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BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they’re packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week!

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week! | iowagirleats.com

Time for another edition of No More Sad Desk Lunch featuring your good friend and mine, mason jars! Maybe it’s my third cup of coffee talking, but is there anything mason jars can’t do? Besides everything but hold stuff?

I’m sure absolutely nobody noticed but this week I scaled back to two posts versus three and I cannot tell you how much smoother and less hectic my week felt. With two little guys at home, who always come first, I feel like I’m constantly fighting just to keep up with my workload versus being ahead of the game and expanding by developing products, brainstorming fun new posts ideas, etc. Anyway, this week I felt like I had time to breathe which, coupled with some outrageously gorgeous weather, made for one happy Mama. I don’t plan on permanently scaling back to two posts versus three, but every once in awhile sure is helpful.

Also firmly checking the helpful box this week has been a refrigerator stocked with Make-Ahead BLT Egg Salad Jars for quick and easy, protein-packed lunches. There’s a reason bacon and eggs are always paired together, and egg salad + chopped bacon is a game changer. These portable, ready-when-you-are jarred lunches are AWESOME!!

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week! | iowagirleats.com

I grew up eating my Mom’s egg salad for lunch at least once a week. She’d toast two slices of white bread then schlop a big scoop of cold egg salad in the center, slice it in half, and serve it to my brothers and me for a quick and easy, wallet-friendly lunch. I can take myself back to the experience even decades later. Hot toast. Cold egg salad. Just the right amount of mayo. So satisfying.

I’m making the classic lunchtime favorite even better by layering it in a mason jar with chopped bacon, juicy tomatoes, and lots of fresh greens and calling it BLT Egg Salad Jars. Never before has the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” been more true than when describing this dish.

Egg salad = Good!

Bacon = GOOOOOD.

Tomatoes = Good.

Lettuce = good.

How weird does the word “good” look after reading it five times in a row? Anyway, all the components of my BLT Egg Salad Jars are fab on their own, but once combined they hit it out of the PARK. I was truly tickled by how delicious these jars are! Even better, they’re healthy, low-carb, and full of protein and fresh vegetables. Grab a fork, shake ‘er up, and dig in, or if you’re feeling fancy, overturn the jar onto a plate. Pinkies up!

Assemble these jars on Sunday then keep in the refrigerator to eat for lunch all week long. Split with a spouse, partner, or roomie, and you can all reap the rewards!

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week! | iowagirleats.com

Start by cooking 5 strips of bacon. You can do this anyway you want, but my favorite method is to place the bacon strips on top of a cooling rack set atop a foil lined baking sheet then place in a cold oven and preheat to 375 degrees. The bacon bakes low and slow as the oven heats up, rendering it nice and crispy in the end. Perfecto!

Once the bacon has cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces then set aside.

Meanwhile, hard boil 6 eggs. Like the bacon, there are a few different ways to hard boil eggs – bake, steam, or simmer. My favorite way is to cover eggs in a saucepan with water 1″ above the tops then bring the water to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat then cover and let the eggs sit for 11 minutes before scooping into a bowl of ice water.

Once cooled, crack the shells lightly all over then peel. Voila – perfect hard boiled eggs every time!

Chop the eggs then add to a bowl with 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Don’t skip the lemon juice – it REALLY makes the egg salad. Finally, stir in 2 small green onions that have been thinly sliced.

Last step, layering! Scoop 1/3 of the egg salad into the bottom of 3, 16oz mason jars then top with 1/3 of 3 chopped Roma tomatoes, 1/3 of the chopped bacon, and 1 cup (ish) arugula or the greens of your choice. Screw the lid on then stash in the fridge. So easy, right??? I hope you love these healthy, yummy gluten-free lunches – enjoy!

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week! | iowagirleats.com

BLT Egg Salad Jars

dairy freegluten freelow carb

Description

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week!

Ingredients

makes 3 jars

  • 5 slices bacon
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • salt and pepper
  • fresh lemon juice
  • 2 thin green onions, chopped
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded then chopped
  • 3 cups arugula or baby spinach
  • 3, 16oz mason jars

Directions

  1. Cover a sheet pan with foil then place a cooling rack on top. Lay bacon strips on top of cooling rack then place baking sheet into a cold oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Let bacon bake as the oven warms up, then continue baking until bacon is crispy. Chop when cool enough to handle then set aside. Alternatively you could microwave bacon between paper towels until crisp.
  2. Meanwhile, fill a medium-sized bowl with ice then water and set aside. Add eggs to a 2 or 3-quart saucepan then cover with water 1" above the tops. Bring water to a boil then place a lid on top and remove pan from heat. Let sit for 11 minutes then remove the lid and scoop eggs into the bowl of ice water and let cool. Peel eggs then chop and add to a large bowl.
  3. To the chopped eggs add the mustard, paprika, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon) then stir to combine. Add green onions then stir to combine.
  4. Scoop 1/3 of the egg salad into the bottom of each mason jar then top with 1/3 of the tomatoes, 1/3 of the bacon, and then fill the to the top with arugula. Screw on lids then store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

BLT Egg Salad Jars are SO easy and delicious, plus they're packed with protein and fresh vegetables. Assemble for grab-and-go gluten-free lunches throughout the week! | iowagirleats.com