Bitting in on a cold sandwich or diving your spoon into a refreshing salad on your hiking lunch feels like normal. But when winter comes and the temperatures drop, it does no longer look appealing. Get some day hike lunch ideas for winter walks with my 6 recipes for insulated food flask that I have cooked and tried myself on the trails.
I have two hobbies: hiking and vegetarian cooking, and I like mixing both. I like trying new recipes and taking them on a hike to see if they can handle the transport and still taste the same by the time we reach the lunch break spot. In this article, I go through 6 homemade recipes, tested and approved on the trails, for a warm meal on a cold day hike. Never run out of day hike lunch ideas for wintertime again!
Day Hike Lunch Ideas For Winter
If you don’t have an insulated food flask, then the winter season is the time to get one. Very affordable, it will be the best investment that you ever made. In case you don’t have your mind fixed on a specific food flask, I highly recommend the Thermos Stainless King Food Flask. Thanks to the double-wall technology, it can keep your food warm for up to 9 hours and your drinks cold for up to 12 hours. And with a variety of colours to choose from, you will definitely find the one that matches the rest of your hiking gear!
Read more about the Thermos Stainless King Food Flask here.
1 – Winter Vegetable Soup
A soup might not be the first thing that comes to mind because it does not sound like you will feel full after that. However, a chunky soup makes all the difference to your day hike lunches. With chunks of parsnips and butternut squash, in a spicy vegetable broth and cannellini beans, this dish will not only warm you up but as well satisfy your hunger.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serving: 4 people
Calories: 440 kcal
Ingredients:
- 3 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 White onion diced
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 400 g Cannellini beans rinsed
- 225 g Parsnip diced
- 300 g Butternut squash diced
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Dried cilantro to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
To read the full recipe, click here.
2 – Warm Lentil Salad with Roasted Vegetables
Hot or cold, a lentil salad is always a good choice on a day out. This superfood is packed with carbohydrates which are essential when practising any physical activity. Your body converts carbs into glycogen which are stored in your muscles and used as energy during a workout. The problem is that your body can only store around 500 grams of carbohydrates. This means that when the reserve runs dry, your body starts breaking down muscle tissue as a source of energy. To avoid it, you need to eat carbs before, during and also after the hike to allow your muscle to recover. A day hike lunch warm and jammed packed with carbs, what else do you need?
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serving: 2 people
Calories: 549 kcal
Ingredients:
- 2 Whole Carrots Chopped
- 200 g Brussels sprouts Cut in halves
- 1/2 Red Onion Cut into Wedges
- 1 Cup Lentils Rinsed
- 3 Cups Water
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
To read the full recipe, click here.
3 – Vegetable Mac’n Cheese
A traditional comfort dish, served as a meal or as a side, that you can also take on a hike. Who would have thought? With this vegetarian variation of the traditional Mac’n Cheese, get your favourite meal wherever you go, including on the trails. Ideal for a winter day lunch, it will leave you feeling full so you won’t need additional snack breaks in the afternoon.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serving: 2 people
Calories: 669 kcal
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 Onion white
- 1.5 cups Spinach chopped
- 250 g Mushrooms Chestnut
- 1.5 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Water
- 130 g Macaroni pasta
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
To read the full recipe click here.
4 – Butternut Squash Spicy Rice
Another recipe with butternut squash, a traditional winter vegetable. But this time, let’s spice things up! This easy recipe requires only a few ingredients and in no time you get a tasty carbs packed meal for your day hike. Rice is rich in carbohydrates that your body needs to provide energy. When you are working out, your body breaks the carbohydrates and turn them into glycogen, which is then used as a source of energy by the muscles. When the reserve of carbohydrates depletes, your body has nothing left to burn and you “hit the wall”. To avoid this from happening, make sure you replenish your carbs reserve regularly when hiking whether it is through snacks or meals. With a rice-based lunch, you will have all the energy you need to complete the hike!
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serving: 2 people
Calories: 216 kcal
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
- 1/2 White Onion chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup White rice long-grain
- 2 cups Butternut squash diced
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
To read the full recipe, click here.
5 – Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry
Make your winter day hike lunches more exotic with a curry. This vegetarian recipe made of sweet potatoes, chickpeas and spinach will get you a boost of energy when you need it the most. From sweet potatoes packed with fibre and minerals, chickpeas to bring you proteins and spinach for the iron, hiking in the afternoon would have never felt so easy. Get your body the fuel it needs to carry on with your day like it was a walk in the park with this curry recipe, easy and quick to make at home before the big day.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serving: 4 people
Calories: 308 kcal
Ingredients:
- 1/2 White Onion diced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 2 cups Sweet Potato diced
- 1 can Chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
To read the full recipe, click here.
6 – Garlic and Mushrooms Warm Quinoa Salad
Warm or cold, this salad can be enjoyed all year long. With garlic and mushrooms, topped up with parmesan cheese for a creamy taste, this quinoa salad is mouth-watering. Rich in fibre to give you a feeling of fullness, quinoa is classed as a superfood. As for garlic, it has been used for its medicinal properties since ancient Greece and by the Pharaons while mushrooms contain vitamin D essential to bone health. The garlic and mushrooms quinoa salad is a healthy vegetarian hiking lunch easy to prepare and perfect whatever the weather!
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serving: 2 people
Calories: 444 kcal
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp Coconut Oil
- 455 g Mushroom sliced
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1.5 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup quinoa
- Grated Cheese to serve
To read the full recipe, click here.
Final Thoughts On Day Hike Lunch Ideas For Winter
Never run out of ideas for your winter day hike lunch and be cold again on a bad weather day. With warm meal ideas for a cold day hike, all you need now is an insulated food flask. No more excuses not to cook with these 6 easy step by step recipes. Quick to prepare and with a few ingredients, it has never been so easy to impress your hiking buddies with your cooking skills!
And you, what is your favourite warm meal on a cold day hike? Let me know in the comments below.
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