Several times in the past I’ve written about making salads ahead and storing them in a jar and having them ready to serve. Here’s one of the blog posts. It’s just so simple and is probably one of the best time saving things I do in the kitchen. With this new healthy eating, we’re eating lots of salads.
Lettuce
Last week when Vince and I were at Kroger, I came across two of these marked down variety packs of lettuce. I love different types of lettuce and the ice storm pretty much ruined the lettuce in the garden. These both had January 1 as the “best used by” date and we were shopping on 12/31. Vince asked if we could use both of them before they went bad. Oh, yes . . it will be fine sealed in jars.
Salads
Tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers and carrots were added to the lettuce. Instant salad! It was so nice to be able to open a jar and use those without having to wash everything and make the salads. The two that were going to be used for lunch and dinner on the days I made them didn’t get sealed but the remaining ones were sealed.
We finished off the “use by 1/1” lettuce on 1/6 and it was fine. We had 5 salads (2 each so that’s 10 salads) from less than $4 in a variety of lettuces. That is hard to beat.
We have friends visiting from Kansas City so it was time to make more salads. Since four of us will be eating, I used half gallon jars.
Salads
Three salads for three nights. Jeanne and I were talking so much last night that I totally forgot to serve the salad so now they’re going to have to stay an extra night! 🙂
There are three jars of salad for tossed green salad and the jar with just lettuce and spinach will be the base onto which I add chicken salad for lunch today.
If you have a FoodSaver with a jar sealer attachment, you really must try the salads made ahead and sealed in jars.
Donna Williams says
When you posted your previous article I jumped right up (well, my fingers went straight to Amazon) and I ordered the necessary stuff I did not already have. Let me tell you what a difference this has made in our eating habits! It is a wonderful innovation for us. Previously we had the best intentions, and we never let stuff go bad, but sometimes you just don’t want to take the time to wash, chop, blah blah blah. Now we don’t have to. I am also jarring stuff I tend to make a lot of – soups, stews, spaghetti sauces. Not only does it taste fresher because it is not being warmed over and over thereby changing the flavor profile, it is giving us a much better portion control. I have been meaning to write and tell you how much we appreciate this idea so this gives me the chance – THANK YOU!
Sherri says
What a great idea. I have a food saver and I use it all the time for freezing meat, marinading, etc. but I never thought about doing this with salads. You’re a genius! Thank you for posting this.
patti says
i’ve been doing this for quite awhile now. a quick salad wasn’t much problem, but with just two of us what has made a world of difference is that i can buy the romaine at costco in the 8 pack and use every single one before it goes bad. before doing salad in a jar, there was always at least one, and usually two, that got tossed because it was too old. i have several friends who have begun doing the jars once i convinced them that the lettuce lasted much longer. easy, peasy!
Barbara says
When you first shared the salad in a jar, I purchased all necessary equipment and starting doing it. I love to cook from scratch and prepare things ahead of time, so this was right up my alley….and such a time saver.
Several times I had the opportunity to share the idea with friends and family and always send them to your blog posts about it…every one I know loves ‘salad in a jar’.
You are such a wealth of information !!
Thanks for always taking the time to share with us.
Linda Enneking says
If you have an Aldi store nearby you can get this lettuce any time for $1.99. Our local store had it marked down to $.99 a few days ago. Thanks for the tip about storing the salad in jars.
Karen says
my daughter does this all the time, I have never tried it
CJ says
I always make my salads up ahead, but I just keep the whole nine yards in a gallon ziplock bag. My fridge is small since it’s a counter depth model, so it’s easier to stuff a flexible bag into my available space.
Sheri says
Ok – you talked me into it. Just ordered a Food Saver with jar attachment. Salads, here I come!
roberta says
Did you lose all your garden??? or just the lettuce parts??? Most other things should survive the ice I would think. Well the root crops would.
Hugs!!!!
Helen says
Way back when you did the original post on “salad in a jar”, I got the jar sealers and started doing them. It’s just amazing how fresh the lettuce (and other ingredients) stay and remain so fresh and delicious.
I’ve gotten away from it for a while, but I just got some fancy lettuces and think I’ll do that first thing tomorrow!! Love my homemade salads and dressings!
Diana in RR, TX says
I made some of those before we tore up the kitchen this week. So far we have eaten out but they here when we finally eat in! I make small ones for Dad all the time. We make ours tho with the lettuce on top so when it gets dumped out of thr jar the goodies end up on top. That was Dad’s idea.
Marilyn says
Judy,
What equipment would I need to buy to store salads in jars? Also, do you find you need to store the sealed jars of salad in a cold place?
Thank you for all your interesting posts.
Marilyn in BC
Marilyn says
Judy,
What equipment would I need to buy to store salads in jars? Also, do you find you need to store the sealed jars of salad in a cold place?
Thank you for all your interesting posts.
Marilyn in BC
Marilyn says
Judy,
What equipment would I need to buy to store salads in jars? Also, do you find you need to store the sealed jars of salad in a cold place?
Thank you for all your interesting posts.
Marilyn in BC
JudyL says
If you’ll follow the links, you’ll find all the info you need. Yes, the salad needs to be refrigerated.