Healthy Recipes Cooking Methods Quick & Easy Healthy, Quick & Easy Lunch Recipes 17 Easy Lunches to Meal Prep This Weekend By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 25, 2024 Close Make your week a bit easier by prepping these delicious lunches ahead of time! With only three steps to prepare them, each dish is simple to make and packed with flavor. From cozy soups to hearty grain bowls to colorful salads, there’s no shortage of tasty dishes that will make a perfect midday meal. Try options like our Stuffed Cabbage Soup and our Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad for a healthy lunch you can grab and go! 01 of 17 Mashed Chickpea Salad with Dill & Capers This creamy yet light vegan salad is full of bright, herby goodness. On its own, it's great to serve alongside a sandwich or veggie burger in place of potato salad or coleslaw. You can also make it into a light lunch by adding a handful of arugula to enjoy it as a green salad. Double the recipe and refrigerate to have on hand throughout the week. View Recipe 02 of 17 Stuffed Cabbage Soup Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Like stuffed cabbage? You'll love this easy cabbage soup. It's got all of the classic flavors of stuffed cabbage without all the fuss of stuffing. View Recipe 03 of 17 Broccoli-Cranberry Salad This easy broccoli salad is tossed in a creamy dressing and spiked with sweet cranberries, Cheddar cheese and toasty walnuts. This easy side is great for lunch—add shredded chicken to make it a main dish. View Recipe 04 of 17 Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad Fresh tomatoes and roasted red peppers add a pop of bright color and juiciness here, but any of your favorite pasta-salad veggies, like blanched broccoli and fresh bell peppers, would be delicious too. View Recipe 05 of 17 Falafel Tabbouleh Bowls with Tzatziki Meal-prepping a week's worth of lunches doesn't need to take hours in the kitchen. These meal-prep bowls can be prepared in just 10 minutes and only require 4 ingredients—greens, falafel, tabbouleh and tzatziki. We love going to our local specialty grocery store for fast shortcut ingredients like these. The high-fiber falafel and tabbouleh will help to keep you feeling satisfied all afternoon. View Recipe 06 of 17 Teriyaki Tofu Rice Bowls With a handful of shortcut ingredients from your grocery store, including precooked rice packets and seasoned baked tofu, you can prepare several high-fiber, high-protein meals in about 15 minutes. View Recipe 07 of 17 Cucumber Pasta Salad This light and tangy cucumber pasta salad is fresh and bright. The orecchiette pasta holds the dressing for flavor in every bite, but you can use another small pasta shape if you like. This easy salad is perfect for a warm day or to serve as a lunch dish for company! For a fruitier flavor, try apple-cider vinegar in place of white distilled vinegar. View Recipe 08 of 17 Make-Ahead Chicken Pasta Salad This make-ahead chicken pasta salad is classic and completely adaptable—you can swap in whatever veggies, herbs or cheese you like. View Recipe 09 of 17 Grilled Vegetable Salads with Goat Cheese Prepare a week's worth of lunches in about 10 minutes using a handful of ingredients from your local grocery store. To save time, we're using a bag of frozen grilled and marinated vegetables, then adding big flavor with marinated goat cheese. If you want to bump up the protein, leftover chicken breast or salmon pairs perfectly with this hearty salad. View Recipe 10 of 17 Vegan Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice These meal-prep vegan burrito bowls are healthy and flavorful. Make them early in the week for grab-and-go meals when days are busy. We use frozen cauliflower rice, a low-carb substitute for white or brown rice, to cut down on prep time. View Recipe 11 of 17 Buffalo-Style Bistro Lunch Box These tailgate-inspired lunch bowls can be assembled in about 15 minutes using just a handful of ingredients, like pregrilled chicken and spicy Buffalo-flavored hummus. We're packing these up with crunchy veggie sticks and blue cheese so you can savor all the game-day flavors, but for a fraction of the calories. View Recipe 12 of 17 Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas This healthy high-fiber salad comes together in just 10 minutes. Serve it right away or pack it in individual servings for four super-satisfying high-fiber lunches for the week ahead. To cut down on prep time, we're using preshredded Brussels sprouts from the produce department and store-bought roasted chickpeas. Look for roasted chickpea snacks with the healthy snacks or nuts at your grocery store. View Recipe 13 of 17 Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu & Peanut Dressing Prep four days' worth of high-protein vegan lunches using just four easy ingredients, including a veggie-heavy salad mix as a base. Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry. If you can't find a hearty mix, go with broccoli slaw or shredded Brussels sprouts. View Recipe 14 of 17 Chopped Salad with Chicken & Avocado-Buttermilk Dressing This herb-loaded green goddess-inspired dressing gets a color boost from creamy avocado. Make a double batch of this healthy salad dressing to keep on hand for salads throughout the week. View Recipe 15 of 17 Chopped Rainbow Salad Bowls with Peanut Sauce Make good use of crunchy and colorful seasonal produce in these meal-prep-friendly vegetable bowls. With just 30 minutes of prep, you get four healthy lunches that are ready to grab-and-go. We use bulgur, which cooks faster and is higher in fiber than brown rice, but you could swap in quinoa (or any hearty whole grain). Feel free to add chopped cooked chicken, shrimp or tofu for extra protein. View Recipe 16 of 17 Quinoa Deli Salad This healthy version of a deli salad combines hearty quinoa and chickpeas with small amounts of ham and mozzarella, so you get all of the flavor without overdoing it on the sodium. This healthy quinoa salad is great as dinner and doubles as a delicious lunch the next day. View Recipe 17 of 17 Zucchini Noodle Bowls with Chicken Sausage & Pesto Cut down on prep time for this meal-prep zoodle recipe by using premade zucchini noodles from the produce section. Canned beans and precooked chicken sausage heat in about 5 minutes and add protein, while store-bought refrigerated pesto serves as a fast and flavorful topping. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit