Quinoa Chickpea Salad [In A Jar]

This lettuce, quinoa and chickpea salad is fresh, vibrant, nutritious, and makes for perfect meal-prep mason jar salads in less than 30 minutes! + How to make salad in a jar with top tips & recipe variations!

What Are Mason Jar Salads?

Salad jars are our favorite ways to meal prep salads to enjoy over several days with minimal prep. They’re quick to throw together, portable, and use strategic layering of ingredients to maintain the best texture and flavor of the ingredients for the longest time, and are portable. This time, we’re making a hearty chickpea salad.

Unlike traditional quinoa chickpea salad, this is a green salad made with lettuce or kale and crisp veggies like cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion. When combined with your dressing of choice it’s a refreshing, crisp, hearty, delicious, well-balanced meal with fiber, plant-based protein, and plenty of vitamins and minerals.

Best of all, though, once you know the secret of how to pack a salad jar, you can apply it to any salad (keep reading for optional add-ins, subs, and alternative salad ideas) and prepare an entire weeks work of lunches in under 30 minutes – perfect at home or portable for on the go.

Looking for more simple vegan salad ideas? Check out our easy Mediterranean couscous salad, Southwest quinoa salad, orzo chickpea salad.

The Ingredients and Substitutes

• Greenery: There are two main options; Crisp, crunchy romaine lettuce (or iceberg lettuce), or make chickpea salad with kale for a softer yet hardy bite loaded with nutrients.
• Red onion: Or white onion/ shallots for texture and spicy bite.
• Cucumber: Use Persian or English cucumbers, which have fewer seeds and a thin peel. Otherwise, you may need to peel and de-seed them first.
• Tomatoes: We love using cherry tomatoes, which are available year-round, but feel free to change it up based on what’s available.
• Chickpeas: Aka garbanzo beans – Use canned (regular or low-sodium) or homecooked chickpeas to add heaps of fiber and plant-based protein. Other beans would work, too, like cannellini beans, butter beans, etc.
• Quinoa: This is technically optional, but the addition of quinoa makes for a much heartier salad. Couscous, rice, or barley/farro would work, too.
• Nuts/seeds: Optional to garnish for crunch. We used pumpkin seeds, but sunflower seeds, omega seed mix, or nuts like toasted cashews/ slivered almonds will work.
• Dressing: This part of the salad jars recipe is extremely versatile. E.g., Italian dressing, lemon dressing, basil ‘pesto’ dressing, or even creamy vegan Caesar dressing – it’s up to you!

Other Best Salad Jar Meal Prep Ingredients

• Protein: Like diced tofu, tempeh, mock meats (chick’n, ham, bacon, etc.)
• Hard vegetables: E.g., bell pepper, carrot, radish, baby potatoes, broccoli, etc.
• Soft veggies: Like roasted/grilled zucchini, eggplant, olives, corn, mushrooms.
• Other greens: E.g., mixed leaves, baby spinach, arugula, etc.
• Fresh herbs: Like basil, parsley, dill, or cilantro added on top of the greens. Sprouts are also best placed here, too.
• Vegan cheese: Like dairy-free mozzarella, cheddar, or feta cheese (best added on top of the leafy greens to avoid becoming ‘soggy’).

Ingredients like avocado, chopped apple, and pear are also fine to add to salads but brown quickly, so they are not ideal for mason jar salads and are best added when serving.

How to Pack Salad In A Jar

When making salad in a jar, the idea is to stack the ingredients in a way to maintain optimal freshness and texture. Aside from that, this recipe is incredibly versatile.

• The dressing: This goes right at the bottom of the jar, so it can’t make anything soggy. Likewise, here is where guacamole or salsa would go.

• Hearty ingredients: Like grains or pulses – these will soak up flavor from the dressing without becoming mushy. Alternatively, if you want to stop them from soaking, swap layers two and three (or 4 if you aren’t adding protein).

• Protein: Like tofu, tempeh, vegan chick’n, etc. Some people like them by the dressing, to soak up flavor. Others prefer a layer of hard veg, first. It’s up to you! Smaller ingredients like chopped vegan ham are best above leafy greens to stop them from becoming soggy.
• Harder veg: Like carrots, bell peppers, onions, etc. that can handle touching the dressing without becoming gross.

• Softer veg: Like cucumber, tomatoes, beets, etc. These can release moisture, so always layer them beneath the greens.

• The leafy greens: So they’re far away from the dressing to maintain texture.

Store any toppings (like nuts/seeds, croutons, etc.) either in a separate container OR place plastic wrap over the top of the leafy greens, leaving overhang out the jar and the toppings over that. This ensures they won’t become ruined by moisture.

How to Make Chickpea Salad in a Jar

• First, prepare the ingredients by draining and rinsing the chickpeas, halving the cherry tomatoes, dicing the cucumber, finely dicing the red onion, and chopping the lettuce/kale.

If you haven’t already, you’ll also need to prepare the quinoa (if using) and the dressing.

• Divide the dressing between the three jars, then add the garbanzo beans and quinoa (if using).

By adding these ingredients to the bottom, they’ll absorb flavor from the dressing. Just note they will soak up dressing and soften more.

• Then, add ⅓ each of the cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and the red onion to the jars before packing in the lettuce.

• Then, place the lid on the jar and refrigerate it until serving. When ready to eat, remove the lid, dump it into a large bowl, toss the quinoa chickpea salad, and enjoy!

FAQs

Pro Recipe Tips

• Layer correctly: Make sure to place the dressing at the bottom then layer starting with the hardest/most durable ingredients first, then softer veg, and finally delicate leafy greens/herbs on top.
• Use airtight jars: To ensure the salads stay fresh for as long as possible.
• Shake before serving: Or transfer the ingredients to a plate/bowl, to ensure the salad is thoroughly tossed.
• To eat from the jar: Make sure to leave space at the top of the jar to shake it up before digging in.
• Store upright: This might seem obvious, but you want to keep the layers in position so storing it sideways/at an angle is not recommended.
• Experiment: Have fun experimenting with different ingredient combinations (as long as you stick to the layering method!).

More Mason Jar Salad Recipes

Looking for more layered mason jar salad ideas? Any of these vegan salads can be transformed into a jar meal.

• Vegan taco salad
• Peanut noodle salad
• Rainbow salad
• Mediterranean chickpea lentil salad
• Vegan Greek Millet Salad
• Lemon-garlic Mediterranean quinoa salad

More Easy Vegan Salad Recipes

• Panzanella salad
• Fattoush salad
• Strawberry kale salad
• Easy edamame salad
• Vegan broccoli salad
• Shaved Brussels sprout salad

Photos by Alfonso Revilla