Lunch for work: 25 recipes

No more boring lunches at work! These delicious meals (from grain bowls to salads) are easy to prepare ahead of time, travel well, and are sure to energize you throughout the workday.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Salad Wraps

Use leftover baked chicken for Jeff's Sweet Cranberry and Crispy Celery Salad. Wrap it in soft tortillas for a lunchbox meal.

Recipe: Lemon Thyme Chicken Salad Wraps

Buddha Bowl with Roasted Vegetables

Healthy vegetables and savory chickpeas are baked on a single baking sheet: an easy lunch that doesn't require much cleanup. Quinoa and avocado complete the nutritious dish.

Recipe: Buddha Bowl with Roasted Vegetables

Slow Cooker Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Jeff's soup is perfect for a week's worth of meals—and it's incredibly easy to make! Just combine the ingredients in a slow cooker for a hearty vegetable soup that's best served with a slice of bread.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Chicken Salad with Avocado Sour Cream and Quinoa in a Jar

Enjoy lunch with this convenient Mexican-inspired quinoa salad. To save time, prepare a large batch of quinoa and freeze it in zip-lock bags for up to 1 month. Having whole grains in the fridge cuts down on prep time.

Recipe: Chicken Salad with Avocado Sour Cream and Quinoa in a Jar

Green salad with chicken, avocado and corn chips

This salad is inspired by a popular dish from a healthy restaurant chain. We love it, but we love saving money just as much. Take some time this week to make the vinaigrette: it makes enough for about five salads. And if you're really serious, prep your lunch ingredients for the whole week.

Recipe: Green salad with chicken, avocado and corn chips

Tortilla soup

Soup is our favorite lunch option at work because it's easy to make multiple servings in advance. Rachel's spicy soup is served with your favorite taco toppings; it's a dish you'll want to make again and again.

Recipe: Tortilla soup

Turkey and Ham Sandwich Rolls

Prepare Ree's rolls on Sunday and refrigerate until Monday morning. Ree recommends making the spicy mayonnaise ahead of time, but spreading it on the bread just before serving, otherwise the sandwiches may become soggy.

Recipe: Turkey and Ham Sandwich Rolls

Healthy Spelt Fried Rice

Farro (spelt) is an Italian variety of wheat; its grains become soft and flavorful when cooked. It's often added to soups and risottos, but in this simple recipe, farro makes a wonderful substitute for rice.

Recipe: Healthy Spelt Fried Rice

Quick tomato and bean soup

For a quick and easy meal, Giada recommends buying your favorite marinara sauce, or making your own and using the leftovers for broth.

Recipe: Quick tomato and bean soup

Chicken Fajita Salad in a Jar

Chicken fajitas are the perfect convenient lunch that requires minimal effort. Plus, they're a balanced meal made with healthy whole foods. Combine all the ingredients in a baking dish, place in the oven, set the timer, and go about your day. Enjoy the fajitas warm with rice and tortillas, or cold in a salad, like in this recipe.

Recipe: Chicken Fajita Salad in a Jar

Chicken and Couscous Bowl in a Slow Cooker

A quick and filling Mediterranean dish inspired by souvlaki that can be made in a slow cooker in half an hour.

Recipe: Chicken and Couscous Bowl in a Slow Cooker

We recommend

Quesadilla with minced meat and spinach

Trisha uses a buttered skillet to create golden, melt-in-your-mouth quesadillas. Tip: Make a big batch on Sunday night and you'll have lunch for days. Make sure the quesadillas are completely cool before packing them away, otherwise the steam will make them soggy.

Recipe: Quesadilla with minced meat and spinach

Italian pasta salad with chicken

Forget the sticky mayo-laden pasta salads you know and probably hate. Geoffrey's salad features bright, fresh vegetables like cucumber and tomato, plus grilled chicken for volume and a simple red wine vinegar dressing.

Recipe: Italian pasta salad with chicken

Italian wedding soup

The secret to the authentic Italian flavor in this soup is the homemade meatballs. Giada uses curly endive for vibrant color and texture.

Recipe: Italian wedding soup

Chicken Fajitas on a Baking Sheet

This protein-rich fajita uses a foil-lined baking sheet and a broiler for a quick, healthy meal that pairs well with rice, salad, or a tortilla.

Recipe: Chicken Fajitas on a Baking Sheet

Chicken Curry Wraps

Ina adds cashews to her curried chicken salad, adding a salty and crunchy flavor. Make the chicken on Sunday so it chills overnight—this will make it easier to shred on Monday morning.

Recipe: Chicken Curry Wraps

Buckwheat soba noodles with chicken in peanut dressing

Instead of leftover Chinese food, grab some soba noodles topped with a peanut butter and soy sauce glaze.

Recipe: Buckwheat soba noodles with chicken in peanut dressing

Chinese-style chicken breasts on lettuce leaves

Rachel's fried filling is crispy, colorful, and bursting with flavor thanks to the oranges and hoisin sauce.

Recipe: Chinese-style chicken breasts on lettuce leaves

Pan bagna sandwich with artichokes

This fiber-rich vegetarian version of the classic French sandwich is perfect for traveling. It's also a perfect way to use up fresh vegetables you already have on hand, and the sandwich itself only gets better when it's aged—assemble it the night before your trip.

Recipe: Pan bagna sandwich with artichokes

Beetroot and Brussels Sprouts Salad in a Jar

Make this colorful layered salad! We love the tender pearl barley, but you can substitute it with another whole grain, like brown rice or quinoa. The jar makes it easy to take on the go, and you can admire the beautiful layers.

Recipe: Beetroot and Brussels Sprouts Salad in a Jar

Egg salad

Enjoy a contrast of textures and classic flavors: this easy salad is made with celery, wholegrain mustard, and chopped hard-boiled eggs.

Recipe: Egg salad

Brown Rice Bowl with Green Goddess Dressing

Salads and sandwiches take a back seat: Trisha's healthy rice bowl is the only lunch we crave on a workday. She makes a creamy "green goddess" dressing to top brown rice, avocado slices, and roasted vegetables.

Recipe: Brown Rice Bowl with Green Goddess Dressing

Chickpea and Portobello Mushroom Wraps

You'll want to eat these rolls again and again. Chickpeas are mashed with balsamic vinegar and butter to a creamy paste and then stuffed into a rolled-up flatbread with Muenster cheese, portobello mushrooms, and arugula.

Recipe: Chickpea and Portobello Mushroom Wraps

Creamy Hummus and Smoked Turkey Sandwich

Why use mayonnaise when you can use hummus? This recipe uses Neufchâtel cheese and vegetables like sun-dried tomatoes and carrots, which add a unique flavor to the meal.

Recipe: Creamy Hummus and Smoked Turkey Sandwich





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