13 Easy Work Lunch Recipes, Because Eating Out Every Day Is Not In The Budget

A chicken caesar wrap has never sounded bad to me, not once, and I love the idea of making them at home with chips and pickle to make it feel like I carried it out from my favorite sub place in town. Foodie Crush’s recipe will help you make chicken that stays crispy, but honestly, I’d probably cut that corner with some frozen chicken strips and call it good.

A caprese sandwich is such an easy work lunch idea — it requires zero cooking or reheating, just some assembly. Foodie Crush explains what ingredients to go for if you want that restaurant-quality bite, but for the same price, you’ll get multiple sandwiches out of that money by making them at home.

This is food blogger Princess Pinky Girl’s take on Jennifer Aniston’s viral salad recipe from a few years back. The chickpeas, pistachios, and quinoa will help you stay full ‘til quitting time, while the fresh red onion, cucumber, feta, and sweet, lemony dressing add delicious flavor and texture.

If you’re perfectly fine eating the same lunch all week, why not cook one big dish one time and get five full meals out of that work? Cookie + Kate’s veggie and black bean enchiladas are loaded with fiber and protein alike, and they won’t feel super heavy in your stomach and make you want to nap under your desk.

On the other hand, if you don’t like eating the same thing for lunch every day, meal prepping probably sounds awful. Instead, try a recipe like Princess Pinky Girl’s garlic butter chicken bites. You can pop them into a Tupperware with last night’s leftover mashed potatoes and green beans, into a bed of pasta with some sauce, or into a wrap with lettuce, cheese, and buffalo sauce. They’re flavorful alone, but they're also enough of a blank slate that you can turn them into lots of different things.

Pasta salad is one of my favorite work lunches to prep on a Sunday because all the cooking it requires is boiling some pasta. Aside from that, you’re just slicing, dicing, and dressing — all easy enough when you have a good podcast to listen to in the process. All The Healthy Things has so many delicious pasta salad recipes, but this Italian one looks particularly appetizing.

Nothing revelatory here, but I often forget how much I actually enjoy a grown-up Lunchable a la Budget Bytes’ cheese board-inspired boxes. Throw in your favorite combination of meats, cheeses, crackers, spreads, dips, dried or fresh fruit, and nuts for an indulgent (but not nap-inducing) midday meal.

Maybe the cheeseboard box is already in your rotation. If so, may I recommend a baked potato meal prep to switch it up? Potatoes are cheap, and if you roast some veggies in the pan next to them, that’s a very filling meal as it is. Just throw your favorite toppings in there to dress up your spud when lunchtime rolls around, like this recipe from Family Fresh Meals.

Much like the garlic butter chicken idea, you can prep a batch of chicken shawarma using Damn Delicious’ method and assemble a week’s worth of bowls or wraps when you’re done. Meal prepping this way helps you use up every last bit of rice and produce before it goes bad, which helps you get more bang for your buck, too.

Chicken salad can be eaten on its own, in a wrap, on a sandwich, with chips — you can really choose your own adventure. A big batch of All The Healthy Things’ green goddess chicken salad, which is super herby and has plenty of crunch, will definitely keep you coming back for more all week long.

Budget Bytes rolls two recipes together into one to create the perfect work lunch: pork and peanut dragon noodles and roasted broccoli salad. Neither is very difficult, and together they make a lunch that’ll rival your favorite takeout joint.

Lentils are so good as a salad base. They’re cheap, full of protein and fiber, and they really soak up dressing well so you get maximum flavor in every bite. Cookie + Kate’s lentil salad includes fresh herbs and roasted red peppers, olives, garlic, and cherry tomatoes.

Quesadillas are something my whole family will actually eat and enjoy, so I love the idea of making a big batch not just for dinner, but to pack all of us for lunch throughout the week. Laughing Spatula’s recipe lets you do it in the oven instead of the stovetop, if you find that method of making them too tedious.