Choosing healthy lunch ideas quick can be overwhelming. Following a few certain techniques can help you get on the right path.
Planning your weekly menu is so much easier when you’ve got some healthy lunch ideas quickly to choose from. It can also be really helpful if you’re trying to lose weight or eat more healthily in general.
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Soup
Lentil soup
This simple lentil soup requires just five ingredients: stock, red lentils, carrots, leeks, and a handful of parsley. It’s low in calories and fat and delivers three of your five-a-day.
Cauliflower soup
This top-rated cauliflower soup is creamy and comforting, perfect for a midday pick-me-up. It’s delicious topped with parsley and served with crusty bread.
Rustic vegetable soup
This low-fat veggie soup is made with carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, lentils, celery, and tomato, to provide you with three of your five-a-day. If you want to bulk up this riot of color even more, why not try adding borlotti beans or chicken breast? For an injection of wholesome, healthy goodness, look no further.
Meatball & tomato soup
Our highly rated meatball & tomato soup is super-filling, with chunky meatballs and giant couscous. Get three of your five-a-day in one serving with this healthy, low-calorie tomato soup.
Mexican bean soup with guacamole
This healthy spiced soup is low in calories and fat. It’s a great way to use up storecupboard ingredients like canned tomatoes, beans, and bouillon powder.
Orzo & tomato soup
Make our simple, budget-friendly tomato, orzo, and chickpea soup in just 30 minutes. This easy vegetarian family meal is healthy and low in fat.
Carrot & lentil soup
Our five-star carrot & lentil soup is highly rated for a reason. This healthy soup is packed full of iron and low in fat. It’s simple to put together and can be made in a slow cooker.
Butternut squash soup with chilli & crème fraîche
Celebrate autumn with this creamy, warming soup. Blend butternut squash with onions, garlic, and chili, then top with a dollop of crème fraîche.
Curried squash, lentil & coconut
This vegan soup is loaded with Indian-inspired spices. Get ahead of a busy week by making a large batch and freezing for meals to come.
Courgette, pea & pesto
Another healthy soup, this one is loaded with fiber, vitamin C and folic acid. It’s packed with chunky ingredients, like courgette, cannellini beans, and peas.
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Lentil salad with tahini dressing
Pack four of your five-a-day into each portion of this healthy (Healthy Lunch Ideas Quick)lentil and sweet potato salad, which provides calcium, iron, folate, vitamin C, and fiber.
Chicken satay salad
This top-rated salad makes for a super-filling lunch on a busy weekday. It’s a healthy dish that’s low in calories and fat, and high in protein.Healthy Lunch Ideas Quick
Avocado Panzanella
This light vegan salad comes together in just 20 minutes for super-speedy lunch. It’s perfect for a quick working-from-home meal.
Halloumi with lemony lentils, chickpeas & beets
This gluten-free salad is a great way to use up storecupboard ingredients. It’s topped with golden-brown halloumi and quick, homemade pickled red onion.Healthy Lunch Ideas Quick
Epic summer salad
Make a big batch of this glorious summer salad to plan for the week ahead. It’s packed with avocado, spinach, black beans, sweetcorn, feta cheese, and mango, and topped off with a minty dressing.
Green goddess chicken salad
Treat yourself to this chicken salad – it’s bursting with colors and flavors, including basil, jalapeño, and lime. It also boasts four of your five-a-day. Healthy Lunch Ideas Quick
Guacamole & mango salad with black beans
Get four of your five-a-day with this healthy salad of mango, avocado, and beans. It’s a nutritional powerhouse that’s also vegan and gluten-free.
Tuna, avocado & quinoa salad
Put canned tuna to work with this storecupboard salad recipe. Combine tuna with filling avocado, quinoa, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, and feta cheese crumbles.
Crunchy bulgur salad
This vibrant summer salad contains of radishes, edamame beans, peppers, almonds, and herbs. Finish with a drizzle of homemade citrus dressing.
Miso brown rice & broccoli salad
Miso adds an extra-savory umami flavor to this hearty salad. Use brown rice as a base, and toss with edamame beans, broccoli, spicy prawns, and the miso dressing.
Healthy Lunch Ideas You Can Make in 10 Minutes
Veggie & Hummus Sandwich
This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables depending on your mood.
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Buffalo Chicken Grain Bowl
Get the flavors of spicy Buffalo chicken wings, without frying, in this nutritious couscous bowl loaded with protein and crisp veggies.
Mediterranean Lettuce Wraps
A tangy, nutty tahini dressing brings together no-cook ingredients like canned chickpeas and roasted red peppers for these easy meal-prep lettuce wraps. Make these wraps ahead of time for a grab-and-go lunch or dinner. A few wedges of warm pita finish off the meal perfectly.
Chopped Cobb Salad
This single-serving recipe for Cobb salad swaps chicken for bacon, which makes it a great source of protein for lunch. If you prefer another salad dressing, feel free to use that instead of our honey-mustard vinaigrette.
3-Ingredient Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Salad
We put a flavor twist on the classic chicken salad by using lemon-herb mayonnaise. Try other mayo varieties, like roasted garlic or chipotle lime, in this fast, no-cook lunch recipe. Serve with whole-grain crackers.
3-Ingredient Chickpeas with Kale & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes pull double duty in this recipe. Use the oil from the jar to cook the kale, then stir in the sun-dried tomatoes to add flavor and texture to the dish.
Fruit, Veggie & Cheese Plate
This healthy fruit, veggie, and cheese plate are easy and affordable to pull together for a fun snack-style dinner at home or can be packed up and enjoyed as an outdoor picnic.
Chickpea “Chicken” Salad
This chickpea salad is a vegetarian version of a classic chicken salad–and, thus, can be eaten in the same way. Let’s be clear, though: it doesn’t taste like chicken, but it is a delicious (and fiber-packed) vegetarian alternative! Plus, it’s easily transportable, perfect for picnics, and will surely step up your sad desk lunch.
Meal-Prep Vegan Moroccan Lettuce Wraps
For these meal-prep-friendly lettuce wraps, we swap the traditional warm filling for a cold plant-based bean salad filling loaded with fresh herbs and lemon. Topping each lettuce leaf with a little quinoa before adding the filling helps to keep the lettuce from getting soggy.
Easy Brown Rice & Veggie Wrap
Use leftover brown rice and roasted veggies for this easy vegan lunch idea to pack for work. To serve this wrap warm, simply pop it in the microwave for about a minute to warm through.
QUICK AND HEALTHY LUNCH IDEAS
1. TEX-MEX CHOPPED VEGGIE TACO DIP
This delicious dip from Lauren Brennan would be perfect to put out at a party, but it also doubles as an excellent lunch idea. Pack it up with your favorite whole grain crackers, pita wedges, or corn chips.
2. PEAR AND BLUE CHEESE FLATBREAD
Ana Kamin categorizes this tasty option as a five-minute lunch, and we have to agree – it’s quick to make! But please, don’t feel that you need to rush through enjoying it as well. You’ll want to savor the combination of sliced juicy pears, rich blue cheese spread, fresh micro greens, and your favorite flatbread (try a lightly toasted lavash, then slice into squares before serving).
A drizzle of local honey works well atop this one, too!
3. CUCUMBER AVOCADO NORI ROLLS
Skip the grocery store sushi and try making your own. It’s easier than you think!
A veggie version like this one is super refreshing, and it packs well, too. To make these nori rolls you can also skip the usually seasoned rice, which helps to cut down the prep time.
4. RAW PESTO SALAD
Made with raw fresh vegetables and topped with pesto, plus dried fruit and seeds, this salad is colorful, flavorful, and rich in vitamins and minerals. It makes a satisfying lunch, and it’s simple to make!
5. SUNSHINE SALAD
Another bright and fresh veggie lunch option, this one features the flavors of late summer and the beginning of a new school year.
Sweet tomatoes, abundant zucchini, and fresh corn are combined with fresh herbs and onion, and a bit of crumbled goat cheese, if you like. Simplicity at its best!
Check out the recipe on Cooking & Eating the PK Way!
6. ASPARAGUS, TOMATO, AND FETA SALAD WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
This salad comes together in a snap, with fresh blanched asparagus, cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, toasted walnuts, and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. Try serving this one as a side with dinner, and then let it do double duty as lunch the next day.
7. BAVARIAN-STYLE CABBAGE SALAD
Maybe it’s not the most healthy option on our list, since it is topped with a sprinkling of crispy bacon. But I can guarantee that if you make this into a full meal, you’ll probably consume more roughage than you normally would in one sitting. Plus, that fat in the bacon might just help your body to absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in the veggies.
Though a whole grain option would probably be best, this is also delicious served alongside a few leftover German-style dumplings, heated up in a frying pan.
8. TURMERIC QUINOA SALAD
Fragrant, crunchy, and sweet are just a few of the words that Lorena of Green Healthy Cooking uses to describe this healthy veggie and whole grain salad. The quinoa is protein-rich, with added potential health benefits from the yellow turmeric, and a tasty honey mustard dressing to top it all off. Yum!
9. SUN-DRIED TOMATO ARUGULA LENTIL SALAD
If you can’t get enough of the flavor of sun-dried tomatoes, then this lentil salad is for you. With the addition of green, peppery arugula, fresh tomatoes, a sprinkling of goat cheese, and a drizzle of dressing, this delicious dish makes a delightful lunch.
Not sure that you’ll be able to convince the kids? Christine McMichael of Jar of Lemons reports that her salad tastes like pizza. That’ll probably get through to them!
10. LAZY RAMEN
Though she’s not quite ready to head off to college herself, Rachel is no stranger to processed ramen noodles. She’s a big fan of cooking from scratch (as she shared in her Lemon Rosemary Bundt Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting post for Foodal), but she’ll also admit that quick convenience foods can sometimes come in handy.