This Keto Greek salad in a jar is the low carb lunch recipe you’ve been waiting for. This delicious mason jar salad recipe has all of your favorite Mediterranean toppings to enjoy on the go!
It’s filled with fresh vegetables, tangy feta cheese, and lean chicken breast to keep you full all afternoon. Make 4-5 jars on Sunday to enjoy all week for lunch!
Greek salad is a natural choice when looking for a low carb lunch idea. However, it can include some hidden sugars and carbs if you’re not careful.
The good news is it only takes a few tweaks to easily turn this classic into a keto-friendly Greek salad.
This Keto Greek salad uses a no-sugar greek vinaigrette and leaves out the red onion to create a recipe that focuses on fat, protein, and reduced carbs.
The best part about this salad recipe is it can be made 4-5 days ahead of time. So, if you’re looking for a new keto meal prep lunch recipe then this is the perfect one.
If you’re not concerned about Keto, I have you covered too. I’ll provide tips and recipe substitutions to prepare a delicious classic greek salad in a jar.
Reasons You’ll Love This Keto Greek Salad in a Jar Recipe
- Easy to prepare using simple ingredients. After you cook the chicken these salads come together in less than 10 minutes.
- Filling and delicious. Each salad includes 13 grams of protein and 29 grams of fat to fill you up without feeling bloated. And these salads are so tasty. Trust me, you’ll be looking forward to eating one every single day.
- Can be made ahead of time. The best part about these mason jar salads is that they are designed to be made ahead of time. So, prepare 4-5 on Sunday to enjoy all week for lunch.
Common Mason Jar Salad Questions
Will the salads last all week? Yes, they will. I’ve been making mason jar salads for close to 10 years and they always stay fresh for 5 days.
However, if you’re worried about the chicken then either make 3 jars at a time or make the chicken ahead of time and keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to eat it. Thaw the cooked chicken in the microwave before adding it to the keto greek salad.
Will the lettuce get soggy? Nope! If you layer the salads correctly and the dressing is separate from the lettuce then there will be no issues with soggy lettuce.
What size mason jar should I use? The size used most often for mason jar salads is a 32-ounce wide mouth jar. Of course, you can make a smaller size salad or use a regular mouth. A wide-mouth jar makes it easier to dump the salad ingredients into a bowl. But either size mouth will work.
Where do I get mason jars? Mason jars can be purchased from any grocery store, Target, Walmart, or Amazon.
How do I eat a mason jar salad? Easy, just dump the ingredients into a bowl and enjoy.
You might be thinking “can’t I just eat the salad out of the jar”. You can try. However, because all the salad ingredients are packed into the mason jar it works better to use a bowl when you’re ready to eat.
Substitutions
Use store-bought dressing. Making greek dressing homemade is the best way to control that no added sugars sneak in. Primal Kitchen has a delicious keto greek dressing. If you’re not concerned about keto then any Greek or oil and vinegar dressing will pair nicely with this Greek salad.
Add sweetener to homemade dressing. The homemade Greek dressing I’m sharing does not include any sweetener. This makes it more on the tangy side.
If you prefer to add a little sweetness whisk in some monk fruit, honey, or pure maple syrup.
Typically, I’ll add 1-2 teaspoons of honey to balance out the vinegar in the dressing.
Add onions. Onions aren’t considered keto-friendly because they are higher in carbs.
However, red onion is a great addition to a classic greek salad. So, if you’re not concerned about carbs then add a few into the salad.
Add bell peppers or other vegetables. Bell peppers are not typically found in a Greek salad but if you need to add some extra bulk then throw in chopped bell peppers.
Leave the chicken out to make it vegan. If you prefer a vegan greek salad then simply leave out the chicken.
In this case, I’d recommend adding in extra vegetables or chickpeas (if not keto) to bulk up the protein of this salad.
Use a rotisserie chicken. When you don’t feel like cooking then grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Use about ¼ cup of shredded chicken per salad.
Supplies to Prepare Keto Greek Salad
Keto Greek Salad Ingredients
Homemade Greek Dressing – this basic dressing is made with olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. If you’re not following keto then whisk in 1-2 teaspoons of honey to balance out the vinegar.
Cherry tomatoes (halved)
Mini cucumbers (sliced)
Greek olives (pitted/sliced or chopped) – make sure all of the pits are removed.
Feta cheese (crumbled)
Organic boneless skinless chicken breast – 2 (4 ounce) chicken breasts is the perfect amount for 5 salads.
Chicken seasoning – The basic seasoning I use is a blend of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Romaine lettuce (chopped) – Romaine is preferred for a classic greek salad but any greens will work fine.
How to Make Keto Greek Salad in a Jar
Let’s make these salads. The longest part of this recipe is preparing the dressing and cooking the chicken. After that, it’s easy peasy.
The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare the Keto Greek dressing. Whisk together 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, juice of a 1/2 of a lemon, a little lemon zest, 2 teaspoons oregano, and 1-2 grated cloves of garlic. Set the dressing aside.
Cooking notes: If you’re not concerned with keeping this dressing keto-friendly then whisk in 1-2 teaspoons of honey to balance out the tang from the vinegar.
The next step is to cook the chicken. If you’re using a rotisserie chicken then you can skip over this step.
If not, then in a small bowl mix together 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Sprinkle the seasoning on the chicken breasts and then bake the chicken in a 400-degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until completely cooked through. The internal temp should read 165 degrees.
Set the chicken aside until it’s cooled and then chop into pieces.
Time to layer the ingredients into a Keto Greek mason jar salad.
For the first layer, you are going to want to start with the dressing. To keep calories under control I use 2 tablespoons per jar.
The dressing needs to be at the bottom of the jar. This prevents the lettuce from getting soggy.
After the dressing, layer in some halved cherry tomatoes and sliced mini cucumbers so they can marinate in the dressing and bring the salad a ton more flavor.
If you’re using onion, or other hearty vegetables, then add it to this layer.
Next, add in the olives. One tip I’ve learned with olives is to chop them up so you get a taste in every bite. This also helps to make sure that all pit remnants are gone.
Now it’s time to add the feta! Feta is one of my favorite cheeses to use in salads and it’s a must for Greek Salad.
The next layer of this salad in a jar is the chicken. Make sure the chicken is completely cooled before adding it to the salad. If not, it can cause the other ingredients to get soft.
And the final layer is the lettuce.
For this recipe, I went with romaine lettuce. You can always swap it out with spinach or spring mix salad. However, for a classic greek salad romaine is the preferred choice.
Again, as long as the dressing does not touch the lettuce you are good to go.
When you’re ready to eat, dump the jar of salad ingredients into a bowl and enjoy!
Keto Greek Mason Jar Salad
This Keto Greek salad in a jar is the low carb lunch recipe you’ve been waiting for. This delicious mason jar salad recipe has all of your favorite mediterean toppings to enjoy on the go! It’s filled with fresh vegetables, tangy feta cheese, and lean chicken breast to keep you full all afternoon. Make 4-5 jars on Sunday to enjoy all week for lunch!
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Servings: 5
Calories: 365kcal
Ingredients
- 5 32-ounce Wide Mouth Mason Jar Salads
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 4-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1-2 garlic cloves grated
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 quart cherry tomatoes halved
- 5 mini cucumbers thickly sliced
- 10 tablespoons pitted greek olives chopped
- 10 tablespoons feta cheese
- 5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. Sprinkle over the chicken breasts. Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until completely cooked and internal temperature reads 165 degrees. After the chicken is cooed set aside to cool and then cut into pieces.
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Make the salad dressing. In a small container, wisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, grated garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and oregano.
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To layer the salads start with adding 2 tablespoons of dressing into the bottom of each 32-ounce mason jar. Store unused dressing in the refrigerator. Then add the tomatoes, cucumbers, olive, feta, chicken, and top with the romaine lettuce. Tighlty place the lid on and refrigerate up to 5 days.
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When you’re ready to eat dump the salad ingredients into a medium to large bowl and enjoy.
Notes
Substitutions
Can use store-bought dressing – Making greek dressing homemade is the best way to control that no added sugars sneak in. Primal Kitchen has a delicious keto greek dressing. If you’re not concerned about keto then any Greek or oil and vinegar dressing will pair nicely with this Greek salad.
Add sweetener to homemade dressing – the homemade Greek dressing I’m sharing does not include any sweetener. This makes it more on the tangy side. If you prefer to add a little sweetness you can whisk in some monk fruit, honey, or pure maple syrup. Typically, I’ll add 1-2 teaspoons of honey to balance out the vinegar in the dressing.
Add onions – onions aren’t considered keto-friendly because they are higher in carbs.
However, red onion is a great addition to a classic greek salad so if you’re not concerned about carbs then add a few into the salad.
Add bell peppers or other vegetables. Bell peppers are not typically found in a Greek salad but if you need to add some extra bulk then throw in some chopped bell peppers.
Leave the chicken out to make it vegan. If you prefer a vegan greek salad then simply leave out the chicken. In this case, I’d recommend adding in extra vegetables or chickpeas (if not keto) to bulk up the protein of this salad.
Use a rotisserie chicken. When you don’t feel like cooking then grab a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Use about ¼ cup of shredded chicken per salad.
Nutrition
Serving: 1salad | Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 29g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g
More Mason Jar Salad Recipes
If you want more keto salad ideas then check out this list.
If you want to learn more about mason jar salads then check out my how to make mason jar salads tutorial.