7 days of best cold lunches you will love

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the site so I can continue to offer great content to you!

Lunch can be a challenging meal to plan. If you have to take your lunch outside your home and don’t want to go to a restaurant, it’s even more tricky. That’s why many claim that lunch is their least favorite meal. In this article, I’ll share my easy cold lunch meal prep formula and 7 of my all-time best cold lunches.

Cold lunch meal prep formula

1) Meal plan (to some extent)

The number one element to be successful is to have enough ingredients on hand. I strongly recommend to plan your meals for the week in advance.

This doesn’t mean you need to have a rigid planning process that doesn’t allow for any flexibility. However, you need to have core ingredients in your fridge and pantry to help you create a variety of cold lunches.

For example, if you like sandwiches, decide on one or two proteins you’d like to use for the week. Make sure you have bread and lettuce.

If you are new to meal planning and interested in learning more, check out this article. In it, I break down the process in a simple way for beginners.

2) Pre-wash your fruits and vegetables

This makes a huge difference! If you don’t wash that head of celery or those strawberries, you are much less likely to include them in your lunch.

I like to use a salad spinner to wash my fruits and vegetables. I add them to the spinner with a bit of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes and lift the strainer basket to remove the food from the water. Rinse with cold water.

Let’s face it, making lunch is an extra chore you put on yourself. Consider making things ahead of time. This will make the daily process faster and increase your chances of success in implementing and sticking with bringing a lunch to work or school.

Pro tip 1: place washed and cut carrots and celery in water in an airtight glass container in your refrigerator. It keeps them fresh and makes them quickly accessible.

Pro tip 2: Use a salad spinner to soak your berries in 4 cups of water and add 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Lift the strainer basket to remove them from the water after about 15 minutes, rinse them, dry them, and place them in an airtight glass container in the fridge. This will greatly increase the life of your berries.

3) Invest in good-quality food storage

You should invest in a one-time purchase of high-quality food storage containers.

I recommend glass containers and reusable silicon bags. It will help keep your food fresh longer. Additionally, these options are more sustainable than traditional Ziploc bags.

Pro Tip: A cute and fun lunchbox also is a great way to boost your motivation to make your lunch daily. This one is super cute. I own this second option which I’ve had for years. I also just bought this very small and compact one for days I have a small lunch. This last one fits nicely into my work bag.

Best cold lunches

I bring my lunch to work every day. I do this for a few reasons.

First, I like to control the ingredients that I consume.

Second, it’s much cheaper over time than buying lunch every day.

Lastly, I have several food allergies and intolerances. It considerably reduces my stress and anxiety when I know exactly what is in the food I’m about to consume.

What kind of cold lunches I prefer

I like to rotate between sandwiches, salads, and snack plates. You can create hundreds of different meals with just these three categories.

Let me share my favorite seven best cold lunches at the moment.

1) Smoked Salmon Salad

This is a long-time favorite of mine. It’s easy to make, and you can make several substitutions to make it slightly different each time. I indicated the substitution in parentheses below.

SALAD INGREDIENTS (for 1 serving):

• 2 cups of chopped spinach (or Arugula)
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice (or Quinoa)
• 1/4 cup of cucumber diced (or green bell pepper)
• 1/4 of an avocado diced
• 1/8 cup of red onion diced (or some green onion or chives)
• 1/8 cup of sliced black olives (or palm heart)
• 2 ounces of sliced smoked salmon
• 1/4 cup of feta

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of white balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 tsp of mayo
• Fresh dill (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pro tip: use an old spice container to mix your salad dressing. Alternately, OXO has a good “on-the-go” option. Do not add it to the salad until you are ready to eat it. It will keep the spinach or other greens crisp.

2) Egg salad sandwich

I love a good homemade egg salad sandwich. I like to control the quantity of mayo I add to the mixture.

This sandwich is so filling and satisfying. Did you know that 2 large eggs pack over 12 grams of protein?

Pro tip: you can make extra egg salad and keep it in the refrigerator to repeat this best cold lunch later in the week. You can even add some of the mixture on top of a green salad or eat it on your favorite crackers.

EGG SALAD INGREDIENTS (for 1 serving):

• 2 hard-boiled eggs mashed (check out this post to learn how to cook the perfect hard-boiled eggs)
• 1 Tbsp of mayo
• 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp of finely diced celery
• 1 tsp of finely diced red onion
• fresh dill or chives
• Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and spread them on your favorite bread. I like to add some fresh sprouts and some green leaf lettuce. This sandwich is delicious.

3) Snack box

Snack boxes are one of those things that you can customize into countless variations. The formula for me is:

• A protein: tuna salad, turkey slices, sunflower butter (or nut butter if allergy is not a concern), hard-boiled eggs, cheese, cooked and diced chicken, etc.
• Veggies: I like to have a variety of veggies on the side. I change it up based on the season. Some great options are carrots, celery, cucumbers, radishes, sugar peas, or cherry tomatoes. I tend to like them by themselves, but you could pack a small container of your favorite dip or hummus.
• A grain of some sort. I like to add crackers or a slice of bread especially if my protein is something that can be used as a spread. Other times, I’ll add a small serving of rice or quinoa salad.
• Add a fruit or a little something sweet if you like to end your meal that way. I love adding a small bowl of berries and maple syrup. For a quicker option, just pick a whole fruit easy to pack in your lunch such as orange, apple, or banana.

4) Grilled veggies and chicken quinoa bowl

I almost always double-batch when I make rice or quinoa. These grains are super easy to reuse cold in lunches.

This grilled veggies and chicken quinoa bowl is a leftover meal. However, it’s created from ingredients that weren’t necessarily served together, especially not in the same way.

If you want this lunch, I encourage you to have a chicken meal on your menu that week and simply make an extra serving. The same is true for grilled veggies. Save some from other meals and this lunch will come together in no time.

Pro tips: Make Thursdays or Fridays your leftover bowl days. It will help you clear out the fridge while making delicious and creative meals.

BOWL INGREDIENTS (for 1 bowl):

• Between 1/2 to 1 cup of cooked quinoa as a base
• Between 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 serving of diced cooked but cold chicken
• About 1 cup of various grilled veggies of your choice. My top choices are zucchini, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, or asparagus.
• Sprinkle with feta cheese and sunflower seeds (optional)

BOWL DRESSING:

• 2 Tbsp of tahini
• 1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• ~ 1 Tbsp of coconut milk (to thin out the mixture)

5) Cold marinated shrimp and spinach salad

This is another yummy and filling salad that is part of my best cold lunch rotation.

Once again, I tend to make this salad if I have leftover shrimp. However, shrimps are so quick to cook that you could easily bake a few shrimps for the sole purpose of making this salad.

SHRIMP MARINADE (for 1 pound of shrimp):

• Add directly to your shrimps: 2 tsp of paprika, 2 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of garlic powder, juice of 1 lime, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

SALAD INGREDIENTS (for 1 serving):

• 2 cups of chopped spinach or 1 cup of spinach and 1 cup of romaine or green leaf
• 1/4 cup of diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup of diced red onions
• 1/4 cup of diced cucumbers
• 1 serving of cooked and marinated shrimp
• 1/4 of an avocado diced

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 Tbsp of lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pro tip: use an old spice container to mix your salad dressing. Alternately, OXO has a good “on-the-go” option. Do not add it to the salad until you are ready to eat it. It will keep the spinach or other greens crisp.

6) Sunflower butter and banana sandwich

This may sound weird but any peanut, nut, or seed butter is delicious with bananas.

This lunch has been part of my life since I was a child.

Simply spread your “nut” butter on each slice of your bread and close the sandwich until it’s time to eat.

Pro tip: you don’t want to add the sliced banana until it’s time to eat. It will get brown and mushy.

Pair this sandwich with an orange or some clementines. I often also like to add a few cubes of cheese on the side or yogurt for dessert.

7) Pesto turkey and brie wrap

Last but not least in this best cold lunches compilation is this delicious wrap.

You can make your own pesto or buy it pre-made.

Pro tip: If your family has nut allergies, you can make pesto using sunflower or pumpkin seeds. It is just as delicious and safe for those who can’t eat nuts.

WRAP INGREDIENTS (for 1 serving):

• 1 tortilla wrap of your choice (I like the spinach ones best)
• 1-2 Tbsp of pesto on the wrap
• 1-2 ounces of sliced brie
• A serving of turkey (either slices of cooked and diced turkey works)
• Diced tomatoes
• 1-2 green leaf lettuce

In conclusion

This article was created to give you lunch inspiration. Lunch doesn’t have to be boring and repetitive. Each recipe in this best cold lunches compilation can be easily adapted to your specific taste.

Which one will you try? Let me know if you’ve made any modifications or share your favorite cold lunch recipe with us.

Bon appetit!

Cat xx

Other articles you might enjoy: