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? What they’re currently doing best is housing make-ahead BLT Egg Salad Jars, aka easy, protein-packed, grab-and-go lunches. There’s a reason bacon and eggs are always paired together — egg salad + chopped bacon is a game changer. These portable, ready-when-you-are jarred lunches are AWESOME!
Classic Egg Salad Made Even Better
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 inexpensive lunch. Hot toast. Cold egg salad. Just the right amount of mayo. So satisfying. I’m making the lunchtime classic 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 has the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” been more true than when describing this dish. While the individual ingredients in BLT Egg Salad Jars are great on their own, they knock it out of the park once combined. This lunch is 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!
How to Make This Dish
Start by cooking 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 eggs. Like the bacon, there are a few different ways to hard boil eggs. 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 mayonnaise, yellow mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, plus a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Don’t skip the lemon juice – it REALLY makes the egg salad. Finally, stir in chopped green onions.
Next, layer the ingredients. Scoop 1/3 of the egg salad into the bottom of 3, 16oz mason jars then top with chopped Roma tomatoes, 1/3 of the chopped bacon, and fresh 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!
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