14 Low-Effort Workweek Lunches That BuzzFeed Writers And Editors Make All The Time (And Devour At Their Desks)
If looking forward to lunch is what gets you through the morning at work, you've come to the right post. Whether you're trying to break out of a lunch rut or just looking for some fun ideas, we've got you covered.
We're writers and editors here at BuzzFeed who love to cook (and eat, of course). We live all across the US, and we spend our days surfing the web in search of fun and practical tips, tricks, and recipes. So now, we're sharing our go-to lunches that are just as quick and easy to prepare as they are delicious and filling. Here's what we've been cooking:
1.Spinach, Feta, and Egg Wraps — I've been making this meal nonstop for the past month, and for good reason! If you're looking for something super filling, quick, and easy to make for breakfast, lunch, or brunch, then this meal might be for you.
OK, so I used to be the biggest fan ever of Starbucks' spinach, feta, and egg white wrap, but I was honestly so tired of paying, like, $6 for something I could probably make at home — and better. So, one day, I just decided to try and make my own version, and I never looked back!
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
? Flatbread or large tortilla
? Sundried tomatoes (the ones that come in a jar)
? Feta cheese
? Spinach
? Two Eggs (you can use egg whites if you want, but I don't)
? Salt and pepper
My favorite part about making this wrap is that there's no prep necessary — no chopping, shredding, or dicing needed. Everything is tossed together and cooked in one pan, and the whole process takes me under 10 minutes!
Here's how I put everything together:
1. First, I heat up a pan on medium heat and grab my jar of sundried tomatoes. I use the Trader Joe's brand, but as long as your tomatoes are swimming in olive oil, you're golden. Once the pan is hot, I use the olive oil in the tomato jar and pour some of it into the pan. Then, I scoop out some tomatoes and add them in, chopped. I usually put about two spoonfuls, but put as much as you want!
2. Next, I put in two to three handfuls of spinach. Mix the spinach and tomatoes around until the spinach wilts.
3. Add your eggs! Two eggs are perfect for me, but again, listen to your heart.
4. Add salt and pepper, then scramble your eggs, spinach, and tomatoes together. Once that's done, turn off the heat.
5. Have your flatbread out and ready, then spread your egg scramble on top. Sprinkle the feta cheese throughout.
6. Wrap it up in flatbread, then return it to the pan until it's golden and toasty on both sides.
And you're done! I eat it with sriracha if I want a kick of spice, but it's flavorful and delicious as-is!
—Dannica Ramirez
2.No-Recipe Egg Tacos — As my go-to "emergency meal" (aka the meal I can make with only a handful of ingredients I always keep around), a life without egg tacos isn't a life I'd like to experience. Cheap, simple, and endlessly customizable, they're the lunch (or breakfast! or dinner!) I truly make most often.
Here, I combined some eggs with wilted frozen spinach and some chopped scallions, then scrambled everything together. IMO, the most important part of a good egg taco is getting some char on your tortilla of choice — if you have a gas stove, you can toast your tortilla directly on the grates over your burner, but for electric stove users, you can accomplish the same thing in a dry skillet.
For the best whenever-you-want-them egg tacos, I'd highly recommend keeping your favorite frozen veggies in the freezer. Spinach is an obvious option, but don't discount fire-roasted peppers and onions or chopped broccoli. (Sorry to be super specific, but the frozen spiralized zucchini, if you can find it, is a great egg taco addition with some crumbled feta and dill!)
—Ross Yoder
3.Pear, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Salad — One thing about me is that I will rarely ever reach for a leafy salad for lunch (save for my reluctant Sweetgreen orders in the office), but this is my one exception. I find it has the perfect balance of tangy from the goat cheese, sweet from the pears, and a little peppery from the arugula.
This is my official petition for us to all stop spending $16+ on takeout salads. Beyond lunch, this has become my go-to side for any occasion, from weekday dinners to holidays. If I am having this as a standalone meal, I'll usually add more protein, like roasted tofu or even quinoa, to keep me full (grilled chicken would also be great!).
Here's everything you'll need to make it: arugula, pears, goat cheese, walnuts, some extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic glaze (and, of course, any seasoning to taste). From there, it's as simple as chopping the walnuts, slicing the pears, crumbling the goat cheese, and combining everything. Even if you hate every one of these ingredients, it has the basic building blocks of what I consider a great salad. You can easily swap any of these components if you follow the formula of leafy green and/or grain, crumbly cheese, fruit, and a crunchy topping.
—Claudia Santos
4.Five-Minute Miso Chili Crisp Noodles — For a quick lunch that only requires three ingredients (that all have a very long life in the refrigerator, FYI!), these noodles pack a punch in the flavor department, and they're endlessly customizable, too.
To be able to make this dish in any short window of time — between meetings or otherwise — you just need to keep three ingredients in your pantry and fridge: noodles of your choosing (I love the frozen udon you can find at your local Asian grocery store, but any instant ramen would work, too), white miso paste, and your favorite chili crisp. You can watch the video linked below for exact measurements and steps; otherwise, it's as simple as cooking your noodles, keeping a splash of water in the pan, then stirring a scoop of miso and chili crisp into the noodles until the mixture becomes thick and glossy.
The "homemade" sauce is far more flavorful than anything you could get in a sauce packet, and you can also add any protein or veggies you have on hand to make it more filling, like wilted baby spinach, some shredded chicken, or even a luxuriously runny egg.
—Ross Yoder
5.Smoked Salmon Toast — Could I get a lox and cream cheese bagel at one of the three bagel places within a 10-block radius from me? Sure. But there's just something about turning my favorite bagel order into a Sm?rrebr?d-style toast with crispy bread that's so satisfying.
By all means, make this on a bagel or your carby vehicle of choice, but I often opt for a nice crusty sourdough. You can also go the classic herb cream cheese route, but I personally love adding herbs like chives and dill (like, a lot of dill) to some creme fraiche and spreading that on.
Then I'll layer on smoked salmon, more herbs, capers, and a squeeze of lemon juice. That's it! Smoked fish toasts, in general, have become such a solid, easy lunch option for me. Another, admittedly less attractive, smoked fish lunch I usually reach for is a toasted everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, smoked trout, Calabrian chilis, and, you guessed it, dill. Even sardine toast made simply with butter is a fantastic option.
Side note: Trader Joe's has a great selection of cheap tinned and smoked fish. No need to reach for the bougie stuff here.
—Claudia Santos
6.Orzo Salad with Lentils and Zucchini — This make-ahead-friendly salad is the definition of a "better as leftovers" meal. As it sits in your fridge, it'll continue to soak up all that delicious, zingy dressing, and the flavors will continue to meld together in delicious ways.
My favorite element of this salad is undoubtedly the crisp and uber-refreshing ribbons of raw zucchini, which are best if you can slice 'em on a mandolin until they're super thin. As the shaved zucchini sits in dressing, it becomes just tender enough while still retaining lots of crunch, and it plays really nicely with all the other bright flavors.
For super busy days, I love that I can make a big batch of this salad on a Sunday and devour it for many workdays in a row — and all it takes is spooning it into a bowl. 0% effortful, 100% very delicious.
—Ross Yoder
Recipe: Orzo Salad with Lentils and Zucchini
Note: If you're not a New York Times subscriber, you can find a very similar recipe here; just add in about 1 1/2 cups of cooked green or brown lentils.
7.Spring-Has-Sprung Salad (with Cottage Cheese) — Most of the time, I eat a bunch of random leftovers and/or snacks for lunch, but this week, I got inspired to throw this salad together after reading one of Hannah Lowentheil's posts and realizing that cottage cheese could be my new best friend.
For this lunch salad with spring-has-sprung energy, I added cottage cheese to greens with strawberries, tomatoes, and olives, plus olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.
I've had a version of this salad for the last two days, but I'm also still mixing it up. For example, I'm now out of strawberries, so tomorrow, I'll sub in some leftover roasted cauliflower and add a sprinkle of za'atar.
—Megan Liscomb
8.Japanese Egg Salad Sandwich — When I went to Japan a few years back, I fell in love with Japanese egg salad sandwiches. It puts American egg salad to shame. The egg salad is so creamy and smooth that it's impossible to decipher the egg whites from the yolk.
When I returned from Japan, I set sail on a mission to recreate this sandwich in my kitchen. And while my homemade attempts have never been quite as good as the OG, they've gotten pretty delicious. I follow this recipe from Just One Cookbook, which calls for just a few ingredients. The Kewpie mayonnaise is probably the most important of all (and, TBH, this is the only mayo I know use in my kitchen). It also calls for Japanese milk bread, which is incredible if you can find it, but you can always opt for basic white bread sans crust. This sandwich takes very little time to prepare because you can hard-boil eggs in a big batch at the beginning of the week. You can assemble the whole sandwich in the morning before work, then wrap it up and pack it.
—Hannah Loewentheil
Recipe: Japanese Egg Salad Sando
9.Radish Toast — As the self-proclaimed president of the [imaginary] Radish Fan Club, I always find this lunch or anytime-snack unexpectedly satisfying. Between the crispy toast, the cool and crunchy radishes, and the creamy butter, it's a textural *chef's kiss*.
No need to overexplain this: Toast your bread, slice your radishes as thin as possible, smear some salted butter on your toast, then finish with plenty of salt and pepper. I also drizzled hot honey over the batch above, but fresh herbs, some citrus zest, or even a smear of pesto would be a glorious addition.
You might be saying to yourself, "Ross, that's radishes and bread! That's not a full meal!" And TBH, you might be right — but I love this low-effort lunch nonetheless. If you're pressed about the lack of protein here, I've also enjoyed radish toast on high-protein bread with a swoop of blended cottage cheese, which is a delightful combo.
Pro-tip: I've made this lunch with every type of radish under the sun (I'm not lying about my stance on radishes!), and I can confirm that spicy Easter egg radishes, shown in the photo above, are top-tier. Since we're now in peak radish season, I implore you to find them at your local farmers market. ??
Second place is tied between green and purple daikon radishes (the two right-side toasts in the picture above), but ANY RADISH WILL DO.
God, I love radishes.
—Ross Yoder
10.Overnight Oats and Yogurt Parfait — Once upon a time, I would always go straight to savory meals for lunch, but ever since I was pregnant, I have craved sweet-ish lunches every once in a while. Recently, I've been so into combining overnight oats with either Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. There's something about adding overnight oats to my parfait that lends the perfect textural component and just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the tart yogurt.
It also really fills me up more than yogurt does on its own. I mix it all together and top it all with whatever fruit is in my freezer, some extra granola, nuts, or a small handful of cereal for a little crunch.
I've made my own oats before, but Mush Overnight Oats are my go-to these days, and I especially love the peanut butter and jelly flavor (although they're all really good!). Paired with some Fage Greek yogurt or Good Culture 4% cottage cheese, this meal always hits the spot. No cooking is required; just spoon ingredients into a bowl and dig in.
—Hannah Loewentheil
11.Bagel Sandwiches — An easy-peasy lunch for when I'm feeling too lazy to cook for real.
I toast an everything bagel, then throw on whatever I've got in the fridge. For today's lunch, I used some deli chicken, Colby cheese, mixed greens, salsa, and chipotle aioli. While the bagel was toasting, I popped the chicken and cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds. The whole thing takes less than five minutes to make, but it's super flavorful and fairly inexpensive.
—Morgan Sloss
12.Leftover Pesto Pasta Salad — Leftovers are one of my favorite work lunches because the hard work is already done. Literally, all I have to do is pop open the fridge and grab a fork.
Last night, I sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, and tofu in olive oil, salt, and pepper, with a splash of lemon juice at the end for a flavor boost that pairs well with (store-bought) pesto and curly fusilli.
This morning, I noticed a chunk of red bell pepper in my fridge that needed to get used up, so I chopped it up and threw it in the Tupperware, plus a sprinkle of shredded parm, and headed to work. I could heat it up if I felt like it, but in my opinion, this pasta is just as tasty straight out of the fridge as a "salad."
—Megan Liscomb
13.Rice Cake "Sandwich" — When I was in college, I ate rice cakes constantly. Then, I forgot about them for a decade. Luckily, I recently re-discovered the magic of a rice cake, and I've been eating this crunchy snack non-stop. My new obsession is turning a rice cake into a sort of open-face sandwich/sm?rrebr?d situation.
I top my rice cakes with pretty much whatever I have in the fridge, and I love that I can lean into either sweet or savory, depending on my mood. Some days, I keep it sweet with peanut butter, jelly, and sliced banana, and other days, I'll veer towards the salty side with honey mustard, turkey, and American cheese (pictured above and topped with Trader Joe's giardiniera, my new favorite sandwich accouterment). It's so versatile, and there's something so satisfying about sinking my teeth into a crunchy rice cake loaded with my favorite schmears, spreads, and deli meats galore.
You can double up on the rice cakes to make more of a sandwich, but I personally like the open-faced aspect. It's really just a satisfying vessel for whatever you put on it. Do yourself a favor and try it.
—Hannah Loewentheil
14.Copycat Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl — I'm not gonna lie and tell you that this recipe is "simple" to put together because, honestly, the prep is kind of involved! But as someone who hates meal prep in most circumstances, I find the process very worthwhile to be able to enjoy this bowl of fresh, crunchy goodness at a moment's notice during the workweek —without paying $16 for one salad.
If you're not familiar with Sweetgreen, it's basically the Chipotle of salads. It's delicious as hell, but with salad prices quickly getting into the $15 or more zone these days, it's a splurge that I'm not always down to make. (Actually, maybe I'm lying; we have an "Outpost" at our NYC office where they deliver it to us without delivery fees, and I use it more often than I care to admit.)
Regardless, when I don't feel like emptying my wallet for a bowl of greens, I meal prep these incredible Harvest Bowls, which are one of the most popular salads at the restaurant. Chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, crunchy apples, and punchy goat cheese are the ideal combo for a protein-packed lunch, and all the prepped ingredients keep nicely (separately) in your fridge until you're ready to combine them.
—Ross Yoder
Recipe: Copycat Sweetgreen Harvest Bowl
What's your go-to workday lunch that's easy enough to whip up between meetings? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
