Balanced Faves: Easy Weekday Lunch Ideas

I don’t know about you, but I spend SO much time each weekend trying to come up with easy weekday lunch ideas. I flip through cookbooks, read through several blogs, and typically ask all of YOU on Instagram!

I’m sure I’m not alone, so I thought it would be helpful to compile your favorite lunch ideas into one blog post that you can easily reference each week when planning your lunches. Some area really simple throw-together lunches, some involve meal prep, and some are recipes from other blogs.

Are there things you make each week that aren’t included here? Comment and let me know! I hope this is a helpful resource.

Easy Weekday Lunch Ideas

• Roast a batch of veggies on Sunday for the week. Mix them throughout the week with jasmine rice and store-bought chicken meatballs!
• Pita pizza!
  • Pita bread, cooked chicken, peppers, and cheese. Just heat!
  • Pita bread, Just Bare chicken nuggets, Rao’s pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella.
  • Add diced chicken/protein, sauce and cheese to change up the flavors.
• Two eggs any way with English muffin and avocado, fruit on the side.
• Lazy Genius Chicken Shawarma.
• Amylu Teriyaki Pineapple Chicken Meatballs (you can find them at Costco – if you can’t find them there, here’s a recipe to make your own) with rice, red pepper, pineapple, and teriyaki sauce on top. Here is a link for my favorite low-sugar/point teriyaki sauce!
• Snack box with fruit, cheese, crackers and meat.
• Rotisserie chicken and salad kits split into individual containers for meal prep!
• Sweet potato toast – you can do sweet or savory. For sweet, try peanut butter, banana and honey. For savory, try avocado, egg, and everything but the bagel seasoning!
• Cookie and Kate Black Bean Soup.
• Teacher Tastes Red Pepper Chicken Meal Prep served with couscous.
• Vermicelli noodle bowls.
• Bean salad: garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green beans. Red onion, garlic, salt and pepper, oil and vinegar.
• Skinnytaste Chicken Waldorf Salad.
• Sweet Savory and Steph Creamy Chicken Stuffed Peppers.
• Tuna salad!
  • Tuna salad sandwich
  • Tuna salad lettuce cups
  • Tuna mixed with kimchi on top of greens
  • Skinnytaste Mayo-Less Tuna Pasta Salad
  • Mary's Whole Life Buffalo Tuna Salad
  • Toasted English muffin with smashed avocado and salt with tuna salad on top
  • Tuna, chopped apples, cilantro, a dash of EVOO and lots of lemon juice!
• Fresh Express Thai Crunch bagged salad with Tyson’s chicken tenders and avocado.
• Emily Bites Nashville Hot Chicken Bites.
• Build Your Bite Mexican Quinoa Enchilada Casserole.
• Skinnytaste Classic Egg Salad.
• Crackers topped with smoked salmon, crackers, capers and cream cheese.
• Ham, cheese, cream cheese, pickle roll-ups (um, why does this sound so good?!).
• Skinnyish Dish Crockpot Creamy White Chicken Chili.
• Bags of the following: frozen quinoa mix, cauliflower rice, any vegetable. Add garlic powder and any protein.
• Italian salad: 2 cups romaine, 1 cup spring greens, 1 cup cumbers, ½ cup red pepper, 2 slices ultra thin provolone, 8 slices Applegate salami, 1 hard boiled egg, 2 tablespoon Ken's Zesty Italian. This friend also recommended adding chickpeas and sun dried tomatoes. YUM.
• Tortilla wrap with melted mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto and balsamic glaze.
• Skinnyish Dish BLT Pasta Salad
• Adult “lunchables” – cut up turkey, cheese, vegetables and crackers.
• Roasted vegetables, avocado, lettuce and quinoa topped with vinaigrette.
• Burrito bowls! Rice, taco meat (use ground turkey to make it lower point), black beans.
• Bagged salad kits with chickpeas, chicken and hardboiled eggs.
• Banza Mac and Cheese, bag of steamed vegetables, can of tuna or chicken. Cook and mix together!
• Greek rice bowl: rice, chicken, red onion, tomato, olives, cucumber, lemon, yogurt, dill.
• Pita salad! Make your favorite salad and stuff it in a pita.
• Budget Bytes Greek Turkey and Rice Skillet.
• Trader Joe’s reduced guilt mac and cheese with their cooked chicken strips and broccoli.
• Smoothie bowls topped with honey, granola and berries. Freeze overnight and take to work!
• Quiche and salad.
• Packaged lemon pepper tuna, salad blend, and broccoli slaw. Use an olive oil dressing!
• Meal prep – ground turkey, sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower and chickpeas with feta and mint.
• Sushi bowl with rice, crab, mayo, sriracha. Wrap each bite in seaweed!
• Carb-friendly wrap with hummus, bell pepper, and turkey. Easy, filling and low in points!
• Noodles with peanut sauce, chicken or shrimp and a bunch of veggies.
• On Sunday, make a bunch of baked chicken tenders to use in wraps, salads, bowls and sandwiches throughout the week.
• Sauteed shredded brussels sprouts with chicken sausage and balsamic glaze.
• Chicken nuggets tossed with Frank’s buffalo sauce, ranch, cheese and lettuce in a tortilla.
• Wrap with provolone cheese, bacon, ham, pickles and Italian dressing.
• Clean Food Crush Homemade Ranch Delight Bento Boxes.
• Smoked salmon or salami and cream cheese on top of cucumber slices.
• Ground turkey, black beans, spinach and green goddess dressing. Adding rice to this would also be delicious!
• Avocado toast with goat cheese and bacon. Make the bacon ahead of time so it’s easier to just throw together quickly!
• Egg roll in a bowl! On a stove top, mix together ground meet (turkey, beef or pork), shredded cabbage, sriracha, sesame oil, ginger and garlic.
• Salad with chickpeas, shredded chicken, avocado, pickled red onions, pepitas and dressing.
• Greek salad jars: layer Greek dressing, pasta/grain of choice, tomato, cucumber, spinach, and feta.
• Cook low fat ground turkey with black beans and onions. Make a big batch of it and eat it with rice!
• Shred boiled chicken breast. Mix it with mayo, finely diced onion, cilantro and salt and pepper. Eat it on a tostada!
• Make a snack plate! Include veggies with dip/hummus, lunch meat or chicken salad, cheese stick, fruit and crackers.
• Skinnytaste Air Fryer Asian-Glazed Boneless Chicken Thighs. Use chicken breast if you want it to be lower point.
• Broccyourbody Le Bowl.
• Easy Italian pasta salad: Italian meat, mozzarella, avocado, Italian seasoning, pasta, balsamic drizzle.
• Sub in a tub! Add all your favorite sub toppings into a bowl – deli meat, lettuce, tomato. Onion, cheese, pickles and more!
• Lettuce, strawberries, chicken, avocado, feta and candied nuts with poppyseed dressing,
• Emily Bites Sausage Apple Cheddar Frittata.
• Lite Cravings Cheesy Broccoli and Chicken Rice Skillet.
• Baked sweet potato topped with ground turkey and bbq sauce.
• Skinnytaste Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili.
• Trader Joe’s cowboy burger with greens, cheese and ranch on a wrap.
• Rice, avocado, cucumber, fried egg and soy sauce.
• Chicken sausage, grain of choice, roasted vegetables, add balsamic glaze and goat cheese.
• Skinnyish Dish Beef and Rice Taco Casserole.
• Make-ahead chick carnitas or chicken tinga and assemble tacos throughout the week.
• Spicy salad: spinach, tomatoes, black beans, sliced fresh jalapeños, crushed fritos with Trader Joe's garlic and sriracha BBQ sauce.
• Skinnytaste Arugula Salmon Salad with Capers and Shaved Parmesan.