Recipes

55 Healthy Lunch Recipes and Only Some Are Salad

You could eat these lunches al desko, but they really deserve your full attention.
Image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable Lentil Bean and Meal
Photo by Chelsie Craig, FOOD STYLING BY KAT BOYTSOVA

Great healthy lunch recipes strike a delicate balance: They're light enough to keep you from napping but filling enough to power you through the rest of the day. It's a fine line to walk, but we've mastered the art. These 55 healthy lunch recipes are great, because most of them hit the lunch trifecta: transportable, with flexible ingredients, and easy to make ahead. Lunchtime can't come soon enough.

  • Image may contain Burger Food and Sandwich
    Photo by TED+CHELSEA CAVANAUGH, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    1/55

    Greens-and-Beans Sandwiches

    Sassed-up canned beans become a creamy layer in this vegetarian sandwich, while thick-cut feta provides something to sink your teeth into.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Salad Plant and Platter
    Photo by Alex Lau
    2/55

    Tropi-Cobb Salad

    A refreshingly fruity twist on a traditional Cobb salad.

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  • A big kale and lentil salad in a serving bowl with torn olives and strips of lemon peel.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Tim Ferro
    5/55

    Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad

    Here’s the answer to your question: “What can I make on Sunday night that will taste great for my desk lunch on Wednesday?”

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  • Image may contain Food Egg Plant Dish and Meal
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    6/55

    Rice Bowls with Flaky Cod

    Kedgeree often calls for smoked fish, but for a light weeknight meal, we prefer steaming fresh fish right on top of the rice.

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  • Image may contain Burger Food and Sandwich
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle
    7/55

    Kale Reuben

    Skipping the corned beef in a cooked greens-packed Reuben shouldn’t feel (or taste) like a bummer. Happy to say this one doesn’t.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable and Bean
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Chris Morocco, Prop Styling by Bea Chastka
    8/55

    Grain Salad With Pickled Onions and Herbs

    Freekeh is green wheat with a slightly smoky flavor we love, but any whole grain you have on hand will work.

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  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Plant and Platter
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li
    9/55

    Vegetarian Taco Bowls

    We took inspiration from picadillo, a saucy spiced ground meat dish packed with flavor, and thought, Why not give tofu a similar treatment?

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  • Desk dip with eggs and sweet potatoes curried peanut dip
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
    10/55

    Curried Peanut Dip

    This creamy, spicy-sweet dip pairs with leftover rotisserie chicken, jammy eggs, cucumber spears, and roasted sweet potatoes for the perfect desk-friendly lunch.

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  • Lentil bowl recipe
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
    15/55

    Marinated Lentils With Lemony Broccolini and Feta

    Roasted lemony broccolini, lentils, and salty feta are doused in a spiced oil that’s even better on day two.

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  • Tuna Nicoise Salad on a green and white plate
    Photograph by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy
    16/55

    Tuna Niçoise Salad

    Nothing says “I’m on vacation” like a two-hour, three-glasses-of-rosé lunch—starring this easy niçoise.

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  • NewandImproved Greek Salad
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
    17/55

    New-and-Improved Greek Salad

    The method for marinating the feta is also a good trick for other fresh cheeses—try goat, mozzarella, or paneer.

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  • Steak salad leftovers
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
    18/55

    Steak Salad With Harissa Potatoes and Crunchy Radishes

    The thing that makes this satisfying, spicy-tangy salad so great? It’s equally as delicious served warm for dinner as it is eaten cold for lunch the next day.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Platter
    Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    23/55

    Seedy Arepas With Black Beans and Avocado

    There are countless variations of arepas all over Colombia and Venezuela, but whether they’re stuffed with cheese, chicken, or pork, the dough starts in the same way: with arepa flour.

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  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Bowl and Stew
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    24/55

    Obe Ata Stew With Chicken and Spinach

    Obe Ata is a Nigerian sauce that incorporates floral habanero chiles and bell peppers. This recipe uses obe ata as the base for a spicy, warming chicken and sweet potato stew. 

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable Blade Weapon Knife Weaponry Lentil and Bean
    Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    25/55

    Grain Salad With Olives and Whole-Lemon Vinaigrette

    Look for Castelvetrano olives for this salad recipe; their buttery flesh and mild flavor will convert the most olive-averse.

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  • Romaine lettuce and sliced Asian pear on a platter with tahini dressing and sesame seeds.
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kay Boytsova
    26/55

    Sesame Caesar Salad

    Swapping tahini for the mayonnaise that you typically see in classic Caesar salads keeps things creamy but adds nutty earthiness to the tangy mustard and funk from Parmesan cheese.

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  • Charred Kale With Citrus and Green Tahini recipe
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Yekaterina Boytsova
    31/55

    Charred Kale With Citrus and Green Tahini

    No more free massages for stubbornly tough greens. Here, a quick char in a hot skillet tempers the raw edge of kale and balances its vegetal flavor.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Dish Meal Vegetable and Produce
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
    32/55

    Broccoli Spoon Salad With Warm Vinaigrette

    This salad puts all the best textures on a spoon: crisp, raw broccoli; chewy, sticky dates; and crunchy toasted pistachios. The ras-el-hanout, a Moroccan spice blend featuring aromatic and warm spices, adds a smoky depth to the bright citrusy dressing, which soaks into the broccoli as it sits. Don’t have ras-el-hanout? Garam masala, baharat, or curry powder will also work. And if you’re a meal prepper, this is a great make-ahead salad—it only gets better with a little time.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Bowl Soup Bowl Stew Soup and Curry
    Photo by Chris Morocco 
    33/55

    Spring Hot-and-Sour Soup

    Hot-and-sour soup inspired this highly nontraditional springtime version. Miso gives just enough body so that you won't need cornstarch to thicken it, and you can use silken tofu or thinly sliced yuba instead of egg for that same silky effect.

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  • A veggie sandwich stacked with avocado lettuce cucumber sprouts and carrots.
    Gentl & Hyers
    34/55

    California Veggie Sandwich

    We like sandwiches that send juices running down to our elbows, which is why we insist on dressing the lettuce. If you want to use store-bought giardiniera, skip the first step.

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