14 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas

Egg roll in a bowl has all of the flavors and textures of the classic takeout egg roll without the carbs and hassle of a wrapper. Ditching the deep frying makes it healthier but still fun to eat. Using a coleslaw mix makes it extra quick.

Chicken salad is a delicious way to use up leftover roasted or poached chicken. If you're using leftover meat, you'll be able to whip up this lunch in about 10 minutes flat. It's easy to scale this recipe up or down and add your favorite flavors like fresh herbs, diced apple, walnuts, or grapes.

A delicious combination of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, crisp bread, and flavorful vinaigrette, panzanella salad is a lunchtime treat. It's a great use of bread that's a day or two old, especially if it's French bread or sourdough. Add cubed mozzarella if you like.

Use any extra tortillas to make a lightning-fast hummus avocado wrap. If you start with a flavorful hummus, all you need is some fresh veggies like tomato, avocado, and sprouts or lettuce and you've got a tasty meal. If you're not vegan and would like more protein, add feta cheese or sliced turkey.

Put leftover pulled pork to good use by making a Mexican cemita (sandwich). If you can't get your hands on cemita rolls, hamburger or brioche buns will work as well. The chipotle peppers and adobo sauce add lots of flavor to this filling sandwich.

Quinoa salad takes no time to make and tastes great leftover, too. Use your favorite veggies for this recipe, and you can add black or kidney beans for extra protein. The endless variations make this recipe a lunch staple.

It only takes a few moments to cook white rice, chop the veggies, and combine everything in a bowl for this black bean and rice salad. You can also use leftover rice from the night before to save even more time. Try adding corn kernels or diced avocado.

Go above and beyond the typical turkey sandwich with creamy hummus, salty feta cheese, zesty red onions, and juicy tomato. If you don't have all of the exact ingredients, don't fret. The most important parts are good turkey, good bread, and good hummus—the rest is optional.

Pasta salads can be a little blah, but this garden rotini salad adds pesto and olives to the mix for big flavor. Fresh veggies add nutrition and flavor and can be swapped for whatever you have available. Scale it up or down—it still tastes great after a day or two.

Fresh or leftover beans (black, pinto, or kidney beans work here) and rice come together to make a simple but tasty lunch. The beans are flavored with spices, garlic, and hot sauce while the rice gets a dressing of lime juice and cilantro. Add additional fillings to the burrito if you like and serve with salsa.

This no-cook recipe has all of the flavors of a Hawaiian poke bowl without the fish. Swap the high-grade tuna or salmon for tofu, which happily soaks up the soy and ginger sauce. Add fresh kale along with steamed rice for a complete meal.

Za'atar adds savory, herby flavor to the chickpeas and vinaigrette in this vegetarian toasted pita bowl salad. Since the pita is toasted to make an edible bowl, leftover or defrosted frozen pita works well. Roast a bunch of chickpeas at once for future lunches and as a tasty snack.

Paninis are a nice way to level up a plain old sandwich. Use leftover grilled or roasted chicken breasts to save time and effort. It will get warmed and juicy again in the panini press along with melty cheese and sliced tomato. If you don't have a grill press, set a heavy cast-iron pan on top of the chicken panini to press.

Mix up a quick sauce, briefly heat the tuna in a pan, and crisp the taco shells and boom: you've got lunch. Tuna fish tacos are a nice change of pace from your standard tuna salad, and they take only minutes to make. You can swap the canned tuna for leftover flaked tuna fish.