Make ahead chickpea, barley and butternut squash jar salads will have you looking forward to lunch all morning! Vegetarian, ready in under 1 hour, and tastes amazing, even on day 4.
When it comes to lunches, salads are one of my all-time faves. I love this Kale Barley Salad with Feta and Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette as well as these Ranch Chicken Jar Salads, but today's chickpea barley and butternut squash jar salads might just take the cake!
Why assemble your salad in a jar? It's all about layering, people! Put the dressing at the bottom to keep it away from ingredients that can end up limp or soggy when stored in liquid. In this case, it keeps our barley nice and chewy.
These jar salads are one of my favorite vegetarian lunches, complete with healthy grains, proteins, veggies, and extra goodies for flavor!
Reasons you’ll ♡ these chickpea, barley and butternut squash jar salads
- they are vegetarian and can be made vegan
- they work perfectly for meal prep and taste great even on day 4
- they are a complete meal with healthy grains, veggies and protein
Recipe video
Wondering how this salad recipe comes together? Watch this 1 minute video to see how easy it is to prepare! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!
Let's talk ingredients
- Vinaigrette - olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey (or maple syrup), dijon mustard
- Barley- for a nice, chewy base to this salad. Swap for quinoa if you are gluten-free
- Butternut squash - 1 small butternut squash or ½ of a large squash, cubed
- Chickpeas- 1 can of cooked chickpeas or around 2 cups of homemade chickpeas. Here's my favorite Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe!
- The goodies - crumbled feta cheese, chopped pecans, dried cranberries to give this salad some extra pizzaz
Meal prep tips
This salad was specifically developed to work for meal prep, and it tastes just as good on day 4 as on day 1! Here are some tips to make the most of your meal prep:
- Layering- be sure to layer the mason jars according to the recipe instructions to keep your ingredients from getting soggy.
- Storage- this recipe can be stored for up to 4 days in the fridge. It cannot be frozen.
- Multitask- get your barley cooking first, then start working on roasting your butternut squash. Shake up the vinaigrette while the butternut squash roasts.
- Pecans- these will not stay crunchy when stored in the jars. If you need that crunch, store them separately!
Find my favorite sheet pans, jars, and meal prep containers in my shop
How do I make these jar salads vegan?
Simply use maple syrup instead of honey for the vinaigrette and omit the feta cheese to make these as vegan mason jar salads!
Is this recipe gluten-free?
Barley is not gluten-free; try quinoa for a tasty gluten-free version.
Do I eat these salads right out of the mason jars?
You certainly can make as an easy-grab-and-go lunch, but I do recommend shaking everything out into a bowl if you're able so that the delicious vinaigrette can evenly coat all of the ingredients.
If I don't want to make in mason jars, can I prepare in regular meal prep containers?
Definitely! You can use 2 cup meal prep containers, such as the ones found in my shop.
Are there any suggested ingredients swaps?
You can customize these jar salads a number of ways!
- Instead of chickpeas, try cooked and chopped chicken breasts
- Swap butternut squash for sweet potato
- Make a version with balsamic vinaigrette
More jar salad recipes
- Kale Chicken Pasta Salad
- Thai Chickpea Jar Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Jar Salad
- Southwestern Sweet Potato Lentil Jar Salad
- Healthy Homemade Instant Noodles (not a jar salad but a fantastic jar meal prep recipe for cold weather!)
Find my favorite sheet pans, jars, and meal prep containers in my shop
Chickpea, Barley & Butternut Squash Jar Salads
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard
Salad
- ½ cup uncooked barley (roughly 2 cups of cooked barley)
- 4 cups butternut squash (cubed; 1 small butternut squash or ½ a large butternut squash)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 15 oz can chickpeas (or 540 mL; drained and rinsed)
- ½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- ¼ cup pecans (chopped)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Shake together vinaigrette and set aside.
- Cook barley according to package directions and set aside.
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Toss the butternut squash with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Arrange on the baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Toss and roast for 10-15 more minutes, until soft. Allow to cool completely.
- Assemble the jar salads: Add 1.5 tablespoons of dressing in the bottom of the jar. Add in the following order: chickpeas, barley, butternut squash, feta cheese, cranberries and pecans.
Storage
- Store in sealed containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To serve: Shake jar contents out into a bowl. Toss completely in vinaigrette and enjoy!
