Mindy Kaling Shares Her ‘Plane Salad’ Recipe Inspired by Jessica Biel

Mindy Kaling has her air travel meals on lock.

On Sunday, The Mindy Project star shared her go-to “plane salad” that was inspired by fellow actress Jessica Biel. 

In an Instagram post, Kaling included a photo of herself enjoying the meal on a plane, along with a close-up of the healthy recipe. She also shared what motivated her to pack a homemade dish during her travels. 

“I eat terribly when I travel and I wanted to change that. So instead of eating randomly (which lets face it is fun too, sometimes), I was like ‘what if I prepared my meal and brought it with me?’” she wrote in the caption. 

Kaling then recounted the moment when Biel inspired her portable meal. 

“Then I remembered this one time, maybe like 14 years ago, when I sat next to @jessicabiel on a flight. An hour in, she pulled out this container from her tote bag,” she recalled. “It had the most delicious looking homemade salad in it that was definitely a better option than whatever I was eating. I always wanted to ask her what the recipe was!”

Biel shared her thoughts in the comments section. “Omg wish I could remember what it was!! 🥗” she wrote. Kaling responded with her understanding: "I guess [it's] unreasonable to request you remember a salad recipe you made when you were like 25 😂."

The Office star then shared her own simple recipe filled with hearty ingredients like halved cherry tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. Her salad has a base of chopped spinach, butter lettuce or romaine, and for another touch of green, Kaling adds in a “bunch of asparagus chopped and blanched for like 2 mins.”

For protein, Kaling adds in wild salmon in water, drained and flaked, which she swears “doesn't stink like tuna!!” Another filling ingredient are cannellini beans, rinsed and strained. Final touches include a sprinkle of goat cheese and “an easy dressing made of olive oil, momofuku seasoning salt, honey, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard.”

Biel and Kaling aren’t the only actress friends who share their travel eats in common. Lily Collins also commented on Kaling's post. “No joke we’re twins. I ALwAys do this hahha,” the Emily in Paris star wrote.

In May for her Better Homes & Gardens cover story, Kaling opened up about about how her way of cooking, entertaining and decorating has evolved over the years.

"I have a busy schedule and am a single parent," said the mom to daughter Katherine Swati, 5, and son Spencer Avu, 2. "I love to find any cheats that save time but still make it possible to put a home-cooked meal on the table."

She continued to say that she buys time-saving ingredients, like pre-chopped onions. "Chefs will frown on that, but I don't."

She also said her home is always stocked for her kids — and her longtime friend and The Office co-star B.J. Novak.

"I want to have a tacit policy in my house that you can help yourself," she said. "You don't even need to get a napkin or a plate. Just get a snack. My dear friend BJ Novak will come over whenever he's in town, and he never says he'll stay for a meal, but he always eats a meal's worth of snacks."