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Find easy cold lunch ideas for every weekday! Wether you’re working from home or taking it to the office, these healthy recipes will fill you up and give you the energy to finish the day.
Skip the microwave line and pack these healthy cold lunch ideas for work. Whether you work from home or head to the office, these simple recipes make packing and eating healthy simple. These dishes are full of flavor and simple to make.
4 Tips for Making Lunch Easy
- Meal prep as much as you can. If it’s a chicken salad, pasta salad recipe or something that lasts more than 3 days, make it in advance. If it’s a regular salad, wash and chop all the ingredients and throw it together quickly or put it together without the salad. Spend one hour on Sunday doing this and you won’t end up not eating or eating someone unhealthy midday.
- Have some standard lunch containers on hand. I love glass meal prep containers for bowls and wraps and I love mason jars for salads. You can also store things in silicone stasher bags (less plastic!).
- Make 3 recipes each week and rotate them. This way you don’t get sick of eating the same thing everyday!
- Make a double batch of dinner. I have tons of healthy dinner ideas on my site. Double the recipe so you have leftovers for lunch. These are cold lunch ideas, but still a great lunch idea!
How to Meal Prep Lunch
- Wash and prep your produce in advance. Make sure it’s clean and dried well so it doesn’t go bad and store it in an air tight container until you’re ready to use it.
- Prep ingredients in advance like white rice, brown rice or quinoa. It’s best to do as much as you can on the weekends, preferably right after going to the store. I love these as options because they’re gluten-free!
- Make the whole meal in advance! Just don’t add dressing or sauces to the meal and keep them on the side until you’re ready.
What should I pack for a cold lunch?
The best cold lunch ideas are ones you can make in advance and are easy to transport. This includes bowls, salads, chicken salads, wraps and salads. Below I’m breaking down 35 recipes that will make your life easier.
Lunch Bowls
- Veggie Quinoa Power Bowl | What Molly Made
- Rainbow Couscous And Tzatziki Chicken – Zested Lemon
- Honey Ginger Chicken Power Bowl | Fit Mitten Kitchen
- Mexican Kitchen Lunch Bowls | Simply Delicious
- Easy Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad With Peanut Dressing | V Nutrition and Wellness
- Caprese Chicken Salad Meal Prep Bowls from Sweet Peas and Saffron
- No-Cook Greek Pita Bento Box from Sweet Peas and Saffron
- Creamy Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta Meal Prep Bowl from Food Faith Fitness
- Roasted broccoli and farro bowl Gimme Some Oven
Green Salads
- Fall Salad with Butternut Squash and Apples | What Molly Made
- Antipasto Salad | What Molly Made
- Crispy Paleo Chicken Salad | What Molly Made
- BBQ Chicken Salad | What Molly Made
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad |This Farm Girl Cooks
- Fresh Caprese Quinoa Salad | Fit Foodie Finds
- BBQ Ranch Quinoa Bowls | Ambitious Kitchen
- Rotisserie Chicken Cobb Salad | Fit Foodie Finds
- Ranch Chicken Jar Salads from Sweet Peas and Saffron
- Black Bean Quinoa Salad from Peas and Crayons
- Southwest Chicken Salad | Fit Foodie Finds
Protein-Based Lunches
- Chicken Salad Stuffed Avocado | What Molly Made
- Everything Bagel Chicken Salad | What Molly Made
- Curry Chicken Salad | What Molly Made
- Healthy Tuna Salad | iFoodReal
- Mayo-Free Avocado Egg Salad from The Roasted Root
- Easy Shrimp Avocado Salad | Savory Tooth
- Caesar Pasta Salad | What Molly Made
- Protein Snack Pack | The Forked Spoon
Wraps and Sandwiches
- Cucumber Subs – Wholesome Yum
- Granola Crunch Apple Peanut Butter Sandwich Wraps | Two Healthy Kitchens
- Avocado Chicken Wraps | Salt and Baker
- Chicken Hummus Naan Wraps |The Rising Spoon
- Easy Turkey Pinwheels Meal Prep from Project Meal Prep
- Crunchy Rainbow Thai Chicken Wraps | Ambitious Kitchen
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