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Mexican Mason Jar Salad

Not all Mexican food is created equal. Get the flavors of your favorite taco or burrito but in salad form. This recipe combines a dressing with fresh-squeezed lime, chili powder and red pepper flakes with black beans, quinoa, avocado and greens.

The secret to keeping this on-the-go salad fresh is to keep the dressing on the bottom and the greens at the top. You’ll want to get some pint-sized (16 ounces) wide-mouth mason jars to use for these salads (or something similar). Get ready for a fiesta!

Ingredients

For the Chile Lime Dressing

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon ground chili powder
  • a pinch of red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the Jars

  • 1 15-oz can (400g) of black beans (BPA free)
  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked*
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 4 cups romaine lettuce (cos), shredded (about one head)

Also needed: 4 (16 ounce/pint-size) wide-mouth jars

Directions

  1. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Place an equal amount of dressing at the bottom of each jar.
  3. Prepare the avocado, tomato, cilantro mixture by chopping all ingredients and mixing together in a large bowl.
  4. Now it’s time to layer your salad. Start with black beans, quinoa, avocado-tomato mixture and finally, lettuce. Put the lid on your salads and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Salads will last for up to a week in the fridge when unmixed.)
  5. When you’re ready to eat, shake well and serve or empty jar onto a large plate or bowl and enjoy!

*Simple quinoa cooking instructions: Cook 1 cup quinoa with 1.5 cups of broth or water. Once cooked, put in an air-tight container in the fridge until you are ready to make your mason jar salad.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Serving Size: 1 pint-sized (16 ounces) wide-mouth mason jar

Substitutions

Black beans – pinto beans

Cilantro – parsley