Salad. In a jar. I totally get this one.
A while back (and maybe still) there was a spirited "foods in a jar" trend hovering around the food blogs. Mostly, cupcakes in a jar. And while I love dabbling in cupcake-making, they aren't really my passion. I'll leave cupcakes to a few vegan experts like Erin and Chloe.
..But salad in a jar? Inspired! Thanks to The Daily Muse for inspiring this post...
The Daily Muse's post "The Best New Way to Bring Your Lunch" introduced me to the "Mason Jar Salad" concept. They asked me if I wanted to take a crack at creating some vegan Mason Jar Salads on my blog. My mind was dizzy with ideas. Grains, beans, greens, nuts, seeds, fruit, veggies, dressings .. so many ingredients to layer, stack and arrange.
And as I showed in my Vegan Cobb Salad, I love lining salad ingredients up in an orderly fashion.
..actually, doing a "vegan cobb in a jar" would be pretty fantastic. (See it here!)
Fresh Factor? So while I was inspired, I was still a tad skeptical. Why salad .. in a jar? Sure, it looks super cute. But what was the practical part of this concept? Well, here is what The Daily Muse said..
"The best part is you can make five salads at a time, and they’ll stay fresh for the whole week—just grab and go on your way out the door! When lunchtime rolls around, you’ll be sitting pretty with your delicious salad ready to be shaken up."
..considering my crazy book writing schedule lately, the part that really stuck out was the "make ahead" concept. Could I really make a slew of these babies on Sunday night - with all my farmer's market produce - and eat them all week long?? Would they really stay fresh?
Well just so you know, it hasn't been a week yet. But I'm going to save at least one of my jars for later this week and see what happens. I'll let you know.
But as of now these salads look and taste AMAZING. UPDATE: Part Two - the results here.
Here are the four jars I assembled. But REALLY, you don't need a recipe. Just follow this method, loosely:
Layering Salad Jars:
1) BOTTOM - dressing/liquid
2) Heavy ingredients that hold up well when submerged in dressing - beans, cucumbers, radishes, onion..
3) Heavy items that you may not want directly touching the dressing when stored.
4) Leafy greens/light ingredients that take up a lot of space - spinach, kale, chard, arugula..
5) A small amount of heavy accent items - nuts, seeds, dried fruit, croutons, accent spices
6) TOP - colorful ingredients to perk up your taste buds when you pop open the jar - fruit, edible flowers, herbs..
Other: grains and pasta are nice add ins. I like to put these on top of the plentiful salad so that it doesn't get soggy in the dressing but helps to weigh the greens down a bit so I can fit more yummy stuff in each jar.
There are no exact "rules" and that is the fun part. Let creativity take over.
My recipes...
* I made some spicy Cajun quinoa (quinoa + dried Cajun spice blend) for these jars and used fresh farmer's market produce and nuts.
* I used balsamic + EVOO + peppercorn spice blend for the dressing in all of my jars. You can try oil/lemon, creamy dressings, tahini/lemon/oil, citrus and more as your liquid infusion.
#1 Green Garden
EVOO/Balsamic/Peppercorn spices dressing
diced persian cucumbers
diced tomato
arugula + baby spinach
raw pistachios
edible flowers
diced dried apricots
#2 Butter Bean Bliss
EVOO/Balsamic/Peppercorn spices dressing
sweet Maui onion, diced
butter beans
arugula + baby chard
raw walnuts
Cajun Spiced Quinoa
diced dried apricots
#3 Sunny Kale Kruncher
EVOO/Balsamic/Peppercorn spices dressing
radish, diced
sweet Maui onion, diced
walnuts
kale + shredded carrots + cabbage, chopped
seedless tangerine segments
#4 Quinoa Oasis
EVOO/Balsamic/Peppercorn spices dressing
red onion
Cajun Spiced Quinoa
kale + carrots
walnuts
edible flowers
What would you put in your salad jar???
Mia Cummins says
Probably could shake/stir and eat right out of the jars too, if you use a large enough jar and don't overfill
C says
I plan to put in mine: almond, brewer's yeast and organic braggs-alternative as dressing, brown rice, baby spinach, kale and farmer's market greens, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, organic feta cheese, kalamata olives, and cucumber slices! So excited to make a few jars - or one big jar! - this week! =) Farmer's market is on Wednesday.
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan says
Wonderful salad idea. Thank you!
Areil Sutton says
These salads look amazing! Does anyone have any ingredient amounts for these that could be used to count nutritional information?
Edie Irwin says
I love this. I am a JAR LADY. I love them and keep them forever. I have done simple salads before but these look fantastic! I will make them up this summer for the on the go camp teens. thnak you 🙂
Mary Mactavish says
They work fine just refrigerated, no need to seal.
Lisa Dipasalegne-Patterson says
No one said anything about "vacuum sealing"...there's no need to vacuum seal at all. As long as the liquid (dressing, oils, etc) stay on the bottom, and the lettuce, tomato and other items which will not tolerate being wet for too long, then the salad will be fine if kept cold, at least for a week, maybe longer. Just as you can keep lettuce in the fridge for about a week, you can do the same. I make fruit salads and jar salads by the week (my week is 5 days) and they always do well. I would def leave out avacado, unless it's firm and tossed in lemon. Toss apples in lemon too. All it takes is a little experimentation, since everyone will like different things. Experiment! See what works for you.
Kate Weese says
Looks like such a great lunch/dinner idea! Thanks for the inspration.
Abby says
Gorgeous!! <3
maryann m says
Toss avocado w lemon juice...then pack and vacuum seal
maryann m says
vacuum sealing helps them stay longer in refrigerator. make a weeks worth ahead of time. grab and go.
maryann m says
the idea is that you use a vacuum sealer and you can make a whole weeks worth at one time and refrigerate, grab and go for up to a whole week. no air/no spoilage.
maryann m says
oh my!! l just found this. i almost passed out from the sheer beauty of this!! thank you!
Lauren Joy says
I think what people are missing here is that you're supposed to vacuum and seal the jars! Can't wait to try them!
Elisa Yim says
im a college student, and am on campus for 7-8 hours and love the idea of a healthy easy and quick to-go meal. but im confused, will shaking the jar mix everything, even if its super packed with veggies, then eat straight from the jar? or do you have to pour the jar into a bowl to eat it?
Madeline Elizabeth Hutton says
Is the point that they keep longer, or just look pretty?
Joyce says
They look wonderful! And so logical to me. A jar is so much easier to pack- no plastic, easy to clean, reusable..... I was thinking you could really just invert the jar to coat your salad and eat it from the jar if you needed- or the plate idea is good. I'm a little late, but Nice blog. And, they look like quart size, wide-mouth Ball jars. I love them. Have a collection. They're great for most things, including grain, bean, and bulk storage.
Holly Hampton says
I love this idea! I am not vegan, so I'm wondering how shredded chicken, bacon, or other meats would hold up. Would it be best to put them on top? Thanks for the idea!
Kathy Patalsky says
Thanks! 🙂
Jdcrmartens says
Do you dump it out in a bowl to eat it so it's mixed up?
David Bez says
I'm loving your blog and your recipes!
😀
David From SaladPride
Ruthgrill says
What a great idea, both healty, convenient and cute! I'm going to try one with lime-balsamic dressing, black beans,corn,red peppers,onion,spincach and whole wheat pasta. Looks more impressive than the old Tupperware.
Maitland Boxing Gym says
Good article about the vegan salad.Vegan salad is very important for improving the health and fitness.
This salad burns the body fat and cholesterol level and plays an important role in heart working.!!!!!
Maitland Boxing Gym says
Good article about the vegan salad.Vegan salad is very important for improving the health and fitness.
This salad burns the body fat and cholesterol level and plays an important role in heart working.!!!!!
Phong Hong says
Absolutely marvelous idea! I am so inspired and excited and I am going to get right into it this weekend. By the way, the salads look gorgeous and you just want to grab a jar and eat.
Violets and Cardamom says
This is great. I had heard about these but never followed up on them. Thank you for detailing a recommended order as far as building them. The possibilities do truly seem endless! 🙂
Audreygonzy says
I love this idea! I just stumbled upon your blog and I want to say THANK YOU!
Treepassion says
I'm in love with these!
Spramani Elaun
Guest says
WOW thank you for sharing innovative ideas with REAL FOOD!
Naduah Lorde says
Wow! I always enjoy reading your recipes and health tips, but this post especially made me smile. I travel around a lot for work, and I just bought a jar for this purpose, but I had not actually put any real thought into how to plan what would go into the jar. I am inspired!
Cheers, and keep up the fascinating posts!
Regards,
~Naduah Rugely
Stephanie Marchbanks says
New reader brought here by Facebook share here...
Where do you get your spice blends, or do you make your own?
Anna says
what size are your jars?
surrealchereal says
Looks like a large mouth quart jar
kelli says
How awesome!
Gary Tuck says
What is EVOO??
Steph says
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Julia says
I love the pretty flowers you added to the top of your jars! Salad in a jar really is my favorite thing to bring to work for lunch, and I do it every week, always changing up the ingredients.
Lolo says
So.. they DO stay fresh?
brittany says
Tell us if they last a week! 🙂
Kathleen Richardson says
I'd shake the salad out on a plate if I could. If not, I'd turn it upside to spread the dressing, then eat it layer by layer. Either way, it's gotta be good!
Hannah Mansfield says
Absolutely gorgeous! I'm so inspired to try these 🙂
Serena says
It looks amazing but how do you shake them/ eat them?? Please answer--I really want to try this!
Real Foods Chick says
Those salads in jars are so beautiful and pretty, and they look delicious! I love how you used the edible flowers!
Jennifer Barnaby says
I love this! Such a clever idea and I think the presentation makes them irresistible. They'd be great at a picnic.
nade in the kitchen says
Oh my God. This is such a cute and fantastic idea, people NEVER run out of ideas, do they! And there are lots of silly ideas among them, but this one definitely is not! Thanks so much for this inspring post, just posted it to my facebook page!
Jess says
Beautiful and yummy!
luminousvegans says
So colorful and delicious looking!
Wyckham says
I don't know why this is so amazing, but it is and I can't wait to try it!
Elle says
Those salads look incredible! 🙂 Absolutely stunning photos, as always!
When I manage to procure some mason jars, I'll definitely be making these. Having something that looks so fun and tasty waiting for me in the fridge should rectify the problem I've had lately of forgetting to eat lunch. Thanks for sharing!
EDIT
I too am interested to know how long they stay fresh for; please keep us updated!
My salad jar would include kale, grape tomatoes, shredded carrot, toasted pine nuts, quinoa and sliced tempeh with either a lemon juice & EVOO dressing or a balsamic vinegar dressing. I was going to include avocado but I just realised it probably wouldn't stay too fresh. Ah well, it can always be added on the day! 🙂
Pamswan162 says
I just use the jars that pasta sauce comes in, that way you're not wasting a jar after eating pasta, nor your money in buying an empty mason jar! Classico brand sauce jars even say "Mason" on them when you peel off the label.
Daniel Jared says
Classico downsized their jars and then changed them again so they no longer have regular lids 🙁 I started using their smaller jars as drinking glasses when I learned my roommate cannot handle regular glasses safely, heh.
AngLee says
They do look yummy, but I don't get it. How can you shake up a jar so jam-packed? I think you'd have to leave some empty space on top.
Audrey says
You flip the content of a jar onto a plate or bowl before eating. That way your greens end up near the bottom and the dressing on the top.
Caralyn says
how beautiful!! They'd get me to eat more salad -- little jewels in the fridge all ready to go! thanks for sharing!
~Nilu~ says
What size/ounces are these jars?
Lina says
This looks delicious! How big are the mason jars you used?
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Mmm so full of colour and goodness!
Shontay13 says
The flowers look so pretty!
Katie says
This is a spectacular idea! I was initially skeptical (I thought the jar was for "cute's" sake...), but that's really a great way of keeping a salad from getting soggy.
Info says
They look beautiful! and would stay nice and fresh. Give them a shake and eat them with a long fork?
Jordan says
Hmm they look beautiful but how are you supposed to eat them? I'd just put them in tupperware.
Matt @ FaveGlutenFreeRecipes says
These look great, and would be perfect for summer. Have you found that certain ingredients work better than others for salads in jars?
Pureglow16 says
this is so creative i am so loving it! wow!
Meghan says
Yum. Love it. GREAT for road trips when healthy vegan or vegetarian food is hard to come by!
flickingthevs says
If that tastes even half as good as it looks, it's going to be amazing!