9 Mason Jar Salad Recipes

Choose any one of the mason jar salads below for an easy lunch or to-go picnic meal. With so many options, you won't grow tired of this easy and healthy choice for lunch.

1.  Chicken Bacon and Ranch Mason Jar Salads
2.  Chicken Taco Mason Jar Salads
3.  Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Mason Jar Salads
4.  Portable Pasta Salad
5.  Easy Mason Jar Salads 3 Ways - 3 recipes in one!
6.  Fresh Fruit Salad Tea To Go Snack
 

If you're looking for an easy way to bring your lunch to work or on the go, salads in a jar are a great way to go. This easy recipe will teach you how to make a basic garden salad with a delicious balsamic vinaigrette. It will show you the proper way to stack your ingredients so that nothing get soggy and so that it will be easy to dump out in a bowl or on a plate once you get where you're going. It also makes it easy to eat in the salad in the jar -- just shake up your mason jar so that you can mix up the dressing and enjoy!

Who doesn't love a good individually-portioned dessert? With the 5 mason jar desserts below, you'll have all the satisfaction of knowing this treat is all yours.

1.  Giftable Blizzard Bites
2.  Mini Mason Jar Cheesecakes
3.  Banana Split Trifles in a Jar
4.  Perfect Peach Pie Mason Jar Recipe
5.  Strawberry Cobbler in a Jar

Original Concept:
Back before refrigeration, people looked for ways to keep food from spoiling. In 1858, a young tinsmith from Philadelphia named,  John Landis Mason, patented what we know today as the mason jar.  His original design featured a screw-on cap made of zinc. This created an airtight seal that kept bacteria and bugs out as hot liquids cooled. Since you could see through these glass jars, people could keep track of the contents, which had mass appeal for storage purposes.

Modifying the Design + Mass Production: 
Mason's patent expired in 1879, which is when others began experimenting with the design. The most notable change, which we still use today, was the two-piece lid. It was designed by Alexander Kerr in 1915. Next, the Ball Brothers made the move to mass-produce Kerr's design. This is why you'll find that most store-bought mason jars have the Ball logo etched onto the side.

Americans were quite taken with this design and collectively purchased over 3 million jars between 1939 to 1949. They were very popular for those living in areas with shorter growing seasons and those in the canning, pickling, and jam-making business. Mason jars made these processes much safer, protecting against bacteria and other contamination.

Refrigeration + The Future: 
Once refrigeration became a thing in the 1950s, mason jars fell largely out of favor. However, as American food culture aimed, in part, to get back to organics in the 1960s and 70s, the jars made their way back to the forefront.

Nowadays, mason jars serve many purposes. Housing preserves, serving food and drink, and repurposed home decor and other crafts, are just some of the ways we use mason jars today. These durable glass containers bring a rustic farmhouse feel to the table, bringing us back to a simpler time. Besides just being timeless representations of aesthetic charm and nostalgic whimsy, mason jars are also largely environmental friendly, as they are 100% washable and reusable vessels.