Lunch Recipes & Ideas

There's more to it than you think.

Bonus: It’s so easy.

Bonus: There’s only 5 minutes of prep.

If you need dinner on the table with zero delays, then a microwaved baked potato is pretty much an ideal solution. A single potato is ready in under 10 minutes, and cooking a few more alongside hardly takes any longer. Topped with leftover chili, pulled pork, or cheesy broccoli, this dinner staple couldn’t be quicker or easier. Good ol’ russet potatoes will do the trick here. Any size will do, although larger potatoes might need an extra minute.

Lentil soup is comforting, simple, and easy to throw together. It’s my go-to meal when I want something hearty but healthy, or when I’m planning a vegetarian dinner with friends on a chilly fall day. This pared-down red lentil version is the one I make most often, and it never fails to please. Red lentils are perfect when you’re in a hurry to get a meal on the table.

It's toasty, cheesy, and super comforting.

It's all about the sweet, creamy dressing.

You don't need to travel to the Windy City for this delicacy.

Editor’s Note: If you’ve cooked this beloved recipe before, it might look a little different these days! We recently improved it to make it even easier to follow and more delicious.From here on out, creamy chicken soup from the slow cooker shall be known as change-your-life chicken soup. Try to imagine all the goodness of chicken soup — moist, tender chicken, bites of sweet carrot and peas — but wrapped in a creamy broth flecked with black pepper.

It’s where a burger meets a hoagie.

It tastes like childhood.

What’s one of the easiest ways to feel like you have your life together? If you ask us, it’s meal prepping lunch the night before. In the grand scheme of things it’s a small accomplishment, but when all you want to do after dinner is settle in for a marathon TV session, taking the extra time to make lunch feels like a Herculean effort.

It's summer in a bowl.

A chipotle marinade makes the chicken extra-flavorful.

The refried beans are optional (except they’re really not).

Get ready to make these on repeat.

It’s just creamy enough.

It’s bound to become an instant classic.

There’s no better way to eat a tomato.

It's caprese's hearty cousin.

And it cooks in under 15 minutes.

Trust me, it’s that good.

Just add fries and a Diet Coke.

It's all about the marinade.

It's the no-cook dish of my dreams.

This basic chicken breast technique gets meal prep done faster!

A step-by-step guide to the best sandwich of summer.

It’s ready in just 30 minutes!

And they have so much flavor.

For all the times I have ordered chicken lettuce wraps at restaurants like P.F. Chang’s, inhaled entire “appetizers” by myself, and sighed with happiness while licking sticky sauce from my fingers, it never once occurred to me to try making this dish at home. Partly, lettuce wraps have always felt like an indulgence that needed restriction to restaurant visits only.

A Juicy Lucy is a simple but ingenious twist on a cheeseburger (with a super-cute name). Instead of cheese melting on top of a hamburger patty, it’s stuffed inside of it, creating an oozy, cheesy center.The first time I heard of this concept, I was instantly intrigued (which isn’t surprising, given how much I loved Oscar Mayer cheese-stuffed hot dogs growing up).

We’ve all been there: You have all the best intentions to eat a big salad filled with lots of vegetables for lunch, but by the time noon rolls around you default to a hefty sandwich or dinner leftovers. Forget those days – we have delicious and easy salads that you’ll actually want to eat for lunch! Our collection of hearty vegetable salads, pasta salads, and grain salads are a far cry from the plain ol’ green salad you may have been packing.

It’s so crispy!

Perfectly cooked every time.

Get ready to feast.

It comes together so quickly.

It's bursting with corn flavor.

We’re here for the feta.

Every bite is pure nostalgia.

For all your potluck and BBQ needs.

No sandwich press needed.

Chop chop! Lunch is already made.

It's the only version I make.

They are zesty, tangy, a little bit spicy, and absolutely irresistible.

Given the opportunity, my 6-year-old would eat hot dogs every single day. And I can’t blame him. These snappy, savory sausages packed into squishy buns are satisfying and delicious. There are so many ways to cook hot dogs, too. While he and his neighborhood crew would settle for a boiled dog, I miss the sizzle of a skillet-seared, air-fried, or grilled hot dog. Now, when I’m feeding a crowd of hungry kids (and kids at heart!), I skip the simmer and click on the oven instead.

I have to admit an unpopular opinion: I am just not into mayonnaise-based summer salads. When it is hot out, I want to eat light and refreshing salads, not thick and creamy ones. So when I say this is the best pasta salad ever, it’s with that opinion in mind. But a mayo-free pasta salad can still come with a degree of creaminess. In this case it’s by way of an olive oil-rich vinaigrette and a sprinkling of flavorful soft cheese.

Is there a more quintessential warm-weather side dish than cold pasta salad? This cool salad keeps well, and it’s the perfect make-ahead lunch that you can pack throughout the week. Just about everyone in your family, from your kids to your mother-in-law, will eat it! This recipe is truly as simple as boiling water and tossing in a few key pasta salad ingredients.

It’s juicy, tender, and so savory.

It's my forever recipe.

Unparalleled crunch.

Banish all thoughts of stringy, tough, sad chicken from your mind. For our chicken salad sandwiches and quick chicken weeknight meals, we want nothing but the best. And for that, poached chicken is definitely the way to go. This poached chicken method is easy, fast, and foolproof. Totally tender chicken breasts that are as good for dinner as they are for lunch the next day? Not a problem.

It's the easiest dinner you'll ever make.

It cooks in less than 10 minutes.

Just toss and eat.

So impressive that you can pretend it’s hard to make and everyone will believe you.