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Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salads

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These Asian chicken mason jar salads make for an easy and healthy work lunch! They can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 4 days.

Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salads, an easy and healthy make-ahead lunch recipe that takes only 25 minutes to prep!

The first recipe of 2016 is here!

I’m not going to lie. I started with a really reeeeally easy one. Because I think this week is a tough one for everyone. Was yesterday like the Monday of all Mondays or what?!

So in case you need something super easy to prep for lunch, I have you covered. These Asian chicken mason jar salads only take 25 minutes or so to whip up and make for a nice, fresh, healthy work lunch.

Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salads, an easy and healthy make-ahead lunch recipe that takes only 25 minutes to prep!

This wasn’t supposed to be a mason jar salad originally, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this recipe would keep better in mason jars.

Place the dressing on the bottom. It is a tangy Asian-flavoured dressing made with rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and some honey. SO GOOD.

Then I put the sliced chicken on the dressing. I figured that putting the chicken on the dressing will help keep it from drying out.

Next: cabbage, carrots and bell pepper slices. That’s it. SO SIMPLE.

Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salads, an easy and healthy make-ahead lunch recipe that takes only 25 minutes to prep!

By placing the dressing on the bottom of the jar, the cabbage and other veggies are kept from getting too mushy. That way these jars will keep for an extra few days.

You can also make these in regular plastic lunch containers and place the veggies on the top. I can’t guarantee how long they will keep, but these Asian chicken mason jar salads will be good for four days in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve, shake everything out into a bowl and give it a good toss to get everything coated with the dressing. You will have a fresh and flavourful lunch salad that is crunchy and tangy. I can’t get enough of it!

I did find that it wasn’t enough to fill me up for the entire afternoon, though, so you would want to still have something else with it. If you are looking for super filling lunch recipes, check out these Cauliflower Cashew Lunch Bowls or these Peanut-Lime Chicken Lunch Bowls!

Happy Tuesday!

two mason jars filled with asian chicken salads
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5 from 2 votes

Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salads

Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Chinese
Calories: 274kcal
Author: Denise Bustard
Servings: 4
These Asian chicken mason jar salads make for an easy and healthy work lunch!  They can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 4 days.
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time50 mins

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce I use reduced sodium soy sauce

Vinaigrette

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 garlic clove

Salad

  • 3 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 carrot shredded
  • 1 bell pepper thinly sliced

Instructions

  • Chicken Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
  • Line a baking dish with foil and place the chicken in the dish. Cover the chicken with the olive oil and soy sauce, turning to coat.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, flip the chicken.
  • Bake for another 10-15 minutes, the time will depend on the size of your chicken breasts.
  • Allow to cool for 10 minutes or more before slicing.
  • Vinaigrette Shake all ingredients together
  • Salad assembly Divide the vinaigrette evenly between 4 mason jars (or plastic lunch containers). I had between 1.5 and 2 tablespoons per jar.
  • Distribute the chicken slices evenly between the jars.
  • Top the chicken with cabbage, then carrots and bell peppers.
  • Store the sealed jars in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

This salad keeps well for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1jar | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 782mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @SweetPeaSaffron or tag #sweetpeasandsaffron

Products used in this recipe:

rows of glass mason jarskitchen toolbaking pan

Looking for more healthy lunch ideas?

About Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more. read more

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Comments

  2. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary

    Mason Jar Salads are bomb diggity and this crunchy asian chicken salad looks toe-ts delish, Denise Loving the crunch factor in here and that dressing sounds amazing! I would be a very happy girl eating this for lunch AND dinner! Cheers, girlfriend!
    P.S. Yes, Monday totally sucked!

    Reply

  5. Erika @ Love&Custard

    I’m such a lazy luncher (if that’s a word..) Denise, so I love this make ahead healthy recipe! I’ve started being braver in my cooking recently by experimenting with Asian-style sauces and I’ve loved using combinations of soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey. You just can’t beat it – plus it’s so quick to throw together! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply

  6. Natalie @ Tastes Lovely

    I’ve absolutely loved the beginning of 2016. Not working anymore means NO MORE MONDAYS! Oh it is the best! Well, I’m still super crazy busy with a newborn. But it is much more enjoyable than my job. I love it. And I love this salad! Perfect make ahead lunch to grab and eat on the go!

    Reply

  7. marcie

    I started the year off with an easy one, too — it’s hard getting back in the game! 🙂 As long as it’s delicious, who really cares? I love Asian salads, Denise, and I love that this is grab ‘n go — perfect!

    Reply

  9. Denise

    YES. It is still getting dark at 3:30 pm here and so depressing. I’m just going to make bright happy food to try and cheer up 😉 Thanks, Jessica!

    Reply

  11. Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven

    I loooove eating my salad out of mason jars! It makes me feel so super-cool and trendy just for a moment. LOL. I am SO going to have to give your asian chicken salad a try because I’m a total sucker for asian anything! Love the sound of that dressing. 🙂

    Reply

    • Denise

      Hehehe sort of like a hipster, right?! 😉 I don’t eat it out of the jar, I have to dump it into a bowl to get proper dressing coverage (such a salad connoisseur I am)! Thanks, Sarah!

      Reply

  12. Danielle

    This salad is such a genius idea, Denise! I’ve been looking for some easy healthy lunches that I can make ahead and I so need to give this a try. These look so cute in the mason jars too!

    Reply

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