I’m a huge fan of mason jar salads, and this Mediterranean Salad in a Jar recipe is one of my favorites.
This protein-packed salad has layers of fresh veggies, chickpeas and quinoa, in the most delicious lemon, garlic and olive oil dressing.
You can easily meal-prep four salads at a time, for almost a week’s worth of healthy grab-and-go lunches that you can feel good about.
And let me tell you, this mason jar salad tastes incredible, especially since the chickpeas and red onion have time to marinate in the dressing. Every bite is bursting with flavor, and Mediterranean Diet approved.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Protein-rich Meal – I like to try to get protein in every meal, and each jar of this salad (or 1/4 of the entire recipe) has about 15 grams protein, from the chickpeas (6g), quinoa (4g) and feta (5g). Add chicken for even more.
Healthy Meal-Prep – Meal-prepping mason jar salads is a great way to keep my healthy eating goals on track. It’s as easy to make four salad jars at a time as it is to make one, and then deciding what to have for lunch or dinner is on auto-pilot.
Budget-Friendly – We all have fresh produce that goes bad because we don’t use it up in time. When you make four salads at once you use the entire cucumber, container of tomatoes, can of chickpeas etc., so there really is nothing leftover to risk wasting.
The Best Jars to Use for this Salad
You need four, quart-size mason jars. I prefer to use wide-mouth jars for easy filling.
Make note, this salad is meant to be inverted onto a plate and not eaten out of the jar.
If you plan to eat your jar salads at home, you don’t necessarily need to pack the greens in the jar. In this case the rest of the salad components should fit in pint-size jars.
To serve this salad for family dinner, skip the jars and toss everything in a large bowl. Serve salad components, like olives, feta cheese and chicken on the side, so each person can choose what to add in.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s everything you need to make the Mediterranean salad and a delicious homemade lemon-garlic olive oil salad dressing.
Mediterranean Salad Ingredients
Lemon Garlic Dressing – Make homemade lemon garlic dressing (included in recipe card below) or use your preferred store-bought dressing.
Chickpeas (protein source) – Chickpeas are common in Mediterranean foods and a must for this salad. Plus, they’re an excellent source of plant protein and fiber.
One can of drained and rinsed chickpeas is enough for four jars of salad.
Fresh Produce – Red onion, grape tomatoes and English cucumber give this salad lots of color, crunch and nutrition.
A seedless English cucumber with the delicate skin left is preferable to more-watery seeded cucumbers.
Quinoa (protein source) – Quinoa is a good source of plant protein and fiber and is considered a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids (the ones the body can’t produce on its own).
When prepping these mason jar salads, cook the quinoa first so it has time to cool down before adding to the jars.
Salad Greens – I like 50/50 spring mix and baby spinach, but use your favorite.
Kalamata Olives – Kalamata olives are a staple of the Mediterranean diet and are a good source of healthy fats. If you’re not a fan, just leave them out.
If you can’t get enough olives in your life, here are a few recipes where this little fruit adds big flavor: Quick & Easy Marinated Olives, Easy Greek Salad Skewers, Easy Greek Mason Jar Salad with Chicken.
Feta Cheese (protein source) – Feta cheese is a staple in Mediterranean cooking and adds a creamy texture to this salad. Opt for part-skim feta and use in moderation if you’re following the actual Mediterranean Diet.
Cooked Chicken (optional protein source) – To really dial up the amount of protein and turn this salad into a full, satisfying meal, I suggest adding chicken.
My favorite way to cook chicken for salads is to make pan-seared chicken tenders. They take about 10 minutes to cook and have a little crisp on the outside, while remaining moist on the inside.
Lemon Garlic Dressing Ingredients
Lemon – Fresh lemon juice and zest add brightness and some zest to the dressing.
Garlic – I hardly ever make a vinaigrette without garlic. You can leave it out if desired or substitute with more mild shallots.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This is the base of the dressing, and basically a must when making Mediterranean meals.
Seasoning – Salt, pepper, and oregano
For detailed instructions, checkout my homemade lemon salad dressing recipe.
How to Make Mason Jar Mediterranean Salad
This recipe makes enough for four quart-size mason jars, or you can combine everything in one large bowl and serve family-style for dinner.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
- Whisk together all the lemon garlic dressing ingredients until emulsified, then divide evenly between four, one-quart mason jars.
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Set it aside to cool while you prep the rest of the salad ingredients. (Quinoa triples in size as it cooks so for this recipe you need to cook 2/3 dry quinoa to make 2 cups cooked quinoa.)
- In this order, to the mason jars with dressing, add chickpeas, red onion, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, feta and cooked quinoa.
- Top each jar with optional chicken, and salad greens.
- Seal each jar and place in refrigerator for 3-5 days. To eat, invert jar of salad onto plate.
Fill the mason jars assembly line style, for an equal amount of salad ingredients in each. Or toss everything together in a big bowl for family dinner.
Recipe Variations
- For a vegetarian salad, omit the feta and chicken.
- For a creamy salad without cheese, top it off with avocado. Leave the avocado out of the mason jar and dice just before eating.
- For additional fresh produce, add in bell pepper, broccoli or carrots.
- For more plant-based protein and healthy fats, add nuts or seeds, like almonds, pine nuts or sesame seeds.
More Mason Jar Salads
- Southwest Chicken Salad in a Jar
- Easy Greek Mason Jar Salad with Chicken
- Taco Salad in a Jar
- Copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad Recipe (with Meal Prep Tips)
Mason Jar Mediterranean Salad
This Mediterranean Salad is full of chickpeas, olives, cucumber, feta, quinoa and more, tossed in a lemony olive oil dressing for a meal that has all your favorite Mediterranean flavors in every bite. This salad is perfect for serving family style in a big bowl or meal-prepping into mason jars to enjoy throughout the week.
Ingredients
Lemon Garlic Dressing Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Mediterranean Salad Ingredients
- 3/4 cup lemon garlic dressing
- 2 cups chickpeas, drained
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 (10 ounce) container grape tomatoes, halved
- 32 Kalamata olives
- 1 English cucumber, chopped
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, (cook 2/3 cup dry)
- 8 cups salad greens
- 16 ounces cooked chicken (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk together all the lemon garlic dressing ingredients until emulsified, then divide evenly between four, one-quart mason jars.
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Set it aside to cool while you prep the rest of the salad ingredients. (Quinoa triples in size as it cooks so for this recipe you need to cook 2/3 dry quinoa to make 2 cups cooked quinoa.)
- In this order, to the mason jars with dressing, add chickpeas, red onion, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, feta and cooked quinoa.
- Top each jar with optional chicken, and salad greens.
- Seal each jar and place in refrigerator for 3-5 days. To eat, invert jar of salad onto plate.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 quartAmount Per Serving: Calories: 363Total Fat: 14gCholesterol: 424mgSodium: 271mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 9gSugar: 8gProtein: 15g
Nutrition information isn't always accurate. This nutrition is calculated for the salad only, and does not include nutrition data for the lemon salad dressing or optional chicken.