This Chopped Italian Salad in a Jar is your new weapon against boring lunches. We're talking juicy tomatoes, salty olives, savory cheese, and protein-packed chickpeas, all tossed in a simple Italian dressing and nestled with crisp romaine.
Prep these salads in jars on Sunday, and you'll have 4 healthy, ready-to-eat lunches for the week!
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This Chopped Italian Salad is the perfect solution for delicious and hassle-free lunches. Here's a quick recipe overview:
At-A-Glance Recipe Overview
- This recipe creates 4 individual 16 oz salads.
- Hungry? Make 2 individual 32oz salads instead.
- It's gluten-free.
- There's no sugar!
- Protein-packed with chickpeas and sausage.
- Oh, and it's perfect for meal-prepping!
Key Ingredients
- Can of Chickpeas and sausage
- All-natural beef-based dry-cured sausage
- Veggies: Romain lettuce and grape tomatoes
- Pimiento olives
- Pepperoncini
- Italian cheese blend
- Simple Italian salad dressing: Lemon zest and juice, garlic, dried oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil, parsley.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
How to Make the Simple Italian Dressing
- Step 1: Add the lemon zest and juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Whisk to dissolve the salt.
- Step 2: Add olive oil while whisking until a smooth, pale yellow dressing forms.
- Step 3: Add the chopped parsley.
- Step 3: Mix to combine.
How to Assemble the Jars
- Step 1: Get 4 individual 16 oz jars.
- Step 2: Place 2 tablespoons of the dressing in each jar and 2 pepperoncini, thinly sliced into each jar.
- Step 3: Add ⅓ cup of chickpeas to each jar.
- Step 4: Add 8 olives to each jar.
- Step 5: Add ¼ cup of diced dry-cured sausage to each jar.
- Step 6: Add ¼ cup of tomatoes to each jar.
- Step 7: Add ½ cup of diced romaine lettuce to each jar.
- Final step: Each jar gets 2 tablespoons of an Italian cheese blend.
Helpful tip: If you prefer larger portions, simply divide the ingredients between 2 larger, 32-ounce mason jars. Instead of dividing the ingredients by 4, divide them by 2. For example, if each jar gets 2 cups of lettuce, they will get 4 cups for a larger jar, and so on.
How to Serve
Once filled, place a lid on each jar and refrigerate until ready to eat. Before enjoying, shake the jar for 1 minute to distribute the dressing.
Substitutions and Variations
- Vegetarian - Omit the sausage entirely. Add tofu or halloumi cheese for additional protein.
- Spicy - Add red chili flake to the salad dressing for a spicy kick.
- Dairy-free - instead of the cheese, use 1 tablespoon each of nutritional yeast.
How to Store
This salad, when stored in the refrigerator, should maintain its freshness for a period of 3 to 5 days.
More Crave-Worthy Salad Recipes
- Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
- Steak Salad with Pickled Fennel
- Marinated Artichoke Salad
- Marinated Cauliflower Salad
- Red Cabbage Salad with Greek Dressing
Chopped Italian Salad in a Jar Recipe
Need a hassle-free lunch option? Try this Chopped Italian Salad in a Jar recipe. It's protein-packed and perfect for meal-prepping.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Main Course, Salads
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients
Simple Italian Dressing
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Mason Jar Ingredients
- 8 medium pepperoncini, thinly sliced, divided (each jar gets 2 whole thinly sliced peppers)
- 1 can chickpeas, divided (each jar gets ⅓ cup)
- 32 olives, divided (each jar gets 8)
- 1 cup diced beef-based dry-cured sausage, divided
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered, divided (that's ¼ cup quartered tomatoes for each jar)
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, divided (about 1 head romaine lettuce)
- 8 tablespoons Italian cheese blend, divided
Instructions
Simple Italian Dressing
- Add the lemon zest and juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Whisk to dissolve the salt.
- Slowly add olive oil while whisking until a smooth, pale yellow dressing forms.
- Add the chopped parsley. Mix to combine.
Build the Salad Chopped Italian Salad Jars
- Get 4 individual 16 oz jars.
- Place 2 tablespoons of the dressing in each jar and 2 pepperoncini, thinly sliced into each jar.
- Add ⅓ cup of chickpeas to each jar.
- Add 8 olives to each jar.
- Add ¼ cup of diced dry cured sausage to each jar.
- Add ¼ cup of tomatoes to each jar.
- Add ½ cup of diced romain lettuce to each jar.
- Each jar gets 2 tablespoons of an Italian cheese blend.
- Right before enjoying, give the jar a 15 second shake to distribute the dressing all over the ingredients.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Taste of Home Meal Planning
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