This quick and easy lunch recipe is not only delicious but it’s also packed with healthy foods. Layers of lettuce, tomatoes, veggies, beans, and more go into this Taco Salad in a Jar.
When picnic season arrives, have a beautiful make-ahead meal like Taco Salad in a Jar ready to go. We love heading to the park or beach when the weather is nice, and jars of this fast fresh salad make a great picnic meal. They also come in handy with all the traveling we do for kids’ activities and games; it’s great to have a healthy, nutritious lunch (or dinner) packed and ready to eat.
You can easily cut and prepare all the layers ahead of time, then the assembly of the salad in a jar goes quickly.
You can certainly put whatever ingredients you like in your Taco Salad. We used salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, homemade corn salsa (we canned it last Fall), Taco Meat (I like to use the slow cooker), shredded cheese, and tortilla strips for a little crunch. You can also just crumble some tortilla chips or corn chips on top.
Tasty Taco Salad
This tasty salad is simple to prepare and would be perfect for Taco Tuesday dinner or meal prepping into Mason jar salads for all-week lunch breaks. You can even serve it at your upcoming taco bar celebration. Making your own salad rather than dining out gives you more choices over the ingredients, so you can control the amount of salt, fat, and other preservatives in your food.
How to Layer Taco Salad
Placement is the secret to producing excellent taco salad. When making salad in a jar to serve later, layer your salad properly to prevent ingredients from turning mushy, even after several days in the refrigerator. Salsa, meat, and juicy vegetables like tomatoes work best towards the bottom of the jar. Then layer the other ingredients, with the lettuce and crispy chips on top where they won’t get wet.
Mason jar lunches are excellent for dining on the go almost anywhere because they are quick, practical, and ready to eat. They are a great lunch option because they can be prepared ahead of time. Just remember to bring your fork!
Taco Salad in a Jar
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This quick and easy lunch recipe is not only delicious, it’s packed with healthy food! Layers of lettuce, tomatoes, beans and more!
Ingredients
- 1 cup salsa – homemade (recipe here) or store bought
- 2 cups lettuce – cleaned and cut
- 1 cup tomatoes – cleaned and quartered
- 1 cup black Beans – drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn Salsa – homemade (recipe here) or store bought
- 1 pound Taco Meat (ground beef, turkey, chicken) – Slow Cooker recipe here
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Tortilla Strips or Corn Chips
- 4 large Mason Jars (16 ounce) – wide mouth jars work best
Instructions
- First, cook the taco meat; estimate 1 pound of meat for 4 servings.
- Next, cut lettuce and tomatoes
- Drain beans
- Evenly divide ingredients among the mason jars or containers you will use. Layer ingredients from bottom to top- salsa or dressing on the bottom, then meat, tomatoes, corn salsa, beans, cheese, lettuce, and lastly, tortilla chips
- Add lid to jar
- Store in refrigerator until serving
Notes
- If desired, add a few sprigs of cilantro with the lettuces or a lime to squeeze over the salad at the very top.
- If you like sour cream in your taco salad, layer it below the cheese.
- You can vary the ingredients as you like, but make sure to put the juicier ingredients at the bottom of the jar. Add drier ingredients like cheese, or those prone to wilting like lettuces, towards the top if you will not be serving the salads immediately.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Salad
Why You’ll Love This Taco Salad Recipe?
- Super easy to make: The taco meat only needs to be cooked for around 15 minutes, which is the longest element of this dish.
- Healthy: This taco salad is free of gluten, packed with protein, and will keep you full without making you feel guilty or bloated.
- Delicious: The ideal combination of taco seasoning, tastes, and garnishes for this Juicy taco meat.
- Customizable: Use all of your preferred taco ingredients to create an incredible salad.
- Make-ahead: For a quick dinner salad after work, you can stack this salad into mason jars or keep the taco meat and other items in the freezer.
Health Benefits
1. Provide energy
The biggest advantage of this is that it gives you enough energy. You can obtain 289 calories from 198 grams of taco salad, which is more than enough to carry out your daily activities.
2. Good Source of Protein
Proteins make up almost every cell and organ in the human body. Proteins in our foods not only provide energy but also supports the body’s ability to build and repair cells.
3. Keeping normal metabolism
Taco salad’s contents include Vitamin B complex, which is necessary to maintain a regular metabolism. For a body cell to produce energy, metabolism takes place, and this vitamin B is a cofactor for various metabolic enzymes.
4. Strengthen bones
You can get a small amount of calcium from the cheese and beef in taco salad. One essential element for maintaining strong bones and preventing them from losing strength is calcium. You can increase your calcium intake by eating more cheese.
5. Vitamins C and A
Some of the vegetables in taco salad and tomatoes in salsa sauce both contain vitamin C which is useful in preventing scurvy. Vitamins C and A help boost our immune systems, too.
6. Prevent anemia
The meat in taco salad provides a little bit of iron. For red blood cells to continue functioning normally, iron is an essential mineral. Your body may become anemic and feel weak if you don’t get enough iron.
7. Maintain a healthy brain
Protein and antioxidants in taco salad can support continued good mental health. The protein in it can stimulate the development of new brain cells and repair nerve damage. Antioxidants help shield the brain from several injuries that might cause conditions like Vascular dementia.
Storage Tips
Store: These healthy taco salads in a jar can be prepared up to 5 days in advance.
Keep prepared taco meat in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You may either enjoy the taco meat cold or reheat it in the microwave for one to two minutes until hot.
Freeze: Taco meat can also be frozen for later use. Place the taco meat in airtight containers or silicone trays (like Souper cubes). After it has cooled, freeze it, and then reheat it in the microwave or a pan.
Nutrition Information of Taco Salad
Per serving:
| Calories | 289 kcal | Carbohydrates | 26 g |
| Protein | 28 g | Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g | Potassium | 539 mg |
| Iron | 5 mg | Sodium | 860 mg |
| Vitamin A | 180IU | Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 12 g | Vitamin C | 2 mg |
| Cholesterol | 110 mg | Calcium | 55 mg |
20 Comments
This looks delicious! I could totally have tacos every day for lunch now. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday this week!
They are perfect for lunch! Thanks for stopping by!
How many jars is this for? How much meat goes in each jar? There are no portion sizes listed?
Patsy,
I’ve updated the recipe with more specific portions for 4 servings and hope you find it helpful. Divide each of the ingredients equally among the mason jars or containers you use. If you use a 16-ounce mason jar, it holds the salad nicely and gives you room to shake it up before serving. You can also pack a fair amount of greens into the jar to make a nice, big salad. I hope you like the recipe!
-Colleen
I’m liking this idea of a mason jar salad! Sounds like a great way to eat more veggies on the go. And the twist of doing a taco salad sounds wonderful. 🙂
Thanks so much CJ- I am loving it too!
This is a really great idea! I do something similar at thanksgiving with the leftovers, one jar for meat and stuffing and potatoes, and another for the veggies. I honestly get hypnotized looking at layered meals in mason jars. Is that weird?
You should stop by my weekly link party and share this with everyone : )
https://www.twentysomethinginthe2010s.com/peace-love-linkup-007/
Jars make all leftovers look better! Thanks, I will check it out!
Just curious, how well do these keep? Could I prep a weeks worth and keep them in the fridge and take out as needed?
Generally they will keep that long- but there are always factors- the freshness of the produce, the temperature of the fridge. I would try 4 days first and work your way up!
How do you eat these? straight from the jar or pour them onto a plate, what? I just don’t get what the purpose of the jar is.
Hi Serena, depending on where I am is how I eat the salad. If I am at somewhere I have access to a plate, I pour it on the plate and eat. If not, I eat straight from the jar.
The main purpose of the jar is to have a portable container for a picnic or potluck, or even traveling.
~Liz
Seems like if you ate it right out of the jar, you could only eat one later at a time.
That is really beautiful, but how does one actually eat it–my kids, well grandkids for whom I prepare lunches, don’t have access to plates or bowls, and this salad is designed to be dumped out. I think for me it makes more sense to put the salad, minus the salsa and/or dressing, into a plastic container, toss them and then pack the salsa and dressing into little snack bags that can be discarded after dumping.
I have looked at lots of these mason jar lunch entrees–they are beautiful, but make way more sense for adults than kids. Knowing how children, particularly boys, toss around their lunch boxes, I don’t want to include glass under any circumstances.
You could use a plastic jar, like one used for fruit or something similar. I use those larger clear/frosted plastic jars for my oatmeal breakfast in a jar. They work great and no worries about breaking. And you could always pack an empty plastic bowl to pour the salad in. I put my nacho chips in a plastic bag so they don’t get soggy and then there’s room to shake too! Lots of ideas to make it work for adults or children.
Do any of the layers get soggy? I love the look of this but I like my veggies and chips crisp!
Hi Jill, no the layers do not get soggy. Of course, it will depend on how long you leave them. But they can be made at least 24 hours in advance.
~Liz
Hi. What size Jar are you using for this? It looks great!