What are your favourite cold main meal recipes?

[Lioncubhearted]

Looking for ideas for proper main meals, which can be eaten cold. Rephrase...which are nice to eat cold. In my mind, a pasta salad is a cold pasta bake with salad dressing instead of cheese. So it's a proper main meal even though it's cold. Does that make sense? I'm getting sick of eating it though, so what other meals fit the cold criteria?

My favourite “out of a flask” cold meal was always couscous with diced roasted vegetables (carrots, peppers, onions, courgettes, parsnip, squash, garlic … whatever).

I used to make a huge batch of it for my work lunches

Ah i was going to suggest the amazing Ottolenghi recipe with butternut squash and black rice (Google it, I think it only ever appeared in the Guardian). I've made that a few times as a sure-fire seduction/ intimidation dish, but it would be a bit complicated for the circumstances.

Ooh! Tabbouleh?

Obviously lentil pouches and three bean salads?

Nigella’s halloumi and vegetable bake is good cold!

As are cold onion bhajis?

I have made vegetarian pasty type things using a dead easy leavened dough.
15 tbs flour
1/2 tbs sugar
1 tsp instant yeast (doves farm is good)
1/2 tsp salt
pinch ground ginger
2 tbs warm water
2tbs butter
2 tbs milk
olive oil

combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the centre. Put the water milk and butter in a pan and very gently heat until just lukewarm. Mix and knead, it comes together quickly. Brush the ball of dough with olive oil, and leave the bowl covered with a cloth somewhere warm for 2 or 3 hours, it will rise. It’s very easy to work with and you just roll out circles and put your filling, eg cooked chopped spinach and feta, with dill, paprika, onion, whatever you like - and fold them closed and bake at about 180 (fan). You can also use to make one big pie.
I haven’t used with a meat filling but there are many Middle Eastern recipes for pies etc which do use meat.

I make a chicken salad with all the meat from a small rotisserie chicken, shredded or chopped with celery, halved grapes, red onion, avocado, roughly chopped pecans or walnuts and a dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream, squeeze of lemon, garlic, onion powder and fresh or dried dill, chives and parsley. We have it on little gem lettuce cups and with some warm ciabatta.

Glass of white and a packet of crisps. And possibly a piece of cheese.

I like to roast some carrots in honey, some onions and peppers in garlic salt and oil, some chickpeas in paprika, then I plop all that on the side of some cous cous and a dollop of hummus, maybe top with flaked almonds, or walnuts, and some pita bread. It’s nice warm (not hot) but is fine cold too.

sushi (doesn’t have to be raw fish in the centre, you could do canned tuna, chicken, veggies, any combo really

I don’t know why I didn’t think to just change the cheese in a cobb salad, I always fancy it but hate blue cheese, it seems so obvious now, so thank you to that poster for my dinner tomorrow night

For the kid at the bus stop after training 🤣

You needed to explain the circumstances in your OP because now you’ve got a thread of people suggesting a glass of white wine, panzanella with a “silky” buffalo mozzarella, blue cheese and frigging gazpacho.

If he really can’t wait until he gets in I’d just send him with a wrap or sandwich and usual packed lunch stuff. Either that or go with the trifle suggestion, I’m sure he’d thank you for that and a toastie when he gets in!

Oh sorry I’d missed the bus stop and flask. Mulled wine?

Cold Roast Chicken with Tabouleh
Cold Roast Ham with Coleslaw
my mum used to make a coronation chicken rice salad that was as amazing.

Yes! Dry meatballs kofta style with fatoush and tzatziki!

It was a drip feed that actually no, its not the OP, its their child, and also now multiple allergies and intolerances!

Can I have the white and crips instead please? 😆

Salad niçoise

I feel you need olives with this 🫒🥂🧀

Nigella’s peas and ham pasta (mainly for kids but popular with older ones too)

Spanish (potato) omelette

Glass noodle salad with thinly sliced vegetables and a soy/peanut butter dressing

Spanish “ensaladilla rusa” ;potato/tuna salad with olives, eggs, mayo

@Darkclothes I'm it sure why it's relevant that it's my DC eating at the bus stop over me eating it at home/work. It's not like I make one portion of one meal just for DC. I hate cooking and have never made separate meals for individual people and have no intention of starting now! The criteria in my OP are still what's relevant, mainly because Dc would eat pasta salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner... I specified cold because then I can make it the night before and leave it in the fridge and they can put it in a flask before they leave as I'm already at work.

As for the food intolerances/dislikes, I'm used to changing for those. The carrots, I can peel. Nuts, I can replace with walnuts or pine nuts and mushrooms with either tofu (if it's a main ingredient) or aubergine (if it's not).

@CountryQueen to be fair DC would probably love that without the wine! It's more that it takes her 1 hour to get home, so is hungry, has a 20 min wait for the bus and by the time does get home it's late and DC is exhausted and needs to go to bed.

There are lots of suggestions here that we've never eaten so I'm making a list.

Quinoa dishes. Great protein.

Ooh and I love a bean salad: mixed beans, onion, celery, cherry Toms all chopped small. Vinaigrette with mustard, vinegar, bit of brown sugar, garlic, salt & pepper and scattered parsley over the top.

I make a courgette soup that is delicious chilled. I might add a sandwich if I was hungry.

Mmmmmmmmm. Lovely!