When it comes to packing a healthy, homemade lunch, dinner is your best friend. A good dinner is one that is delicious and generous enough to become lunch the next day. From slow cooker enchiladas to green curry, and vegetarian casseroles to hearty meatloaf, here are 10 of our favorite homemade dinners that also make great homemade lunches.
Personally, I think a good dinner-to-lunch meal has a few specific characteristics:
- It reheats well or is good cold. Some dinners just don't reheat well. Others are no good cold. Some are only good one way (I don't like reheated chicken breasts, for instance, but love them cold and sliced on salads).
- It is easy to eat at your desk. I know many people love lasagna as leftovers, but man, it's hard to eat with a plastic fork! Personally, I like casseroles and pasta dishes that are already in bite-sized pieces.
- It is easy to pack. There's no fussiness or separate container needed. If you need a separate container for the sauce, and another for the topping or a mix-in, eh — too much work. It's better to just be able to throw a portion in a container and go. Double points if it's a complete meal, with starch and veg.
Having said that, here are 10 fabulous dinners from our archives that really work well as lunches.
TOP ROW
• 1 Cauliflower and Chicken Sausage Casserole - A simple, vegetable-based casserole that gets even more flavorful the next day.
• 2 Peppery Whole Wheat Pasta with Wilted Chard - A generous recipe for vegetarian pasta — it makes plenty for the next day as well.
• 3 Slow Cooker Coconut and Green Curry Pork - Curries and braises just get better as they sit in the fridge. This one is no exception, and since it includes potatoes already, I find that rice is optional.
• 4 Spiced Lamb Meatballs - Make a big batch of these, freeze them, and bake them off as needed.
• 5 How To Make Marvelous Meatloaf - Meatloaf recipes almost always make a lot! Plan ahead and use the leftovers for lunch, maybe sandwiched between two pieces of bread, or crumbled into a pita.
BOTTOM ROW
• 6 Slow-Cooker Black Bean Enchiladas - These easy enchiladas are vegetarian and so simple. Plus they are easy to bundle up and carry with you for lunch.
• 7 Chickpea Casserole with Lemon, Herbs and Shallots - This vegetarian casserole makes a generous amount, and it's packed with protein and fresh flavor.
• 8 Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese - Homemade mac and cheese for lunch? Yes please!
• 9 Garlic and Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin - Cold pork tenderloin slices are very good on top of a quick salad.
• 10 Goat Cheese and Swiss Chard Pasta Casserole - One more pasta recipe that makes fantastic leftovers.
What are your favoriet dinner-to-lunch meals? Do you have meals that you cook just for the leftovers?
Related: Odd Couples: Combining Leftovers for Dinner
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)
Originally published April 11, 2011
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Fried rice supremacy!
Thanks for this! I've resolved to stop spending $10 for lunch and this is just what I needed, as we don't have a microwave at work. Prefect timing :)
These dinners look great. But in our house, EVERY dinner makes a good next-day lunch. If you have a microwave at work and keep a set of silverware at your desk, anything is possible.
Thank you!! No more going out to eat when there's plenty left over from the night before. :)
I'm a huge fan of home made pizzas (made with wheat english muffins) as they are quick to make the night before as well as compact and easy to take on the go the next day. Looking forward to tring these recipes this week. Thanks for the recipes!
http://www.culturezest.org/home/users/detail?UserHexID=88003FC7-6271-4E6C-A702-B21617533BA6
I'm a big fan of using leftovers in creative new ways! Partly because we're on a budget, partly because it's a challenge that I enjoy.
Like using leftover mashed potatoes to make croquettes (these artichoke, walnut and feta croquettes, for instance, or these couscous, goat cheese and sweet potato croquettes). Veg, starch & protein in one neat package, and they're good room temperature the next day.
But I've said it before (and I'll probably say it again!) My favorite leftover on-the-go lunch is a savory pastry. Either a small contained one, or a piece of a larger one. That's why they were invented! To be convenient to carry around with you. And they combine starch, veg and protein in the most portable delicious package. Whether it's a baked dumpling with mushrooms and walnuts or a piece of a deep mushroom pie or chard, pistachio and raisin tart. We've taken them to work, on hikes...anywhere. Neat to eat, and good at room temperature.
Pretty much any pasta dish makes a good lunch for the next day. I love the Kitchn's cauliflower and edamame pasta salad. The only change I make when making it is roast the califlower. When consuming it for leftovers I throw in a bit of chicken just to make it feel ultra-substantial.
I often make orzo dishes too with loads of veggies and dine on those for days. Same thing with quinoa, wheat berry, bulgur, and farro dishes. They always seem to get slightly better with age!
I'm with Petworthy-- every dinner is made for the next day's leftovers. Except my three kids split them up and take them for THEIR lunch. Much healthier than the junk served at school, and much easier than slapping together a PBJ!
why not bring your own fork and knife to work?
I recently made sesame noodles with chicken meatballs which were almost better at room temp the next day for lunch than the first time around... I agree that any leftover pasta like linguine bolognese works well reheated or even just some tuna meatballs . I generally bring some salad greens and just toss with some lemon and olive oil to go on the side.
this is a great collection... i call this type of recipe workweek lunchtovers!
my criteria are:
1. it has to be a big enough recipe yield leftovers that function as an easy lunch at work the next day.
2. because it will serve as more than one meal, it has to support our efforts to eat well.
3. it has to be quick! i don’t have a lot of time on weeknights so i need something that will take less than an hour, start to finish, including prep and cleanup.
one of my favorite recipes for this is baked artichoke-kielbasa puttanesca
Mmm thanks for making me hungry and giving me some new ideas to get out of my food rut!
My new favorite lunch are these chicken meatballs with sesame noodles because you can actually eat them hot or at room temperature, and they're just as good if not better the next day for lunch!