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Whether WFH or based in the office, you need to eat! A nutritious lunch can make all the difference in your energy levels and focus throughout the day. With just the mention of workday lunches, we can hear the groans of boredom echoing in the distance.
We understand that finding inspiration for lunch while at work is tricky, and leftovers are not everyone’s favorite. Fear not!
We have come up with a list of recipes that are easy to make ahead, suitable for the whole family, budget-friendly, and healthy! We’ve broken them into salads, soups, sandwiches, one-pot wonders, and pasta.
With the ever-increasing cost of living, these lunches are all cost-effective while providing a healthy dose of calories. Check out the list for some of the most delicious workday lunches!
1. Broccoli Chicken Salad
Super easy broccoli and chicken salad has high protein and is perfect for springtime lunches!
Add chicken, feta cheese, broccoli, and bacon to your salad. Make your dressing by mixing together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Alternatively, add ingredients like fresh tomatoes or use white wine vinegar. You could even add cooked orzo to make the recipe go further!
2. Tossed Salad with Tuna
A healthy, fresh salad ready in 5 minutes? Yes, please! Add mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, a small onion, and fresh chives to tuna. Season with salt and pepper, along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
This salad is an inexpensive way to add protein and is a source of vitamins and minerals. The wide range of vegetables accompanying the tuna makes it filling, nutritious, and very low in calories.
3. Brussels Sprout Salad
Brussels sprouts are a controversial ingredient. However, fear not—this salad is delicious and the perfect way to beat the winter blues.
Coat the Brussels sprouts with oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper, tossing occasionally for at least 20 minutes. Add some walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and parmesan.
This salad allows seasonal Brussels sprouts to shine as the lead in their own dish. It is packed with nutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and Vitamins C and K. The pomegranate seeds add pops of flavor and sweetness and even more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to this already deliciously healthy salad.
4. Wild Garlic Soup
If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where wild garlic grows, this is the ultimate budget-friendly soup since you can forage for your own!
To make delicious wild garlic soup, boil butter in a saucepan and add potatoes and onion. Cook until they are well-coated and tender. Next, add stock to the pan and bring it to a boil. Add wild garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Blend the soup, stir in the cream, and season to taste.
However, chives can be easily substituted if you cannot find wild garlic. Wild garlic and chives offer great health benefits, so this delicious soup will become a springtime favorite!
For a different flavor, you can substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock and add a dollop of crème fraiche on top.
5. Vichyssoise/Potato and Leek Soup
The name of this soup is determined by how it is served. Potato and leek soup is served hot, while Vichyssoise is served cold.
Combine butter and flour in a heavy pot or Dutch oven to make a roux. Next, add the chopped leeks, diced onion, chicken stock, and potatoes. Let everything simmer until the potatoes are tender. Finally, use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the soup until smooth.
The leeks and potatoes used in this soup pack nutrients, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.
6. Easy Pumpkin Soup
During autumn, the days start getting shorter and a little cooler, so our bodies start looking for those comfort foods. Sometimes, comfort foods can indicate something heavier and more caloric.
To make pumpkin soup, sauté a diced onion under medium heat. Add pumpkin purée, chicken broth, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and any other spices that tingle your taste buds. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes before adding salt to taste. Serve topped with pepitas and a swirl of sour cream.
This Easy Pumpkin Soup is flavorful, comforting, rich, and light on calories! Considered a nutritional knockout, pumpkin offers a range of health benefits. It is great for ocular and heart health, boosts the immune system, and contains cancer-fighting properties.
7. Creamy Tuscan White Bean Soup
This soup is the perfect winter warmer—the ultimate comfort food without the calories! Easy to make and with relatively few inexpensive ingredients, it will become your go-to soup for the winter season.
To make a delicious and hearty white bean soup, start by sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil. Then, add drained canned white beans and pour over the vegetable broth and some pureed beans for added creaminess. Season with rosemary, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper, and let simmer until hot. Sprinkle with some parmesan and fresh spinach.
White beans offer plenty of fiber, protein, and folate. They can support healthy bones and maintain healthy blood pressure. Once blended until smooth, the beans offer a creamy texture packed with delicious flavor from the rosemary and Italian seasoning.
8. Cucumber Sandwich
Using minimal ingredients, create the perfect springtime sandwich that is filling and delicious!
To make a delicious cream cheese and cucumber sandwich, mix together cream cheese, yogurt, chives, dill, and pepper in a bowl. Add the mixture along with cucumber slices to the bread slices.
This sandwich is both creamy and crunchy, full of flavor, light, and refreshing. Cucumber is known for helping to maintain hydration, supporting bone health, having anti-inflammatory properties, and having many other health benefits.
9. Greek Chicken Stuffed Pitas
This stuffed pita with cooling tzatziki and moist chicken is perfect for those hot summer days.
Combine minced garlic, cucumber, Greek yogurt, dill, salt, and pepper to make a delicious tzatziki-stuffed pita. Mix in lemon juice to taste. Mix cooked chicken with tzatziki sauce and red onion in a separate bowl. Top with avocado slices.
With Greek Yogurt and chicken, this sandwich packs more than just flavor. Each bite contains plenty of protein, vitamins, and minerals. To make this lunch even more cost-effective, try substituting some crunchy lettuce for avocado.
10. Italian Sausage Grinders
This sandwich is perfect for the whole family and can be easily made ahead of the slow cooker.
To make this delicious sausage and pepper sandwich, cook sausage, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in a skillet. Transfer to a slow cooker and add diced and crushed tomatoes, dried Italian dressing, balsamic vinegar, salt, and crushed red pepper before cooking on high for 2 hours. Top with provolone cheese.
Since this sandwich is best served warm, it may be best to compile it at work so you can easily heat the meat mixture separately. With sweet peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes, these grinders pack plenty of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and anti-cancer compounds.
11. Egg Salad
While it might seem boring, egg salad sandwiches are a classic that can be adapted and customized to suit each person’s tastes.
Eggs offer numerous health benefits and are even considered by some as the “healthiest food on the planet”. For being so small, eggs certainly pack some nutritional punch!
Although their price has increased over the last few years, eggs are still one of the most cost-effective ways to add nutritional value to your diet.
To change the flavor profile of these classic sandwiches, try adding additional ingredients, such as hot sauce, fresh herbs, or even bagel seasoning.
12. Ham, Mushroom and Spinach Frittata
This perfect springtime frittata can be served hot or cold, making it not only delicious and nutritious but versatile too.
To make, sauté mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Next, add some diced ham and spinach, cooking for another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in beaten eggs, cooking for 3 minutes until they are mostly set. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and put the pan under the grill for 2 minutes. Enjoy your frittata hot or cold.
While the recipe calls for ham, mushrooms, and spinach, you can use other ingredients that you have on hand to make this meal even more budget-friendly.
13. Cheesy Black Bean and Quinoa Casserole
This one-skillet wonder has Tex-Mex flavors that will make your summer tastebuds sing! Not only nutritionally dense with plenty of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and many nutrients, but quinoa is a very affordable superfood.
Sauté onion and garlic before adding corn kernels, poblano pepper, tomato, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Combine with black beans, cheese, and cooked quinoa before baking for 15 minutes.
Black beans add more protein to this delicious dish and have many additional health benefits. With Tex-Mex as good as this, this dish may have you reaching for a margarita after work.
14. Easy Broccoli Quiche
A very simple broccoli quiche is perfect for those workday lunches. Like the frittata above, this dish can be served hot or cold, but hot might be the better option if you decide to make this during the cooler autumn months!
Add the chopped broccoli, onion, and garlic to a saucepan to make this delicious broccoli and cheese quiche. Cook until the vegetables are soft, then transfer them into a pie crust and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese before placing it on a baking sheet.
Whisk together eggs and milk in a separate bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the vegetables in the pie crust and bake for 30-50 minutes until the center is set.
While the recipe calls for broccoli, simple substitutions and additions can be made. For example, try peas, green beans, red pepper, or any other vegetable you have on hand. You could even add bacon or salmon to change the flavor profile while increasing the amount of protein in each serving.
15. Green Veggie Pasta
With a vibrant green hue and full of nutritious vegetables, this is the perfect springtime pasta. It uses budget-friendly frozen vegetables.
To make this delicious pasta dish, chop some spring onions, leeks, and broccoli stalks. Heat a non-stick casserole pan and add olive oil, garlic, spinach, peas, salt and pepper for 15 minutes. In a separate pot of boiling water, cook the pasta and broccoli before adding some pasta water to the sauce. Combine all the ingredients together, and add parmesan cheese to taste.
Frozen vegetables, often frozen when they are at peak ripeness, are said to be just as nutrient-dense as regular vegetables. This recipe is also very versatile; you can substitute many ingredients for what you already have.
16. Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
Great served warm or cold, chicken pesto pasta salad is quick, easy to make, inexpensive, and delicious!
If you want to save time, use fresh store-bought pesto and rotisserie chicken. Since the pasta is coated in flavorful pesto, it has all of the health benefits of basil, which includes a rich source of Vitamin K and potential cancer-preventing antioxidants.
17. Mushroom Cannelloni
As the days get shorter and cooler, you’ll look for those comfort food dishes! Mushroom cannelloni will satisfy that comfort-food feel while remaining healthy and budget-friendly.
For the sauce, mix oil, flour, milk, and cheddar cheese and season it. Layer one-third of the sauce in a baking tray and fill each pasta tube with the filling. Pour the remaining sauce on top.
Add garlic, onions, and leeks for even more nutritional value. Want even more vegetables? Sneak in an extra layer of spinach, peas, or squash at the bottom!
18. Roasted Tomato and Garlic Ricotta Pasta
Look no further for a quick and easy meal bursting with flavor! By roasting garlic and tomatoes, you get a delicious, warming base for the pasta sauce that becomes creamy once blended with the ricotta.
Looking for a bit more warmth on those cold winter days? Try adding some chili flakes to the sauce! With tomatoes and garlic as the base, this dish contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Want to add more protein? This sauce is also delicious with grilled chicken or shrimp.
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