Real talk: it’s hard for me to get excited about a salad. That is, until I tasted this crunchy spinach apple salad. 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, flavorful and, most importantly, filling!
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What’s in this spinach apple salad:
- Carrots
- Chicken or chickpeas
- Spinach
- Apple
- Feta
- Pepitas/sunflower seeds or any nuts/seeds you have on hand
Related: 20 Meal Prep Salads That You’ll Actually Enjoy Eating
How to Customize Spinach Apple Salad
- Swap carrots for raw zoodles or beet noodles! Squash noodles are good too.
- You can switch out the chicken grilled for shrimp or canned tuna.
- You can use chickpeas or any other legume, or cubed tofu or tempeh cooked in the same method as the recipe is written.
- 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 crumbled goat cheese or gorgonzola..
- 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. I hope you try it.
What’s in this spinach apple salad dressing?
Here, we’re using basic mustard, lemon, and brown sugar dressing. It’s tangy, sweet, and 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 and you’re good to go.
Related: 15 Meal Prep Sandwiches And Wraps Perfect For Work Lunches
How to assemble a Mason jar salad
When I updated this recipe, I used regular meal prep containers, but I had originally used Mason jars! If you want to make this a mason jar salad, here’s how. First, find yourself a 32-ounce Mason 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 other words, ones that won’t get soggy from the dressing! In this case, carrots would be our hard veggie.
Add the protein, which is chicken.
Add the greens. Now, you can really pack them in there because of your strong foundation of hard veggies and 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. I’m using 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.
Alternately, you can store the dressing separately and then mix when it’s time to eat.
How to double this salad or boost its content
This spinach apple 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.
Related: 20+ Grain Bowl Recipes Perfect For Meal Prep
How to store this spinach apple salad
This salad lasts in the fridge for up to 4 days. It’s not freezer friendly, as you might imagine! Happy prepping!
Other salad recipes you’ll love:
- Quinoa, Kale, And Butternut Squash Salad
- Buffalo Cauliflower Salads
- Fattoush Salad With Mint Dressing
- Meal Prep Strawberry Salad With Chicken
- Mandarin Orange Salad With Salmon And Sesame Dressing
- Chicken Waldorf Salad With Quinoa (No Mayo!)
Crunchy Chicken, Spinach, Apple & Carrot Salads & Homemade Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons 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 on 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.
- Prepare the vegetables for the salad while the chicken bakes. Set aside.
- In a measuring cup, combine the olive oil, soy sauce, mustard lemon juice and brown sugar. Whisk with a fork and taste it, then adjust the flavors as needed.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!
- To assemble the Mason jars. Divide the mustard dressing among the jars. Then add the sliced carrot, followed by a layer of chicken. Then add the spinach, followed by apples, pepitas and feta cheese if using.
- To assemble in meal prep Here's how to assemble: Add the spinach to the bottom of the container, followed by the carrots, chicken, apple, peptias and feta cheese if using wherever they fit in your containers. Only add dressing right before eating!
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