This Italian Pasta Mason Jar Salad is great for your weekly meal-prep. Mason jar salads can be made ahead of time by layering your favorite dressing, vegetables, pasta, greens, nuts and cheese and stored in the jar until ready to eat. Today’s recipe mixes pasta, vegetables, lettuce, goat cheese with a creamy Italian style dressing. 

ITALIAN PASTA MASON JAR SALAD 

It is the time of year that many of us are thinking more about what we eat each day.

We try to meal-prep more at the beginning of the week and plan ahead for our weekly meals.

I know that I have been looking at my families meals and eating more lately and trying to make things easier for myself. 

Today’s Italian Pasta Mason Jar Salad is a great way to meal-prep a protein packed salad for the week ahead.

Mason jar salads are one way to meal prep salads for lunches and dinners that are already assembled and ready to eat. 

You can layer any salad ingredients you have on hand.

Try a Mediterranean version using bulgur, chickpeas, tomatoes and cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, artichokes and a light lemon dressing with sumac.

Or try a southwest version using black beans, corn, romaine, tomatoes, bell peppers, pickled red onions, pepper jack cheese and a southwest dressing. 

I find that when I have mason jar salad recipes already prepped is an easy way to add fresh salads to my diet. 

Today’s salad has pasta, vegetables, ham, salami and pepperoni along with a creamy Italian dressing and goat cheese. You can leave out the meat and use chickpeas instead or even try lentils.

If you are trying to skip the pasta you can use grains instead like quinoa, bulgar or brown rice. 

I am a big fan of salads and love rotating these mason jar salads with this Mediterranean Bean Salad, Balela Salad or this Lebanese Salad.  

WHY YOU WILL LOVE MASON JAR SALADS

GREAT FOR MEAL-PREP: Mason jar salads are a great way to meal-prep salads for the week ahead. You can prep a variety of different ingredients in jars along with the dressing on the bottom of the jar and have a healthy lunch option for work or a salad to-go. 

ON-THE-GO MEAL OPTION: Preparing salads in jars is a great way to have a meal on-the-go. If you are traveling you can pack your jar salad in a cooler and eat it in the car or airplane. These are healthy lunches that are great for traveling. 

EASY TO MAKE: These jars are so easy to make. Your start with your dressing on the bottom which can be homemade or your favorite store-bought and then layer the hard chopped vegetables followed by any pasta or grain, greens and then toppings like cheese or nuts. You can have these salad prepped in under 20 minutes. 

WHAT INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR AN ITALIAN PASTA MASON JAR SALAD

COOKED PASTA

DICED PEPPERONI, HAM & SALAMI

RED ONION

FRESH TOMATOES

BANANA PEPPERS

CORN

CRUMBLED GOAT CHEESE

MIXED GREENS OR LETTUCE 

DRESSING INGREDIENTS: 

GREEK YOGURT OR MAYONNAISE 

ITALIAN DRESSING

RED WINE VINEGAR

ITALIAN SEASONING

HOW TO MAKE A MASON JAR SALAD

ADD YOUR DRESSING: Pour your favorite salad dressing in the bottom of the mason jar or canning jars.

LAYER HARD VEGETABLES: Add any hard crunchy veggies like carrots or celery as they hold up against the dressing and prevent a soggy salad.

ADD BEANS, PASTA AND/OR GRAINS: Add any beans, grains, and/or pasta to above the dressing or hard vegetables.

LAYER IN OTHER INGREDIENTS LIKE CHEESE, PROTEIN: Add a layer of crumbled cheese and proteins like beans, ham, pepperoni, shrimp or chicken if you’re eating it within the day.

ADD ANY SOFT VEGETABLES: Add any softer veggies or fruits, like avocados, corn, onion or tomatoes.

FINISH OFF WITH SEEDS AND NUTS: Add any nuts or seeds like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts or sliced almonds. 

FILL WITH GREENS: Fill the rest of the jar with salad greens. Screw the lid on the jar.

Store in the fridge until ready to eat. Give the jar a good shake to distribute the dressing once ready to eat, pour the salad into a bowl, mix again if necessary and enjoy. 

WAYS TO MODIFY AN ITALIAN PASTA MASON JAR SALAD

BEANS AND LENTILS: I love adding beans or lentils to salad jars. Try white beans, chickpeas, red beans, black beans or cooked lentils. 

PROTEIN: Try adding protein like chicken breast, shrimp, ham, pepperoni, salami, shredded pork or shredded steak. 

GRAINS: Grains are a healthy and filling ingredient that are great to add into salads. Try quinoa, bulgur, brown rice or farro. 

VEGETABLES: There are a lot of options when it comes to vegetables to add to salad jars. Try carrots, celery, radish, diced bell peppers, roasted red peppers, artichokes, olives or sun-dried tomatoes. 

CHEESE: If you want to add cheese to your jar there are many options that would be a nice option. Try feta, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese.

NUTS & SEEDS: Seeds and nuts are another ingredient that is great to add to salads. I like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts or pistachios. 

GREENS: Add leafy greens, mixed greens, kale, spinach or romaine lettuce. 

DRESSING: You can use your favorite store-bought dressing like a balsamic dressing or try making this Creamy Dill Dressing or Tahini Sauce.

OTHER INGREDIENTS: There are a lot of other ingredients you can add to these jars. Try pickled red onions, pickles, quick pickled vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, olives or mushrooms. 

OTHER SALAD RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

LEMON ARUGULA SALAD 

CAPRESE ORZO PASTA SALAD 

ARUGULA ORZO SALAD

ITALIAN TORTELLINI SALAD

GREEK ORZO SALAD

ITALIAN PASTA SALAD

MEDITERRANEAN GRILLED VEGEATBLE COUSCOUS SALAD