Spring cuisine always reminds me of fresh green vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and peas. These healthy spring vegetable mason jar salads boast the flavors of spring, with roasted broccoli, asparagus, peas and shallots, lemon pepper grilled chicken, and a homemade lemon vinaigrette. These healthy mason jar salads make a delicious and filling meal prep for four days, or are fun to serve to guests for a springy theme.
Why mason jar salads are one of my favorite meal preps
If you have looked through my website, you may have noticed that I have a handful of mason jar salad recipes. Nothing beats the ease and convenience of a filling salad for meal prep. For me, the best way to store salads to keep them the freshest is by layering the ingredients from most dense to lightest.
I am also a sucker for anything aesthetically pleasing. Being able to see all of the different components and colors of a salad make me so excited to eat it.
This salad is stored in 32 oz wide-mouth mason jars, but that is optional. You can also store them in glass meal prep containers if you prefer that. I enjoy using mason jars to store my salads because it allows me to layer the ingredients in order from dense and wet, up to the lightest ingredients, which preserves the freshness of all of the components. I promise, the salads stay fresh all week when stored this way.
Many times I get the question “but do they really stay fresh?” The answer is: yes! The salads stay fresh when using this method. Note, I do not add the dressing to these mason jars, I keep it to the side and add it right before serving.
I also do not eat the salads from the mason jars directly, because I find it hard to reach the ingredients all the way at the bottom. Instead, I dump the salad into a bowl right before eating and then add my dressing. You can eat them right out of the mason jar, though, if you are able to reach all of the ingredients.
This salad is huge, and the mason jars are packed to the brim!
Check out my other mason jar salads:
Roasted Vegetable and Chicken Mason Jar Salads
Autumn Harvest Mason Jar Salads
Shortcut Grilled Chicken Caesar Mason Jar Salads
Strawberry Poppy Seed Mason Jar Salads
Southwest BBQ Mason Jar Salads
What you’ll need to make these healthy spring vegetable mason jar salads
For the grilled chicken, you will need:
- chicken breast
- lemon pepper seasoning
- kosher salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
For the lemon vinaigrette, you will need:
- Dijon mustard
- lemon zest and juice
- white wine vinegar
- olive oil
- dried chives
- plain non-fat Greek yogurt
For the salad components, you will need:
- asparagus
- broccoli
- frozen peas
- shallots
- spring mix
- radishes
How to make these mason jar salads
Preparing the vegetables
The first step for this recipe is to roast the vegetables; start by preheating the oven to 400F. Wash and trim the ends off of the asparagus, and lay the asparagus on the sheet pan, along with the broccoli florets and frozen peas. Slice the shallots and add them to the sheet pan. Spray the vegetables with olive oil spray, and season with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes, then remove the sheet pan from the oven and set the vegetables aside to cool. Once cooled, chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces.
Grilling the chicken
Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat. To make the spice rub for the chicken, combine the lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and chives. Rub the spice blend all over the chicken breast. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on one side, then flip the chicken and cover it with a lid. Allow the chicken to cook for 10 minutes covered. Remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165. Remove the chicken from the grill pan, and set aside to let it rest. Once cooled, cut the chicken into small pieces.
Making the dressing and assembling the salads
To make the dressing, simply combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. The dressing recipe yields 3/4 cup total, so each salad gets 3 tablespoons of dressing, which is a generous portion.
To make the salads, layer the ingredients in each mason jar in order from dense and wet, to light and airy. In this case, this means the peas, cooked chopped asparagus, and cooked broccoli and shallots get layered in first. Then, follow with the cooked, chopped chicken. Next, fill the remainder of the jars with the spring mix. Finally, top with the sliced radishes.
I prefer to keep the dressing to the side, and add the dressing right before eating.
Healthy Spring Vegetable Mason Jar Salads
Equipment
- sheet pan
- grill pan
- 4 32 ounce wide-mouth mason jars
Ingredients
The Vegetables
- 1 bunch asparagus, washed, ends trimmed off
- 10 oz broccoli florets
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 3 shallots, sliced
- olive oil spray
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
The Grilled Chicken
- 2 lbs chicken breast, 4 chicken breasts
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried chives
- olive oil spray
The Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Dijon
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 2 tbsp plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- salt and pepper to taste
The Salads
- 8 cups spring mix, 5-ounce package
- 1 cup radishes, sliced, if using (optional)
Instructions
The Vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Wash the asparagus and trim the ends off, and slice the shallots.
- Place the asparagus, broccoli florets, shallots, and frozen peas on the sheet pan.
- Add olive oil spray on top of the vegetables, and season with the kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
- Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and set aside for the vegetables to cool.
- Chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces once cooled.
The Grilled Chicken
- While the vegetables are roasting, prep the chicken.
- Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat.
- Combine the lemon pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, dried chives, and onion powder in a small bowl, and rub it all over the chicken.
- Add olive oil spray to the grill pan, and sear the chicken on one side for 5 minutes.
- Flip the chicken, and then cover the pan with a lid.
- Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes, and then remove the lid and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Cook the chicken until the internal temperature is 165F.
- Remove the chicken from the grill pan and set aside to rest and cool.
- Once cooled, chop the chicken into pieces.
The Dressing
- Zest and juice the lemon.
- Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon zest and juice, Dijon, chives, and yogurt together in a small bowl.
Assembly
- Slice the radishes (if using).
- Layer the salads as follows (per jar): 1/4 cup peas, 1/4 cup asparagus, 3/4 cup broccoli, shallots, then the cooked chicken, followed by 2 cups of spring mix, and finally the radishes.
- Leave the dressing to the side until serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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This shouts SPRING!! Thanks for sharing. ❤️
Delicious as always…Spring in Bowl…thanks for another great meal prep/salad
Gorgeous!
I meal prepped this yesterday, ate for lunch today. I used a different dressing but overall, I enjoyed and will make again! There’s something to be said about the presentation- I used a Tupperware so not nearly as pretty as the mason jar.
Such a yummy spring salad! I loved the dressing