A season of flexible routines and relaxed moods, summer is also a time to keep cooking to a minimum with cold lunch ideas that satisfy. Dishes that refresh and revive, these rely on a bounty of seasonal ingredients and pantry staples to come together in minutes. Ideal at work or at camp, for beach days, car trips or days spent merely lounging around the house, these dishes go straight from fridge to fork, with no reheating necessary.
Ready to mix up your summertime routine? Convenient and bursting with layers of flavor, cold lunches are the must-have dishes of the season!
The Key To Amazing Cold Lunches
When temperatures rise, easy cold lunch ideas will help you keep your cool. Simple to put together, these dishes make few demands on your time and (best of all!) won’t heat up the house. Plus, they’re great for diners of any age, and are easy to customize with everyone’s favorite ingredients.
Begin with Success® Boil-in-Bag products, and you can make a week’s worth of dishes for the entire family. Switch things up with quinoa one day and fragrant jasmine rice the next. Take inspiration from Mexico to start the week, followed by India to close it out. Summer may be stretching before you, but with Success® Rice’s range of no measure, no mess products, you’ll have enough recipe ideas to last all season long!
Nutritious and Easy Cold Lunch Ideas for Busy Days
Looking for cold lunch ideas for work or cold lunch ideas for kids? Trust us, it’s possible — and easy — to make a cold lunch other than sandwiches! From seafood-filled wraps to colorful salads and poke bowls, we’ve got enough ideas to satisfy a season’s worth of cravings.
Dishes that make meal prep a cinch, these cold lunch ideas will get you back to the summer activities you love in mere minutes!
Crab and Shrimp Sushi Burrito
Though these are best assembled right before eating, all of the ingredients can be prepped ahead of time. With crunchy nori, seasoned Success® boil-in-bag jasmine rice, crisp vegetables and fresh seafood, these are a tempting complete meal you can eat with one hand!
Refreshing Summer Corn and Rice Salad
Cold rice lunch ideas don’t get much better than this zesty 15-minute salad! With a jumble of fresh vegetables and a tangy vinaigrette, all this dish needs is a picnic table and a warm breeze to reach perfection.
Crispy Rice with Spicy Shrimp Salad
For company, or for one, this thrilling dish boasts a bold riot of flavors paired with a number of tantalizing textures. For the best results, pack the spiced shrimp, vegetables, sauces and crisped rice separately, then assemble at lunchtime.
Cherry Tomato Caprese Pearl Couscous Salad
Success® boil-in-bag pearl couscous adds the heft that traditional caprese lacks in this midday dish. Delicious as is, this salad can be topped with grilled chicken, sausage or beef, for additional protein.
Peppered Seared Tuna Poke and Rice
Fluffy white rice takes a tropical turn in this elegant dish. Loaded with sauteed vegetables and seared tuna, it’s finished with a flourish of sesame seeds and drizzle of poke sauce for oodles of flavor in every bite.
Citrus Quinoa Salad Towers with Avocado
Dressed up or down, this punchy salad never fails to satisfy! Whether plated elegantly for company or toted to work in a reusable container, its combination of greens, creamy avocado, crunchy almonds, tri-color quinoa and citrus-spiked dressing is endlessly addictive.
Greek Beet and Watermelon Rice Salad
This salad is made for the height of summer, when watermelon is at its juiciest! Paired with tender roasted beets, briny feta, olives and jasmine rice, this dish is a sunny taste of the Mediterranean that you can enjoy wherever summer takes you.
Greek Chicken and Rice Salad
When dinner leaves you with leftover chicken, turn it into a tempting salad — not another humdrum sandwich! Paired with ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumber, red onions, olives and silky Caesar dressing, Success® boil-in-bag white rice transforms into a dish you’ll want to make on repeat, all summer long.
Mediterranean Pearl Couscous Salad
In just three simple steps (and a mere 20 minutes), tender pearl couscous becomes a protein-packed dish bursting with flavor. We love this salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber and feta but feel free to mix things up with your favorite finds.
California Creamy Rice Salad with Mayonnaise
Reinvent grandma’s go-to potluck side with the tang of sour cream, pop of pimiento and fluffy mounds of white rice. With celery, for crunch, and plenty of hard-boiled egg, this riff on a nostalgic salad is always welcome on our table.
Black Beans, Corn and Mango Salad Bowl
This dish may call for more ingredients than others, but it still comes together with minimal effort. Equal parts fresh and juicy, spicy and bold, it tops our list of cold rice lunch ideas that we look forward to all morning long!
Asian Chicken Salad
Gingery, savory, tropical and sweet, homemade peanut dressing is the secret to this delectable salad. Short on time? Find a delicious store-bought substitute and whip this dish up in minutes. Pack the salad and dressing separately until ready to eat.
Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Spicy Mayo Poke Bowl
Seasoned raw fish, crisp vegetables and jasmine rice are the cornerstones of this fun and flavorful poke bowl. Pineapple, fried garlic, furikake and sriracha add sweet, nutty, savory and spicy notes, though you can sub them out for other fruits, aromatics, seasonings and sauces if you prefer.
Summer Green Goddess Quinoa Salad
Looking for cold lunch ideas that pack a punch? Hearty and filling, with a tangy, creamy dressing, this Success® boil-in-bag tri-color-quinoa salad delivers! A complete vegetarian main as is, this dish can be paired with leftover chicken or fish for added protein
Tips to Make Cold Lunches Stay Fresh & Flavorful
Easy cold lunch ideas can save you from the tedium of the same old sandwich, day in and day out. But you’ll want to follow these tips and tricks to ensure that you can enjoy these delicious dishes at their best.
- When organizing your cold lunch, it’s important to plan ahead. You’ll want to keep dressing and ingredients that spoil easily (such as avocado or lettuce leaves) separate and stir them into your dish at the last minute.
- Invest in a stackable, bento-style container and keep elements of your lunch separate until you’re ready to eat. A sustainable option, these also often come with cutlery!
- If you won’t have a fridge nearby, pack cold lunches in insulated containers or alongside ice packs. Keeping lunch cool is especially important when transporting dishes that contain seafood, poultry or dairy.
- For kids, pack a variety of snacks alongside smaller portions of a main dish. Including fruit (such as watermelon, berries or cucumber) in a lunchbox can help kids stay hydrated during busy days at the park, beach or camp.
- Stock up on Success® Rice Boil-in-Bag products and planning a week’s worth of cold lunches will feel like a fun challenge, instead of a chore!