicy Ranch Chopped Chicken Cabbage Salad

Peach Brussels Sprouts Crunch Salad with Creamy Tahini Poppy Seed Dressing VT

Cashew Crunch Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad V

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

Winter Butternut Squash Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad VT

Chopped Thai Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing V

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Kale Salad with Apple, Gorgonzola & Candied Pecans VT

Romaine Salads

Chicken Kale Waldorf Salad with Avocado & Goat Cheese

Gaby’s Chicken Taco Salad

Vegan Caesar Salad V

Vegetarian Southwest Sweet Potato Taco Bowls with Avocado Ranch Dressing VT

Summer Chicken Chopped Salad with Strawberries, Avocado + Feta

Healthy Chicken Chickpea Chopped Salad

Kale Salads

Summer Glow Chopped Kale Salad VT

Brussels Sprouts Kale Honeycrisp Apple Salad with Maple Cider Dressing VT

California Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad V

Butternut Squash and Kale Salad with Pomegranate, Toasted Almonds + Goat Cheese VT