With only about 10 minutes of prep (and no cooking!) you can prepare these healthy Chicken Taco Mason Jar Salads to keep in your refrigerator for a busy week ahead! Whether you serve them as portable lunches or last-minute dinners, these salads are loaded with fresh veggies, plenty of cheese, and almost 40 grams of protein for a nutritious and satisfying meal at any time of day!
Have you jumped on the salad-in-a-jar bandwagon yet? If not, let me introduce you to your new favorite prep-ahead option for the warm weather months!! By strategically layering a variety of fresh and tasty ingredients, you can prepare an entire salad in advance (dressing included)…and it won’t even be soggy the next day!
In my opinion, the key to creating a hearty salad that actually tastes like a meal is to choose a wide variety of flavors and textures that will fill you up and keep you going. I always want plenty of spice, plenty of filling fresh veggies, some crunch, something creamy, and plenty of lean protein. THAT is the recipe for a perfect entree!
By far, my favorite ingredient in this particular dish is the Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican. We use this in quesadillas, in regular tacos, in taco salads, in casseroles, and in just about anything else that calls for shredded cheese. In fact, if I let them, my boys will eat it straight-up by the handful! I just don’t love the mess on the floor afterwards…
The blend is rich, creamy, and an easy way to add delicious Mexican flavor to my cooking — thanks to the off-the-block freshness of the Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero cheeses. After all, when I’m making a meal that’s full of fresh veggies and seasonal produce, I also want my cheese and other ingredients to be as fresh as possible. And since I can easily grab the Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican on my regular shopping trips at Kroger, it has become a staple in my kitchen.
Enjoy this perfectly portable, picnic-friendly meal that everyone will love!!
[Tweet “Fresh, easy, and CHEESY: #Chicken Taco Mason Jar #Salads!”]
Chicken Taco Mason Jar Salads
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ½ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt can substitute with mayonnaise or sour cream
- ½ cup taco sauce can substitute with your favorite salsa, but it will create a thicker and chunkier dressing, so you may need to thin it with a little bit of water or milk
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 12 ounces cooked diced Southwestern-seasoned chicken (I find this in the refrigerated section of my grocery store, but you can substitute with any cooked chicken that you season with a little bit of taco seasoning or southwest seasoning)
- 1 cup black beans from a 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn can use fresh, frozen, or canned & drained
- 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup 4 ounces Sargento® Fine Cut Shredded 4 Cheese Mexican
- 4 16 ounce/pint-size wide-mouth jars*
Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl until completely combined.
- Place an equal amount of dressing at the bottom of each jar.
- Divide remaining ingredients among the jars, layering in the following order: chicken, black beans, corn, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. Twist on the top to seal your salads and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- When you’re ready to eat, just dump the jar onto a large plate or bowl and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you want extra room for even more lettuce at the top, I suggest bumping it up to a quart-size jar.
Look for Specially Marked Packages of Sargento® Shredded Cheese for $1 Savings at your local Kroger.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento®. The opinions and texts are all mine.
How cute is this?! It’s also so fun to eat out of mason jars, and I’m loving the taco salad combo!
Thanks so much, Gayle! Hooray for salad season!
This is the best idea, Blair! Who doesn’t enjoy eating out of cute little mason jars?! They’re so portable and fun! We’re planning a kayaking trip and this would be an excellent take along lunch!!
Thanks, Jen! Definitely portable!!
This is the most stupid idea you have ever come up with! Why??????:?:? would anyone want to put a salad or anything else except canned goods in a canning jar?????Dumb!!!!!!!!! I’ve been following you for a long time…..Don’t care about your exercise or conditioning…..Who cares????? We all have our own conditioning, etc. We don’t care about YOURS…. Just give us your recipes and we can tolerate all the kids and huband stuff!!! Do you want to hear about MINE? I don’t th ink so!!!!!!!
I guess you were never taught as a child to mind your manners.
If you don’t care about Blair’s idea,why even comment on it? Are you just naturally angry or does the idea of a salad in a mason jar bring back bad childhood memories of guessing how many jellybeans were in a mason jar and always getting it wrong? There is help for your problem but bashing someone on their blog for offering a cute and helpful idea is not the solution. They say misery loves company. Do us all a favor. Go find other company!
Thanks, Brian!
Well said Brian, I thought that miserable person was joking at first, wow ! Like he said, but I will change a few words GO FIND A ROCK AND CRAWL UNDER IT, MEAN EMILY!!
Thanks, Jane! 🙂
So let me see if I understand this correctly ..you want her to shut up about what doesn’t interest YOU and give you her recipes that she has taken the time to make and inform you in great detail to make your life easier and in return you disrespect her? Shame on you! You don’t deserve her kindness.
Another great Jar salad and I love Sargento monterey jack & mozzarella. Pinning it !
Have a lovely weekend Blair !
Thanks, Ruwani! Me, too — that cheese is a staple in my refrigerator! 🙂
These look 1) Adorable and 2) So stinking tasty. I wish I had one in my fridge right now!
Thanks, Karly! Me too — it’s like a comforting sense of security when I have a few of these jars in my refrigerator for quick and easy lunches or dinners! Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
They look great. Pretty cool thing to make, thanks for the idea
Thanks so much, Keith! I appreciate your thoughtful comments!
Love the easy dressing recipe. I’m going to add some lime and cilantro and see how that goes!
Sounds like a perfect tweak! Enjoy!
I often just store my lettuce in quart jars. It stays so much fresher! Canning jars are great!
Thanks, Joan! That’s a great idea too!
Great way to monitor cholesterol levels for my lunch at work! Super idea!
Thanks, Erika! I hope you enjoy!
As I an new to this. it is a Little late to get in on the conversation, but how do you keep the lettuce fresh? Wrap it on top with paper towels? And then seal the top?
Hi, Greer! If you keep the lettuce on the very top so that it’s not in contact with the dressing, and make sure to pack the jar very tightly so that there’s no extra air circulating in the jar, it should stay fresh for about 5 days! It’s kind of like those bags of lettuce that you buy at the store that you can keep in your refrigerator for a few days before it goes bad.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Wish I had thought of this idea. This is a PERFECT lunch and dinner meal! Wait until my co-workers see it; I’m going to tell them a genius named Blair showed me how to make it. I bet I’ll have several of them bringing in mason jars of salad every week! LOL
Excellent idea, Blair! 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind words, Shana! I hope you love it! 🙂
how long can these meal prep salads last in the fridge, do you think?
Hi! If they’re packed really tightly so that minimal air is in the jar, they can easily last 4-5 days (maybe longer)! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! It’s great for meal prep! I know I’m going to enjoy it❤️
Yes! I hope that you enjoy it, Jeanna!