21 Simple 10-Minute Lunches to Pack for Work

This creamy, crunchy cucumber sandwich recipe strikes a lovely balance between decadent and light. The cream cheese-yogurt spread complements the crisp refreshing cucumber while the hearty flavor and texture of the whole-wheat bread holds everything together. Removing the crusts makes it more delicate than your average sandwich.

This creamy yet light vegan salad is full of bright, herby goodness. On its own, it's great to serve alongside a sandwich or veggie burger in place of potato salad or coleslaw. You can also make it into a light lunch by adding a handful of arugula to enjoy it as a green salad. Double the recipe and refrigerate to have on hand throughout the week.

This quick recipe takes classic egg salad to the next level with the addition of creamy avocado. Serve it on a piece of toasted whole-grain bread or inside a tender lettuce leaf. Avocados brown quickly, so plan on making it no more than two hours before you plan to serve it.

This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables depending on your mood.

This caprese sandwich is fresh from the basil and hearty from thick, crusty ciabatta. The sun-dried tomatoes deepen the flavor. Topping the bread with a layer of basil leaves and using toasted bread helps to keep the sandwich from getting soggy if you need to make it a few hours ahead.

Avocado adds creaminess while sunflower seeds provide texture and crunch in this easy tuna-spinach salad.

This simple tuna salad with egg has a clean and balanced flavor. The capers and lemon bring acidity to help everything come together and chopped arugula adds a peppery kick. Enjoy it with greens or on a slice of your favorite whole-grain bread.

We put a flavor twist on the classic chicken salad by using a lemon-herb mayonnaise. Try other mayo varieties, like roasted garlic or chipotle lime, in this fast, no-cook lunch recipe. Serve with whole-grain crackers.

To make this hearty grain bowl, grab a salad kit from the grocery store. Then, top the kit with farro and chicken for a high-protein lunch or dinner that's ready in minutes.

Combine precooked lentils (often located in the produce section of your grocery store) with an Indian-style simmer sauce for a super-fast and flavorful curry. Serving it over riced cauliflower bumps up the vegetable count and keeps carb servings in check. This 3-ingredient dinner (not counting salt, pepper and oil) is really as easy as it gets. To be mindful of the salt, look for simmer sauces with less than or close to 350 mg sodium per ¼-cup serving.

This almost-instant grain bowl makes the most of the prepared-foods section at your grocery store. Toss together a ready-made salad with proteins for a healthy, quick dinner.

When you boil eggs ahead of time, it's easy to create a lickety-split and delightful lunchtime egg salad. And using the flavorful leafy carrot tops in it is like getting herbs for free.

Bagged salad and slaw blends are great shortcut ingredients for adding variety without needing to wash and chop lots of different vegetables. Toss a kale-and-broccoli slaw mix with canned white beans and yogurt-based green goddess dressing for a crunchy main-dish salad in minutes.

This low-carb meal-prep version of the classic composed salad comes together in about 10 minutes thanks to a handful of shortcut ingredients, like pretrimmed green beans and prepared olive tapenade. With a whopping 41 grams of protein per serving, these bowls will keep hunger at bay all afternoon. To switch things up, feel free to swap in canned tuna or leftover roasted salmon for the shrimp. We love going to Trader Joe's for fast shortcut ingredients--see Tip (below) for our product recommendations.

In about 10 minutes, you can prep a week's worth of lunches using 4 simple ingredients from your local specialty grocery store. To minimize prep, we're taking advantage of prechopped fresh veggie mix and frozen quinoa (which heats in the microwave in under 5 minutes). These crunchy chopped salad bowls are high in fiber but lower in calories, making them perfect for those following a reduced-calorie diet.

This chickpea salad is a vegetarian version of a classic chicken salad--and, thus, can be eaten in the exact same way. Let's be clear, though: it doesn't taste like chicken, but it is a delicious (and fiber-packed) vegetarian alternative! Plus, it's easily transportable, perfect for picnics and will surely step up your sad desk lunch.

This healthy chopped salad is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken. You can reserve the remaining hard-boiled egg half for a snack.

We love the retro vibe of these egg salad lettuce wraps. Iceberg lettuce makes a perfect low-carb swap for bread to serve the egg salad.

This power salad will keep you fueled for hours, thanks to 26 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. Tossing the dressing and kale, and then letting it stand in the jar, softens it enough so you don't need to massage or cook it to make it tender.

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

This salad with lentils, feta and apple is a satisfying vegetarian entree to whip together for lunch. To save time, swap in drained canned lentils--just make sure to look for low-sodium and give them a rinse before adding them to the salad.