No meal prep containers? No problem! Jar meal prep to the rescue. These meal ideas can be stored in jars: Overnight Oats, Kale Salad, Minestrone Soup.
Preserve jars ars are no longer just for jams and preserves but are actually life-savers when it comes to meal prepping. Not only do they give your foods an aesthetically pleasing appearance, but they are super practical too!
In this post, I will share step-by-step instructions on how to prepare three breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners, which are all developed to be stored in jars.
I will also share the advantages of jar meal prep, exactly which jars I use for jar meal prep, and three more delicious jar meal recipes!
This post is all about vegan jar meal prep!
Vegan Jar Meal Prep:
Advantages of Jar Meal Prep
Meal-Size Portions
Preserve jars come in any possible size! It is thus guaranteed that you will find a size that will suit any meal you desire to prep, from breakfast cups, salads, to soups, and even shepherd’s pie.
Easy Clean-Up
Jars are also easy to clean and since glass does not stain or retain flavors or odors, they’re easier to keep clean compared to plastic lunch containers.
Easily Microwaveable, Oven And Freezer-Safe
This doesn’t apply to all brands of preserve jars, but the Le Parfait brand, which I recommend and used for this prep is microwave-, oven-, and freezer-safe!
What Are The Best Jars For Jar Meal Prep?
Breakfast
For breakfast, I couldn’t recommend the 500ml Le Parfait ‘Super’ jars more! It is the perfect size of jar to layer a yoghurt parfait or to store overnight oats in. You could even bake a delicious breakfast cake or quiche straight into the container. The possibilities are truly endless.
Lunch Salad
When it comes to jar salads, I believe that bigger is better. YAASS! For a salad to be satiating it needs to be larger in volume than a cooked meal and it needs to contain several components. I swear by the 1 Litre Le Parfait Screw-Top.
Dinner Soup
Soup in a mason jar? If you didn’t know it’s a match made in heaven yet, now you do!!! For this post, we will be making a dinner soup which can serve as a meal. It will thus contain the necessary ingredients to “beef” it up. This includes beans and pasta! Since this soup is meal appropriate, it requires a large enough jar. I find the 750ml Le Parfait ‘Super’ jar perfect.
Three More Delicious Jar Meal Recipes
I make a lot of jar meals! Here are some other great jar meal recipes from my website that you may want to check out.
This post was all about vegan jar meal prep!
More 3-Day Meal Prep Recipes:
- 3-Day Easy Vegan Meal Prep [Indian Recipes Edition]
- 3-Day Cheap Vegan Meal Prep [Belgian Recipes Edition]
- 3-Day High Protein Vegan Meal Prep [Soy Free]
3-Day Vegan Jar Meal Prep [Fall Recipes Edition]
Equipment
- small pan
- small mixing bowl
- 3 x 500 ml jar with lid (I used Le Parfait brand)
- baking tray
- 3 x 1 L jar with lid (I used Le Parfait brand)
- 3 x 750 ml jar with lid (I used Le Parfait brand)
Ingredients
Apple Pie Overnight Oats
- 1.5 cup plant milk such as almond, soy, or oat
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- a few drops of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or any sweetner of your choice
Apple Pie Overnight Oats Topping
- 1 apple peeled and chopped in small chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- to taste dried cranberries, pecans,…
Apple Kale Salad In A Jar
Dijon dressing
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon iodized table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Apple Kale Salad
- 500 g beetroot chopped
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 apples sliced
- 240 g (1.5 cup) chickpeas (equals 1 can of chickpeas) drained and rinsed
- 3 cups curly kale destemmed and finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons cranberries or goji berries
Instant Minestrone Soup In A Jar
- 150 g dry fusilli pasta
- 3/4 cup pasta sauce I used Monteverde Bolognese Pasta Sauce
- 3 tablespoons bouillon paste I used Herbamare bouillon
- 240 g (1.5 cup) white kidney beans (equals 1 can of kidney beans) any beans will do
- 2 large carrots spiralized
- 1 large zucchini spiralized
Instructions
Apple Pie Overnight Oats
- Warm the plant milk in a small pan on medium heat. Add the oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and mix well. Allow mixture to sit for 15.
- Add the chopped apple to a small mixing bowl and toss it with the cinnamon and maple syrup.
- Assemble the overnight oats in three jars. First add some oats, then some apple and some more oats.
- Put the lids on tightly and store them in the fridge! For optimal flavor and freshness, eat them within 3-4 days. Before serving, you can add some dried cranberries and pecans for even more Fall vibes.
Apple Kale Salad In A Jar
- Preheat the oven to 200° C!
Dijon dressing
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
Apple Kale Salad
- To a baking tray, add the beets. Drizzle with olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Allow the beets to cool completely, before adding them to the jar.
- Cook quinoa according to the package instructions. Make sure to add some stock powder or salt to the cooking water, for flavor! Allow quinoa to cool completely, before adding it to the jar.
- Evenly add the ingredients among 3 x 1 L jars in the following order: Dijon dressing, apples, chickpeas, roasted beetroot, quinoa, kale, and cranberries or goji berries.
- Put the lids on tightly and store them in the fridge! For optimal flavor and freshness, eat them within 3-4 days.
Instant Minestrone Soup In A Jar
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions. Make sure to add some salt to the cooking water, for flavor! Allow pasta to cool slightly and toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Place the ingredients in the jars in the order they are listed in even layers. Add the cooked pasta last.
- Put the lids on tightly and store them in the fridge! For optimal flavor and freshness, eat them within 3-4 days.
- When you are ready to eat, pour boiling water until the jar is 3/4th full and stir gently. Let sit for 3-5 minutes and enjoy.