25 Lunches That Are Great to Bring to Work

No sad desk lunches here! These delicious recipes (which include everything from grain bowls to salads) are easily prepared in advance, will hold up through a long commute and are guaranteed to help you power through the work week.

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Salmon and Veggie Grain Bowl

Packed with tender farro, lemon-drizzled salmon and fresh veggies, Ree’s grain bowl is the pick-me-up you need to have a great afternoon.

Get the Recipe: Salmon and Veggie Grain Bowl

Lemon Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap

Use leftover roast chicken to whip up Jeff's chicken salad studded with sweet cranberries and crunchy celery. Wrap it up in soft tortillas for a lunch-friendly meal.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap

Roasted Veggie Buddha Bowl

Healthy vegetables and spiced chickpeas get roasted on the same baking sheet, making dinner a breeze to put together and clean up. Quinoa and avocado round out this nutritional meal.

Get the Recipe: Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl

Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Jeff’s big-batch soup ensures you’ll have enough for a full week of lunches — and it’s incredibly easy to prepare! Toss the ingredients in your slow cooker and you’ll have a hearty soup that’s packed with veggies and perfect for eating with a piece of crusty bread.

Get the Recipe: Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Lentil Soup

Chicken, Avocado Cream and Quinoa Salad-in-a-Jar

Enjoy a layered lunch with this portable, Mexican-inspired quinoa salad. To save time, make a big batch of quinoa, and freeze it in resealable bags for up to 1 month. Having a whole-grain arsenal in your freezer will help cut down on prep time later.

Get the Recipe: Chicken, Avocado Cream and Quinoa Salad-in-a-Jar

Copycat Guacamole Greens

This salad is inspired by a popular menu item at a healthy restaurant chain. We love it — but we also love saving money. So set aside some time during your week to make this vinaigrette, which makes enough for about five salads. And if you're super ambitious, go ahead and prep enough ingredients for a week's worth of lunches.

Get the Recipe: Copycat Guacamole Greens

Jane Fox's Famous Tortilla Soup

Soup is one of our favorite choices for a work lunch because it’s easy to prepare multiple portions ahead of time. Rachael’s spicy recipe, which is served with your favorite taco toppings, is one you’ll want to make again and again.

Get the Recipe: Jane Fox's Famous Tortilla Soup

Make-Ahead Sandwich Rolls

Make Ree’s sandwich rolls on a Sunday and let them chill in the fridge until Monday morning. Her advice? Prepare the spicy mayo but don’t spread it on the bread until you’re ready to eat — after all, nobody likes a soggy sandwich

Get the Recipe: Make-Ahead Sandwich Rolls

Healthy Farro Fried "Rice"

Farro is an Italian variety of wheat with grains that turn tender and toothsome with cooking. It's often added to soups and risotto but works as a terrific substitute for rice in this easy stir-fry.

Get the Recipe: Healthy Farro Fried "Rice"

Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup

Giada's trick to this quick and easy recipe is to either buy your favorite store-bought marinara sauce, or make your own and use the leftovers for the soup broth.

Get the Recipe: Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup

Southwestern Chicken Fajita Mason Jar Salad

Southwestern chicken fajita salad is the perfect grab-and-go lunch that requires minimal added effort, plus it's a well-balanced meal with wholesome, real ingredients. Simply toss all of the ingredients together in a baking pan, then put it in the oven, set the timer, and walk away. You can enjoy the fajita mixture warm with a tortilla and rice, or, in this case, cold by incorporating it into a salad.

Get the Recipe: Southwestern Chicken Fajita Mason Jar Salad

Instant Pot Greek Chicken Bowls

The flavors of the Mediterranean are cooked up in 30 minutes in an Instant Pot® for a quick and filling, souvlaki-inspired lunch.

Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Greek Chicken Bowls

Veggie and Chorizo Quesadillas

Trisha uses a buttered skillet to make golden-brown quesadillas that are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Pro tip: make a big batch on Sunday night so you have enough for a few days of lunch — just be sure the quesadillas are completely cool before packing so the steam doesn’t make them soggy!

Get the Recipe: Veggie and Chorizo Quesadillas

Italian Chicken Pasta Salad

Forget about the gloopy mayonnaise-laced pasta salads you know (and perhaps don't love). GZ's version features bright, fresh produce like cucumber and tomatoes, plus rotisserie chicken for heft and a simple red wine vinaigrette.

Get the Recipe: Italian Chicken Pasta Salad

Italian Wedding Soup

Homemade meatballs are the secret to this soup's authentic Italian flavor. Giada uses curly endive for color and texture.

Get the Recipe: Italian Wedding Soup

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

These protein-packed fajitas cleverly use a foil-lined baking sheet and broiler to make a quick and healthy meal that can be packed with rice, salad or a tortilla.

Get the Recipe: Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Curried Chicken Wraps

Ina adds cashews to her curried chicken salad for a bit of salt and crunch. Plan ahead by cooking the chicken on Sunday and allowing it to cool overnight — this will make it easier to shred before work Monday morning.

Get the Recipe: Curried Chicken Wraps

Cold Peanut Soba Noodles With Chicken

Instead of leftover Chinese, pack up these soba noodles covered in a peanut butter and soy sauce glaze.

Get the Recipe: Cold Peanut Soba With Chicken

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

The stir-fried filling in Rachael's lettuce wraps boasts crunch, bright colors and flavor from oranges and hoisin.

Get the Recipe: Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Healthy Vegetarian Pan Bagnat

This fiber-packed vegetarian version of a classic French sandwich is great for days when you have a long commute. It's the perfect way to use up whatever fresh veggies you have on hand, plus its one of those things that gets better as it sits, so make it the night before you leave for work.

Get the Recipe: Healthy Vegetarian Pan Bagnat

Beets and Brussels Sprouts Salad-in-a-Jar

Layered is the new chopped! We've gone vertical for this colorful salad. We love the tender-chewy barley, but it can be swapped out for your favorite whole grain, like brown rice or quinoa. The jar makes this salad super portable and shows off its pretty layers.

Get the Recipe: Beets and Brussels Sprouts Salad-in-a-Jar

Chunky Egg Salad

Enjoy a variety of textures and classic flavors from celery, whole-grain mustard and chopped boiled eggs in this fuss-free egg salad.

Get the Recipe: Chunky Egg Salad

Goddess Brown Rice Bowl

Sorry, salads and sandwiches — Trisha’s wholesome rice bowl is the only lunch we want on a busy work day. She whips up a creamy green goddess dressing to drizzle over brown rice, sliced avocado and stir-fried veggies.

Get the Recipe: Goddess Brown Rice Bowl

Portobello-Chickpea Wraps

This is the kind of wrap you’ll want to eat again and again. Chickpeas are smashed with balsamic vinegar and oil to form a creamy spread, then rolled up in a flatbread with muenster cheese, portobello mushrooms and peppery arugula.

Get the Recipe: Portobello-Chickpea Wraps

Creamy Hummus and Smoked Turkey Sandwich

Who needs mayo when you can use hummus? Our recipe calls for Neufchatel cheese and veggies, like sun-dried tomatoes and carrots, to add an extra oomph to your lunch.

Get the Recipe: Creamy Hummus and Smoked Turkey Sandwich