Working from home means eating lunch at home. I am sharing a collection of quick and easy weekday lunches that you can make and enjoy without taking too much time out of your workday.
I am sharing two different types of weekday work from home lunches here, some that can be made in advance and others that can be made quickly.
Weekday Lunches to Make in Advance
Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad
Inspired by the lunch Charles gets almost daily from Protein Bar, this lunch has shredded buffalo chicken, broccoli, corn, carrot, cheddar, and tomatoes on a bed of spinach and quinoa. You can serve it with either ranch or blue cheese dressing. I like to prepare the chicken, bacon, broccoli, quinoa, and dressing in advance and then assemble the salad when I want lunch.
Chicken, Roasted Vegetable, and Pesto Quinoa Bowls
You can easily meal prep these quinoa bowls in advance and just heat them up when you are ready for lunch.
Brussels Sprout and Kale Salad
Inspired by my favorite menu item at Blue Door Farmstand, this salad can be made in batches of 2-3 servings and then eaten for a few days in a row – just wait until you want to eat to add the dressing. (The key to meal prepping salads is to make sure that greens are totally dry first).
Green Bean and Tomato Salad
I really love this salad. It’s so easy to make, and it gets better as it sits for a day or two so that the mozzarella can soak up the dressing. It’s a great fast lunch, just prep a big batch on a Sunday and eat it during the week for lunch. It’s definitely a lighter lunch; I might have an afternoon snack too.
Roasted Tomato and Tortellini Soup
Soups are easy to make in big batches and they reheat quickly. This soup is a classic roasted tomato soup with some cheese tortellini which turns the soup into a more filling meal.
Breakfast Burritos
You can prep a batch these breakfast burritos filled with scrambled eggs, chorizo, hash browns, black beans, and cheese on Sunday and eat them throughout the week. Serve topped with my poblano cream sauce, salsa, or enchilada sauce. They are good for a weekday brunch.
Quick and Easy Weekday Lunches
The Best Turkey Sandwich
I invented this sandwich in college and have been making it ever since. The sandwich involves sliced turkey, cheddar, tomato, avocado, and mayo, on an everything bagel, served warm. You can make it quickly and its hearty enough to keep you full for a while.
BLT Wraps with Avocado and Mozzarella
BLTs are great. But they taste even better when you add a bit of avocado and mozzarella. I like to serve this as a wrap since it holds all the ingredients in place, but you could serve it as a sandwich instead.
Southwest Cobb Salad
You can prepare the diced chicken and ranch dressing in advance and then very quickly assemble this salad at lunchtime.
Avocado Toast
Avocado Toast is one of the ultimate quick meals. You can simply add a sunny side up egg on top to give the meal some extra protein, or you can add toppings like cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers or prosciutto, asparagus, pine nuts, and parmesan.
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
It’s so easy to meal prep pulled pork using a slow cooker, then you can quickly use the pork to make sandwiches during the week.
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Omelet
There are no rules anymore. If you want to have brunch instead of lunch on a weekday, you can! This is my go-to omelet recipe and I often have it on weekdays because making brunch instead of breakfast and lunch saves time, and I am usually not too hungry first thing in the morning.
Scrambled Egg Grilled Cheese
A grilled cheese filled with scrambled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, bacon, spinach, and cheese is a delicious lunch.