This one is filled with protein, veggies, and so much flavor.
It has seasoned chicken, black beans, tomatoes, peppers, onion, avocado, cheese, romaine, and a southwest-style dressing. It’s hearty, colorful, and one of those salads that actually feels like a full meal.
Now, I’ll be honest - this one is a tiny bit more high-maintenance than some of the others because you do need to cook the chicken first.
But please hear me when I say this:
You do not need to make this harder than it has to be.
If you don’t have time to cook chicken, grab a rotisserie chicken, use leftover grilled chicken, or pull cooked chicken from the freezer if you already have some prepped.
That’s what makes mason jar salads so easy to keep in your routine. Once you understand the basic layering method, you can use what you have and make it work for your week.
Now let’s talk about how to switch this one up so you don’t get bored.
Tip 1: Swap the veggies. This salad works great with tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, cucumbers, corn, jalapeños, or shredded carrots. You can use what you have or what your family likes best.
Tip 2: Change the chicken flavor. Use taco-seasoned chicken, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, chipotle chicken, or even leftover shredded chicken. You could also use ground turkey if that’s what you have cooked.
Tip 3: Switch up the salsa or dressing. Use mild salsa, spicy salsa, salsa verde, pico de gallo, or a southwest ranch dressing. Small changes like this can make the same basic salad feel new.
Tip 4: Keep the avocado fresh. If you’re adding avocado, squeeze lime juice over it before layering it into the jar. This helps keep it from browning too quickly.
And now for a shopping tip I get asked about all the time....
Where do you get those plastic lids you use for mason jar salads?
The metal lids that come with mason jars work fine at first, but over time they can rust, especially when you’re using them every week for meal prep.
I usually order plastic lids from Amazon because I don’t always see them in stores. They’re easy to wash, easy to twist on, and they make weekly mason jar salad prep so much easier. You can grab the ones I use here off Amazon.
Just make sure you get the right size for your jars — regular mouth or wide mouth.
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