These healthy meal prep meal ideas are perfect for lunch at work or at home. Make them ahead of time and enjoy all week long.
Hello friends!
Many of you have been asking for meal prep ideas lately, so ask and you shall receive. Last week when I started my Mastering Food Prep course, I talked a lot about my flexible method of meal prep for lunches. I’m a big fan of making 1-2 proteins, 1-2 bases, and 2-3 sauces and then making different lunches throughout the week. You can find an example of 4 quick and easy meal ideas for work in this post.
Easy meal prep meals
While some people enjoy cooking a different meal every day, others look for one recipe that they can make ahead of time and enjoy for lunch all week. If you want to add some variety to these ideas, you can make swaps, such as using rice as the base instead of lettuce, subbing in pita one day instead of salad, or making half the batch vegetarian and half meaty.
If you’re looking for special cold lunches, check out these Easy Meal Prep cold lunches for work. And here are some breakfast ideas.
Easy healthy meal prep meal ideas
Meal prep meal ideas with chicken
- Rotisserie Chicken Cobb Salad via Fit Foodie Finds – Serve up some rotisserie chicken for dinner on Sunday, then use the leftovers to make this salad for lunch during the week.
- Simple Chicken Marinade for Lunch with Lean Green Beans – Make a batch of this chicken, pair it with a quinoa salad, put it in a pita, or serve it with vegetables.
- Marinated Chicken and Noodles by A Healthy Slice of Life – serve it over noodles with your favorite veggies.
- Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potato Meal Magic with a Pinch of Yum – Don’t you love broccoli? Replace it with asparagus or Brussels sprouts or a salad.
Easy lunch ideas for work – chicken
- Pan Chicken Shawarma Bowls via Real Food Nutritionists – The pan makes cooking and cleanup easy.
- Chicken Protein Bowl by Eating Bird Food – If you don’t like quinoa, swap it out for rice or farro and feel free to change the sauce.
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas via Naptime Kitchen – Make a double batch, freeze one pan and enjoy for lunches.
- Cheesy Broccoli Chicken and Rice Bowls via Gimme Some Oven. You can easily swap the broccoli for carrots or green beans.
Vegetarian meal ideas
- Edamame & Quinoa Salad via I Heart Vegetables – This is packed with protein. Try swapping quinoa for wild rice to switch things up.
- Spicy Peanut Tofu Bowls via Pinch of Yum – If you’re not a fan of tofu, try substituting chicken.
- White Bean Panzanella Salad via Cait’s Plate. the perfect way to use up all the summer vegetables.
- Vegan Red Lentil Curry with Lean Green Beans – Want more protein? Add the quick-cooking shrimp.
- Classic Chickpea Chicken Salad via Healthy Slice of Life. A vegetarian twist on the classic chicken salad.
Easy Meal Prep – Seafood
- Spicy tuna rolls Via Iowa Girl Eats – Turn a can of tuna into something flavorful and exciting.
- Tuna Quinoa Cakes via The Lean Green Bean – These are good hot or cold and can be eaten alone or on top of a salad.
- Garlic Butter Prawns with a Good Wrap – Make a big batch of these and pair them with pasta or rice, or serve them over a salad.
- Grilled Salmon Cobb Salad via Delightful E Made – Packed with flavor and protein, plus heart-healthy omegas.
Preparatory Lunch – Soups
- White Chicken Chili with Lean Green Beans – The flavor gets better as it sits in the fridge, making it the perfect meal prep.
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup via All The Healthy Things – Light and fresh enough to eat in the summer, but also cozy enough for the winter.
- Grab & Go Vegetarian Minestrone in a Jar via The Girl on Bloor – Make a few jars ahead of time and enjoy all week long.
- Sweet Potato Chicken Chili with Lean Green Beans. A twist on the classic chili, using chicken instead of ground beef.
Ideas for cooking lunch with minced meat
- Potsticker Noodle Bowls via Iowa Girl Eats – A fun twist on potstickers that’s light and filling.
- Burger bowl with special sauce Via Real Food Nutritionists – Tired of burgers? Try these burger bowls for lunch. Don’t skimp on the sauce.
- Egg Roll in a Bowl via Eating Bird Food – A deconstructed version of the classic egg roll recipe.
- Greek Chicken Meatballs by All Things Healthy – These meatballs would be great in a rice bowl, in a pita, or just dipped in sauce.
- Grilled meat dishes with sweet peas and saffron
Quick Healthy Lunches (Light Meal Ideas)
Got a few minutes at lunchtime to actually cook? Here are 4 quick ideas that come together in 5 minutes or less.
- Bacon and Egg Wrap with Herbs via Rachel Cooks
- Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas via Iowa Girl Eats
- Thai Green Curry Chicken Salad via Fit Foodie Finds
- Italian sub salad with cold cuts via housewives
Beef Stew Meal Ideas
- Steak Fajita Bowls with Cilantro Lime Cauli Rice Whole – Don’t you love cauli rice? Plain rice works well.
- Korean Beef Bowls with Well Covered – This beef would also be great in carrot wraps or spring rolls.
- Steak Salad with Berries, Avocado, and Goddess Dressing with The Roasted Root – Grab a steak on the weekend and enjoy the leftovers.
- Quick Beef and Zucchini Casserole via Primavera Kitchen – Use some of that summer zucchini to make this quick flavorful casserole.
Easy School Lunch Ideas Meal Prep
If you’re specifically looking for school lunch ideas, I have a whole guide called Easy Packed Lunches for Kids. I pack all of my kids’ lunches the night before so there are lots of ideas that can be made ahead of time. And they’re not just for kids. Some ideas could qualify as easy lunch for work ideas.
Did you see anything that caught your eye? I hope you found some new ideas to try! Bookmark this post for future reference.
Healthy lunch ideas
Enjoy!
– Lindsey –