Sharon Palmer RD

Published on May 20, 2026

This Mason Jar Kale Barley Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette is a healthy, colorful plant-based, vegan, and vegetarian meal prep recipe packed with whole grains, beans, and fresh vegetables. Easy to make, portable, and perfect for lunches, dinners, and on-the-go meals.

Mason Jar Kale Barley Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette (Easy Plant-Based Meal Prep)

This Mason Jar Kale Barley Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette is a vibrant, nutrient-packed meal perfect for healthy meal prep and busy days on the go. Featuring hearty barley, beans, fresh kale, colorful vegetables, crunchy hemp seeds, and a bright turmeric vinaigrette, this easy plant-based salad is both satisfying and delicious. Packed into convenient mason jars, it’s the perfect make-ahead vegan lunch or portable healthy meal.

Mason jars are perfect for canning and preserving, but these handy glass jars can go far beyond this functional task. Mason jars have been repurposed for household décor, drinking glasses, and yes, portable containers for packing salads, such as this healthy, nutritious meal-in-a-jar, featuring kale, barley, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and a flavorful turmeric vinaigrette.

The steps to layering your Mason jar salad are perhaps the most crucial part of the packing process. First goes the dressing, followed by the vegetables, grains and beans, leafy greens, and crunchy nuts or seeds. If you follow this order, the ingredients stay separated just enough to avoid getting soggy. When you’re ready to eat, screw on the lid, give it a good shake, and pour the salad into a bowl, or just eat it straight out of the jar! Follow my How to Make a Mason Jar Salad guide which comes with step-by-step instructions, and a Mix and Match Salad Ingredients Guide to help you get even more creative with your portable salad fixings.

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram Live Video Program, Sustainable Series: Plant-Based Proteins, to see me make this salad in my own kitchen.

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Mason Jar Kale Barley Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette

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Author: The Plant-Powered Dietitian
Total Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (1 jar each) 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Learn how to make a delicious, nutritious, portable Mason Jar Salad filled with chickpeas, barley, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, kale, and hemp seeds, with a flavorful turmeric vinaigrette.

Ingredients

Scale

Turmeric Vinaigrette:

1 lemon, juiced
1 (1-inch piece) fresh turmeric root, finely shredded (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt and pepper

Salad:

1 large tomato, chopped
2 small cucumbers, sliced
4 small radishes, thinly sliced
1 cup cooked, chilled barley (see below)
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, drained
4 cups baby kale
¼ cup hemp seeds

You will need:

4 (16-ounce) Mason jars with lids

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Instructions

To make the Turmeric Vinaigrette: Mix lemon juice, shredded turmeric root, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small dish.
Divide the dressing among 4 Mason jars (about 1 ½ tablespoons per jar), and add to the bottom of the jar.
For the next layer, arrange one-fourth of the sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes in each jar.
Add ¼ cup cooked barley as the next layer.
Add one-fourth (about 1/3 cup) of the chickpeas as the next layer.
Pack in one cup of the kale in each jar.
Sprinkle each jar with 1 tablespoons hemp seeds.
Screw on the lid and refrigerate until serving time.

Notes

To make barley: Combine ¾ cup dry barley with 2¼ cups water or broth in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 35–45 minutes until tender and the liquid is absorbed, yielding about 2 cups cooked barley.

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Category: Salad
Cuisine: American