Mason Jar Salads

I don't know if it's just me, or if everyone gets like this, but I get tired of the same old thing every week for lunch, so I wanted to mix it up a bit this week. I decided to try out something I saw where they layer salad ingredients in a mason jar in one day, and they're good all week to take to lunch, eat at home, etc. I found three different recipes to try out, but after making them all realized my mason jars were too small! These recipes are rather large, so unless you want to split them up into multiple jars, make sure you get big ones, with wide mouths. All you have to do when you're ready is shake them up and eat! I thought they were all pretty good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the Greek Pasta Salad, but I think that might just be because it had too much mint for my liking. The other two were quite good though, and were a great meal paired with some bread! I might have to try this sort of thing again but mix it up with some different veggies, maybe add some meat or something, and you should too! Just make sure the wet ingredients stay on the bottom, the greens on the top, and separate the two with some veggies so nothing wilts :)

Caprese Pasta Salad

• 2 tbsp basil pesto (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 ½ oz fresh mozzarella, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 oz cooked penne pasta
• ½ cup fresh spinach leaves
• ½ cup fresh basil, chopped

Layer as listed, starting with the pesto.

Chickpea Salad

• 2 tbsp easy lemon vinaigrette (see below for recipe)
• 1 cup chickpeas
• ½ cup sun-dried or oven roasted tomatoes
• ¼ cup spring onion, chopped
• ¼ cup red onion, chopped
• ½ cup olives, chopped
• ½ cup fresh spinach

Layer as listed, starting with the vinaigrette.

Greek Pasta Salad

(Yay! An actually decent food picture, or at least I think so)

• 2 tbsp easy lemon vinaigrette (see below for recipe)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup red onion, chopped
• 1 cup cucumber, chopped
• ½ cup feta, crumbled
• 2 oz rigatoni, cooked
• ½ cup mixed greens
• ½ cup fresh mint, chopped

Layer as listed, starting with the vinaigrette.




Easy Lemon Vinaigrette

(will make enough for 3-4 mason jars)

• Juice from one large lemon
• ½ cup olive oil
• Good pinch of salt
• Couple of grinds of black pepper

Shake all ingredients together in a small container and refrigerate until ready to use. Shake again before using.