Four Mason Jar Salad Tips that will make you eager to try them!

Weekly Mason Jar Salad logo

Each Friday, I have been trying to share with you a wonderful Mason Jar Salad that you can make for the week. These salads are large and filling, and they are such a blessing to have ready to go. I eat a jar salad 3-6 times a week. If I don’t eat it for lunch, I will eat the salad for a filling snack or even serve a jar as a dinner side for the whole family.

If you’ve read my posts and thought about taking the mason jar salad plunge what’s holding you back? Do you question: how long they will last, what kind of lettuce to use, how to fill the jars, how to eat them? Well, today I’m here to answer some of these questions.

Mason jar salad tips

How long do mason jar salads last?

I have been making these for over a year, and I can promise you they definitely last a week. Usually, I plan how many I need so that I do not make MORE than I need for the week. But some weeks haven’t gone as planned, and when I’ve even eaten them at 8-9 days old, THEY ARE STILL CRISPY! The trick is keeping the “wet” ingredients in the bottom of the jar. By doing this, the lettuce sits up above and does not get soggy. A second trick is to stuff the jar as full as possible leaving less air to wilt the lettuce.

What type of lettuce do you use?

I’m here to tell you, you can use ANY type of greens. Spinach, kale, romaine, ice berg, mixed lettuce, and anything in between. I will admit right here my FAVORITE kind of lettuce is bagged shredded iceberg lettuce. YES, THAT’S RIGHT; I SAID BAGGED, and it still keeps for over a week. I buy it from Sam’s Club, and the bag fills about 4 jars full. Someone told me one time: when buying bagged lettuce, look for the bags that seem to be vacuum sealed or that do not have lots of air in them because the lettuce lets off air as it starts to ripen. When I’m at Sam’s, I dig around the find the bags that appear to be vacuum sealed.

What type of jars do you use?

Making these salads in large mouth quart size jar is the easiest way to prepare them. This makes a very large salad. Sometimes I also make pint size jar salads for my kid’s lunches too. I like to use plastic lids instead of the metal ring and seal that come with the jars. I purchase these plastic lids from Amazon.com.

How do you get everything into the jar?

These salads are definitely not rocket science although I can give you a few tricks that may make the process a little less messy, but these salads are definitely not rocket science. One tool I use to load them up is a canning funnel.

It is wide, and I can easily throw my cheese and lettuce in using it without making a huge mess. Another thing I like to use is a small flexible cutting board. I use it to cut chicken or other meats, and then I can easily bend it and slide the meat into my jars.

How do you eat these salads?

When I first started eating these, I thought you could just shake them up and eat them out of the jar. Well, maybe some people do that, but like I said, I fill mine full! There is no shaking room. I also want to keep the air out so I don’t leave extra space in the jar. To eat them, I dump the salad out into a BIG bowl and then scrape the dressing out with a spatula. I do this because I like to get ALL of the dressing and make sure it gets on every bite!

Hopefully, these tips and tricks will give you the confidence you need to purchase the ingredients and make a few Mason Jar salads to try. You won’t be disappointed when the day gets busy and you open the fridge to find a healthy tasty option ready and waiting for you!

Are you ready to get to work and prep for the week? If so, be sure to check out all the Mason jar salad recipes I have shared. I’m sure you will find many that you will enjoy!

Click the photos below to view the full post and recipe.