Are you looking to prepare lunch quickly? In this post, I have discussed some quick and easy lunch recipes that are healthy to power all day long.
Even for those who work at home, lunch is the most rushed of all the main meals. While you can always wake up earlier to eat breakfast or eat later for dinner, lunch for most people is under a time constraint.
It is why lunch is often simple and fast to prepare so that you can get back to work or other activities sooner. After a full day of work, prolonged cooking in the kitchen is somewhat difficult. So the following list of quick and easy dinner recipes may also help you to get the dinner faster.
What follows are 9 fast recipes that you can make for lunch and even dinner. Each recipe is nutritious and filling, so you can get on with the rest of your day.
Here are the 9 Best Quick and Easy Lunch Recipes for you
#1. Chicken Cucumber Pitas
Pitas offer the perfect way to prepare lunch in advance. You can stuff them with a wide variety of food and ingredients, but here is a recipe that will work wonders as it is easy to make and tastes great.
- Cooked Chicken Breast: 2 cups
- Sliced Cucumber
- Sliced Ripe Olives: 1 can
- Medium Tomato: Seeded & chopped
- Cubed Cheddar Cheese: ½ cup
- Chopped Sweet Red Pepper
- Chopped Red Onion: ¼ cup
- Mayonnaise: ¼ cup
- Italian Salad Dressing: 1 tablespoon
- Ranch Salad Dressing: ½ cup
- Garlic Powder & Pepper: ¼ teaspoon each
- 12 Pocket Pita Halves
Combine the chicken, cucumber, olives, tomato, cheddar cheese, red pepper, and red onion into a small bowl. Mix in the Ranch and Italian dressing along with the mayonnaise, pepper, and garlic powder. Once thoroughly mixed, pour it over the chicken and toss it until well coated. Then fill each pita half with the mixture and you are ready to go.
#2. Hasselback Tomato Clubs
Club sandwiches are always popular, and this recipe is no exception. All you need is the following ingredients and you’ll have a lunch favorite with these club sandwiches.
- Four Plum Tomatoes
- Two Slices Swiss Cheese: Quartered
- Four Bibb Lettuce Leaves
- Four Slices Deli Turkey
- Four Slices Cooked Bacon Strips: Halved
- Medium Ripe Avocado: Peeled & Cut into Eight Slices
Cut each tomato into four crosswise slices and place them on the bottom. Fill the slices with the bacon, cheese, avocado, lettuce, and turkey. You can sprinkle it with pepper for added taste.
#3. Open-Faced Pizza Burger
Who doesn’t love pizza or burgers? Now you can have the best of both worlds with this simple and easy recipe.
- Ground Beef: 1 ½ pounds
- Chopped Onion: ¼ cup
- Pizza Sauce: 15 oz. can
- Mushroom Stems & Pieces: 4 oz
- Dried Oregano: ½ teaspoon
- Sugar: 1 tablespoon
- Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese: 1 ½ cups
Cook onions and beef in a large skillet on medium heat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Break up the meat and drain the skillet of grease. Then add in the mushrooms, sugar, oregano, and pizza sauce. Be sure to mix up the ingredients well before serving. When ready, spoon onto the buns and then sprinkle the cheese on top.
#4. Peanut Butter, Chicken, & Basil (PBCB)
You may not think that peanut butter and chicken go together, but in this surprising sandwich they do. All you need to start is the following ingredients.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: 1 tablespoon
- One Slice White or Wheat Bread
- Shredded Cooked Chicken: 3 tablespoons
- Torn Fresh Basil: 1 tablespoon
- Coarse Sea Salt: 1/8th teaspoon
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 1 teaspoon
This is an open-faced sandwich. All you need to do is spread the peanut butter over the bread and top with the ingredients. The chicken and peanut butter provide plenty of protein while the basil adds a kick to the taste.
#5. Pesto Zoodle
Salads are a popular choice for lunch as they can be light and nutritious. However, most salads lack the proteins and fats needed to get you through the day. The pesto zoodle bowl is a nice change of pace.
All you need is the following three ingredients
- Zucchini Noodles
- Garlic Basil Pesto
- Ghee or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fried Egg
Simply fry the egg with gree or oil until it is runny, but still together. Then top the noodles with the pesto and complete with the egg. You can make this meal in under 10 minutes for a delicious treat that will keep you satisfied until dinner.
See also:
#6. Sausage and Pepper Sheet Pan
Sausage and pepper go together nicely in so many ways. Here is one of the simplest and easiest to create. All you will need is the following.
- Uncooked Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage Links: 1 pound
- Three Medium Sweet Red Peppers: Seeded & sliced
- One Large Onion: Seeded & Halved
- Olive Oil: 1 tablespoon
- Provolone Cheese: 6 slices
- Six Split Hot Dog Buns
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Place sausage pieces on the sheet and add in peppers and onions. Drizzle over with olive oil, then bake. Stir after 15 minutes and cook until vegetables are tender and sausage is no longer pink.
Before taking it out of the oven, prepare the buns slicing side up on another sheet. Top with a cheese slice each and then bake until they are brown, and the cheese has melted. Add sausage and pepper mix to each bun and serve.
#7. Taco Lettuce Wraps
The problem with traditional tacos is the flour tortilla wrap that adds too many calories to the meal. But what if you exchanged the tortilla for lettuce? That is the secret behind these simple to create wraps. All you need is the following.
- Ground Beef or Turkey
- Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Taco Seasoning
- Butter Lettuce
That’s the basics of the wraps. Simply cook as much ground beef or the turkey as you need. Then fill the lettuce and add the onion, olive oil, and taco seasoning. If you want to add more ingredients, you can choose from the following.
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Avocado
- Finely Grated Cheese
- Guacamole or Sour Cream or Both
#8. Tuna Avocado Salad
This is a fast, simple salad to make when you have little time. Start by tossing the following four ingredients together.
- Baby Arugula: 2 handfuls
- One Fresh Lemon, Squeezed
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 1 teaspoon
- Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper: A pinch each
Now you can add what you like to spice up the salad such as the following.
- Avocado: Sliced
- Tuna: Fresh
- Cucumber & Red Onion: Sliced
- Cherry Tomatoes: Halved
- Olives
Now your tuna avocado salad is complete. You can add or subtract ingredients as you wish. The fresh tuna provides plenty of protein while the olive oil and avocado offer healthy fats that will help your circulatory system.
#9. Turkey Melts
If you have leftovers after Thanksgiving, here is a great way to serve them for lunch. What you need is the following.
- Artisan Bread
- Turkey Breast: Thinly sliced
- Swiss and Cheddar Cheese: Thinly sliced
- Dijon Mustard
- Butter Lettuce: Chopped
- Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
Turn the oven to broil. Spread the mustard and cream cheese on the slices. Put the turkey slices on the bottom side. Put onto a cookie sheet and broil for about seven minutes. When the cheeses are bubbling and the bread turns golden brown, remove them from the oven. Combine two slices to make a sandwich, cut them in half, and then serve.
With these quick and easy lunch recipes and ideas, you can prepare a delicious light meal fast. If you have any leftovers, use them as well to augment your meal.
