How To Easily Meal Prep Salad In A Jar
Are you sick of making the same meal prep recipes every week? That is why we are going to teach you how to easily meal prep salad in a jar. Prepping your weekly salads in a jar is a quick and easy trend that is worth throwing into your meal prep rotation.
Why would one put a salad into a jar, you ask? It’s because a well-sealed mason jar can keep the salad fresh for four to five days! To try this trend, use the steps below with your favorite ingredients and see if it becomes one of your favorite go to meal prep ideas!
Steps for How to Easily Meal Prep Salad in a Jar:
Step 1: Gather your ingredients and materials. To make your salad, gather…
- greens
- veggies
- seeds
- nuts
- cheese
- protein
- salad dressing
You will also need a mason jar, or a few of them depending on how many salads you’d like to make. Smaller jars can be used for simpler salads that have less ingredients. Quart sized jars can be used for larger salads that will have more ingredients included. To ensure that your salad stays as fresh as possible all week long, make sure that your jar has an air tight lid on it.
Step 2: Prep your ingredients.
After gathering everything, chop up your veggies, cook your proteins and prep the rest of your ingredients as necessary. After prepping everything, lay out the ingredients to easily access them for the next step. Layering will be important so having things laid out clearly helps.
Step 3: Layering your salad.
The order in which the salad goes into the jar is key to keeping it fresh and keeping the ingredients from getting soggy over time. The following order is how the ingredients should be loaded into the jar in order from bottom to top…
- The first ingredients to go in are any non-absorbent veggies and your salad dressing of choice.
- You may also keep the dressing to the side if you prefer, but keeping it at the bottom is an easy way to avoid sogginess.
- The next ingredient to be added to the jar is protein.
- This is followed by any other veggies that would have absorbed the dressing at the bottom. They will be safe from sogginess sitting above the protein!
- Next you can add your cheese, nuts or seeds to the jar.
- Finally, it is time to top everything off with your greens of choice.
Essentially, you are building the salad upside down. When you are done, seal the jars tight and store in the fridge for later.
Step 4: Enjoy your salad in a jar!
When you are ready to enjoy your layered creation, simply remove your salad in a jar from the fridge, flip the jar upside down and allow the dressing to fall on all of the ingredients. You may shake the jar to coat everything in dressing and mix everything up.
If you prefer a prettier presentation, you may also pour the contents of the jar into a bowl or onto a plate and it will should fall like a classic salad because it was stacked into the jar upside down!
Step 5: Innovate!
Now that you know how to make your own salad in a jar, you can play with all kinds of different ingredients and enjoy a variety of recipes. Don’t be scared to venture away from salads and try things like layering sauce, protein, veggies and rice or quinoa in a jar!
The key to this DIY is to layer your ingredients strategically and when you’re ready, enjoy! Be careful with hot meals as only certain jars are microwavable. If they are, it should be marked on the jar that it is microwave safe.
We hoped you enjoyed this blog post on how to easily meal prep salad in a jar. With school starting and the busy seasons coming up, prepping is key! Check out this blog post on how to make a super organized cleaning calendar for more prepping hacks.
