With over 1.5 million page views since 2019 and still counting, these easy lunch ideas are my most popular set of recipes. And for good reason – they are hands down the best work lunches you’ve ever had!
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You will love these Easy Lunch Ideas for Work
There are thousands of easy lunch ideas out there, but I’ve hand selected the best of the best for you. They are the recipes you’ll just keep coming back to because they are that good.
You can finally cut the weekly meal prep and boring lunch recipes you’ve been making and eat downright good food. And we’re all about everyday easy food here, so you know these recipes are easy.
How can I bring lunch to work without a refrigerator?
It’s easy to keep your lunch cold without a refrigerator at work by using a thermal isolated lunch bag with a quality ice pack.
If stacking foods, place an extra ice pack on top to keep both layers nice and cold.
45 Work Lunch Ideas
35 easy and delicious cold lunch ideas that are perfect for work or packed for school.
Easy Lunch Ideas: Wraps
A quick and simple wrap made with leftover chicken tenders. With just 5 ingredients, this lunch is perfect for work or game day.
This chicken caesar wrap is easy to make and totally delicious. Fresh veggies, croutons, tangy parmesan, chicken, and creamy caesar dressing.
A quick and easy lunch recipe that is best when eaten cold. It's delicious and full of flavor!
Looking for a new and improved cold lunch idea? These ham and cheese roll-ups are just as easy to prepare as they are tasty to eat.
Turn your favorite fajitas into crispy chicken fajita wraps. These sandwiches are great for pre-made lunches and using leftover chicken!
These 5-ingredient tuna pinwheels make the cutest appetizer or lunch! Prep them ahead of time and enjoy whenever you need a quick boost.
These crunchy Peanut Butter Sandwich Wraps come together in just moments and are completely adaptable – no need to measure exact amounts! Perfect for on-the-go meals and make-ahead lunches!
A great way to use up leftover ground beef, these cheeseburger roll-ups taste incredible when cold and packed as an easy lunch idea.
Need a quick and healthy meal you can eat on the go? These pesto chicken wraps with sun-dried tomatoes are so tasty and easy to make!
Make the halloumi wraps that everyone loves - kids and foodies included! With halloumi cheese, red pesto (store-bought is fine), avocado, and walnuts these wraps are packed with flavor, done in 20 minutes, and super easy to make.
This Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap will take you 5 minutes to throw together. Make it with leftover turkey or deli meat. Either way, this tortilla wrap recipe makes a great lunch box meal for kids and adults alike!
These Avocado Chicken Wraps are a delicious and healthy 10-minute lunch! They're loaded with avocados, shredded chicken, grape tomatoes, cilantro, a spritz of lime, and a blend of Mexican spices and make a delicious cold lunch idea!
These fresh and crunchy BBQ Chicken Salad Wraps take just minutes to make for a quick and easy, low-calorie cold lunch.
Lunch Ideas for Work: Salads
Bacon ranch pasta salad is full of ranch flavor and crispy bacon crumbles! Enjoy it for a light lunch or as a side dish at your next party.
You don’t know ease in the kitchen until you try this 5 Ingredient Chicken Salad Recipe! Ready in minutes, it’s easy to customize with different seasonings and mix-ins.Â
Make the best egg salad using my easy, foolproof method of hard-boiling eggs, and you'll have a delicious lunch in no time!
This BLT pasta salad is an easy recipe you can have ready in less than 20 minutes! The pasta salad is rich and creamy with a buttermilk ranch dressing, crisp romaine, juicy tomatoes, and salty bacon. Enjoy this salad as a quick lunch or a side dish at cookouts or picnics.Â
This quinoa chickpea salad is loaded with fresh ingredients and flavor! It’s delicious, nutritious, and best of all, incredibly easy to make.
A simple Italian Pasta Salad with fresh garden vegetables and cheese. It packs perfectly for lunch and tastes incredible as a work lunch idea.
From summer cookouts to easy lunches, this BBQ chicken salad will be your new go-to! Top with crunchy fried onions for an instant classic.
This healthy and easy Chicken Taco salad in a jar is quick to put together and uses canned chicken breast so it requires no cooking. It's the perfect, on-the-go ready to eat lunchbox meal for adults and kids
Lunchtime can’t get here quick enough when a Make-Ahead Healthy Travel Salad is waiting for you. Not only is this salad bright and colorful, but it’s also loaded with healthy ingredients and texture galore!
This quick and simple broccoli salad recipe is filled with fresh ingredients with a homemade dressing and only takes 15 minutes to prepare.
A summery pasta salad filled with cheese tortellini, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and basil topped with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.
This Quinoa Apple Kale Salad is filled with nutrients, fibers, and protein and is delicious when packed and eaten cold!
This protein-packed salad features spicy buffalo chicken, crisp banana peppers, juicy grape tomatoes, and tangy blue cheese crumbles.
This roasted squash salad is filled with butternut squash, rocket, and goat cheese for an incredibly simple and healthy lunch idea.
This healthy broccoli salad with carrots, raisins, apples, and cheese is so tasty! it's tangy, crisp, fresh, and sweet in every bite. It is a light and delicious vegetarian lunch option.
You can take Panera with you to work with this easy cold lunch idea! It's filled with chicken, carrots, lettuce, and almonds for a healthy filling lunch.
Greek Orzo Salad is a light pasta salad full of tender orzo, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, diced cucumber, and feta cheese all tossed in homemade Greek dressing.
This easy spinach strawberry salad with balsamic dressing is bursting with flavor, is easy, and is perfect for spring and summer lunches. Add some grilled chicken and a slice of bread to your salad to make it a full meal.
Work Lunch Ideas: Sandwiches
Savor the goodness of juicy tri-tip paired with creamy sliced cheese between the crisp, crusty layers of a ciabatta roll. This hearty tri tip sandwich is a perfect use of leftovers for any busy family.
Everyone LOVES these cucumber and cream cheese rolls! They're super easy to make and are perfect for lunch boxes for adults and kids!
These Italian Pinwheels are a great way to use deli meat for an easy lunch.
The Ultimate Avocado Sandwich. A healthy and nutritious sandwich filled with avocado, cheese, tomatoes, and rocket for a juicy and unbeatable taste!
This turkey avocado sandwich is the perfect quick and easy feel-good meal. Crisp toasted sourdough is layered with a homemade garlic aioli, creamy avocado, sliced turkey, and crisp, salty bacon. This recipe is incredibly versatile so feel free to use what you have on hand– it’s also a great way to use up those Thanksgiving leftovers!
All you need is 10 minutes to throw together the most delicious and versatile chicken salad pita ever. With pre-cooked chicken, you're close to a delicious lunchbox chicken salad. Eat it over a bed of lettuce, over whole grain bread, or just off a spoon.
This easy ham salad doubles as a dip for crackers and on a sandwich. It's an easy lunch idea for adults and works great as a way to use leftover ham!
Other Easy Lunch Ideas
There's nothing better than the taste of sweet, tangy BBQ Sauce, smothered on top of juicy grilled chicken! This cold lunch idea is filled with fresh greens, grilled asparagus, and a creamy avocado ranch dressing, creating a flavorful dish packed with vitamins, fiber and protein!
Homemade Penne Pesto Primavera is the most delicious and the easiest recipe! It's full of flavors and is a great cold lunch idea for work!
Pimento Cheese can be eaten as a dip with crackers or even on sandwich bread with a little mayo! It's a super easy cold lunch idea that's unique but so tasty!
An easy way to switch up eating pasta for lunch at work, this tahini pasta is packed with flavor, protein, and is great comfort food.
Looking for a low-carb lunch option? These spicy sesame zoodles are perfect as a cold lunch packed for work!
These Protein Snack Packs are filled with hard-boiled eggs, almonds, hummus, and crunchy veggies. An easy and delicious Lunch Meal Prep Solution perfect for any protein lover, these fantastic little protein snack packs are perfect for school lunches, post-workout snacks, or picnics in the park.
An easy cold lunch idea that's freezer-friendly and great for school or work lunches.
More Recipes you will love
45 Easy Cold Lunch Ideas
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound leftover chicken such as cooked chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1/4 cup chunky blue cheese
- 1/4 cup lettuce
Optional
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Chop up chicken tenders into small 1-inch or smaller pieces and place in a bowl.
- Pour Buffalo Sauce over chicken and mix to coat.
- Put 1/4 of the buffalo chicken, blue cheese, and lettuce into each wrap.
- Wrap each tortilla and secure with a toothpick if desired.
- Enjoy immediately or store up to 3 days in the refrigerator and enjoy cold or with reheating directions above.
Our fav lunch is buffalo wraps, so happy to have found this recipe!
My husband loved these buffalo chicken wraps. So tasty!
These are such great ideas! I wonder, do you happen to have a full list of the dishes? Just a master list we could print and hang to for ideas, then we can go find your recipe?
I can go down each list and take my own but I wondered if maybe you had one already.
Thank you!
I do not have one, but that is a great idea, Lauren!
35 easy cold lunch ideas…I’m only seeing one for Buffalo chicken wraps. Where are the other 34 ??
Hi Kathy, all of the other recipe ideas are listed about the buffalo chicken wrap. If you click on the “get the recipe” button for each recipe, it will take you to that exact recipe you are looking for.
Thank you so much for creating this post! So many of these recipes sound delicious and that’s pretty rare for me. We’re heading out on an 18-day road trip in June and we’re taking our pop-up camper, so these meal ideas were a huge help. Thanks again!
Your list of cold lunch ideas is a lifesaver for busy mornings! I’ve already tried a couple of these recipes, and they’re not only easy to make but also super tasty. Thanks for making meal prep so much simpler! 💪🥪👌
I’m so glad to hear these have been a lifesaver for you, they have for me too! I love hearing that you are enjoying the recipes and they are making meal prep so easy for you. I hope you continue to enjoy the recipes! Thanks for all your feedback.