How to Make an Easy Loaded Tuna Mason Jar Salad

Last Updated on November 9, 2020 by Ellen Christian

If you’re looking for a loaded tuna Mason jar salad for lunch or a light dinner, this is it. Mason jar salads are the perfect way to stay on track with your health goals.

Even though I work at home, lunchtimes are hectic for me. My husband is generally wandering around making his lunch, and I’m trying to tie up morning projects before moving onto freelance work for other clients.

It’s that in-between time where I’m supposed to be enjoying a healthy lunch and not working.

Loaded Tuna Mason Jar Salad

A tuna Mason jar salad is basically a layered salad that’s created ahead of time and stored for easy access in a single person-sized Mason jar. I try to create two or three at the beginning of the week so I have them on hand on nights where I’m just too busy to cook or for a quick lunch while I work.

During Lent, an easy way to have a Lent approved lunch or light dinner on hand is to create this Tuna Mason Jar Salad. By watching the ingredients you add, it can also be Paleo and/or gluten-free.

Can you eat Mason jar salads out of the jar?

Sure, you definitely can if you want to. If you do eat your Tuna Mason jar salad out of the jar, you will be eating it in the order you layered the ingredients.

So, keep in mind that you will be eating plain lettuce or spinach greens first. Your other option is to dump the whole thing in a bowl and mix it up.

Then, you could add dressing if you want to. And, it will mix up all of the layers into a more traditional style salad.

Does salad stay fresh in Mason jars?

If you refrigerate it promptly, you shouldn’t have any issues keeping this fresh for five to seven days. You might want to layer on the fresh spinach leaves or lettuces right before you eat it to ensure the leaves are fresh and crisp.

Or, if you take them to work, you can add them the night before. Either way, my salads stay good for several days packing them this way. So, you should not have a problem.

Mason Jar salad layers

One of the joys of Mason jar salad recipes is how versatile they are. If you aren’t a fan of tuna, you can begin with a layer of leftover chicken or beef instead.  If you do vegan or vegetarian, skip the meat and add chickpeas or beans instead.

You can really add whatever you like to the salad. Just keep in mind that the things on top will drip down to the bottom so anything that is pickled or in a marinade should be on a bottom layer rather than on a top layer to keep things as fresh as possible. 

Here are a few more easy paleo recipes to try.

To make this Mason Jar Tuna Salad Whole 30, just be mindful of what type of dressing you add if you do. Otherwise, the ingredients in this salad should comply with Whole30 without any changes.

Other types of Tuna Mason Jar Salad

Because this Mason jar salad is so easily customizable, there are a lot of different ways that you can enjoy them. Here are just a few versions you might want to try.

You could even do Mason jar salad recipes for a week if you wanted to with these options.

This Tuna Nicoise Mason jar salad would be a great lunch. You can make it in a Mason jar or in a meal prep container if you prefer. Get the directions here.

This Southwest Mason jar salad is made with chicken. But, if you want to, you could substitute tuna for the chicken. Find out how here.

Or, if you enjoy Thai food, you could make a Thai Mason jar salad for lunch one day. This one has a tangy peanut dressing and quinoa. If you want, you can add tuna to it as well.

Or, you may want to try this easy Caprese salad with sardines!

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