Ploughman's Lunch Recipe

The classic, English pub-style Ploughman's Lunch is an easy meal to pull together and full of filling ingredients.

You'll love the simplicity of this meal while savoring the various bites and combinations of flavors you can pull together. This meal is typically served at room temperature, but you can make it ahead of time and chill it if you'd like to serve it at a picnic or take it to work.

Jump to:

• What's in a Ploughman's Lunch?
• Ingredients
• Storage
• Substitutions & Variations
• More Easy Lunch Ideas
• Ploughman's Lunch

While this meal seems reminiscent of provincial living and a meal a farmhand might have eaten in the 1800s, the name and specific combination of ingredients was created by the UK's Cheese Bureau in the 1950s to promote eating more English cheese! In the 1960s, the ploughman's lunch was part of a PR campaign by the Milk Marketing Board in pubs and taverns. However, the classic combination of bread and cheese plus sides has, of course, been eaten for centuries! It's a great meal to eat outdoors on a warm summer day.

What's in a Ploughman's Lunch?

A typical Ploughmans' lunch has cheese, bread, pickles, or relish. It can sometimes include a relish called Branston pickle, ham, salad, and egg.

The Ploughman's lunch has multiple variations and depending on the area of the country might have different condiments or favorite drink pairings.

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you'll need to make this ploughperson's lunch.

• Crusty Bread - a good hunk of bread (either a baguette or country-style loaf will work) is a necessity.
• Pickles - your favorite pickles or pickled onion will work in this recipe. I chose gherkins because they have a great sweet and lightly sour flavor.
• Hard-boiled Eggs - you can serve a halved hard-boiled egg or a scotch egg with this meal.
• Ham - traditionally, a thick-cut slice of ham might be served as part of this lunch, but to simplify it, you can use a few slices of quality deli ham.
• Cheddar Cheese - I'd recommend a good, mature cheddar cheese. You can certainly include more than one type of cheese, but a high-quality cheddar is a classic cheese choice.
• Radishes - a few peppery radishes with their leaves add a nice bit of salad to this board.
• Grapes - red or green grapes will work on this board. They add some lovely juicy, sweet flavor.
• Apple - slices of apple are an easy and classic fruity addition to this plate.
• Cucumber - add some sliced English cucumber or small Jerusalem cucumbers to this platter.
• Jam or Jelly - while a jar of Branston Pickle is often the chutney of choice for this plate, you can serve a little bit of fruit jam or jelly as well. I used a fig jam, but apricot is also a great pairing!

See the recipe card for quantities.

Storage

You can make this meal in advance and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. It's a great take-to-work lunch!

Substitutions & Variations

• Condiments - you can add any type of jam or jelly you'd like to this plate, as well as a dollop of English mustard or butter.
• Vegetables & Salad - you could add some mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, celery, or red onion to this tray.
• Serve with - a glass of cider, a glass of ale, or a pint of beer.

More Easy Lunch Ideas

If you love a simple lunch with healthier ingredients, try one of these favorites.

• Easy & Fun Adult Lunchables
• Baked Feta Eggs Recipe
• Savory Yogurt Recipe
• Cucumber Sweet Pepper Salad

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