Quinoa Caprese Mason Jar Salad

A little twist on the classic caprese salad, this Quinoa Caprese Mason Jar Salad is jacked up with some protein dense quinoa to be an ultimate make ahead, portable, vegetarian main course salad! 

Good God almighty I LOVE caprese salads.

But… they never seem to fill me up quite enough.

So, to keep this a vegetarian option, and to be able to bump up the protein, I added quinoa to the party.

Also because prepping multiple days of salads is my jam, they need to hold up well over 3 days, and be portable.

Enter….magical Quinoa Caprese mason jar salad.

Ok, I call it a mason jar salad, but really you can use any jar.

I prefer to use Weck jars now. The mouth of a weck jar is bigger than even wide mouth mason jars and makes it so easy to get the goods out of the jar …. and into my belly!

My favourite weck jar is here on amazon (affiliate).

I think this salad gets major bonus points for how beautiful it looks – because we love to eat with our eyes!

You can skip the jars and mix this up in a big ‘ol bowl for a picnic, BBQ, or summer potluck to impress all of your friends.

Every time I see this salad I want to just dive right in. Like come on… LOOK AT IT!!! Gorgeous… and delicious.

Quinoa Caprese Mason Jar Salad

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Servings 4

Calories 278

Author Steph | Confessions of a Meal Plan Addict

Ingredients

• 1 pint container of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup cooked quinoa I used tri color quinoa here, but it doesn't matter which kind you use
• 1.5 cups cocktail bocconcini cheese
• 1 bunch fresh basil diced into thin strips
• 1/4 cup finely diced purple onion
• 4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

• On the bottom of each jar, pour in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Note the oil will solidify in the fridge so when I go to eat it, I will run the bottom of the jar under hot water for a minute to get it back to liquid.
• Add a small handful of tomatoes. Keep them whole to last longer. Always add them on the bottom onto the oil and vinegar - their skin is resistant to absorb the liquids.
• Add approx 1/2 cup of bocconcini balls on top of the tomatoes.</span>
• Add a tablespoon of diced onion
• Add 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa
• Add a few more tomatoes on top of the quinoa
• Add basil on the very top
• Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes

The ingredient quantities are just a guideline. Adjust quantities to your taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g

So, there you have it… the magical combination of prep ahead, vegetarian, protein loaded, mason jar salad!

If mason jar foods are your jam to, make sure you check out the mason jar food section of the blog for even more inspiration!