Looking for a quick cold dinner that is healthy and takes no more than 15 minutes? Then you are sure to find one among our 10 great recipes. All of them have stood the test of time and frequent repetition. In each one you can adjust the proportions of ingredients to suit your taste, or leave some out and add others. These light dinners will become your favourite family recipes, adapted exactly to you.
Quick answer. You can build a healthy cold dinner in under 15 minutes around pulses, eggs, cheese or chicken, adding vegetables and bread or pasta. The quickest options are salads made with chickpeas or beans from a tin and sandwiches or wraps, ready in 5 to 15 minutes. Cold soups such as gazpacho take only about 10 minutes of work but need to chill, so make them in the morning or the day before.
For each of the 10 recipes below you will find quantities for two or four servings and the preparation time. Below the salads there is a weight-loss version with approximate calories, below the sandwiches tips for children and after the soups autumn recipes, store-cupboard dinners and a plan for what to prepare in advance for the whole week.
Table of contents
Salads
1. Pasta salad with sweetcorn, chicken and Balkan cheese
This light cold dinner takes just a few minutes to make. Everyone will love it, and you can easily make enough for lunch the next day too. Four simple ingredients, mix them together and dinner is done.
Ingredients:
- Orzo
- Sweetcorn (tinned)
- Chicken
- Balkan cheese
For two servings you need 100 g of orzo, a small tin of sweetcorn, 200 g of chicken breast and 80 g of Balkan cheese. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes, because you fry the meat while the pasta cooks. It is even quicker to use chicken roasted in advance. You will find ideas in the article 5 healthy recipes with chicken.
Cook the orzo according to the packet instructions. You can also use other small pasta shapes if you cannot find orzo (it sometimes hides under the Slovak name tarhoňa). Fry the chicken, cut into pieces, in a pan. Coarsely grate the Balkan cheese. Mix all the ingredients together with the sweetcorn.
This lightning-fast recipe combines the saltiness of Balkan cheese with the sweetness of sweetcorn. Thanks to the chicken and pasta it is also very filling, yet it is still a light dinner that will not keep you awake. For a vegetarian version, you can swap the chicken for soya pieces. It is just as good. You can also find inspiration in more summer salad ideas.
2. Three-bean salad
This bean salad contains several kinds of beans. It is healthy, tasty and, above all, ready in a few minutes.
You will need:
- Green beans (can be frozen)
- Red kidney beans (tinned)
- White beans (tinned)
- Red pepper
- Red onion
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Parsley
- Tahini
- Olive oil
For two servings 200 g of green beans, one tin each of red and white beans, half a red pepper and a small red onion are enough. For the dressing, take the juice of half a lemon, a clove of garlic, half a teaspoon each of cumin and ground coriander, a handful of parsley, a tablespoon of tahini and two tablespoons of olive oil.
Rinse the beans from the tin with water before using them. Even with the dressing, the salad is ready in about 15 minutes and keeps in the fridge until the next day, so it also works as a packed lunch.
Although this recipe seems to need a lot of ingredients, the salad could not be easier to make. Put the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, coriander, parsley, tahini and olive oil in a blender and blend until you have a smooth, silky dressing.
Put the green beans in a pan and heat them until they soften. Leave them to cool and mix with the red and white beans, onion and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and you have a quick, healthy dinner.
3. Mediterranean chickpea salad
Another salad that fills you up thanks to pulses is this chickpea one. The ever-popular combination of Mediterranean flavours never disappoints, and it is ready in no time.
What you need for the salad:
- A tin of chickpeas
- Cucumber
- Red pepper
- Red onion
- Olives
- Feta cheese
- Salt and pepper
For two servings prepare a tin of chickpeas, half a cucumber, one red pepper, a small red onion, a handful of olives and 50 to 80 g of feta. Without the dressing, the salad is ready in about 10 minutes.
Drain the chickpeas and rinse them. Dice the other vegetables (the onion can be cut into thin strips) and mix with the olives and cheese. That is the base of a Mediterranean chickpea salad. If you like to vary the ingredients, next time try red lentils instead of chickpeas.
For the optional dressing you will need:
- Extra virgin olive oil (half a cup)
- Wine vinegar (a quarter of a cup)
- Lemon juice (one tablespoon)
- Chopped parsley
- Chilli
- Salt and pepper
This amount of dressing is enough for several salads. Two to three tablespoons are enough for two servings. Store the rest in the fridge in a jar with a lid and use it within a week.
Mix the ingredients in a container with a lid and shake until combined. Alternatively, you can blend them. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve.
Cold dinner for weight loss
A cold dinner is a good choice when losing weight, because it is based on vegetables and pulses, which fill you up without a lot of calories. A meta-analysis by John Sievenpiper’s team from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, published in 2014 in the journal Obesity, summarised nine studies with 126 participants.
After a meal with pulses, people felt on average 31% fuller than after a comparable meal without them, but pulses had no effect on how much they ate at the next meal.
Extra calories usually come not from vegetables but from oil, cheese and bread. The approximate values below come from the FoodData Central database of the US Department of Agriculture and apply to 100 g of food unless stated otherwise.
- Olive oil 884 kcal. One tablespoon, around 13 g, has roughly 115 to 120 kcal.
- Feta 265 kcal. A 50 g serving has about 130 kcal.
- Mozzarella made from whole milk 299 kcal. Half a ball (62 g) has about 185 kcal.
- Hummus 237 kcal. Four tablespoons, around 60 g, have about 140 kcal.
- Chickpeas from a tin, drained, 139 kcal.
- Red kidney beans from a tin, drained, 124 kcal.
- Roasted skinless chicken breast 165 kcal.
- Wheat tortilla around 300 kcal.
- Plain low-fat Greek yoghurt 73 kcal, fat-free around 55 kcal.
To give you an idea, a serving of chickpea salad made from 120 g of chickpeas, 25 g of feta and one tablespoon of oil comes to roughly 350 kcal based on these values. Add to that the vegetables and olives. You save the most on the dressing, so when losing weight, do not pour it by eye but measure it with a spoon.
For sandwiches, it helps to swap the baguette for wholemeal bread and half the cheese for more vegetables. Use fat-free Greek yoghurt in the green gazpacho and only half the coconut milk in the carrot soup, topping up the rest with stock. You can work out how many calories you really need per day using the article what a calorie deficit is and how to work with it.
Sandwiches
If you fancy something a little different from salads and everyone at home loves bread, try one of our delicious sandwiches.
1. Prosciutto and plum sandwiches
This unusual combination makes a healthy cold dinner in no time, and its unusual flavour will win everyone over.
For the sandwich you will use:
- A fresh baguette or bread
- Plums
- Sliced prosciutto
- Goat’s cheese
- Rocket
- Ginger (¼ teaspoon)
- Lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
- Fig syrup (¼ cup)
For two servings you will need one baguette or four slices of bread, three to four plums, 80 g of prosciutto, 100 g of soft goat’s cheese and a handful of rocket. The dressing in the recipe is enough for more servings too. The sandwich is ready in about 10 minutes. Plums are at their best in late summer and in autumn.
First mix the fig syrup, lemon juice and ginger and leave to rest for a while. Spread the goat’s cheese on the bread or baguette, top with prosciutto, then add plum wedges and rocket. Drizzle everything with the prepared dressing.
However many of these sandwiches you make, there will never be enough.
2. Caprese sandwich
You know Caprese as a simple but delicious salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. You can easily move this great combination of ingredients onto a sandwich and make a simple, healthy dinner that fills you up.
Ingredients:
- Focaccia, ciabatta or a fresh baguette
- Mozzarella
- Basil leaves
- Fresh tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
For two people two ciabattas or a piece of focaccia, one ball of mozzarella (125 g), two ripe tomatoes, a handful of basil leaves and a tablespoon of olive oil are enough. You can put the sandwich together in under 5 minutes. In autumn, when fresh tomatoes lose their flavour, use sun-dried tomatoes or roasted pepper instead.
Top the focaccia or ciabatta with basil leaves, tomatoes and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil. The sandwich is delicious, and its flavour depends mainly on the quality and freshness of the ingredients. For a twist, you can also add sun-dried tomatoes on top of the mozzarella. They are not essential, but they lift the flavour of this quick, healthy dinner beautifully.
3. Tortilla with hummus, red peppers and spinach
The whole family will enjoy this super-quick recipe. Hummus gives the meal protein and healthy fats, while red pepper and spinach add vitamins, minerals, fibre and, above all, crunch. Everyone is sure to love these wraps.
What you will need:
- Tortilla bread (thin flatbreads)
- Hummus
- Diced red pepper
- Chopped fresh spinach
- Basil feta cheese
For two servings, take two large wheat tortillas, four tablespoons of hummus, one red pepper, two handfuls of baby spinach and 50 g of feta. The wraps are ready in about 10 minutes.
You can also make the hummus yourself; you will find the method in the article how to make homemade hummus. And if you don’t want shop-bought flatbreads, try healthy homemade tortillas.
Spread hummus over the tortilla wraps, leaving a little space at the edges so they roll up well. Add the pepper, spinach and cheese and roll up carefully. Cut each wrap in half diagonally so the beautifully colourful filling shows, and secure it with a cocktail stick so it doesn’t unroll.
Cold dinner for children
Children usually appreciate food they can put together themselves. Of the recipes in this article, the best choices are the tortilla with hummus, the caprese sandwich, the pasta salad with sweetcorn and a smaller amount of Balkan cheese, and the green gazpacho, made without honey for children under one. Leave out the chilli, jalapeños and curry paste for them, or add them only to the adults’ plates.
A quick cold dinner for children can also be a colourful plate. It can hold strips of cucumber, pepper and carrot, hard-boiled eggs, pieces of cheese, bread and a spoonful of hummus or quark spread for dipping. Preparation takes 10 minutes. You will find more ideas in the article 10 tips for tasty and healthy meals for children.
Watch the salt. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) recommends no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged one to three, 3 g for those aged four to six and 5 g for those aged seven to ten. It lists cheese, cured meats and olives among salty foods, so give children feta, Balkan cheese and prosciutto only in smaller amounts.
For children under five, the shape of the food also matters. In its choking hazards table for the care of young children, the UK Food Standards Agency advises cutting cherry tomatoes lengthways and then in half again, cutting carrot and cucumber into thin strips, and not giving whole nuts to children under five. According to the NHS, honey, which is in the green gazpacho, is not suitable for children under one.
Soups
Cold soups are not very common in Czechia. Many people take a long time to get used to the idea of a cold soup. But once you try them, you will make them again and again.
Cold soups have many advantages. They are wonderfully refreshing on hot summer days, especially if you keep them in the fridge before serving. They are all the quicker to make because they don’t need cooking. Raw vegetables also keep more vitamin C, which is partly destroyed by heat. This quick cold dinner is sure to earn a firm place on your menu.
With tomatoes, though, heating adds something. In a study by Rui Hai Liu’s team, published in 2002 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the vitamin C in tomatoes fell by about 29% after half an hour of heating at 88 °C, but more than twice as much lycopene was released. Raw gazpacho therefore offers more vitamin C, while the roasted version offers more lycopene.
1. Green gazpacho
This simple, quick cucumber dinner will delight you, and not only on hot summer days. You will love it so much that you will eat it all year round. As well as being quick and refreshing, it is also healthy, and children love it too.
You will need:
- Cucumbers
- Greek yoghurt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh herbs (basil, dill or to taste)
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Salt and pepper
For four servings you need two large cucumbers, 200 g of plain Greek yoghurt, two tablespoons of olive oil, a handful of herbs, a garlic clove, the juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of honey. The work takes about 10 minutes, but the soup needs to chill for at least four hours. You can keep it to 15 minutes in the evening if you blend it in the morning or the day before.
Preparation couldn’t be simpler. Chop the cucumbers, put all the listed ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Then put the soup in the fridge and leave it to rest for at least 4 hours. You can also leave it in the fridge overnight. Serve with cucumber slices and freshly chopped herbs. A healthy dinner for children is ready in no time.
2. Red gazpacho
This traditional Spanish recipe can be made in many variations. You can play with the proportions of the different vegetables, you can roast them in the oven first, which gives the soup a slightly smoky flavour, or you can make a raw version from fresh vegetables. Each time it will be a slightly different soup, but you are sure to enjoy it every time.
For red gazpacho you will need:
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Red pepper
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sherry vinegar
- Pine nuts or almonds
- A slice of bread
- Salt
- Pepper
- Water or stock as needed
For four servings, allow for 1 kg of ripe tomatoes, one red pepper, a small onion, two garlic cloves, three tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of sherry vinegar, 30 g of almonds or pine nuts and one slice of bread.
The roasted vegetable version takes at least two hours including roasting and resting, so it is better suited to the weekend, or make it the day before. On weekdays, choose the raw version, which you blend in 10 minutes and leave to chill in the fridge.
Put the tomatoes, peppers, onion cut into strips and garlic (still in its skin) in the oven and roast until the skins start to blacken slightly. Take them out, let them cool and remove most of the skin.
Put all the vegetables, a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and the olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth. Then add the bread without the crust (you can also roast it like the vegetables) and the nuts and blend until smooth again. Leave to rest for at least an hour, or even overnight. The longer, the better. Serve garnished with yoghurt, cream, olive oil or herbs to taste.
3. Watermelon gazpacho
Although you might think this soup would be sweet, it isn’t. Watermelon beautifully balances the flavour of the other vegetables in this recipe, creating a savoury soup with a wonderfully fresh and spicy taste.
Ingredients:
- Watermelon
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Red pepper
- Spring onions
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
- Jalapeños or chilli
For four servings, get ready about 800 g of watermelon flesh, two tomatoes, half a cucumber, half a red pepper, two spring onions, two tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a garlic clove. You can blend it in 10 to 15 minutes, then leave it in the fridge for at least an hour. Watermelon tastes best in summer, so in autumn reach for the carrot soup below instead.
Dice the tomatoes, cucumber and peppers. You can set some aside to garnish the soup at the end. Cut the watermelon into cubes, put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. You can leave out the jalapeños or chilli if you don’t like spicy food.
Let the soup rest so that all the flavours can mingle and blend. Finally, garnish with sour cream, yoghurt, vegetables, fresh basil or parsley. You can also sprinkle it with seeds if you like them. A quick, light dinner is ready.
4. Carrot and coconut soup
Last but not least, carrot and coconut soup. It really is a light, simple dinner, but once you taste it, you will never want to eat anything else. What’s more, it is made like gazpacho, so you simply put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
For carrot and coconut soup you will need:
- Carrots (2 large bunches)
- Lemongrass (if you can’t find it, use a teaspoon of lime juice)
- Coconut milk (you can keep a little aside to garnish the plates)
- Red curry paste
- Sherry vinegar
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Stock (or just water)
- Salt
- Pepper
For four servings, allow for 1 kg of carrots, a tin of coconut milk (400 ml), a tablespoon of red curry paste, a tablespoon of sherry vinegar, two garlic cloves, two tablespoons of olive oil and 300 to 500 ml of stock, depending on how thick you want the soup.
The work takes about 15 minutes, then leave the soup to cool. You can keep it to 15 minutes in the evening if you make it in the morning or the day before. If you don’t have a powerful blender, simmer the carrots in the stock for ten minutes first; they will then blend more easily and the soup will be smoother.
Method:
Peel the carrots, put them in the blender with the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into a pan and heat the whole soup through so the flavours blend and develop. Take it off the hob and leave to cool. The longer you can leave it to rest, the better.
A healthy cold dinner is ready to serve. On the plate, garnish with a little coconut milk, a few drops of olive oil, and coriander or mint, depending on what you like. You can also sprinkle it with pumpkin or sunflower seeds for a lovely crunch.
Cold dinner for autumn
Gazpacho and watermelon soup are summer recipes, but cold dinners don’t end in autumn. Just swap the ingredients for seasonal ones. In October you’ll find pumpkins, beetroot, carrots, cabbage, savoy cabbage, apples, pears, plums and fresh walnuts at the market. Of the basic recipes, the plum sandwich and the carrot and coconut soup suit autumn best.
You’ll find an overview of what to buy when in our article tips on seasonal food in each season. You can make the following two salads in 10 to 15 minutes if you roast the pumpkin in advance or buy ready-cooked beetroot.
Roasted pumpkin, lentil and goat’s cheese salad
For two servings, use 300 g roasted Hokkaido pumpkin, a tin of brown lentils or 100 g dried lentils cooked in advance, a handful of rocket or lamb’s lettuce, 60 g goat’s cheese and a handful of walnuts. For the dressing, a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of cider vinegar, a teaspoon of honey and salt are enough.
Cut the pumpkin into wedges and roast it at the weekend, for example along with another meal. In the evening, just mix it with the lentils and leaves, sprinkle with cheese and nuts and drizzle with the dressing. For young children, chop the nuts finely or leave them out. For more ideas, see our overview of healthy autumn recipes with pumpkin.
Beetroot, apple and walnut salad
For two people, you need 300 g cooked beetroot (vacuum-packed is fine), one tart apple, two tablespoons of plain yoghurt, a teaspoon of grated horseradish, a handful of walnuts and salt. Coarsely grate the beetroot and apple, mix with the yoghurt and horseradish, and sprinkle with the nuts. It’s ready in 10 minutes.
The salad goes well with wholemeal bread, a hard-boiled egg or a piece of smoked trout. For young children, chop the nuts finely or leave them out, and add only a pinch of horseradish.
Quick cold dinner from what you have at home
When you don’t know what to make for dinner and there’s almost nothing in, your store cupboard will save you. A tin of pulses, tuna in spring water, eggs, quark, wholemeal bread and onions keep for a long time and make a complete dinner in 10 minutes.
Which foods are worth keeping at home in larger quantities is described in our article on healthy foods to keep in stock. From these you can make, for example, the following two dinners.
Bean salad with tuna
For two servings, mix a tin of rinsed white beans, a tin of tuna in spring water, a small red onion thinly sliced, a handful of parsley, a tablespoon of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper. The salad is ready in 5 minutes.
If you don’t have a fresh onion, spring onions, capers or a few gherkins will do. The salad keeps in the fridge until the next day, so you can also take some of it as a packed lunch.
Hard-boiled eggs with quark spread
For two servings, hard-boil four eggs and meanwhile mix 250 g quark with a tablespoon of plain yoghurt, chopped chives or spring onion, salt and a pinch of ground paprika. Serve with wholemeal bread and sliced vegetables. Preparation takes about 15 minutes.
Quark spread is one of the quickest dinners made from quark, and the eggs make it more filling. Why eggs deserve a place in your diet is explained in our article on what scientists have found about the health benefits of eggs.
What to prepare in advance for the whole week
A cold dinner in under 15 minutes is easiest when you have the basics prepared from the weekend. Preparing food in advance (meal prep) takes about an hour on Sunday, and on weekdays you then just assemble dinner. Prepare ingredients rather than finished salads, and add the dressing just before eating so the leafy greens don’t wilt.
- Cook 300 g of orzo, couscous or bulgur.
- Roast two to three skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
- Hard-boil six to eight eggs.
- Roast a tray of pumpkin and cook the beetroot if you don’t buy it ready-cooked.
- Mix the dressing in a jar with a lid.
- Wash and chop firm vegetables such as carrots, peppers and celery.
- Blend the green gazpacho and carrot soup for Monday and Tuesday.
According to the storage chart of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hard-boiled eggs keep in the fridge for a week, cooked chicken and soups for three to four days, and home-made salads with eggs, chicken, tuna or pasta for three to five days. The fridge should be no warmer than 4 °C. So use up the chicken by Thursday and plan egg and pulse dinners for the end of the week.
This is what a week of cold dinners made from the recipes in this article can look like.
- Monday. Pasta salad with sweetcorn, chicken and Balkan-style white cheese, with Sunday’s green gazpacho.
- Tuesday. Tortilla with hummus, pepper and spinach, and carrot and coconut soup.
- Wednesday. Mediterranean chickpea salad with a hard-boiled egg.
- Thursday. Salad of roasted pumpkin, lentils and goat’s cheese.
- Friday. Hard-boiled eggs with quark spread or bean salad with tuna.
If you’d like to plan lunches in the same way, you’ll find inspiration in our article 33 tips on what to cook when you don’t know what to make for lunch.
What a light, healthy dinner should look like
The Healthy Eating Plate model from experts at the Harvard School of Public Health offers a simple guide. Half the plate should be vegetables and fruit, a quarter whole grains and a quarter quality protein, such as pulses, fish, poultry or eggs.
According to Harvard, potatoes don’t count as vegetables. The chickpea and bean salads fit this model if you add a piece of wholemeal bread to them. For the pasta salad, choose wholemeal pasta and add more vegetables.
The World Health Organization recommends eating at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day and keeping salt below 5 g. A dinner with a vegetable salad or cold soup will help, just watch out for salty cheeses, cured meats and olives.
When you eat also matters. In a study by Nina Vujović and Frank Scheer from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, published in 2022 in the journal Cell Metabolism, 16 people with overweight or obesity ate the same meals once on an earlier schedule and once four hours later. When eating late, they were hungrier, had lower levels of the satiety hormone leptin and burned energy more slowly.
There is no universal rule on the latest time to have dinner. For people troubled by heartburn, the UK’s NHS advises not eating three to four hours before bed. As a guide to calories, Public Health England offered the 400, 600, 600 rule, meaning around 400 kcal for breakfast and 600 kcal each for lunch and dinner. A sample serving of chickpea salad at 350 kcal therefore also leaves room for a piece of bread.
It was a small study in laboratory conditions, but a light and not too late dinner is a sensible choice. What to eat in the evening to sleep well is discussed in our article on the best food and drink for better sleep.
If you enjoy doing something for your health but don’t enjoy cooking that much, you can try a one-day fast. We describe its rules and possible health benefits in a separate article. So why not combine something useful with not cooking?
