Brit + Co Logo

We hope you're hungry, because these look delicious.

54 Quick & Easy Lunch Ideas Ready In 10 Minutes Or Less!

Breakfast might be the first meal of the day, but lunch is equally as important – especially if you start hitting a slump before the afternoon. Between picking the easiest option like cold leftovers (yum!) and dreaming up lunch ideasin the middle of the work day, it's no wonder we need that afternoon cup of coffee so desperately.

But, eating a healthy, delicious lunch every day doesn't mean you have to devote your entire Sunday to meal prep, and the easy lunch ideas ahead prove it. Keep reading for 54 flavor-packed lunches you can make in a matter of minutes. These will save you time *and* still satisfy you, keeping you energized and more productive for the rest of your afternoon. Enjoy!


​What is the easiest thing to make for lunch?

easy lunch recipe

Vikalinka

Some of the easiest foods to make for lunch are quick recipes like overnight oats, scrambled eggs or tofu, or sandwiches that don't take a lot of time or effort.

What are 10 good lunch foods?

easy soup

Completely Delicious

Pasta, soup, salad, sandwiches, toast, smoothies, jar recipes, grilled chicken, mug recipes, and crackers with dip are all good lunch foods. Find more easy lunch ideas below!

What can I make for lunch at home?

easy lunch ideas with reciipes

Averie Cooks

There are a variety of lunch ideas that you can make at home. Versatile ingredients like veggies, chicken or tofu, and your favorite sauces can go in multiple recipes like salads, sandwiches, and pasta dishes.

What makes a good small lunch?

Easy Lunch Ideas

Crowded Kitchen

Prepared pasta, chicken and egg salads, finger sandwiches, and soups you can pack for a week are all small lunches that will leave you satisfied without weighing you down.

Easy Pasta Lunch Ideas

Mason-Jar Ramen easy lunch ideas

Brit + Co

Mason Jar Ramen

Pre-cooked protein and veggies don't just have to form grain bowls. Liven up your lunch with a fun, healthier take on Cup Noodles.

Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce easy lunch ideas

The Endless Meal

Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce

Serve this creamy sauce with your next easy lunch ideas in just 5 minutes. Use it to drown your favorite pasta shape or roasted cauliflower rice in pure deliciousness.

Mac and Cheese in a Mug recipe

Feel Good Foodie

Mac and Cheese in a Mug

We could never pass up the opportunity to make mug mac and cheese! Since the recipe calls for a bag of shredded cheese, you can just add your fave.

creamy zucchini pasta recipe

Rachel Mansfield

Creamy Zucchini Pasta

This gluten-free pasta tastes like creamy Alfredo, but with a lighter twist, thanks to coconut milk. This one def makes all other lunch ideas look boring.

\u200b10-Minute Brown. Butter Sage Pasta

Rachel Mansfield

Brown Butter Sage Pasta

This 10-minute lunchtime meal is gluten-free, and made with just four ingredients – easy peasy!

Salad Lunch Recipes

Simple Fattoush Salad

Brit + Co

Simple Fattoush Salad

While this recipe for fattoush salad uses romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, bell peppers, and herbs, you can really use whatever you have on hand. Open a bag of pita chips instead of baking your own for a lightning-fast lunch.

Keto Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Brit + Co

Keto Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

This handheld take on chicken salad will please your tummy and your carb count.

Easy Quinoa Salad recipe easy lunch ideas

Brit + Co

Easy Quinoa Salad

If you have leftoverquinoa, add in all your fave fruits (dried or fresh), nuts, and herbs for a psuedo-grain salad that will satiate. Whether you eat it cold or warm, this is an easy lunch that won't leave you wanting more.

Watermelon Radish Salad

Brit + Co

Watermelon Radish Salad

Watermelon radishes receive the name for their pink hue and green exterior alone. Flavor-wise, they are the opposite of sweet (the earthy, spicy veg goes best with a simple balsamic vinaigrette). But we don't mind. They're one of the prettiest veggies we've ever seen!

Strawberry Arugula Walnut Salad

Brit + Co

Strawberry Arugula Walnut Salad

Whip up this sweet-and-savory salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing for a deceptively nutritious lunch.

Blood Orange + Thyme + Toasted Walnut Fennel Salad

Brit + Co

Blood Orange + Thyme + Toasted Walnut Fennel Salad

The great thing about salads is how customizable and easy they are to put together. Just reach for whatever fruits and veggies you have in your fridge and mix them up in a bowl! This fennel salad is already making our mouths water.

cucumber salad easy lunch ideas

Feel Good Foodie

Creamy Cucumber Salad

This flavorful 5-minute salad made with sour cream, red onion, and dill is delicious on its own or on top of toast. Easy lunch ideas have truly met their match with this fresh take.

carrot salad

Fancy Peasant

Carrot Salad

Simple and delicious, this healthy salad is super easy to toss together. It makes for an unbeatable side dish to accompany your best lunch sandwiches.

Super Quick Shrimp Avocado Salad

Pinch of Yum

Super Quick Shrimp Avocado Salad

Three-minute poached shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and fresh herbs compose a salad you never knew your lunch repertoire needed.

Easy Chickpea Spinach Salad

She Likes Food

Easy Chickpea Spinach Salad

This is one amazing salad in terms of taste, nutritional value, and meal prep-ability.

Healthy + Easy Asian Chicken Salad ideas

Damn Delicious

Healthy + Easy Asian Chicken Salad

Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for this salad, and you’ll have plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. Switch up the fruits and veggies that you add on top depending on your mood. The more colorful, the better! This is one veggie-packed easy lunch idea we can't get enough of.

arugula salad

Crowded Kitchen

Arugala Avocado Caprese Salad

In just 10 minutes, mix together fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, vegan or OG mozzarella, avocado, arugula and a simple balsamic vinaigrette for a healthy and refreshing lunch.

Chicken Cobb Salad

No. 2 Pencil

Chicken Cobb Salad

Use some leftover chicken, pre-crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and your favorite dressing to quickly assemble a hearty lunch that hardly feels like a salad.

Bowl Lunch Recipes

Tuna Poke Bowl

Brit + Co

Tuna Poke Bowl

Perfect for leftover rice, this poke bowl just requires quickly mixing sushi-grade tuna in soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, slicing cucumbers, and topping it off with spicy mayo. This is one of the freshest easy lunch ideas we've seen.

Mermaid Veggie Bowl easy lunch ideas

Brit + Co

Mermaid Veggie Bowl

Like a poke bowl, this veggie-friendly lunch is easily customizable with whatever chopped veggies you have on hand. Top with your favorite poke classics, like seaweed salad and pickled ginger.

easy chicken ramen

Completely Delicious

Easy Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup

Warm up in just 10 minutes of cook time with this homemade chicken ramen recipe made with chicken, mushrooms, and noodles in a simple savory broth.

Acai Bowl recipe

Culinary Hill

Easy Açai Bowl

With just five ingredients — apple juice, bananas, frozen berries, Greek yogurt, and frozen acai purée — this acai bowl can be whipped up in a blender in minutes.

instant pot chili

Clean Cuisine

Instant Pot Chili

Your Instant Pot makes this homemade chili an 8-minute meal and a healthy lunch you can have for the week!

avocado soup

Live Eat Learn

Avocado Soup

This creamy, vegan soup has a tang of lime juice, a taste of garlic, and a spicy kick from jalapeños! We're hooked on easy lunch ideas like this.

Easy Sandwiches + Wraps + Flatbreads To Eat For Lunch

Pressure-Cooker Ramekin Eggs

Brit + Co

Pressure-Cooker Ramekin Eggs

An Instant Pot will help cook your mix of eggs, mushrooms, and cream into something truly divine. Dig in with a spoon or spread on a slice of your favorite bread for a breakfast-for-lunch feast.

Double Grilled Cheese

Brit + Co

Double Grilled Cheese

This version has cheese both on the inside and outside of the bread for the absolute best grilled cheese possible.

Grilled Fluffernutter

Brit + Co

Grilled Fluffernutter

As long as you have all the ingredients on hand, you can certainly whip up this nostalgic bite in five minutes. Make sure you have plenty of napkins for this gooey 'wich!

fish tacos

Averie Cooks

Easy 10 Minute Lemon Grouper Fish Tacos

Busy day? Top these fish tacos with a honey mustard-lemon sauce for a quick and easy lunch idea.

grilled cheese

Give Recipe

Feta Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Give your classic grilled cheese an extra boost of nutrients with warm spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, creamy feta, and melted cheddar.

salmon sandwich

Vikalinka

Hot Cheesy Salmon Sandwich

Tuna melt lovers will enjoy this hot salmon sandwich with a mix of canned and smoked salmon plus oozing melted cheese on delicious crusty bread!

tofu scarmble

Munching with Mariyah

Tofu Scramble

This meal is perfect if you're craving eggs (but don't actually eat eggs). Vegan friends, this is the easy lunch idea for you.

Heirloom Tomato, Basil, and Manchego Toast easy lunch ideas

Half Baked Harvest

Heirloom Tomato, Basil, and Manchego Toast

While your bread is toasting, slice up a tomato and some manchego cheese, layer them on the bread, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of basil, salt, and pepper. We love elevated easy lunch ideas like this one.

Sweet Potato Tostadas

She Likes Food

Sweet Potato Tostadas

Make this mouthwatering lunch extra easily with store-bought tostadas, which you spread with refried beans (or black beans) and your choice of taco toppings, such as shredded sweet potato and grated cheese.

Pear + Blue Cheese Flatbread

Plain Chicken

Pear + Blue Cheese Flatbread

The combination of sweet pears with salty blue cheese and prosciutto (on a piece of naan) makes this a toaster-oven lunch you’ll crave even after you’re done eating it.

Turkey Panini recipe to eat for lunch

Feel Good Foodie

Turkey Panini

It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to enjoy a turkey-cranberry-cheese sandwich. We'd eat this easy lunch idea every day of the year!

Quick Spinach-Artichoke Turkey Panini

Whitney Bond

Quick Spinach-Artichoke Turkey Panini

This panini is packed with fresh turkey, spinach-artichoke dip, and sun-dried tomatoes. Buy pre-made dip and already sliced turkey, and lunch basically makes itself.

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad easy lunch ideas

Damn Delicious

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Juicy grapes, tart apples, and cranberries is straight-up comfort food between two slices of bread.

easy pizza recipe lunchtime

Feel Good Foodie

Tortilla Pizza

Get your pizza fix in just 10 minutes with this tortilla-based take on pizza dough.

Shaved-Egg Avocado Toast

How Sweet Eats

Shaved-Egg Avocado Toast

Beef up your usual avocado toast with a shaved hard-boiled egg, salt, and pepper. After noshing on that, you’ll have all the energy you need to conquer the rest of your day, even when that afternoon slump hits!

Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Toast

Half Baked Harvest

Chocolate Cinnamon Sugar Toast

If you're looking for something that will go a little bit easier on your stomach, consider this toast recipe! Not only is cinnamon sugar toast a classic that has us feeling all kinds of nostalgic, but the addition of dark chocolate gives it a grown-up spin.

Lunchtime Sandwiches + Toasts + Flatbreads

Spinach Guacamole

Brit + Co

Healthy Hidden Spinach Guacamole

This guacamole is a quick mix of spinach, avocado, red onion, garlic, and jalapeño for a true power lunch. It goes great on any sandwich!

Smoked Salmon Dip

A Spicy Perspective

Smoked Salmon Dip

This low-carb dip mixes smoked salmon, dill, cream cheese, and lemon juice. It will go perfectly with some toasted bread for an easily-to-handle lunch at your desk.

chocolate peanut butter dip

Feel Good Foodie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dip

Swap your PB&J for this sweet and savory dip with a side of your favorite fruit.

3-Ingredient Magic Taco Dip easy lunch ideas

A Spicy Perspective

3-Ingredient Magic Taco Dip

We're throwing it back to elementary school days with a dip that's perfect for carrots, celery, and all other kinds of finger foods. Add this recipe to your list of easy lunch ideas for some flavor!

Tzatziki

Live Eat Learn

Tzatziki

With a bag of carrot sticks or pita chips, this easy tzatziki is an instant lunch. (via Live Eat Learn)

CUCUMBER MINT YOGURT SALAD (CACIK)

Forks & Foliage

Cucumber Mint Yogurt Salad

Enjoy this fresh-tasting dip with a bag of chips or toast for a satisfying lunch.

Smoothie Lunch Ideas

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Feel Good Foodie

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

For lunch on the go, blend up bananas, Greek yogurt, oats, almond milk, and peanut butter. You can change up the ratios depending on whether you want it thicker (more PB) or thinner (more milk), and voilà!

Watermelon Smoothie

A Spicy Perspective

Watermelon Smoothie

On the lighter side, this watermelon and yogurt smoothie is refreshing and filling and just takes 5 minutes.

More Easy Lunch Ideas

baked salmon

The Endless Meal

Baked Salmon

This 8-minute easy lunch is perfect with a simple salad, on toast, or on its own.

5 minute nachos easy lunch ideas

A Spicy Perspective

Fancy 5-Minute Nachos

If you think about it, nachos are kind of like a different type of salad. This one features cheese, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts for a totally easy but totally delicious. This is also a great way to get rid of leftovers if you have extra veggies in the fridge!

\u200bEasy Pad Thai Recipe

Woman Scribbles

Easy Pad Thai Recipe

Put your Instant Cup o' Noodles back in your pantry because we just found the easiest Pad Thai recipe to make. Be sure to add rice noodles, coconut milk, and fish sauce to your grocery list because you'll need them in addition to what you may already have at home!

Easy Vegetarian Tacos\u200b

Two Peas and Their Pod

Easy Vegetarian Tacos

In less than an hour you can be munching on Easy Vegetarian Tacos — at least if you have 30 minutes to spare. We're past thinking that food that looks good can't be healthy and you'll feel the same once you bite into these juicy hand-held treats. Just think, your Taco Tuesday dinners can have this option for anyone who wishes they could have a healthier meal!

\u200bBoursin Cheese Pasta

The Endless Meal

Boursin Cheese Pasta

We've never met a pasta we didn't like, but this Boursin dish may be the one to send us over the edge. Plus, you only need a few ingredients to make it.

\u200bSungold Tomato Pasta

Cozy Cravings

Sungold Tomato Pasta

It may be fall, but it still feels like summer in many southeastern places. If you're missing its carefree energy and seasonal meals, don't be afraid to make this Sungold Tomato Pasta. It requires fresh ingredients to give it that lightweight, but flavorful taste that you'll be wanting more of.

Find more quick, easy lunch ideas on our Food section, get inspired on Pinterest, or join our newsletter!

This post has been updated.

The Conversation (6)
Reviews: (4)
Sort by
Francisco
Francisco
26 Jun, 2020
Review:

I don't know where to start! all look so yummy!

Amanda Lahey
Amanda Lahey
14 Jul, 2020

SO GOOD! The mermaid bowl for the win. Made these for my fiance and his family and they were beyond impressed. Going to try the chickpea recepie this week

Vatsala Bahal
Vatsala Bahal
20 Oct, 2020
Review:

The sweet potato tosatadas are so delicious. Love that there are so many recipes to choose from.

Callie
Callie
30 Nov, 2021
Review:

The shrimp avocado is rly speaking to me! Thanks for so many ideas!

c.liz
c.liz
19 Aug, 2022
Review:

My rule of thumb is the more colorful the meal, the better. That mermaid veggie bowl is a great way to get tons of nutrients!

c.liz
c.liz
19 Aug, 2022
Review:

Peanut butter, chocolate, and banana smoothies are one of my favorite recipes and I will definitely try adding some Greek yogurt next time I make one.

Selfmade

Selfmade

A business accelerator for early-stage female founders with live workshops, 1:1 mentoring, online courses, and curated business support. Visit

Yap City

Yap City

Want the inside scoop on what’s really trending? Join insider hosts Chloe Williams and Kayla Walden each week as they dissect their latest TV & movie obsessions, must-read books, and OMG moments you won’t believe. Visit