Road Food: Good food that travels well
Whether you’re heading across the country, across the world, or simply across town, this series of recipes is made for life on the move. They’re easy to make, easy to pack, and taste just as good hours later as they do fresh from the kitchen. Perfect for road trips, picnics, hikes, airplanes, potlucks, packed lunches, busy weeknights, and anywhere else you need to go.
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One of the things I’ve been doing for years on travel days, when we are moving from one campground to another, is packing hearty salads into jars and tucking them into the cooler. This allows us to eat lunch inside the truck, usually at a truck stop, with everything contained neatly within our individual jars.
Since adding a sailboat to our modes of transportation, I’ve learned that lunch in a jar is also the perfect meal while sailing. But honestly, this is the kind of salad that travels well in almost any situation—packed lunches, hikes, picnics, beach days… you get the picture.
It doesn’t, of course, have to be packed into jars. A few weeks ago, I brought a bowl of this salad to a potluck with friends. It’s the kind of easy salad that can be prepared in advance, tossed together quickly, and goes well with anything.
This is also the kind of recipe in which every single ingredient should be taken as a suggestion, not a rule. Add anything you like—additional vegetables, herbs, or pickled things like banana peppers. Swap anything you don’t particularly like for something you do. And add more or less of anything to your heart’s content.
When Steve and I eat this for lunch as a main dish, I usually add some protein. Tuna, rotisserie chicken, and hard-boiled eggs are my go-to choices. But if you want to keep it plant-based, add some nuts and seeds or simply increase the ratio of beans to pasta.
One final note about the pasta: For the photos you see here, I used trafilata al bronzo, a type of small pasta that was gifted to me by a friend who lives in Italy. It was delicious, but any kind of small pasta will do, such as orzo, farfalline, ditali, or macaroni. You could also use rotini or small pasta shells.
Four more salads that travel well
Pearl Couscous Salad: This healthy, vibrant pasta salad is made with pearl couscous (toasted Israeli-style pasta), whatever fresh herbs and vegetables you like, and dressed simply with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. The salad keeps well for days and can be packed into mason jars for the perfect packed lunch or camping meal.
Kale and Broccoli Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette: This salad is crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet, and loaded with flavor and texture in every bite.
Tossed with farro, parmesan, dried figs, peanuts, and cherries, it’s a hearty salad that manages to feels both wholesome and indulgent. Make it for lunch, pack it for a picnic, or serve it with any kind of grilled or roasted meat, poultry, or seafood. This is the kind of salad that plays nice with everything.
Israeli Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette: This Middle Eastern salad recipe is low in calories, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free, making it the perfect option for dietary restrictions and anyone interested in clean, plant-based meals. But don't let its health benefits fool you. Israeli Salad is also bursting with flavor and easy to prepare. So whether you're looking for a quick lunchtime bite or a tasty side dish for dinner tonight, this salad has got you covered.
Sesame Chicken Salad with Tahini Dressing: This sesame chicken salad is one of our favorite travel-day and lake-day meals. I pack it into mason jars that I place inside a small cooler and it makes a delicious high-protein lunch on days when we’re driving around the country from one campground to the next and want to save ourselves from truck stop food.