Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salad with Peanut Dressing
Published Sep 09, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Introducing this quick and easy Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salad with Homemade Peanut Salad Dressing! Easy meal prep, delicious flavors, and the perfect grab-and-go lunch for busy weekdays, fun family picnics, or to make a habit of healthy eating!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
After a summer of chaotic schedules, travel, road trips, dining out, and all of our fun family adventures, there is nothing better than starting a new season with some healthy meal prep! Fresh, simple ingredients, amazing flavors, and full of all the good stuff!
My mason jar salads are the perfect way to make healthy lunches for the week. First up is this delicious Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing! It tastes like your favorite restaurant salad made right at home. And if you love this recipe, be sure to check out my Healthy Big Mac Healthy Big Mac Salad.
Ingredient Notes
Asian Chicken Salad
- Chicken Breast: Use cooked and diced chicken breast, or use leftover cooked chicken. Rotisserie chicken works really well.
- Mixed Greens: Feel free to use a blend of your favorite greens. Spinach, romaine, or a spring mix blend works really well.
- Veggies: Red Onion, Carrots, Cucumbers, Red Bell Peppers, Cabbage, and Green Onion.
- Cuties: Use mandarin oranges or tangerines. I like Cuties because they’re super easy to peel and on the small side.
- Crispy Chow Mein Noodles: You can substitute cashews or other nuts instead if desired.
Peanut Salad Dressing
- Peanut Butter: For lower calories, mix powdered peanut butter with water.
- Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
- Rice Vinegar
- Maple Syrup or Honey: For lower sugar, use monk fruit syrup.
- Lemon Juice
- Minced Garlic
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Warm Water
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Chop the chicken and veggies
- In a bowl, prepare the peanut salad dressing by adding in everything. Mix well until combined.
- Assemble the Mason jars: Start with a layer of Asian dressing at the bottom (about 2 tablespoons per jar). Add a layer of cucumbers, carrots, red bell peppers, red onions, and cabbage. Follow with layers of diced chicken, oranges, and green onions. Top with the lettuce and the crispy noodles.
- Seal the mason jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- When ready to enjoy, simply add everything to a bowl and mix together. I usually only make 4 jars at a time. I don’t refrigerate for more than 4 days because of the chicken.
Mac’s Pro TipS
Expert Tips
- Quantities: Feel free to add more or less of each ingredient to each salad jar.
- Ingredients: Other ingredients that might go well in this Asian Chicken Salad are chickpeas, toasted almonds, quinoa or farro, and celery.
Recipe Variations
There are so many variations for mason jar salad recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started if you find this meal prep method helpful.
- Southwest: Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, corn, black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and your favorite cilantro or creamy southwest dressing.
- Big Mac Salad: Check out my recipe here for the most delicious Big Mac salad and homemade dressing!
- Cobb: Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, chopped bacon, corn, hard-boiled eggs, grilled chicken, and homemade ranch dressing.
- Taco Salad: Make this taco salad with avocado ranch a mason jar salad by layering the ingredients in a mason jar, sealing it with a lid, and storing it in the refrigerator!
- Harvest Chicken Apple: This harvest salad features arugula, chicken, cranberries, walnuts, apples, and a honey lemon vinaigrette.
Serving Tips
- Pour the contents of the mason jar salad into a bowl and toss with the dressing.
- You can also shake the jar to mix in the dressing and eat directly from it! Be sure to close the lid tightly before shaking.
Storage Tips
- Store in the fridge, up to 4 jars at a time, and eat them within 4-5 days.
- These mason jar salads make for excellent meal prep as you can grab and go.
Recipe FAQs
Mason jar salads are a convenient way to prepare and store salads. They are popular for meal prepping or bringing lunch to work because they allow you to prepare several salads ahead of time and store them in a convenient, portable container. They also showcase the colorful layers of ingredients, making them pretty!
If your mason jar salad contains a cooked protein, I recommend eating it within 4 days and storing it in the refrigerator. If your salad does not contain meat protein, you can eat it within 5-6 days.
I use and recommend 32 oz jars. This size provides enough space to layer your salad ingredients, including greens, vegetables, protein, and dressing, while still leaving room for shaking or mixing the salad when you’re ready to eat.
More Quick & Easy Meals
If you love this recipe, please give it a star rating and leave a comment below!
Asian Chicken Mason Jar Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Mason Jar Salads
- 1 pound chicken breast cooked and diced (1/4 pound per jar)
- 8 cups mixed greens (2 cups per jar)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion (2 tbsp per jar)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots (2 tbsp per jar)
- 1/2 cup diced cucumbers (2 tbsp per jar)
- 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper (1 tbsp per jar)
- 1 cup shredded cabbage (1/4 cup per jar)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion (1 tbsp per jar)
- 4 cuties (peeled)
- 1/4 cup crispy chow mein noodles 1 tbsp per jar (or sub cashews)
Peanut Dressing
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (for lower calorie mix powdered peanut butter with water)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup or honey for lower sugar use monk fruit syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1-2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp sesame seed oil
- 1-2 tbsp warm water (to get desired consistency)
Instructions
- Preperation: Chop the cooked chicken and the veggies.
- Make The Dressing: In a bowl, prepare the dressing by adding in everything. Mix well until combined.
- Assemble the Mason Jars: Start with a layer of Asian dressing at the bottom (about 2 tablespoons per jar). Add a layer of cucumbers, carrots, red bell peppers, red onions, and cabbage. Follow with layers of diced chicken, oranges, and green onions. Top with the lettuce and the crispy noodles.
- Store: Seal the mason jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to eat. When ready to enjoy, add everything to a bowl and mix. I usually only make 4 jars at a time. I don’t refrigerate for more than 4 days because of the chicken.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Quantities: Feel free to add more or less of each ingredient to each salad jar.
- Ingredients: Other ingredients that might go well in this Asian Chicken Salad are chickpeas, toasted almonds, quinoa or farro, and celery.
Recipe Variations
There are so many variations for mason jar salad recipes. Here are a few ideas to get you started if you find this meal prep method helpful.- Southwest: Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, corn, black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and your favorite cilantro or creamy southwest dressing.
- Big Mac Salad: Check out my recipe here for the most delicious Big Mac salad and homemade dressing!
- Cobb: Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, chopped bacon, corn, hard-boiled eggs, grilled chicken, and homemade ranch dressing.
- Taco Salad: Make this taco salad with avocado ranch a mason jar salad by layering the ingredients in a mason jar, sealing it with a lid, and storing it in the refrigerator!
- Harvest Chicken Apple: This harvest salad features arugula, chicken, cranberries, walnuts, apples, and a honey lemon vinaigrette.
Serving Tips
- Pour the contents of the mason jar salad into a bowl and toss with the dressing.
- You can also shake the jar to mix in the dressing and eat directly from it! Be sure to close the lid tightly before shaking.
Storage Tips
- Store in the fridge, up to 4 jars at a time, and eat them within 4-5 days.
- These mason jar salads make for excellent meal prep as you can grab and go.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
