Easy to make, no ice required road trip meals that go beyond sandwiches.
I love to travel, and a quality road trip is a must. But I like things to be easy peasy, so today I am going to share some of my favorite no-refrigeration-required meals for the road.
This past summer I took my kids on an extended road trip that covered several states and lots of stops. Including Mount Rushmore, which I had never visited before, so it was a huge highlight for me! Anyway, it was a pretty great trip. Well, until I got hit, and my van was totaled, but that is another story for another time. Today I want to share something I learned on that trip: I hate stopping for ice. Hate it.
Road trips can be so fun and educational, and a great way to travel. But worrying about your cold cuts not staying cold is a massive headache. And so I thought I would share a few fun recipes and ideas for road trip meals that do not require refrigeration, and aren’t limited to just a sandwich. That way you can go on multiple leg road trips, and save money by bringing along food!
NO-REFRIGERATION MEAL IDEAS
Breakfasts:
- Granola bars or oatmeal bars
- Cereal with soy/almond milk: Soy and nut milks come in small boxes that do not have to be refrigerated until after they are opened.
- Bananas, peanut butter, granola- Dip the banana, or spread on bread, or eat like a cereal.
- Apples and peanut butter, fruit leather
- Bagels and canned salmon fillets
Lunch:
- Wraps- Pickled veggies, canned meats wrapped in tortillas
- Sandwiches: PB&J, Honey, Nut Butters, Jellies (okay I had to throw this in because it is a good option)
- Chicken salad on crackers- Canned chicken with mayo, salt, pepper, some avocado, dried cranberries, served with crackers!
- Tuna salad on crackers or in pitas- Tuna, relish, mayo, salt, and pepper.
- Avocado stuffed with chicken, beans, and corn (canned)
Dinners:
- Tacos- Canned meats, canned salsa, taco shells or tortillas
- Chicken and Pickled Veggies in Pitas
- Shredded BBQ Chicken Nachos- Chips, canned chicken, BBQ sauce, and Easy Melt Cheese
- Tortilla Pizzas- tortillas, mini pepperoni, sauce, parmesan, Velveeta Toppers Mid Queso Blanco Cheese
If you go to the deli at your grocery store you can get small portion sizes of BBQ sauce, mayo, mustard, ketchup, etc. which means you use it all in one serving, and don’t have to refrigerate.
This is a favorite of ours on the road. It tastes fresh, has tons of protein and healthy fats, and is so quick to make, so even if you just pull over to the side of the road you can whip it up!
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No Ice Road Trip Meals
Ingredients
- 1 Avocado
- 1- 5- oz Can Chunk light tuna
- 1-2 tsps Mayonnaise
- 1/2 Tbs Relish
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Garnish
- Fresh cilantro
- Salsa
- Crunchy asian noodles
Instructions
- Cut avocado in half, remove pit
- Open and drain tuna
- In a small bowl mix tuna, mayo, relish, salt and pepper together
- Scoop a little of the avocado out to make a larger bowl (eat it or mix it into tuna salad)
- Scoop a spoonful of the tuna salad mixture into the avocado and garnish with salsa, cilantro, or anything else if desired.
- Enjoy
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
If you want more great road trip snacks check out these:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls




Crystal says
Great healthy ideas!