44 Easy Healthy Lunch Ideas You Can Easily Make at Home (2024)

We're willing to bet you've been a victim of #saddesklunch. We've all been there—at the office or working from home—sitting at a desk faced with a bowl of cereal for lunch (string cheese on the side, amirite?) or worse: a soggy spinach salad you should have tossed last Wednesday.

Live a little and kick your noontime nosh up a notch. Add a few of our better-for-you recipes to your rotation for the next time you need a little healthy lunch pick-me-up (read: immediately). Choose from soups, salads, sandwiches, and beyond—from vegetarian to Tex-Mex, Asian, Italian, and everything (almost) in between.

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Caesar Salad With Yogurt-Parmesan Dressing

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This Caesar salad's egg-free dressing is made with yogurt, which packs probiotics for a healthy gut, and doubles as a dip for cut-up veggies or chips. For a speedier execution, prep the dressing and make croutons the night before (or use store-bought).

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Chickpea Salad Sandwich

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Here, chickpeas roll in for a vegetarian version of a classic chicken salad sandwich (read: not your grandmother's). The recipe calls for mayo, but swap it out with yogurt for a lighter take. Once you try it, you'll be brown-bagging this one regularly.

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Sweet Potato-and-Kale Tortilla Soup

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This comforting bowl of tortilla soup is made righteous (and anti-inflammatory) with heart-healthy sweet potatoes and kale (shredded rotisserie chicken optional). Softened corn tortillas plump up in the broth to contrast with crispy ones on top. Finish with avocado, radishes, and cilantro to freshen it up, or not: They're totally optional.

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Celery and Apple Salad With Toasted Buckwheat

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Celery, apple, and toasted buckwheat pack a variety of tasty textures for a satisfying healthy lunch. Toasted buckwheat is a fun and nutritious add-on that fits into a gluten-free diet. Bonus: Unlike other salads, this healthy pick doesn't wilt by the time the clock hits lunchtime.

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Cauliflower Tartine With Romesco Sauce

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This delicious open-faced sandwich may look fancy, but we promise it's super easy to make. Start with the delicious combination of Romesco and cauliflower, and then add golden raisins and fresh parsley for a bright, subtly sweet kick. Don't love raisins or parsley (or both)? No problem: Use cilantro and chopped dates instead.

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Gnocchi Alla Vodka

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There are few lunches more comforting than a bowl of pasta smothered in tomato sauce, and this one beats a can of Spaghettios by a mile. It features jarred marinara sauce infused with vodka (or dry white wine or vegetable broth) and cream atop store-bought potato gnocchi.

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Green Chilaquiles

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Homemade oven-baked tortilla chips, green enchilada sauce, and leftover turkey may well make this recipe your new go-to for lunch leftovers. The sauce adds moisture to the turkey meat, crumbled cheese brings creaminess, and thinly sliced radishes deliver a fresh crunch. Top with a fried egg for a punch of protein.

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Speedy Salmon Burgers

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Bet we had you at "speedy". Nevertheless, this recipe transforms a lowly can of salmon into a healthy burger in just 25 minutes. Make the lemony-horseradish mayo ahead for an even quicker prep.

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Southwestern Chicken Soup

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How does a 15-minute soup recipe deliver four satisfying, hearty lunches? A jar of salsa verde, leftover cooked chicken, and a can of cannellini beans is how. Serve with diced onions, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

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Eggplant-Mushroom Meatball Sub

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This veggie sub is so satisfying, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with meat-based meatball sandwiches. Its eggplant-mushroom meatballs pack plenty of savory flavor and protein. Make them ahead for a super-speedy lunch prep and, while you're at it, make an extra batch to freeze for later.

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Slow-Cooker Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

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A slow cooker helps you create this classic Tex-Mex dish without the cooking, filling, rolling, and baking. Prep for 25 minutes in the morning and, by noon, this hearty vegetarian lunch is ready.

Blistered Tomatillo Salsa and Roasted Chicken Thighs Tacos

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Tacos for lunch are never wrong. This recipe takes 30 minutes, but use leftover rotisserie chicken and jarred (or leftover homemade) salsa to cut prep time down to about 5 minutes.

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Chicken Paprikash Soup

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This recipe turns leftover cooked chicken into a quick, warm, comforting meal, Hungarian style. Egg noodles swim in a chicken-y broth flavored with diced tomatoes, red bell peppers, onion, and paprika—lots of paprika—to create a way-better-than-from-a-can bowl of soup.

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Chicken Curry in a Hurry

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For lunch prep, 35 minutes is a long time; but for curry, it's super quick. This recipe conjures a curry sauce out of cream, yogurt, canned tomatoes, and curry powder. Add white rice, leftover cooked chicken, and naan to round out this Asian-inspired full meal deal.

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Artichoke-Chard Pasta and Cheese

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Spinach-artichoke dip meets mac and cheese in this creamy, dreamy casserole. If you don't have 35 minutes to make lunch, make this ahead and warm it up around noon for a meal you'll look forward to all morning long.

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Herby Chicken Salad Tartines

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If you have leftover cooked chicken, a loaf of sourdough, and 15 minutes, you can make this tartine (a fancy French term for an open-face sandwich) for lunch. That prep time includes whipping up a honey-mustard-flavored mayo, which helps this sandwich earn its fancy French title.

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Vegetarian Tacos With Sweet Potatoes and Corn

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Tacos in 20 minutes? Here's how: For the filling, soften sweet potatoes on the stove, add crumbled tofu and seasonings, and then add corn and lime juice. Spoon that filling into warm flour tortillas and top with cheese and salsa. Have a nice lunch!

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Chicken Posole

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Posole (or pozole, pronounced poh-ZOLE-eh) is a hearty, nourishingMexican chicken-and-hominy stew. It sounds complicated, but this recipe puts a bowl of goodness on your lunch table in just 30 minutes using leftover cooked chicken and pantry staples: namely chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and hominy.

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Buttermilk Chicken and Tomato Salad

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Leftover cooked chicken takes center stage in this recipe title, but its simple-yet-stunning salad dressing is the real star. Whisk buttermilk, mayo, and lemon juice; and then add diced tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Spoon that creamy, tangy dressing onto cut-up chicken and romaine for a quick, healthy, noontime meal.

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Crispy Peanut Tofu With Sugar Snap Peas And Peppers

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Instead of takeout, take in this veggie-and-crispy-tofu stir fry. Its star is a silky, nutty sauce made of peanut butter, maple syrup, rice vinegar, and sriracha that gives this Asian-inspired meal a subtle kick.

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Salt-and-Pepper Chicken With Cheesy Spinach Quinoa

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This doesn't look like a 20-minute meal, so you may have to try it to believe it. While the quinoa cooks in chicken broth, seasoned chicken cutlets sauté to a golden brown. Add chopped baby spinach and Gruyère to the cooked quinoa and plate up a dinner-quality lunch.

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Summer Nachos

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This recipe serves six, but you can pare it down for an easy flavorful vegetarian lunch for one. It tops veggies and chips with shreds of cheddar and a creamy avocado-yogurt-lime juice topping that you'll want to use atop all your Tex-Mex dishes.

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Coconut Chicken Cutlets With Mango Chutney Slaw

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Yes, you can make this for lunch! The chicken is dipped in mayo and then a panko-shredded coconut mix before lightly frying for just a few minutes per side. It's paired with a spicy mango chutney-and-mayo slaw punched up with sambal oelek—a South Asian chili pepper sauce—but siracha, gochujang, harissa, or any other hot pepper sauce would do.

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Linguine With Cherry Tomato Sauce

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What the title of this recipe doesn't tell you is the secret ingredient that sets it apart: pancetta. While the pasta cooks, pancetta crisps in a skillet, and then the tomatoes cook in its drippings to create—with Parmesan and basil leaves—a flavorful pasta bowl for lunch.

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Almond-Crusted Chicken With Arugula Salad

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This recipe takes only 30 minutes, but make the crispy cutlets ahead (like for dinner the night before) and this lunch comes together in seconds. They're paired with an arugula-and-sliced Brussels salad dressed in merely olive oil and lemon juice.

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Grilled Turkey-Zucchini Burgers

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Turkey burgers are often maligned for being too dry, but zucchini helps these turn out extra juicy. This recipe suggests you grill them, but they fry up just as nicely on the stove. Find a bag of sweet potato chips for this burger's perfect side.

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Spring Minestrone

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Sure, you could open a can of minestrone, but you won't want to after you try this recipe. Starting with a good-quality broth, it calls for lemon, basil, crisp green beans, silky Swiss chard, and ditalini (small tubular-shaped) pasta. Top with Parm and basil leaves for the taste of Italy at springtime in a bowl.

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California Grilled Cheese

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Give your plain grilled cheese a sophiscated twist with this grown-up Cali-style sandwich. Slices of creamy avocado and red onion upgrade this lunch staple from ordinary to extraordinary in just minutes.

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Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

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These "green" tacos come together in just 20 minutes, but if you have leftover cooked chicken, it takes almost no time at all. The chicken is doused with jarred salsa verde, folded into warm corn tortillas, and then topped with avocado, onion, cilantro, and cotija for a delightful Tex-Mex lunch.

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Swiss Chard Mac and Cheese

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In the time it takes to prepare a box of mac and cheese, you can cook this grown-up version loaded with greens, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Use fusilli pasta to trap the sauce's creamy cheesiness in its spiral grooves.

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Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas

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We often tout sheet-pan dinners, but how about a sheet-pan lunch? Fill a sheet pan with seasoned shrimp and vegetables, bake, and then broil for a quick char. Squeeze with a lime, sprinkle with cilantro, and then pile onto flour tortillas for a colorful Tex-Mex lunch.

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Orange Chicken Stir-Fry With Rice Noodles

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This better-than-takeout orange chicken recipe uses orange marmalade to sweeten and flavor dark-meat chicken chunks as they finish cooking. Rice noodles provide a fresh diversion from white rice, while chopped peanuts deliver a crunchy finish.

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Hummus, Tomato, and Feta Pita Pizzas With Arugula Salad

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This 20-minute midday meal gives off pizza vibes yet there's no cooking involved, unless you consider toasting pita bread "cooking". Those toasted pitas are spread with hummus, topped with tomatoes, and finished with Feta and fresh herbs.

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Spaghetti Pasta Salad With Avocado-Basil Dressing

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Spaghetti is underutilized for pasta salads, but this recipe bucks that trend. It's coated with a dressing of avocados, basil, Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, and honey whirled in a blender. For something more substantial, add leftover chicken, sausage, or more veggies. The possibilities are endless!

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Fancy Tomato Sandwiches

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What's so fancy about a no-cook tomato sandwich? Let us count the ways: 1) a homemade chive butter spread, 2) Gruyère or Comté cheese—or Cheddar if you don't have anything fancy in your refrigerator cheese drawer, and 3) a crunchy topping of baby arugula and crispy fried onions.

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Speedy Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches

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"Speedy" is a beautiful thing, especially when it comes to lunch prep. This recipe for the classic Vietnamese-style sandwich features pork tenderloin that's roasted and then sliced. For a super-speedy prep, use leftover cooked pork.

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Thai Peanut Butter Ramen

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Think a quick, healthy, satisfying homemade lunch is too much to ask? This recipe proves it's not. What's more, just a few pantry staples—ramen noodle packets, peanut butter, and soy and sesame sauces—make the basis of this dish, to which you can add a multitude of options.

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Smashed Cucumber Salad With Spicy Feta and Olives

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Why smash a perfectly good cucumber? This technique, followed by salting and draining, draws out moisture from the cucumbers, making them crisper and crunchier. It makes more nooks and crannies for the oil-and-vinegar dressing to seep into.

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Chicken and Avocado Rice Bowl

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Lean, fast-cooking chicken cutlets, cooked white rice, creamy avocado, and crunchy watermelon radishes comingle in this colorful, healthy grain bowl. A spritz of lemon, scattering of scallions, and dash of hot sauce give this bowl a final flourish.

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Miso Chicken Noodle Soup With Kimchi

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This Asian-inspired bowl looks and sounds complicated, but could hardly be easier to put together. It's packed with leftover cooked chicken and tofu along with Japanese-style soba or udon noodles surrounded by a chicken-y miso-flavored broth

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Huevos Rancheros

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You likely know that breakfast for dinner is a thing, but what about breakfast for lunch? Whip up this Spanish-accented egg dish in just 20 minutes,

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Pizza Margherita

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Before you use that app to order a pizza for lunch, consider following this recipe to make a taster, better-for-you alternative. It starts with pre-made pizza dough from the freezer that's been thawed, or just grab a refrigerated pizza dough. Top it with tomato slices, basil, and mozzarella for a back-to-basics, better-than-delivery lunch.

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Old-School Taco Salad

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This classic taco salad offers all your favorite flavors from the handheld dish, like ground beef and sliced avocado. But here, it's made a little healthier thanks to a bed of romaine lettuce. Crushed tortilla chips offer crunch while a lime dressing provides a bit of tang.

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Potato Leek Tart With Feta and Zucchini

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This vegetarian tart is incredibly hearty, thanks to chunks of potatoes throughout. A store-bought pie crust means it comes together easily, but feels (and looks) so sophisticated. We love the chopped leeks and zucchini, which play off the salty feta scattered on top.

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