Third Meal Ideas You’ll Want to Try Immediately

Some call it seudat shlishit, others shalosh seudos and others, third meal. However you refer to it, it’s the last of the three meals served on Shabbat. During the winter months, this meal is in the late afternoon, but as the weather warms and Shabbat gets later, this meal can become a proper dinner.

It can be daunting to figure out what to serve, especially if you’re already prepping and laying out a big lunch. And the third meal is meant to remain relatively simple: a meal for our bodies, but also for our souls. We’re meant to savor the time we have left of the holy day—singing songs and connecting to it—feeling closer to Hashem and the people around us.

So, we’re taking some extra thinking off your hands. This collection of recipes and ideas are the go-to classics that many people serve for seudat shlishit—with a fresh spin to liven things up! Whether it’s just your family or you’re having guests, these are crowd-pleasers with a lot of customization potential. Plus, with a few staple ingredients and steps, they won’t add so much extra work to your Shabbat prep.

Classics with a Twist

Cold Sesame Noodles (Tamar Genger, MA, RD at jamiegeller.com)

Black Bean & Quinoa Salad (Mara Strom at kosheronabudget.com)

High-Protein Guacamole Recipe (Bat-El Gershowitz at kosher.com)

No-Mayo Potato Salad (Dalya Rubin at kosher.com)

Crunch Ramen Red Cabbage Slaw (Jamie Geller at jamiegeller.com)

Classic Summer BBQ Salad (Rivki Rabinowitz at kosher.com)

Other Creative Alternatives

Cereal Bar

My family and I eat Shabbat lunch early enough (we wait six hours after eating meat to have dairy) that we can enjoy dairy by third meal in the summer. If this isn’t the case for you, then don’t worry, there are plenty of milk alternatives that will still allow you to live out your childhood dreams. My friend Esti gave me this idea to just serve cereal for third meal—no prep required, super delicious and you can get creative with different fruit or yogurt toppings if you wish! Just wash and then eat the cereal and milk of your choice.

At-home Falafel Stand

This will take your third meal to the next level. Here’s an awesome recipe from Lauren Allen (@laurenallennutrition) for delicious and healthy oven-baked, crispy falafel balls. You can also totally pick up a pack from the freezer section to make things even easier! You can include a pita station with dips like hummus and techina. Then make a quick Israeli salad or other chopped veggies to stuff it with. This will be a super-filling (and tasty!) meal and will make you feel like you actually just had a real, amazing dinner.

DIY Poke Bowls

This is really a classic because poke bowls are basically a sushi salad! For the base, use sushi rice, quinoa, brown rice or even a bed of lettuce. Add some sort of protein like cooked salmon or kani or splurge on sushi-grade salmon or tuna.

Then the fun begins! Add in avocado, cucumber and carrots—you can cut them however you choose: sliced, diced, julienned—and then mix in any other veggies you want on top, like chopped, roasted sweet potatoes. Last but definitely not least, top it with the sauces! Soy sauce, spicy mayo and/or a sweet sauce like they have at Japanese restaurants really make the dish. Spicy mayo is really easy to make—just mix mayo and sriracha and a quick sweet sauce recipe can be found here! (Natural Earth Products also makes a kosher one you can buy). Of course, you can always embellish with sauces you have at home that you love. Finally, garnish with sesame seeds (black and/or white) on top, if you like, and boom: a delicious poke bowl in minutes.

What’s your go-to third-meal idea? Let us know in the comments!