I’ve been experimenting with different lunches and salad jars are always a favorite. These grilled chicken salad jars are a copycat of one of my favorite dishes at one of my favorite local restaurants. When I first saw pasta in a green salad, I thought that was very weird and wanted no part of it, but it is amazing. It’s a happy compromise between carb-heavy pasta salads and not-heavy-enough green salads, plus the pasta adds some nice texture. My all-time favorite dressing to serve with this is our Sensation or our homemade ranch dressing (or a little sensation and a little Ranch), but feel free to add your favorite dressing to a condiment cup and throw it into your lunch box!
how to make these grilled chicken salad jars
You’ll need grilled chicken (I marinated some chicken breasts in our Italian dressing and then grilled them over medium heat 7 minutes per side), baby tomatoes, baby cucumbers, hard boiled eggs (pressure cooker is the best way!), red onions, chopped broccoli florets, shredded cheddar cheese, and the secret ingredient: rotini pasta. It might sound weird, but you’ll never go back!
You’ll also need salad greens (I like 50/50 spring greens and spinach).
Divide grilled chicken evenly between 6 1-quart mason jars.
Top with greens, egg (1 per jar, peeled and quartered),
broccoli, tomatoes,
cucumbers, onions, cheese,
and top with pasta.
Serve with your favorite salad dressing! Any high-quality salad dressing will be good on this salad, but my favorite is Sensation or our homemade ranch dressing (or a little of each). Feel free to browse our salad dressing section for more choices!
