A Month of Gluten-Free Vegan Lunch Ideas for Work

Updated December 31, 2019

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Simultaneously following a gluten-free and vegan diet has never been easier with this month of delicious lunch ideas for work! From our tasty Vegan Buddha Bowls to our easy Thai-Style Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu, here are 30 days of easy-to-make gluten-free vegan lunch recipes that are perfect for packing up for work. Translation: It’s time to kick your sad desk lunch to the curb!

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Day 1: Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas

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This healthy high-fiber salad comes together in just 10 minutes. Serve it right away or pack it in individual servings for four super-satisfying high-fiber lunches for the week ahead. To cut down on prep time, we're using preshredded Brussels sprouts from the produce department and store-bought roasted chickpeas. Look for roasted chickpea snacks with the healthy snacks or nuts at your grocery store.

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Day 2: Vegan Buddha Bowl

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This easy grain bowl has so much to love--sweet potatoes, protein-packed chickpeas, creamy avocado and homemade tahini dressing. Make the full recipe on the weekend and pack into individual serving containers for ready-to-go lunches for work all week.

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Day 3: Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing

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Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one!

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Day 4: Thai-Style Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu

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Prep four days' worth of high-protein vegan lunches using just four easy ingredients from Trader Joe's, including one of our all-time favorite salad mixes--Cruciferous Crunch--as a base. Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry.

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Day 5: Roasted Veggies Brown Rice Buddha Bowl

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A healthy and satisfying vegan lunch for one, featuring roasted butternut squash, broccoli, peppers and onions with simple brown rice, lime-marinated tofu and creamy cashew tahini sauce.

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Day 6: Quinoa, Avocado & Chickpea Salad over Mixed Greens

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Protein-rich quinoa and chickpeas add staying power to this zesty and healthy salad recipe.

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Day 7: Edamame & Veggie Rice Bowl

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The ingredients in this vegan grain bowl recipe can be prepped ahead for an easy lunch to pack for work. The tangy citrus dressing is a refreshing flavor with the sweet caramel of the roasted sheet-pan veggies.

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Day 8: Roasted Veggie Mason Jar

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This vegan mason jar salad is easy to pack up and take for lunch. Layering the creamy cashew sauce into the bottom of the jar ensures that your big, bold power salad won't become wilted by the time you're ready to eat.

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Day 9: Om Buddha Bowl

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This beautiful grain bowl is packed with healthy ingredients like quinoa, chickpeas, kale and cauliflower--all drizzled with a lemony tahini sauce. The fast one-bowl meal makes a satisfying weeknight dinner or packable work lunch. If you don't have za'atar, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander.

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Day 10: Curried Sweet Potato & Peanut Soup

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In this flavorful soup recipe, sweet potatoes simmer in a quick coconut curry, resulting in a creamy, thick broth punctuated by notes of garlic and ginger. We love peanuts for their inexpensive price and versatile flavor. They're also a great source of protein--1 ounce has 7 grams.

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Day 11: Crunchy Mexican Salad with Spicy Cilantro Vinaigrette

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A spicy cilantro vinaigrette gives this black bean salad Mexican flair. We used the beans for protein, but if you have cooked chicken on hand, you can use that instead. Also, if you have it, finish the salad with a quarter of an avocado for a boost of healthy fats.

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Day 12: Vegan Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice

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These meal-prep vegan burrito bowls are healthier and more flavorful than takeout. Make them early in the week for grab-and-go meals when days are busy. We use frozen cauliflower rice, a low-carb substitute for white or brown rice, to cut down on prep time.

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Day 13: South of the Border Buddha Bowl

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Crispy tofu lends protein to this burrito bowl-inspired veggie-packed grain bowl that's perfect for a quick and easy dinner or packable lunch for work.

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Day 14: Cabbage Diet Soup

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Loaded with cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, tomato and plenty of seasoning, this healthy vegetable soup packs in lots of flavor and is ultra-satisfying. This easy recipe makes a big batch for lunches or veggie-packed snacks all week. If you want to bump up the satisfaction factor even more, top with a little cheese or avocado.

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Day 15: Vegan Superfood Buddha Bowls

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This nutrient-packed vegan Buddha bowl recipe comes together in 15 minutes with the help of a few convenience-food shortcuts like prewashed baby kale, microwavable quinoa and precooked beets. Pack these ahead to keep on hand for easy meal-prep lunches or dinners on busy nights.

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Day 16: Chickpea & Quinoa Buddha Bowl

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It seems Buddha bowls have as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and there is no wrong way to build one! But we prefer to keep things classic and simple with hummus, quinoa, avocado and loads of veggies!

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Day 17: Meal-Prep Vegan Moroccan Lettuce Wraps

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For these meal-prep-friendly lettuce wraps, we swap the traditional warm filling for a cold plant-based bean salad filling loaded with fresh herbs and lemon. Topping each lettuce leaf with a little quinoa before adding the filling helps to keep the lettuce from getting soggy.

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Day 18: Vegan Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl with Creamy Green Sauce

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In a vegan riff on green goddess dressing, cashews provide a creamy base with tons of flavor from herbs and apple-cider vinegar. Drizzle it all over this bowl of quinoa and roasted vegetables to make a satisfying vegan dinner or easy packable lunch that is ready in just 30 minutes.

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Day 19: Black Bean-Quinoa Buddha Bowl

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Treat your Buddha bowl to a vacation south of the border! This black bean and quinoa Buddha bowl has the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the greasy fried bowl. We've loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top.

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Day 20: White Bean & Veggie Salad

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This meatless main-dish salad combines creamy, satisfying white beans and avocado. Try mixing it up with different seasonal vegetables.

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Day 21: Rainbow Buddha Bowl with Cashew Tahini Sauce

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This vibrant bowl is packed with nutrients to keep you full for hours. Look for precooked lentils in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

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Day 22: Vegan Potato-Leek Soup

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This rustic vegan potato-leek soup proves you don't need cream to make a hearty soup. The recipe calls for two types of potato--red potatoes, which hold their shape and add color to the soup, and russet potatoes, which break down slightly when cooked, adding texture and body to the soup. And not only is this comforting soup vegan--it's also gluten-free. Serve with a salad and crusty bread for a healthy dinner.

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Day 23: Vegan Kale Caesar Salad with Tofu Croutons

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Swapping tofu for the bread in these meal-prep Caesar salad bowls bumps up the satiety factor with 18 grams of protein. These crispy tofu croutons originally appeared in Lauren Grant's recipe for Diabetic Living magazine (see Associated Recipes). Lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale, has flat, dark green-blue leaves--and its tenderness makes it perfect for eating raw, like in this salad.

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Day 24: Quinoa Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Dressing

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This hearty vegan salad is loaded with plant-based power ingredients: chickpeas, quinoa and hummus. We love the crunch of the sunflower seeds and the unexpected flavor of roasted peppers.

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Day 25: Vegetarian Sushi Grain Bowl

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Skip the hassle of making sushi rolls at home and just go for this grain bowl. Start with a base of brown rice and add veggies, dressing and creamy avocado for a delicious and easy meal.

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Day 26: Citrus Lime Tofu Salad

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This veggie-packed salad has plenty of protein and fiber, so you'll feel full and satisfied. Prep the ingredients ahead of time for an easy vegan lunch idea to pack for work.

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Day 27: Miso Vegetable Soup

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Tofu, rice and plenty of vegetables transform miso soup from a light accompaniment into a dish that's substantial enough to leave you feeling satisfied.

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Day 28: Lemon-Roasted Vegetable Hummus Bowls

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Brimming with colorful roasted vegetables, these plant-based meal-prep lunch bowls are high in fiber to keep you full through the afternoon. The easy roasted veggies are based on a popular recipe from our sister magazine. Feel free to use your favorite store-bought hummus to cut down on prep time, or make a batch of your own. You can also sub in an 8-ounce microwaveable quinoa pouch to minimize cooking.

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Day 29: Instant Pot Vegetable Soup

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This easy soup recipe cooks up quickly thanks to the use of an electric pressure cooker or multicooker, like the Instant Pot. It packs in tons of filling veggies without packing on the calories. Plus, it happens to be entirely plant-based.

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Day 30: Jackfruit Barbacoa Burrito Bowls

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This easy soup recipe cooks up quickly thanks to the use of an electric pressure cooker or multicooker, like the Instant Pot. It packs in tons of filling veggies without packing on the calories. Plus, it happens to be entirely plant-based.

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