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It’s no secret that I love making lunches. I own a company (MOMables) that helps parents make fresh school lunches their kids will love, I published a school lunches cookbook in 2014, and an ebook in 2020. When it comes to lunch… I NEVER run out of ideas. But kids don’t get to have all the fun. I’ve been work lunches for myself and my husband for decades. Today, I’m sharing 75 healthy office lunch ideas for grownups!
I might look crazy here… but what I am is thrilled to be eating my home-packed office lunch and save between $10-$15 every day! If you’ve been spending money on fast food, tired of eating leftovers, and need healthy office lunch ideas; you are in the right place.
Watch this quick video on how I pack our office lunches with the same ingredients I use for my kids’ lunches. It’s all about the continuity of ingredients!
I have been publishing lunch ideas online since 2011. Yup, I’m an internet dinosaur. This post, is one that i wrote over a decade ago, sharing office lunch ideas that I had packed for myself over a year’s time.
The image quality is not on par with the quick and healthy office lunch ideas I share today, but instead it’s a post of photos taken on my iphone 5 back in 2014.
While the pics aren’t cute, the ideas stand the test of time, so when updating this post in 2025, I decided to keep them in place. If you want a post with more updated photography and recent ideas, be sure to check out my adult lunchables guide. It has loads of ideas, some that are mentioned below, but professionally photographed and with each ingredient listed out so you can make your shopping list from the post. Just craving inspiration that has stood the test of time on the internet? Read on, I have over 75 ideas here that I’ve enjoyed since I start packing work lunches in 2006.
Office Lunch Ideas
Are you ready? You’ll see a collage first and then a description of each picture below.
Healthy Lunch Ideas
Top rows: easy peasy crustless mini quiches, magic cookies, berries, and carrots. A happy lunchbox with a love note from my girl. I cut up an ice-pack sheet into mini ice-packs to fit inside my snack boxes. Homemade hummus, freshly made Grab the Gold bar, berries, and a frozen veggie smoothie. Hard boiled eggs, grapes, and Chai Butternut Squash Soup. Grain Free Brazilian rolls with ham and lots of berries.
Bottom row: me, chowing down on hummus. Grapes and veggie lentil soup. Meatballs (red sauce in thermos) with grilled cheese stix, Paleo cookies, and a clementine. Southwestern omelet, sprouted salad, and melon. Deli meat salad, hard boiled egg, nuts, dressing, and an apple. Fiesta salad, veggies and ranch dressing dressing, nuts.
Read Next: My Favorite Professional Lunch Boxes
Lunch Ideas for Work
Top row: crustless quiche (similar to this one), ham, cheese, raspberries, dried fruit, and homemade Lara bars.
Second row: paleo chili and berries. Honey orange chicken meatballs in lettuce cups, berries, and a Paleo cookie. Bananas foster overnight oats, melon, strawberries and cream, and a hard boiled egg.
Third & Fourth rows: turkey cub wrap, grapes, and pineapple. Kind bar, Sabra hummus (single serve), berries and cream, pretzel chips. Ham & cheese apple wraps, yogurt, berries, nuts and seeds. Pita pocket stuffed with hummus, salad greens, Feta cheese, and kalamata olives, strawberries and pineapple. Honey orange chicken meatballs, spinach, berries, and extra honey orange sauce.
Easy Office Lunch Ideas
Top row: veggie meatloaf, hummus, celery, strawberries and homemade nutella. Big one: Apple wrapped in prosciutto, almond butter ants on a log, and strawberries. Second left: Hard boiled egg & salad mix, bagel thin sandwiches, Sabra hummus single, and cherry tomatoes. Third left: Strawberry-banana-spinach protein shake, watermelon, roasted corn and bacon hash.
Bottom row: spring mix salad topped with grilled chicken, blueberries and veggies, apple pieces and pretzel thins. Prosciutto wrapped melon, Sabra hummus single, and toasted pita chips. Avocado scramble, white peach, pretzel thins. Loaded baked potato, pineapple, homemade brownie bite. Blueberry and granola clusters parfait, almond butter, and diced apple.
Lunch Ideas
Top row: salami and avocado crostinis topped with hard boiled egg. My baby G having lunch with me. Blue cheese topped burger in a grain free bun (total recipe flop so I can’t share) and watermelon. Pizza tortellini thermos (I’m sure I brought something else that day but I didn’t picture it).
Second row: Cobb Salad Pizza slice, hard boiled egg, and watermelon. Middle: grain free salmon and cream cheese rolls, berries, Greek yogurt, sliced apples. Grilled ham and cheese, carrots and natural puffs. Sabra hummus single, natural puffs, and blueberries. Turkey sandwich on gluten free bread, natural puffs, and strawberries.
Third row: Asian chicken salad, cantaloupe, and blueberries. Berries, almond butter and greek yogurt, popcorn. Chicken and apple sausage, goat cheese, raspberries, tomatoes, and black olives. Brie and avocado crostinis, blueberries, homemade ranch dip, and sugar snap peas.
Packed Lunch Ideas for Work
Top row: melon and pineapple, almond butter and yogurt topped with nutty clusters, and white peach slices. Brie and avocado baguette sandwich, strawberries, and Spanish corn nuts. One-step guacamole, baked corn chips, Greek yogurt, and berries. Zucchini spaghetti with my famous Bolognese, melon, and a grain free popover (also a failed recipe).
Second row: Asian salad slaw with leftover grilled chicken, berries, and a Kind bar. Pesto Caprese salad, sprouted beans, corn chips. Thinly sliced leftover pork loin, Caprese salad, homemade bbq sauce, and cantaloupe. Greek salad, turkey pinwheels with gluten free wraps, and cantaloupe.
Third row: Loaded buffalo chicken baked potato with avocado. Ham rolls, fruits and veggies and ham sandwich thins. Sprouted bean salad topped with avocado and green olives, strawberries, and corn chips. Ham, cucumber, and tomato spinach wraps (with gluten free wraps), sliced cheese, raspberries, and almonds.
Bottom row: one-step guacamole over green salad topped with black olives, strawberries and cantaloupe. Leftover grilled chicken salad, Greek olive Sabra hummus, pretzel thins. A stack of lunch containers in my fridge, labeled with any morning assembly instructions. Repeat! Brie and avocado sandwich – I LOVE brie.
Lunch Meal Plan Ideas
Top row: Spinach & avocado sandwich, hummus, pretzel thins, and melon. Mixed salad, mayo-free egg salad, and diced avocado. My homemade punchable remake (did not eat the store bought, it’s just for comparison). Grain free almond butter and banana bread, berries, maple Greek yogurt.
Middle row: leftover mac & cheese bites, berries, sugar snap peas, and carrots. Half of a sushi tray, side of amines (you can do soy sauce), and pineapple. Goat cheese and clementine salad, strawberries, blueberries, and homemade strawberry milk (made with coconut milk).
Bottom row: pressed ham and cheese croissant, grapes, celery and homemade ranch dip. Ham on a stick and turkey + cheese on a stick (the sticks are hot drink caps from Starbucks). Egg salad, spinach, and tomato sandwich, melon, raspberries. Black bean taco salad over baby greens, blueberries and corn chips.
Most of the lunches were put together with leftovers and prepped ahead ingredients. Some lunches are lighter than others depending on my day’s schedule (some days I have a heavy breakfast). You can find my favorite lunch containers for adults here.
Whew! This was a long one! Of course, there are many more ideas and meals that I didn’t picture… but you get the idea. Excuse the photo quality and enjoy the ideas!
If you want to learn how to pack like a pro without soggy sandwiches, how to grill sandwiches and pack them for later, how to use a thermos, and other lunch packing tips, visit MOMables, or grab your copy of Meal Prep’d my ebook where I show you how to cook something for dinner and pack it for lunch the next day.
Easy Office Lunch Ideas
Ingredients
Canned Chicken Salad Lunch
- 2 cups chopped lettuce
- 3-4 ounces canned chicken, liquid drained
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
- ¼ avocado, diced
- 1 ounce mini mozzarella balls
- 1 tablespoon black olives, sliced
- 2 tablespoons salad dressing, such as a white wine vinaigrette
Instructions
Assemble:
- Place lettuce in the bottom of a lunch container. Top with the veggies, cheese and canned chicken. Drizzle with dressing if eating the salad right away. If not, wait to pour the dressing.
Pack it for lunch:
- Use a small lidded container to pack the salad dressing. Refrigerate the salad and dressing until it's time to pack for office lunch. Pack in a lunch bag with an ice pack.
tiffany says
packing my way through these office lunches one by one!
IRENE GONZALEZ SERRANO says
Muchas gracias Laura! Te sigo desde hace tiempo desde Madrid, y recientemente con la vuelta al trabajo vuelvo a tus ideas. LA verdad es que casi ninguno de los blogs americanos de cocina y ahorro se ajustan a la realidad española. Nosotros tratamos de hacerlo, con un nuevo proyecto en el horno. Muchas gracias por tu trabajo!
Laura Fuentes says
Irene, gracias por seguirme en mi blog! Ya se que muchas de las blogs Americanas no crean recetas para el estilo Español… bueno, la cocina clásica Española -ya me entiendes. Me encanta tu pagina web. La mirareé luego y pondre algnas recetas en mi lista de probar. Se ven estupendas!
Scoopify says
This post has allowed me to break through my biggest obstacle: what to eat for lunch? Not one thing i wouldn’t eat on this list! I am making them in order and I am on week 4!!! Thank you!!!
Laura Fuentes says
That is fabulous!! Thanks for sharing!
gini says
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
melissa says
A lot of your links aren’t working, they are being added to the end of your existing links.
thanks for all you do.
Laura Fuentes says
thanks so much for letting me know Melissa! the links must have broken in the last update. All fixed!
jodie says
its saying page not fund?
Laura Fuentes says
sorry. the post had a broken link Jodie.
jodie says
Hi i was wondering where you can buy the tubs from that you have used
Laura Fuentes says
Jodie, you can purchase all the lunch containers pictured in this post here.
Stephanie says
These look delicious and lovely! I’m about to start my first year of teaching, and I’ve been fretting over preparing healthy lunches and thinking about food prep for each week. This will definitely make that task much easier for me. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Nicole says
Just came across your site and love it already! Maybe I overlooked this, but do you make your sandwiches ahead of time and store in fridge? I always seem to have soggy sandwiches if I do this- but maybe there’s a tip I’m missing? I love prepping ahead of time so I can just grab and go. Thanks!
-Nicole
Laura Fuentes says
I sure do! All the tips you need on “how to” pack ahead of times can be found over at MOMables.
Jessica D says
Maybe I missed it but what is the name of delicious-looking dish you are munching on in the top title picture (some kind of broccoli slaw?)
Laura Fuentes says
Jessica, that’s exactly what it is! Broccoli slaw. 🙂
Jessica D says
I’ve searched the site but to no avail… is that because this recipe part of the MOMables menu recipes?
Laura Fuentes says
It is Jessica. That’s where I get all my ideas from / or I make meals for our menus.
Courtney says
I love this list! Maybe I’m overlooking it, but I can’t seem to find a recipe link for the honey orange chicken meatballs. They sound so good!
Laura Fuentes says
Courtney, those are part of the MOMables menu recipes. 🙂
Vera says
I love the menus you posted. I really would like to incorporate some of the meals you suggested but it is a bit difficult to do such because of my location. Here in St Kitts we do not have some of the items you mentioned. Most of the foods you used are not available in our supermarkets. Those that are available are ridiculously high-priced and often aren’t affordable. Fresh fruits and veggies are available at every turn. I need more meal ideas that would encourage my little one to taste. I have an extremely picky eater and I need him to eat healthier. He needs to lose 3 lbs and I need to lose 15 lbs. I do think I shall initiate that change when we return to the U.S. next month for vacation. Do you have any suggestions meanwhile?
Laura Fuentes says
What I suggest is to focus of fresh foods like fruits and vegetables since you have them available to you. 🙂
Kristine C says
Wow! lots of awesome ideas! Where do you get your neat lunch containers?
Laura Fuentes says
You can find every lunch container here.
Rochelle says
I see most of the meals are cold meals, but what would you advise for the ones that need to be heated? As you should not put hot food in plastic and never reheat food in plastic, even if it says BPA free, since the heat causes chemicals to leech into the food.
Laura Fuentes says
I use thermos containers for hot meals Rochelle. I heat everything up at home and not in a microwave at the office. Check out this post on which ones I like best.
Kathy Coy says
Oh my gosh, Laura, this is amazing. I don’t have kids at home and use all your ideas for my own packed lunches. I will spend some time looking through all these great ideas! Thank you.
Laura Fuentes says
My pleasure Kathy! I have a lot of followers and MOMables meal plan subscribers who don’t have kids and use them for their own adult lunches too! I’m thrilled to have you here.
Vi says
Awesome, but here’s a question out of the box, so to speak: where do you get all your awesome compartmented lunchboxes? I love them, and they are a great size. The ones I’ve seen tend to be too small, particularly given that when I eat salad I eat LOTS of salad.
Thanks!
Laura Fuentes says
Hi Vi!
Everything shown in this post can be found here.
Vi says
Excellent, thank you!
Cara says
The link takes me to “Page Not Found” NOOOOO! I must know where you found them! 🙂
Laura Fuentes says
http://www.momables.com/store
Kevie (rhymes with Chevy) says
I popped over to the photo shoot flop entry and read that you are overwhelmed by the idea of shopping for matching outfits to make a family portrait for Christmas and that you are not organized enough to do that…I have to say, it seems like you are. It seems like it would take that kind of organization to do all of this with the food. Food has always been my weak point and I’m super stressed out by trying to eat healthy, making a variety of dishes, and minimizing waste. Every time I have tried, it has ended quickly and with lots of fast food because I get easily burned-out trying to manage a menu. I must be making it harder than it needs to be because if a working mom of 3 can handle it, I certainly should be able to.
Laura Fuentes says
Kevie, we all have our strong points… food is mine but shopping for clothes etc isn’t. Believe me when I tell you that my son is 6 and I still have 3T and 4T clothes in his closet… and let’s not talk about my daughter’s. I’m pretty sure she wears a size 2 shoe and we have 12s in hers. I stink at that kind or organization.
Meal planning is like anything else, preparation and sticking with it.
Colleen says
I’ve had really bad luck cutting up those ice sheet pockets, and one time one pocket started leaking and my son consumed the contents! A call to poison control confirmed that he would be fine, but I was terrified. An easier solution is to freeze condiment packets like ketchup or sauce from Taco Bell.
Laura Fuentes says
Great tip! I’ve never had an issue with mine leaking… but great point on cutting them up.
CE Papas: the merrymaker sisters says
Fantastic post! We find our readers struggle a lot with lunches, so this is perfect! Thanks for sharing 🙂 🙂 e + c
Tiffany C. says
OMGEEEE! You are such a powerhouse! How you think of all these ideas in addition to being a mommy and business woman is totally beyond me. I am definitely using some of these recipes!
Laura Fuentes says
Thanks Tiffany! You KNOW how much I LOVE lunch… all I do is make my MOMables menus for big kids.. 🙂
Lane says
Wow, thanks for compiling this amazing list in one place! I would love to know more about how you make the little ice cube packets.
Laura Fuentes says
Lane, I don’t make those. I buy an ice-pack sheet and cut it up.
shabnam says
Thank you for such a lovely recipes but my families lives in Delhi and they are very much fonds of heavy food like chapatis and vegetables curry. I have to wake up early morning to prepare this due to this I can’t do other works properly plz provide me some indian recepies