The Best Salad Container Is a Mason Jar

A wide-mouth mason jar is the best salad container I’ve used, and it costs about five bucks.

The trick is packing it upside down: dressing and wet stuff on the bottom, then proteins and crunchy veggies, and the greens way up top. When you’re ready to eat, shake it or dump it into a bowl and the dressing coats everything evenly. No soggy leaves.

If you’re not into jars, the next best thing is a flat container with a separate leakproof dressing cup. Those built-in trays and fancy separators work fine but they’re not magic—they just keep wet things away from dry things, which you can also do with a $2 silicone cup or even a small yogurt container. The real requirement is a lid that doesn’t leak.

Don’t overthink it. You probably already own something that works. The only thing that’s actually worth buying is a jar or container where the dressing never touches the greens until lunch.

Soggy salad is not where you want to save money.