Most people don’t think of salad as something to make ahead of time without a mess of wilted leaves, but there are definitely ways to get around it.
Here are some tips for making a salad more “brown bag” friendly, apart from the obvious which is packing your dressing in a separate container:
- Use hearty greens like kale or cabbage that actually benefit from a little softening.
- Put the dressing on the bottom of the container and load the greens and vegetables on top, waiting until you are ready to eat to toss it.
- Incorporate a serving of grains like farro, sorghum, wild rice, quinoa, etc. This will add some extra fiber and nutrient-dense whole grain goodness.
- Use less lettuce and more hearty vegetables like bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, etc.
- Use slightly thicker-than-dressing condiments like hummus or salsa in place of your dressing.
- Leave a jar of homemade dressing at work, like this perfect balsamic vinaigrette.
I love a hearty salad for lunch and think all of these recipes look perfectly packable!
Asian Chopped Salad With Spicy Peanut Dressing Featured on Healthy Aperture Blog
Kale and Tuna Salad With Avocado and Mint
Classic Cobb With Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette Featured on FitFluential Blog
Vegan Farro Salad featured on PopSugar
Power Chicken Hummus Bowl {Panera Copycat Recipe}
BBQ Chicken and Kale and Quinoa Salad from Aggie’s Kitchen
Sorghum, Sweet Potato and White Bean Salad with Kale Pesto from She Likes Food
Stone Fruit Barley Salad from Honey and Figs Kitchen
Roasted Sweet Potato and Wild Rice Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette from Sweet Peas and Saffron
Zucchini, Mint and Millet Salad With Cilantro Dressing from My Darling Lemon Thyme
Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad from Cooking Classy
Three Bean Salad With Wild Rice from Well Plated by Erin
Fattoush Salad by Noming Thru Life
Aren’t you craving a good salad now? They can definitely be a part of your meal prep if you chose the right type.
Orange Coconut Breakfast Bowl
Romaine Wedge Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
Cajun Sausage and Vegetable Foil Packets
Mixed Green Salad with Strawberry, Apple and Herb Dressing
Love this round-up – perfect for (hopefully) warm weather soon!
Thanks Kelli, yes summer weather is here for us!
These are all such great salad ideas for bringing with you for lunch. Our family does salads daily for lunch. We’ve become pros at brown bagging salads. My youngest daughter brings either a full veggie salad for lunch each day or cut up veggies and hummus for lunch. I love this and hope more people will be willing to pack more salads fun lunch with these great ideas!!
That is so awesome Jenn! I love hearing about kids who eat their veggies. I have 4 kids, and my youngest who is 2 years old is just as obsessed as salads as I am. The other 3 tolerate them, but don’t get why I make them every night. 😉
I love all of these ideas! Healthy lunches on the go are the best!
Thank you Cassandra! I think everyone needs a change from the basic sandwich 😉
This is perfect! I love salads! I’m so happy I came acoss this, cause I needed something like this, as I’m always googling recipes..
Great, thanks Annie! Hope you find one you like.
So many delicious recipes here! Can’t wait to try them!
Thank you Jessica!!
The classic cobb is my favorite packed with protein and yumny vegetables.
Me too, such a great salad!!
Such a great concept! Most your salads have grains which I avoid but holy moly are they gorgeous!
These salads look DELICOUS!! I’ve pinned some for later… I can’t wait to branch out. Having the same ‘ole salad gets old fast. Thanks for sharing!
I’m always looking for new salad recipes – thanks for sharing!
These salads look really good and I love that you can pack them to work in a jar. Now I NEED to eat cobb salad for lunch!
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I absolutely love salads, so this is a great list! I feel like I get stuck in a rut and just make the same ones over and over. Thanks for sharing.
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Great round up!!
Really good tips, and a SERIOUSLY good looking round up! I’m pinning for summer lunch inspiration, thanks for sharing!
I love the tip about packing heartier greens. It makes so much sense!