Heyyyooooooo. Welcome to the first day of August (say what?!). I’m coming in HOT with not one but FOUR meal prep filling salad recipes made in adorable mason jars.
When I was dreaming up which meal prep recipe I’d bring you next, I knew it had to be something quick, easy, and portable for all of you on-the-go. I know you all lead incredibly busy lives – whether you’re in school, juggling one job or two, kids or a couple of pets, these recipes are the PERFECT weekday go-to.
Ready?!
Without further ado, meet my four mason jar salads: Southwest Chicken, Greek Chicken, Chicken Berry Quinoa, and Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa.
Each salad jar is packed with fresh veggies, flavorful combinations, and ample protein so that you’re satisfied and energized after lunch. To me, there’s nothing worse than a super heavy lunch that makes you feel sluggish, or the opposite, hitting that 2:00PM hanger mark with no healthy snacks in sight. That’s the beauty of these jars!
Southwest Chicken Salad
I kept the ingredients simple and seasonal with things you can find at your local farmer’s market or neighborhood grocery store. My protein of choice? Grilling up Just BARE Organic Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts in one of these marinades.
Greek Chicken Salad
I’ve loved working with Just BARE Chicken on their Lean & Clean Campaign to help encourage others (and remind myself) how to make healthy choices each day. We’re faced with SO many choices when it comes to food selection, so having go-to brands and practices, like opting for organic wherever possible, helps keep things simple. Their chicken is USDA Organic certified and the chickens are raised on veggies and grains (just like these salads!) There are zero antibiotics or weird additives, and the chicken actually stays juicy after you grill or bake it.
Chicken Quinoa Berry Salad
The best part about salad jars? They’re totally customizable! If you have a favorite salad recipe – chances are it will be perfect for layering up into a jar. Just be sure to put the dressing at the bottom and the leafy veggies towards the top so that they don’t get soggy once you’ve prepped them. I like to make a few of these on Sunday and have them to grab-and-go right out of the fridge. They’re perfect for carrying in a larger purse on your way to work, or even popping in your backpack for an afternoon bike ride.
Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa Salad
And of course if you’re not sure where to start…that’s where these simple recipes come in handy! Each of these jars is packed with flavorful goodness for mixing all together. I added a variety of textures and colors to keep things interesting (because who likes a boring lunch??) – so you’ll find plenty of crunch, sweetness, savoriness, and everything in between.
Meet your new Monday – Thursday lunch date! Which one will you try first?
Enjoy xo!
If you make any of these salad jars, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it, or post a photo to Instagram and tag #ambitiouskitchen!
Four Mason Jar Salads
Ingredients
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- 2 tablespoons southwest ranch, avocado ranch or chipotle ranch dressing
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- ¼ cup diced cucumber
- ¼ cup corn
- ½ cup black beans
- ½ jalapeno, sliced (or you can do pickled jalapenos)
- ¾ cup diced, grilled Just BARE chicken breasts
- ¼ avocado, sliced
- 1 cup chopped romaine
- Greek Salad
- 2 tablespoons balsamic dressing
- 1 to mato, diced
- ¼ cup cucumber, diced
- ½ cup chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- ¾ cup diced Grilled Just BARE chicken breasts
- ¼ cup kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons feta
- 1 cup chopped romaine
- Chicken Quinoa Berry Salad
- 2 tablespoons raspberry vinaigrette (or any berry vinaigrette)
- ¼ cup quartered strawberries
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¾ cup grilled Just BARE chicken breasts
- ¼ cup goat cheese crumbles
- ¼ avocado, diced
- 2 tablespoons almonds
- 1 cup arugula
- Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa Salad
- 2 tablespoons peanut dressing (1 tablespoon peanut butter + 1 teaspoon soy sauce + ½ teaspoon honey + 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger + ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar + 2 tablespoons water, to thin)
- ¼ cup red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons green onion, diced
- 1 carrot, shredded
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, diced
- ¼ cup mango, diced
- ¾ cup grilled Just BARE chicken breasts, diced
- 1 cup romaine
- 2 tablespoons chopped cashews
Instructions
- For each salad: Add all ingredients into a 16 oz Mason Jar (or equivalent). Keep in fridge until ready to enjoy! When ready to eat, simply pour ingredients into a bowl and serve.
Recipe Notes
Add ingredients into each jar in the order in which they're written (i.e. dressing first and greens last) in order to preserve freshness.
This post is in partnership with Just Bare Chicken. Thanks for supporting AK and the brands that help make this site possible!
47 comments
I actually want to try all of these! So convenient to bring for lunch!
YES perfect for grabbing and going!
How do you keep the avo from turning black?
It’s usually just fine for a couple of days, but you can squeeze some lemon onto it!
Hello my name is Paul this is a great idea and great recipe plans I’m actually doing my shopping today but for the southwest salad it calls for jalapeno slices I don’t do hot so what can I put in the replace of that
Hi Paul! You can just leave the jalapeño out 🙂
Stop being a vagina Paul.
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them!
http://Www.themilestraveled.com
I hope you love them!
How many days do they stay fresh for?
Hi Jessica! They’re best prepped the night before, but if you’re not mixing it up they should be fresh for 2-3 days!
I love recipes like these because I’m always looking for something easy to take to work. Can’t wait to try the Thai one!
Yes they’re perfect for work! The Thai one might be my favorite…
What is the calorie count for each of these?
I made 5 Greek and 5 Thai peanut salads on Sunday for both of us to take for lunch. We ended up not eating two of them during the week but luckily they are still good 6 days later! I had so many compliments at work because my lunch looked so good! Not only were they delicious, but I was actually full before I was even done eating. We’re making the southwest and berry one this week. So excited for lunch now. Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes. Life saver!
Delicious! And yes – these salads are packed with protein + fiber that actually fill you up. So glad you’re enjoying!
Where did you get your mason jars?
Try these!
Do you just shake these up and eat them out of the jar? I’ve never done this before but wanted to start meal prepping salads.
You can if you’d like!
Are each of these recipes for a single salad? I had never made a salad in a jar before and decided to prep your Greek one last night for lunch today. I followed your amounts exactly, but by the time I added the chicken I had no room left and had to put the olives, feta, and lettuce in another jar. I’m wondering what I did wrong. Still can’t wait to try it for lunch in a few hours!
Yes they are! Mason jars do come in a variety of sizes, so feel free to adjust any of the ingredient amounts to fit into the jar you have 🙂 Enjoy!
I can’t wao to try this
Typo I can’t wait to try this
Hope you love them!!
I made the peanut chicken jar minus the quinoa! I am wondering what the nutrition facts for this one is?
Perfect! I didn’t calculate for these ones, but will have some more salad jars coming out every Monday this month!
These were wonderful. I was looking for recipes to make with my new Pampered Chef plastic mason jar kits and these were perfect and so yummy. I tried both the berry salad and Thai salad so far. 🙂
So happy you’re loving them! Perfect for prepping in those mason jars 🙂
Such a simple and wonderful idea. Can’t wait to start prepping 😀👍
Absolutely! Perfect for lunch 🙂
made them all and loved them all. Please share id you create more.
So happy to hear that! I’ll definitely keep these in mind to make more 🙂
Are these too help lose weight? And also u only eat on of these a day ?
These salads are just a nourishing meal prep lunch – I don’t make recipes specific for weight loss or gain as everyone is different.
where are the recipes for the marinades and the homemade salad dressings?
Click here!
Do you have the nutritional info for these salads?
Yes! Click for the Southwest Chicken, Chicken Berry Quinoa, Thai Chicken Quinoa, and Greek Chicken.
Can I substitute salmon for the recipes that use cheese?
I wouldn’t recommend combining chicken and salmon in one salad, but feel free to swap the cheese + chicken for salmon!
Hi How big are the jars you use?
They’re 16oz!
Hi, I would like to know how much of each spice do you put on the chicken to marinate – there is no quantities on the recipe.
Regards
Cecile
Hi! Check out these marinades: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/best-chicken-marinades/ enjoy!
Hi, your salads look delicious! I found them through Pinterest where you have a video showing how you put them together. BUT I am so confused because the link only leads to the salads and not the marinades or dressings that you used. I have tried searching your site to pair them together but the recipe names are different from the video and the ingredients don’t match the recipes…. Do you have a post that shows everything you used in the video to put the salads together?
Hi! The dressings are all in here and marinades are here 🙂