Real talk: it’s hard for me to get excited about a salad… until I tasted this one.
Is it revolutionary? No. I don’t try to reinvent the wheel here. The only thing I aim to do is make lunch enjoyable, more enjoyable than something you’d buy at your favorite takeout spot. This salad recipe fits that bill perfectly.
It’s crunchy (hence the name), flavorful and most importantly, filling!
The core elements of this salad are very basic ingredients:
- Carrots
- Chicken
- Spinach
- Apple
- Feta
- Pepitas
Of course, you can customize this as much as you want! Here are some ideas.
Swap carrots for raw zoodles or beet noodles!
You can switch out the chicken for chickpeas (that’s how our vegan version is written), grilled shrimp or canned tuna.
Not into spinach? Use kale, arugula, or another green mix instead.
Swap the apple for pear, sliced grapes or strawberries (or leave fruit out).
Don’t want to use feta? You can skip cheese entirely or use gorgonzola, blue cheese crumbles or goat cheese.
Can’t find/use pepitas? Sunflower seeds, walnuts, sliced almonds and chopped cashews would all work.
You have the opportunity to really make this salad your own, so do it! That being said, the recipe as written is so good that I can’t wait to make it again and I hope you try it.
Let’s talk about the dressing.
Clearly, I’m late to the mason jar salad party. Better late than never, right? Anyway, the reason why these jars are so awesome to me is that you don’t have to pack the dressing separately.
The dressing sits at the bottom of the jar, not touching other ingredients that could get soggy (more on arranging a mason jar salad below).
Here, we’re using a basic mustard, lemon and brown sugar dressing. It’s tangy, sweet an light — a perfect match for this crunchy salad.
Of course, you can use whatever dressing you like and don’t have to make your own! Add about 2 tablespoons to the bottom of your jars and you’re good to go.
How to arrange a mason jar salad:
Note that these salads fit in a 32 oz jar.
Let’s start from the bottom!
- Add the dressing. Putting it at the bottom of the jar keeps it away from the greens so they don’t get soggy.
- Add “hard” vegetables. In this case, carrots would be our hard veggie because they won’t get soggy from the dressing.
- Add the protein, which is chicken in this case.
- Add the greens. Now, you can really pack them in there because of your strong foundation of hard veggies an protein.
- Add soft veggies and fruits. This would be where cucumbers and tomatoes go if we were using them. In this case, it’s apples.
- Add the toppings. Here we have feta cheese and pepitas!
The trick is keeping the jar upright until you eat it to avoid dressing going where it shouldn’t go.
Before eating the salad, you can give the jar a good shake to toss everything in the dressing, then dump it onto your plate and enjoy! So easy.
What if you don’t have mason jars?
You absolutely can pack this into a normal meal prep container.
How to do it: Toss everything (for all the portions) in a large bowl without dressing. Then divide that between three meal prep containers. Store the dressing on the side to be used before eating the salad.
How to double or add more volume to this salad:
This salad is plenty filling, but an easy way to add more volume would be 1/4 cup of quinoa per container. This was actually going to be in the original recipe, but it was fine without it! You could also add zoodles, cucumbers or even pasta to make this more filling. Another option is eating it with a side of bread or inside a pita pocket or wrap!
To double this recipe, simply double the ingredients and get yourself some more jars or meal prep containers.
Storage & reheating notes:
This salad lasts in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s not freezer friendly and it doesn’t need to be reheated!
Happy prepping!
Crunchy Chicken, Spinach, Apple & Carrot Salads & Homemade Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 oz chicken breast
- 6 cups spinach chopped
- 1 medium apple chopped into chunks
- 1/2 lemon for juices
- 2 medium carrots peeled into strips
- 3/4 cup pepitas optional
- 3/4 cup feta cheese optional
mustard dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Mix the paprika, oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the chicken breast to a baking dish on a sheet pan. Drizzle both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture on the chicken breast and rub it in gently with your fingers or the back of a spoon, then flip it over and repeat on the other side. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breast is. No need to flip it halfway.
- Prepare the vegetables for the salad while the chicken bakes and set aside.
- Then prepare the dressing: in a measuring cup, add the olive oil, soy sauce, mustard lemon juice an brown sugar. Whisk with a fork and taste it, then adjust the flavors as needed (I added a little more mustard and brown sugar). If you’re NOT using mason jars, transfer the dressing to a small meal prep container or small individual dressing containers for storage.
- When the chicken is done, allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes. Then shred it with two forks OR chop it into small bite size pieces. Totally up to you!
- IF USING MASON JARS! Here’s how to assemble: divide the mustard dressing between the mason jars first. Then add the sliced carrot, followed by a layer of chicken. Then add the spinach, followed by apples, pepitas and feta cheese if using.
- IF USING REGULAR CONTAINERS! Here’s how to assemble: Add the spinach to the bottom of the container, followed by the carrots, chicken, apple, peptias an feta cheese if using wherever they fit in your containers. Only add dressing right before eating!
