In need of some ideas to jazz up your lunch but can't be cooking a full meal mid-day? I got you! Here...
Lunch. Well, how I usually hear it in my head is luuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnchh in a slightly exasperated tone because for some reason lunch is the hardest meal for me to wrap my head around. I know lunch is important. A macro-nutrient balanced lunch can properly power you through an afternoon. However, often I feel like I’m arriving at lunch time hungry, not wanting to cook anything, and crossing my fingers I remembered to plan ahead and prep something decent. So as a favor to myself, and a post I hope you find helpful as well, I’m sharing a round up of my favorite no-cook lunch ideas you can easily make at home.
For the sake of this post, I’m focusing mostly on adults and big kids with hearty appetites. These are lunches my kids and I eat now (ages 13 and 10). For a focus on feeding younger kids a good lunch, I recommend checking out this list of easy and healthy lunch ideas for kids.
Here’s the truth I’ve come to accept. If you want a good lunch, a little prep work is required. The only true no-prep lunch ideas are leftovers, celery sticks dipped in cottage cheese, or grabbing something out. The fun thing about lunch though is that you (well, at least I) can enjoy the same lunch a few days in a row without it getting dull, so a little prep is worth it because it takes you a long way. Ok, let’s dive into some delicious, no-cook lunch ideas!
No-Cook Lunch Ideas
Chickpea Chicken Salad
This vegetarian play on classic chicken salad is perfectly tender and flavorful with crunchy bits of celery and slivered almonds sprinkled throughout. This chickpea “chicken” salad is so delicious, you may never make regular chicken salad again! Plus it stays good in the fridge for several days so you can enjoy for three or four days in a row. Eat it on greens, in a wrap, with crackers, or straight from the spoon!
.
Egg Salad with Cottage Cheese
Searching for a high protein option? Combine the powers of boiled eggs and cottage cheese in this delicious and satiating lunch salad that can be eaten on a sandwich, on greens, on a wrap, or scooped up on a cracker.
Ingredients for egg salad made with cottage cheese:
- 8 boiled eggs
- 3/4 c cottage cheese
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 Tbsp green onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of salt and pepper to taste (roughly 1/8-1/4 tsp of each)
Directions for egg salad with cottage cheese: Peel your boiled eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Chop the whites and place in a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, mash the egg yolks until smooth. Using an immersion blender (this step is optional but preferred if you don’t want the chunk texture of the cottage cheese), blend the cottage cheese until smooth and add to the egg yolks. To the egg yolks and cottage cheese, add the remaining ingredients: Dijon, lemon juice, dill, green onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well, then stir in the chopped egg whites. Enjoy!
*If you like some crunch in your egg salad, add some finely diced celery.
Tuna Salad
You might have a favorite tuna salad recipe, but if you don’t, let me introduce you to two of my go to tuna salad versions. The first one is a simple method I’ve made since the college days. A can of tuna fish, 1-2 Tbsp of mayo, 1-2 Tbsp of sweet relish and mix together well. I found using a mixer really perfects the texture, especially when I started making it for Kaitlyn when she only had six teeth (see my easy tuna salad recipe post). This is such a quick and tasty version when you only have a few minutes to create a hearty, protein-rich lunch.
If you have a few extra minutes or are prepping the day before, this is the tuna salad recipe I use:
- 2 cans of tuna fish (I like this one), drained
- 3 Tbsp mayo
- 1 large stalk of celery, chopped
- 2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 Tsp Dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper to taste
.
Adult Lunchable
In recent years charcuterie has become all the rage. So perhaps I should label this charcuterie instead of adult lunchable or adult snack plate, but whatever you call it, it’s always a hit. The word charcuterie refers to “cured meat” so we can start with that as the focus. Pick your favorite from salami, prosciutto, chorizo, mortadella, and pastrami, or whatever meat tickles your tastebuds. Then round it out with slices or cubes of cheese, crackers, pickles, nuts, fruit, dips or sauces. If this kind of lunch is your jam, I recommend these wheatstraw containers that have four compartments, each holding 5.8 ounces.
A Grain, a Green, and a Protein
And if you’re not into grains, you can change it a bean, a green, and a protein to still get a good complex carb source while keeping the fiber and nutrients of the green paired with a good protein. This can take a lot of forms based on your preferences, but bulk cooking a batch of grains (rice, farro, wheatberries, amaranth) on Sunday sets you use for easy bowl making. Leafy greens make an easy add to a lunch, but you could also roast up broccoli or cabbage and have it ready, or use my recent favorite addition- microgreens! Top it will chicken sausage, or if you don’t have time to prep that, utilize canned chicken, canned tuna, or salami. The combos are endless for the the lunch bowl lover, so you can use this formula but switch it up each week. It’s also helpful to have a go-to favorite dressing. Some ideas for this good be a salad dressing like Garlic Expressions, a peppery vinegar hot sauce, ranch and buffalo, etc.
.
Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
Feel like a kid again with this classic lunch combo. Keep it simple with peanut butter and banana on your favorite bread or jazz it up. Some great additions include honey, chia seeds for fiber and omega-3s, hemp seeds for fiber and omega 3s and omega 6s, or with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Try sprouted bread more a more nutrient dense option.
Summer Crunch Quinoa Salad
This one is for the food prep lovers who want a deli quality lunch but are short on weekday time. This summer quinoa crunch salad would be great with a sprinkle of feta, but it’s delicious as is and is also dairy-free and gluten-free. It utilizes my go-to homemade dressing though you could sub with your favorite olive-oil based dressing if you preferred. You can make this Sunday and it will last you all week long. Throw it on greens or top with an animal protein. The quinoa salad itself has 7g or protein and 7g of fiber per 1 cup serving.
.
Greek Veggie Hummus Wraps
Packed with flavor and fiber, Greek-inspired wraps are quick and easy to throw together, no cooking necessary. Layer a large tortilla or wrap with a hearty serving of your favorite hummus, then sprinkle of feta, diced cucumber, diced tomato, diced red onion, chopped kalamata olives, and end with chopped romaine and a drizzle of your favorite Greek dressing or simply a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, and oregano. Wrap it up and dig in. You’re going to love it! Other optional add ins could include pepperocinis for a little kick, diced grilled chicken (which you can buy already cooked and chopped at Costco), baby spinach or microgreens for an added nutrient boost.
Simple Caprese Salad with Cottage Cheese
This is one of my personal warm weather favorites. Simply mix together a diced tomato (or half grape tomatoes), fresh mozzarella (I like the marinated little balls of mozzarella), fresh basil, a little drizzle of olive oil, a little drizzle of balsamic, salt and pepper. Scoop this on top of a serving of cottage cheese for a delicious flavor combo that is packed with protein. You can even put the combo on a slice of toast to bulk it up a bit. It’s SO good.
Protein Shake
Probably one of the easiest ways to get a no cook lunch that is packed with all the micro and macro nutrients you want is to blend it all up together in a smoothie and drink it down. You obviously can make these as simple or as elaborate as you’d like (or have time for), but some good basics to keep in mind for health smoothie making include: a frozen fruit like blueberries or banana, a green leafy vegetable like spinach or kale, a protein source like Greek yogurt or protein powder, and a healthy fat like avocado or seeds.
Cucumber Boursin Wrap
This feels like a random lunch option to throw in here, but this play on a classic cucumber sandwich is really good and can shake things up when you are sick of the same old lunches. Use a tortilla or wrap (this is a great opportunity to get the sundried tomato or spinach and herb type varieties) and spread a few tablespoons of your favorite Boursin cheese variety over the wrap (our family’s favorite is the garlic and herb. Slice a small cucumber length-wise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon, then small chop the remaining cucumber (you might only need half of it depending on the size of your cucumber). Sprinkle the diced cucumber over the Boursin cheese and roll up into a spiral. Slice into half inch pieces and enjoy!
What a Healthy Lunch Looks Like
Everyone has a different definition of what healthy means to them, but I think some overarching themes of healthy that apply to most definitions would be a good balance of macro nutrients (complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat) to keep you fueled and your blood sugars steady into the afternoon. It would include fresh fruit or veggies for fiber. And as an added bonus, it would taste delicious! After all, what is the good of a well balanced and nutrient dense lunch if you don’t enjoy eating it.
I hope these ideas are helpful and if you have a favorite no-cook lunch that you’ve been enjoying lately, please share it with me! I’d love to get some new lunch recipes or simple lunch ideas to add into my rotation. Happy lunching!
