Cold Meal Prep Ideas

I live in New Orleans, Louisiana. That means that for about 6 months out of the year, I am on the verge of overheating.

Now, I know that this experience is not unique to only the American South. There are days when temperatures in my hometown of Buffalo New York rival those in the swamps. And I know that my friends in California and family in Seattle have been experiencing some real heat this summer, too.

What does this mean in terms of nutrition? Well, for starters, appetite is often not quite the same when our bodies are working hard to cool us down. We may not be able to bear the thought of turning on the stove or, God forbid, the oven, to prepare a meal. But we still need to feed ourselves, right?

So I thought I’d take some time today to lay out some cold meal prep ideas.

Cold Meal Prep Ideas

Sturdy Salads

When you’re meal prepping a cold salad, you want the ingredients to be able to stand the test of time as they sit in your fridge. Certain ingredients like avocado and romaine lettuce start to brown and wilt over time if they are pre-sliced and incorporated into a salad.

To avoid a sad salad when meal prepping, think fibrous, lower water content ingredients. Great go-tos: white bean and cherry tomatos, colorful rainbow slaws, tabbouleh, and a kale caesar with shaved parm and hardy sourdough croutons.

For more ideas, I love this post that was put together by Sheela Prakash for 13 sturdy salads that last in the fridge.

Taco Bowls

One of my favorite cold meal prep ideas is a taco bowl. Think Chipotle bowl at home. To really make this simple in hot months, treat yourself to a microwaveable rice pouch, or any grain of your choice, so that you don’t have to turn on your stove against your will.

The rest is really a choose-your-own-adventure situation. For a no-cook vegetarian option, I use black beans or pinto beans. Add in shredded cheese, tomatoes, avocado (I recommend slicing before eating), corn, and some greens. Top with a vinaigrette, hot sauce, and sour cream for an easy meal that can be mostly pre-prepped.

Cold Noodles

Okay, this one requires some cooking. But once you turn on your stove once to make a big batch of noodles, you can eat from this meal all week.

My favorite genre of cold noodles is an umami-filled peanut sesame noodle dish. Key ingredients for the sauce – peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, sriracha, and rice vinegar.

Chop up veggies like bell peppers, broccoli, and cabbage. For protein, I like to add in some crumbled extra firm tofu or tempeh. I also love to top this with some chili crisp and sesame seeds. Cold peanut noodles are filling, DELICIOUS, and sometimes even better after the dish has had a chance to marinate in the fridge for a couple of days.

Tuna Salad

My TikTok algorithm loves to serve me videos of people eating those spicy tunacado sandwiches from Joe and the Juice. So lately I have been thinking about tuna salad quiiite a bit. Open up a couple of cans of tuna and prepare your tuna salad ahead of time. For the next few days, this can be eaten in sandwiches, wraps, and atop salads.

Sometimes for a lazy and quick cold lunch, I’ll make a snack plate and eat my tuna salad with some crackers.

Snack Plates

Speaking of snack plates, they are a great option when you’re thinking up cold meal prep ideas. Some might call it girl dinner. Call it what you want, but these hodge-podge type meals really lend themselves to feeding yourself on days when the thermostat is running high.

Now, when you’re relying on a snack plate to serve as a meal, you’ll need to strategize to make sure you’re getting in enough calories, protein, carbs, and fat. You’ll also need to make sure that you have a variety of textures and flavors to maximize satiety.

Some of my favorite components to a tasty, filling snack plate: sliced white cheddar cheese, a good seedy cracker, spicy hummus, avocado, cherry tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, pickled anything, and sauerkraut or kimchi. But do what you want!!

Overnight Oats

When it comes to breakfast in the summer, you’re very rarely going to catch me turning on my stove to make eggs. Enter: overnight oats. I love waking up to a cold, nutrient dense, and most importantly a pre-prepared meal.

I like to make mine with soy milk, rolled oats, chia or flax seeds, cinnamon, honey, and a tiny pinch of salt. Top with whatever sounds good to you – one of my favorite combinations is vanilla, frozen blueberries, and a healthy drizzle of nut butter. The blueberries defrost in the fridge and the result tastes like a PB&J in oatmeal form.

For More

Since this post functioned as more of a brainstorming session rather than a post with detailed recipes, head on over to my Recipes page for more inspiration! Thanks for reading – I hope these cold meal prep ideas can help keep you feeling full and energized until we finally get a break from this heat. 🙂