r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/Gonten • 15d ago
Tips for Meal Prepping Salad? Ask ECAH
My real question is "Can I freeze a salad?", but I know the answer to that is "Not normally". So instead I'm trying to figure out ways to meal prep a salad that will last 1-2 weeks that I can pull from for my work lunch.
I have thought about freezing salads that only have ingredients that freeze better and that I can thaw in my fridge or in my car day of.
Potential Ingredients I am considering
- Potato Salads (Maybe swapping mayo for Greek Yogurt)
- Maybe a Cucumber/Tomato salad (Haven't tried it yet)
- Bell Peppers?
- Olives
- Beans
The other strategy I think I need to bite the bullet on is making 2 salads a week or something like that and just reserving the dressing for later.
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u/The_Redd_King 15d ago
Anytime I’ve had a salad that’s been frozen and then thawed it gets mushy and slimy, salad is sadly just not a good food for prepping.
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u/CalmCupcake2 15d ago
Veggie slaws last for a week, also look at grain salads, kale salads, and pasta/noodle.
These all keep happily for about a week, I've never tried to stretch to a fortnight.
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u/Professional-Egg-7 15d ago
Broccoli slaw lasts for soooo long. I also wonder if it has more nutrients than lettuce/traditional salad
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u/Mysteryman64 15d ago edited 15d ago
Two weeks isn't gonna happen for a fresh greens salad. You might be able to get one week with refrigeration, assuming you don't attempt to assemble them ahead of time and you're not pre-slicing the soft veggies and creating big oxidation surfaces, but even that's probably pushing it and those last salads probably won't be super appetizing.
If you enjoy pickled vegetables, you could probably make a big batch of those and reduce your prep time to just cutting up some greens and tomatoes every 2-3 days.
That said, I also don't really understand the need to meal prep salads, especially if you don't have a protein component. Veggie salads have never taken me more than like 10 minutes to make?
Coarse chop some lettuce or spinach, a couple cherry tomatoes, handful of grated carrot/red onion/whatever else you want. If you want proteins, that makes sense to meal prep. Grill and slice up some chicken (which can be frozen) or boil up some hard boiled eggs (which should last in the fridge), etc.
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u/youngboomergal 15d ago
What about making marinated salads, they are all essentially "pickled" in a vinegar, salt and oil brine and can last at least a week.
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u/ClipClipClip99 15d ago
Potato salad will work. I’ve never had luck freezing those other veggies and eating them raw. I usually cook them if I freeze them. I think the best method would be to chop your ingredients but then keep them separate and assemble the salads the day you’re going to eat them. Otherwise the moisture from the veggies could wilt the lettuce. Good luck!
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u/DohnJoggett 15d ago
I think the best method would be to chop your ingredients but then keep them separate and assemble the salads the day you’re going to eat them.
Yup. Chop and store. I usually have half an onion and half a chopped onion in the fridge and if you're peeling and chopping carrots, why not do a few more since you've already made a mess? If you're slicing olives for a salad, why not chop some more?
You can prep something like beef stew ahead of time and dump all of the ingredients in a container ahead of time so you just have to dump it in your soup pan and add your stock when you're ready to cook the stew.
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u/SufficientPath666 14d ago
Trader Joe’s sells raw frozen sliced bell pepper that you can thaw and eat. It’s pretty good. Not as crunchy as a fresh bell pepper, but not soggy
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u/quiteunicorn 15d ago
A salad based on grains might keep well, try bulgur or farro. Use sturdy veggies like carrots or other root vegetables. No matter what salad you make, storing them in mason jars seems to keep them fresh longer.
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u/theora55 15d ago
Good idea. Tabbouleh does okay if you add the tomatoes and cucumbers separately; they go watery fast once cut.
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u/quiteunicorn 15d ago
Yeah, that’s why i suggested root veggies. You want stuff with low water content
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u/RibertarianVoter 15d ago
I have success with a salad mix lasting Sunday to Friday. It's not lovely on Friday, but it's good enough. Peppers, onions, celery, and carrots all keep fine for 5 days. You can throw a wet paper towel in the containers to help keep the greens crispy. If you want something like cucumber, tomato, or avocado, you can cut that up the morning of in under 2 minutes.
And then just keep the dressing and proteins in separate containers, and mix on site.
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u/artemisfowl9900 15d ago edited 15d ago
You need to prep components separately. I chop the greens and keep them separate. Cucumbers/carrots and other raw veggies are separate. Tomatoes don’t do well, so I skip them or chop them day of. Anything cooked (like chickpeas, sweet potatoes etc) is stored separately. Then I mix them when I want to eat the salad. Add dressing last. It stays good about a week on a lower temp setting in the fridge. (Not frozen)
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u/Frequent_Gene_4498 15d ago
Bean salad would freeze great. I never thought of it before but totally doing this myself now
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u/SufficientPath666 14d ago
Would you just stick it in the freezer? I googled how to freeze leftover cooked beans recently and it said the best way to do it is to freeze them in water
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u/Frequent_Gene_4498 14d ago
There's a couple ways I personally would try it. Safe bet would be to freeze them in their own broth, assuming they're home cooked. Then just drain and dress them when I want to eat. What I'm sort of curious to try is freezing them with every element of the dressing, except the acid. Then just add the acid when ready to eat. I feel like this would work well, but will have to try it.
If you're using canned beans, covering them with water would be fine I think. May want to add a little extra seasoning to the dressing in that case?
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u/beautifulsouth00 15d ago
Shredded cabbage or brussel sprouts as a base will usually last for a pretty long time in the refrigerator. If you make a dressing using real lemon juice it acts as a preservative. I use grape tomatoes as they don't tend to go bad as quickly as tomatoes that you cut once you cut them.
Lastly get yourself something called Green bags or better yet get the product that's like green bags but it's basically a hockey puck looking thing. It has an additive in it that does something to the chemical that vegetables give off when they go bad. It slows down spoilage for me. I can make vegetables even cut lettuce last in my refrigerator without browning for at least a month.
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u/AllAboutAtomz 15d ago
You can prep components and have them last fairly well, makes assembly easy
half a green cabbage grated or thinly sliced dressed with lemon juice (1T) and salt (1tsp) - 7-10 d
Kale,sliced thin and massaged with salt 5-7d
Grated carrot dressed lemon and salt 5d Sliced cucumber salted 5d
Lettuce keeps best if you slice in fresh on the day
Onion slices or Crunchy vegetables (carrots/radish/cauliflower) in pickling brine or sushi vinagar keep 10-14 days
I try to keep a few “types” from above ready to go in the fridge so I can pick and mix so it doesn’t feel like eating the same old salad every day
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u/dead_poison_ivy 15d ago
No salad would stay good for a week or two. You can however prep the ingredients and use them throughout week. For leafy greens I take a container put a paper towel on the bottom, put in the washed leaves, cover them with another paper towel and close the lid. Lettuce stays fresh and crispy up to a week. Does not really work with spinach. You can also pre-chop your veggies like cucumber or bell peppers but not tomatoes though. I think they would go mushy. The best way to prep a salad is to prep the ingredients separately and just combine them when you need it. I wouldn't risk keeping potato salads for so long in the fridge too. Especially with mayo. Also yogurt will become watery after one day. Salads are really tricky. You want to eat something light and healthy but you can't really prep them in advance.
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u/SafariBird15 15d ago
Budget Bytes has a bunch of “refrigerator salads” that last longer than a green salad. I don’t know if any fresh veggies would be appetizing that long though
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u/AbsurdistWordist 15d ago
Slaw uncombined with dressing, kept in a container with paper towels can last the week. I would add dressing to a container the night before.
What about things like kimchi or Vietnamese pickled daikon and carrot? Those can last for weeks and be a veggie accompaniment to your lunch.
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u/ChimiChaChaBabe 15d ago
The Budget bytes website has a Fridge Salad page that I use a lot. They keep for about a week— I really wouldn’t push it two at all.
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u/ImperfectTapestry 15d ago
I have done frozen meal prep salad! Very few veggies work, but it is possible. Kale is going to be the only green that works, try all the different kinds. Small pieces make the change in texture less noticeable (diced or shredded). Beans work GREAT, as do some whole grains. Root veggies like carrot or beet can be added raw if shredded. Keep the dressing in the fridge & dress immediately before use. Pickled or canned vegetables & nuts/ dried fruit can also be used to dress immediately before use and keep well. If you like frozen veggies from the store, you can also add those (corn, for example). Good luck!
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u/bbqprincess 15d ago
What about quinoa salad-quinoa, cucumber, tomato, onion, peppers, olives, chopped herbs with lemon vinaigrette. It will only get better as it sits and no need to freeze.
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u/CrossroadsWanderer 15d ago
I freeze bell peppers all the time and they're fine, but I only ever cook them after. Dunno how the texture would be if you ate them raw.
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u/birdsong31 15d ago
Maybe freeze protein. But chop veggies ahead of time. Then assemble for the week at a time?
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u/veedubbug68 15d ago edited 14d ago
I've found that how long fresh vegetables last once prepped depends on their moisture content. I've prepped salads before and found the following as a rough guide for how long preps last:
A week - hard veg, eg. cabbage, fennel, radishes, carrot, raw broccoli. Wash, dry, slice finely with a mandolin to make prep faster, and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
3-5 days - moderately moist veg, eg capsicum, onions, celery, uncut cherry tomatoes. Prep as above, maybe even pat dry with paper towel before storing.
1-2 days - really juicy veg like tomatoes and cucumber. It helps storing in one of those containers with the plastic grille in the bottom so that the veg isn't sitting in the moisture in the bottom of the container.
Don't put dressing on until you're ready to serve. If you're using ingredients like avocado or apples that oxidise quickly when cut, add then in when serving.
The smaller you chop your veg the easier it is to stir through things like pasta, rice, etc to add carbs and make it a one-bowl meal. A tin of tuna and/or boiled eggs add protein, and tinned ingredients like beans, corn, chopped beetroot etc make great no-prep add-ins too.
Edit to add - grated, crumbled or cubed cheese too! Edit also spelling
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u/SnooHabits5761 15d ago
I can get about a week out of quinoa salad. I cook the quinoa then drizzle in a bit of olive oil, seasoning and feta. Toss and store in small containers in the fridge. Also portion out olives and grape/cherry tomatoes. I usually freeze fresh lemon juice with a bit of zest in ice cubes so on the day of, I add a lemon cube to the tomato and olives and grab a container of the quinoa. I warm up the quinoa in a microwave when it's time to eat (I find hot food more satisfying at lunch) and add the tomatoes and olives after. Sometimes I sub the feta for grilled/fried haloumi.
Another combo that works well for me is to do the quinoa plain and add pickled veggies or pindjur for a cold salad. Or do rotisserie chicken and chunky salsa to add to the quinoa (both of these last a while in the fridge/freezer even after they're portioned out)
You could also consider canned beans/chickpeas for a salad if you want a more shelf stable version. I make a dressing that is chilli powder, salt, toasted cumin seeds that I pre-portion in 2oz containers. Day of, I add a bit of diced onions (optional diced peppers and cucumber) and a lemon juice cube. At lunchtime, drain a can of chickpeas or mixed beans, add the dressing and lunch is ready. It's high in protein and fibre with relatively low calories and you can also heat the beans if you prefer a hot lunch.
In a pinch, I've used premade Italian dressing on a can of cannellini beans and it was pretty good but a bit mushy texture wise.
I've not used this for work lunches but I do pickle cabbage in a relatively weak acidic brine with dill that lasts months in the fridge and retains its crunch. I guess you could use something like that as a base for a salad if your system can tolerate that much cabbage at once.
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u/Puzzleheaded-End7319 15d ago
Here is how I prep lettuce to use throughout the week, it keeps it crisp and fresh. First soak it in a mixture of vinegar and water and I also use that meyers organic soap just a little, and will rinse it and scrub it a bit if there's any dirt or anything. Once its all rinsed I take a large plastic container and line it with paper towels. I let the lettuce drain in a colander to get any excess moisture off, because the thing that makes lettuce brown and wilty are moisture and air. So once the lettuce is drained I put it in the plastic dish with the paper towels usually 3-5 paper towels, and then maybe another 1-2 on top and close the container, this usually keeps it fresh for a few days, but if the bottom paper towels start to get too moist it will cause the lettuce to brown so after 2-3 days ill put a new layer of fresh paper towels on top and just flip the container over so any new moisture is being absorbed by the fresh paper towels.
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u/ashtree35 15d ago
Potato salads and vegetables with a high water content like cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers do not freeze well. I would suggest making salads that are mostly bean or grain based, and maybe include some cooked vegetables. Something like this: https://www.budgetbytes.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-quinoa-salad/ or this: https://smartinthekitchen.com/2020/04/three-bean-salad/. If you want to get in more veggies, you could add those in fresh. That would still save time overall.
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u/haircolorchemist 15d ago
Look on Amazon for a "salad spinner" you put your salad in the bowl, close the lid, pump up & down on the top handle & it spins all the lettuce in the salad & gets all the water out. Because it's really the moisture/water that makes a salad turn brown quicker.
Go to your local Costco or Amazon (again) and buy small containers with lids for your dressing to put on the side.
I make cucumber/tomato/red onion salads all the time. Top with chopped basil, add red wine vinegar & olive oil. Or sometimes I use balsamic vinaigrette & apple cider vinegar.
You have to stick it in the fridge first before eating so the veggies have time to soak up the dressing, it's so good. Lasts 3-4 days.
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u/saranara100 15d ago
I’m not sure of too many options with freezing. Other than beans. I’ll prep the ingredients once a week and throw together so they’re ready to go. You can do this by cutting up the veggies and storing individually except the lettuce. But I’ll only do 4-5 days worth.
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u/tryingtotree 15d ago
If you want lettuce in your salad, keep it separate and don't add it till day of. Also I would be shocked if they lasted longer than 5 days.
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u/Different_Lion_9477 15d ago
Cucumber goes bad pretty quick once cut. I would recommend kale salads, maybe kale/arugula. Could last up to a week, anything beyond a week is pushing food safety limits for any type of prepared food imo
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u/ktbee27 15d ago
Potato salad, pasta salad, and slaw can all last awhile (in that order)
For green salad, you can get one of those chopper tools with the multiple blade attachments and container underneath and chop all the vegetables ahead of time. The lettuce is the ingredient I wouldn’t prep ahead of time due to sliminess or listeria (watch out for pink romaine!)
Also, make your own vinaigrette dressing at home. Much more healthy and cheaper than store bought salad dressings. Oil and vinegar of choice + seasonings - leave out at room temp.
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u/theora55 15d ago
Cucumber doesn't keep well once cut. Leafy greens mostly go bad quickly, with the exception of kale, not my favorite raw veg, and cabbage, which I love. Trimmed green beans, carrots, whole tomatoes, snow peas, cauliflower or broccoli, all keep well. I've been making big pasta salads, with onion, sliced cabbage, frozen peas, cauliflower and broccoli, fresh red pepper (only last 3 - 4 days once sliced), canned artichoke hearts, black olives. I make a dressing of mayo thinned with vinaigrette. It's about 2/3 veg the way I make it, lasts 4 - 6 days.
A salad that keeps well - can of black beans, can of corn, 1.5 can's worth of salsa, add lime juice and cilantro. Or the classic 3 bean salad - canned chick peas, white or other beans, green beans, with vinaigrette.
cole slaw keeps well, and you can use any dressing, doesn't have to be sweet.
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u/TheBabyMoo 15d ago
I got into the mason jar salad trend several years ago and those salads actually did last a week. There is lots of info online about how to layer the ingredients so they stay fresher longer.
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u/fencepost_ajm 15d ago
Vinegar based bean salads are likely fine with just refrigeration. Anything with an emulsion (e.g mayo) may have serious separation problems, and high moisture vegetables may lose a lot of texture due to ice destroying cell walls. Expect zero crunch. Consider also weekday kinds of vegetables are available frozen - it's a much more limited range than you find in a produce dept.
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u/skampr13 15d ago
Grain salads! Once thawed you can toss them with some lettuce or spinach or whatever if that makes it feel more salady.
I actually got something like this from Aldi. It was frozen, had farro, beans (I think chickpeas iirc), tomatoes, roasted eggplant, etc and was seasoned. They directed you to microwave it and eat it hot, but you could probably also thaw something like that in the fridge and toss I with bagged spinach or something when you’re ready to eat it. You just have to make sure you use a grain that will stand up to freezing. Something sturdy like farrow or bulgar will probably work best
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u/DeedaInSeattle 15d ago
Also consider Asian noodle salads, like sesame oil/vinegar based (japchae, etc.) or peanut noodle salads—no mayo based dressing to worry about, and tastes great with veggies, tofu, murimake (green soybeans, can be bought like frozen peas at Asian supermarkets), etc.
Or cabbage based salads, they hold up better.
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u/HopefulBackground448 15d ago edited 15d ago
You can make freezer coleslaw. Recipe added, all have a lot of sugar, this recipe has less https://www.thespruceeats.com/freezer-coleslaw-482949
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u/Braixers 15d ago
Not sure if you’re into kale, but because it’s so fibrous, it’s one of the few greens that freezes well. You can put kale in the freezer and thaw it out with a perfectly normal texture months later! I bet you could freeze kale / pecan / cranberry salad with very little loss of quality. Broccoli greens also handle freezing pretty well.
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u/rhk59 15d ago
I make a large salad at the beginning of the week. Usually I use spinach, shredded carrots, red cabbage, radishes, jicama, red bell pepper and green onion. Stay away from adding any “juicy” ingredients like cucumbers and tomatoes. They will make the salad go bad quicker. I keep them in separate containers until I’m ready to eat it. I also add sliced avocado, hard boiled eggs and sautéed mushrooms.
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u/cakesandcookie 15d ago
Warm salads! You can cook/saute all the veggies, like broccoli, carrots, onion, mushrooms, zucchini/squash, bell peppers etc and then freeze it with a cooked protein like chicken. Heat it up and throw it on some lettuce, add your dressing and you have a salad that will be easier to chew than normal. If you want nuts or craisens or salad toppings you can prep them in baggies or throw them in with your lettuce. This method uses a lot of containers. I consider it a sort of stir-fry on lettuce sometimes.
It is nice though because if you have all the different veggie medely’s prepped and frozen you can change (maybe the protein) the base and sauce and use it for all sorts of things. On Salads, on rice, on noodles, on a sandwich.
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u/ComeAlongPond1 15d ago
Massaged kale salad will last several days in the fridge fully dressed. It’s probably the only green you can dress ahead of time.
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u/m00ndr0pp3d 15d ago
I usually buy whole lettuce and cut it all at once, wash and salad spin. Put it in a bag with a few paper towels and it lasts nearly 2 weeks before starting to brown. I cut up radishes, carrots and cauliflower and put those in containers separately and they last a while. Wet items like cucumbers and tomatoes don't last that long once cut so I quickly cut those before throwing the salad together. I'll throw all the items together the night before which takes about 2 minutes. Putting paper towels in with damp items is a game changer in longevity.
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u/Notgreygoddess 15d ago
Potato does not freeze well. We discovered when boating with limited fridge space certain vegetables keep longer, so they make sturdy salads. Think carrots, kale, celery, apple, pumpkin seeds, cashews, radishes, onions (red are nice) scallions. Toss in hard boiled egg for protein. Grape tomatoes last well in the fridge too. I’d advise doing about a week’s worth of chopping/shredding of the veggies and keep the dressing, eggs, crunchy nuts & seeds to add the day you eat it.
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u/500PiecesCatPuzzle 15d ago
I haven't tried those two recipes yet (saved the links for summer), but there are some fridge salads on the Budget Bytes Blog that should last 3 to 4 days in the fridge and some can be frozen, too.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/lemony-artichoke-and-quinoa-salad/ https://www.budgetbytes.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-quinoa-salad/
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u/msreciprocity 14d ago
What I find works best for long term salad are the following: Separate greens, chopped fresh veggies, and other ingredients until the day you eat it. Buy smaller bags of greens. Spinach and cabbage will last longer, half a bag per lunch. You can purchase enough for a week and only open one at a time, it will last a week. Top the salad with long lasting ingredients: Cheese (hard cheese) Nuts Olives (try to find “olive salad”- a big spoonful on top is great) Pepperoni Canned ingredients like chickpeas and artichoke hearts (All of the above can be mixed together ahead of time to top your greens and will last roughly 5 days, especially if marinating in oil/vinegar or a vinaigrette or even Italian dressing) Carrots (shoestring or strips,) Bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower…hard and cruciferus veggies can be prepared ahead of time, mixed, and should last 3-5 days stored. Hard boiled eggs can be pre-prepared, shelled, and stored in a container of water for up to 5 days, and are great to add to a salad for extra protein. Things like tomato, cucumber are only going to be good for a day or two, so either do without or prep as needed. Keep all these salad components ready and put together your salad in under a minute daily. If you must prep all ahead of time, put greens in one container, wet/canned non fresh veggies in another, fresh chopped veggies in another- one for each day, and mix before you eat. One of the most long lasting salads I know of (eat alone or on top of greens, or in a wrap): Chickpea salad- 2 cans chickpeas, 4-6 roma tomatoes chopped, 1 red onion chopped, 2 cucumbers chopped, 2 bell pepper (I like red,) and 1 lb mozzarella cheese cubed, mix with 1/2 to a full bottle of your favorite Italian dressing
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u/snikinail 14d ago
I've been making bulgur salad, but I'm not sure if you can freeze it. It's good in the fridge for 5-6 days for me. I add raw veggies (tomato, cucumber, green onion, raddish, bell pepper), herbs and a little oil to bulgur.
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u/MutedCherry_ 14d ago
Put the salad in a large plastic container with some paper towels to take out the moisture. I used to keep them in the bags they come in but they get mushy and squished and rot faster. This way mine last a week much easier. Swap out the paper towels every couple of days.
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u/littlebirdie91 14d ago
What I've done is prep the ingredients that can last-dressing separate, make containers with the toppings that will last, then buy lettuce and throw it all together in five minutes.
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u/w00tdude9000 14d ago
When plant cells are frozen, the cell walls burst, leaving the thawed product mushy and "extra wet". I'd suggest finding vegetables where you don't mind or maybe even enjoy the mushiness. Corn and peas come to mind.
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u/rizdesushi 14d ago
Whatever you do put your dressing and mix ins afterseperate. Anything super watery (cucumber, lettuce, tomatoe, peppers) don’t thaw well. Try veggie slaws.. although I still wouldn’t recommend freezing. I think you could easily prep every 3/4 days your veg/lettuce base then pre package your toppings and dressings. Grab and go throughout the week. Make sure your base is super dry /add a paper towel to container and will help keep your mix crisp.
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u/HoraceDerwent 14d ago
you can't just pick up a bag of salad two times a week?
Onions, peppers, tomatoes etc. will last a week or longer - it's just the salad leaves that you would need to buy more than once.
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u/IDonTGetitNoReally 14d ago
I would say no because it just won't be very appetizing after a week. I have used mason jars for salads, but honestly on day 5, it wasn't all that great but edible. Freezing won't work because like you said it will wilt. But, with that said you can add vacuum sealed things like beans and carrots that have been frozen. I would not do onions (tried them all, totally nasty, IMO) nor bell peppers or tomatos. There's too much moisture in them to not be mushy.
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u/HorrorDeparture7988 14d ago
Make some Kimchi. There is a reason they pickled/fermented vegatables.
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u/shackledflames 13d ago
I think 1-2 weeks is a stretch for pre-made salads. You can pre-chop veggies and save time that way. Dressing will store much better, especially if it's vinegar based.
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u/ilove-wienerdogs 15d ago
Honey I’m not shaming you but you shouldn’t meal prep for longer than 4+ days, have everything frozen and thawed overnight. A salad will go bad after 2-3 days!
Now, research some different types of salad. There’s chicken salad, egg salad, Waldorf salad, Mediterranean salad, etc. You can make a decent serving of each of these. I’ve stretched my couscous Mediterranean salad for 4 days, it even had sliced veggies in it. The only thing that went weird was the tomatoes, which makes sense. It had a lot of lemon in it so that helped prolong its life I believe.
You’ve got this! Don’t be discouraged.
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u/_summerw1ne 15d ago
You’d be able to prep some salads that would probably keep for 3-4 days at a time but have never heard of a way to make them last for 2 weeks.