10-minute Chopped Cobb Salad Jars
Hit the deli counter, swing by produce: You got salad jars!
When was the last time you ate a gigantic bowl of vegetables? If you can’t remember, you’re not alone. That’s one of the things I love most about salad jars: You dump them out and they bountifully fill your plate (and your belly) with fiber and micronutrients.
And while straight-up greens are so boring, there’s plenty of room to spice up these jars and create a meal you’ll look forward too. In this cobb salad, I added:
Rotisserie chicken (no cooking required!)
Bacon bits
Sharp cheddar
Grape tomatoes
Purple onion
Sunflower seeds
All topped with a homemade vinaigrette dressing made with mustard, garlic, white wine vinegar, and honey. Simple and delicious. There's ZERO cooking required so you don't have to fire up the stove.
Dressing Dreams
Friends and family know this: I hate ranch dressing—it’s just one of those things. But HEY THERE ranch, I bet that’d taste great for this salad. Blue cheese is another possibility, just watch the portion since it's pretty high in calories and fat. Honey mustard also comes to mind when think about bacon and cheddar. Even a simple drizzle of olive oil and vinegar would taste refreshing.
These salad jars are seriously filling. During the week, I wasn't even able to finish them. If you’re a volume eater, a chopped salad jar is a solid choice for lunches or workweek dinners. Enjoy!
Chopped Cobb
salad jars
Hit the deli counter, swing by produce, and grab your sharp knife. You've got salad jar meal prep in under 10 minutes!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 jars
Ingredients
1 small head cabbage or romaine lettuce
1 bunch Kale (dino or curly)
1 pound fully-cooked rotisserie chicken
8 pieces bacon (fully cooked)
1/3 cup sharp cheddar or blue cheese
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 small purple onion
Instructions
Using a cutting board and a big, sharp knife, chop kale, cabbage, and/or romaine using a cross-hatch pattern until the leaves are bite-size. (You can also use a store-bought chopped salad mix for this step.)
Transfer greens to a large bowl. On the same cutting board, add rotisserie chicken pieces and chop them. Then repeat the chopping with the onion and tomatoes.
Wrap tomato pieces in a paper towel and give them a light squeeze to remove excess moisture. Add chicken, onion, and tomatoes into the green salad mixture.
Prepare bacon to desired “doneness” and chop it into small pieces. You can add bacon to your chopped salad mixture, but I prefer to sprinkle it on top to control the portion.
Distribute chicken/salad mixture to four jars (or containers). Top each jar with a big pinch of bacon, cheese, and sunflower seeds.
For the dressing, I recommend storing pre-portioned dressing in 2-ounce condiment cups. You can store the cup inside your salad jar or grab it from the fridge while you’re packing lunch.
To make my homemade vinaigrette:
In a food processor, combine 1/3 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup honey, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp stone-ground mustard, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Pulse until cloudy and combined.