55 Quick Lunch Ideas To Turn Your Work Day Around
No more boring PB&Js for you!
We love a well-packed lunch for work, but the thing is...they have to be just as or more exciting than your local delivery spot or cafeteria, or else your eyes will surely stray... Because, not going to lie, there are days when it feels like the only good thing about work is lunchtime. It’s a time to decompress, take a walk outside, laugh with your coworkers… and wait in a loooong takeout line? We don’t think so. If you think the only alternative is packing leftovers or a sad sandwich, think again. We’re here to tell you that you CAN pack a lunch for work without killing yourself to cook it the night before (or even in the morning). From bowls to wraps, salads to soups, we’ve got something in here for everyone. These 55 work lunches are so quick, easy, and tasty, you might never order lunch in again!
One of our surefire favorite ways to achieve this is to take recipes we know and love and jazz them up in a way no average salad or burrito place ever would. Check out our Philadelphia rolls (with everything bagel seasoning), our Caribbean Cobb salad, or our steak grain bowls (with chewy farro and chimichurri) to see what we mean.
Struggling with a chronic takeout habit? We’ve got you too. Try one of our copycat recipes, like our Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, our copycat Chipotle chicken, or our copycat PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps, or our Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana, or go for something inspired by some of your delivery faves, like our General Tso’s chicken, our ahi poke bowls, or our chicken caesar wraps. The best part? You can add or sub in your favorite ingredients without ever having to speak to a cashier.
Want more easy meal inspiration? Check out our favorite breakfast meal prep ideas, our top easy weeknight dinners, and our favorite no-bake desserts too.
Garlic Bread Pizza
Looking for a fun, easy twist on homemade pizza this January? Skip the dough and use frozen garlic bread instead. Crusts will never be thrown out again.
Get the Garlic Bread Pizza recipe.
Pinwheel Sandwiches
Pinwheel sandwiches are here with their totally retro swirls, ready to be packed into lunchboxes, piled onto game day spreads, or just eaten as an afternoon snack. The best part is that there are endless combinations of fillings you can customize these with. As long as you stick with the basic formula and amounts, the sky's the limit.
Get the Pinwheel Sandwiches recipe.
Chicken Caesar Wraps
Ask a random Delish employee what they’re going to order for lunch from a deli, and at least half of them will respond with a chicken Caesar wrap. And there’s very little question as to why! It’s one of the all-time best salads, tossed into a wrap. It’s simple yet timeless, like many of our favorite recipes are.
Get the Chicken Caesar Wraps recipe.
Buddha Bowls
The beauty about this bowl is that it's infinitely adaptable. You can roast just about any veggie, use any number of toppings, and it'll taste amazing in this recipe. The only thing we might insist you must keep on the bowl is the incredible peanut dressing. It's insanely addictive and one of our favorite sauces EVER.
Get the Buddha Bowls recipe.
Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches
Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil inside a pita pocket, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.
Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad
We don’t believe in boring salads at Delish, and crunchy apples and tart cranberries bring a lot of life to this one. The slightly sweet and lemony dressing is easy to make, and you’ll want to have extra on hand to pour it over everything.
Get the Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad recipe.
Philly Cheesesteak Cabbage Wraps
We’re kind of obsessed with Philly cheesesteaks. We’ve made everything from Philly cheesesteak omelets to quesadillas, from Philly cheesesteak casseroles to soup, so you can enjoy them for literally every meal if you wanted to. But what if you’re avoiding gluten or carbs (maybe on that low-carb or keto life)? Don’t worry, we’ve got you too. Try these Philly cheesesteak cabbage wraps—they’re everything you love about the OG, without the bread.
Get the Philly Cheesesteak Cabbage Wraps recipe.
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This lunch-friendly recipe uses canned chickpeas, meaning it comes together in less than 30 minutes. 😎 Our lemon-parsley vinaigrette here is perfectly tart and fresh with a hint of spice, and you're going to want to put it on everything.
Get the Mediterranean Chickpea Salad recipe.
Copycat Wendy's Chili
Fun fact: Apparently one of the reasons chili was put on the original Wendy's menu was to help eliminate food waste by using the leftover burger patties. We're glad they did, because this copycat chili is delicious.
Get the Copycat Wendy's Chili recipe.
Buffalo Chicken Wrap
This wrap is just as easy to customize as it is to make. Feel free to adjust the spices to add more or less heat, swap out the slaw for lettuce, the blue cheese sauce with ranch dressing, use cauliflower or tofu instead of meat, or try Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise.
Get the Buffalo Chicken Wrap recipe.
Chicken Patty
Move over cafeteria school lunch, chicken patties are here, revamped and ready to impress. It was very important to us to create this sandwich with a few classic ingredients in mind: shallots, garlic powder, shredded lettuce, pickles, and honey mustard mayo. We mix the ground chicken with minced shallots and lots of garlic powder so flavor is coming from the inside out. Grinding the cornflakes is key so the crunch factor is consistent. Homemade honey mustard seals the deal with a sweet-creamy-tangy vibe you’ll love.
Get the Chicken Patty recipe.
Steak Grain Bowls
These bowls come full of all the greens, protein, carbs you need to get through your day, but in a really exciting way: A double-purpose chimichurri acts as a marinade for the steak and a finishing sauce for the bowls. Yum!
Get the Steak Grain Bowls recipe.
Grown-Up SpaghettiOs & Meatballs
These SpaghettiOs and meatballs mimic the canned pasta-and-marinara delight you loved as a kid, but with sophisticated upgrades for adult flavor preferences. (Don’t worry, it’s still kid-approved.) Most copycat SpaghettiOs recipes ignore one crucial ingredient: cheddar cheese. Cheddar is actually quite essential to the end result, so we added a generous amount, plus a bit of Parm for a touch of class.
Get the Grown-Up SpaghettiOs & Meatballs recipe.
Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps
In our attempt to copy the fan favorite, we flavored ground chicken with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha, and sesame oil. A quick reheat, and it's like going to P.F. Chang's without leaving your desk.
Get the Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Chicken Salad Sandwich
There's definitely more than one way to make a chicken salad sandwich, but this is our favorite—green apple, red onion, and celery add crunch, while mustard, mayo, and red wine vinegar add creaminess with the perfect amount of tang.
Get the Chicken Salad Sandwich recipe.
Chinese Chicken Mandarin Salad
This recipe was semi-inspired by the Chinese Chicken Salad at The Cheesecake Factory, with one main difference: They use wonton strips and crispy rice noodles, whereas we sub in a block of broken up ramen (yep, the cheap, dried stuff) to act as crunchy croutons.
Ham Sandwich
You're probably thinking, I don't need a ham sandwich recipe, but trust us, this one is worth following a recipe for. Making your own herb mayo—by mixing in a few fresh herbs and some olive oil—makes this sandwich stand above the rest.
Get the Ham Sandwich recipe.
Crunchwrap Supreme
This traditional copycat Crunchwrap has all the main components of the iconic Taco Bell offering: seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and, most importantly, a crunchy tostada shell!
Get the Crunchwrap Supreme recipe.
Club Sandwich
With ham, turkey, bacon and 3 slices of bread, the club sandwich is the quite possibly best sandwich of all time. It has three layers that are absolutely packed with flavor. And though it is a deli and diner classic, this mile high sandwich is the perfect lunch to brighten up any workday.
Get the Club Sandwich recipe.
Caribbean Cobb Salad
A bit brighter than the traditional Cobb salad, this version combines fresh mango, creamy coconut dressing, and spiced salmon to create a punchy, spicy, filling meal. Crushed plantain chips and sweet bell pepper add a satisfying crunch. Feel free to swap out chicken, shrimp, or whatever protein you’re in the mood for come lunchtime.
Get the Caribbean Cobb Salad recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
Mackenzie Filson is a food writer and contributing digital food producer at Delish. Her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate-pine. If wine was an astrological sign she'd be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. She's never met a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos she didn't eat in one sitting.
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