Healthy Recipes Healthy Cooking Methods & Styles Healthy Meal Prep Recipes Healthy Meal Prep Lunch Recipes 26 Cold Lunch Ideas for Teachers By Danielle DeAngelis Danielle DeAngelis Instagram Twitter Website Danielle DeAngelis is a rising journalist and current Fellow for EatingWell.com. Through her previous experiences as a news writer, she has focused on covering sustainability and human interest stories. Her passions of reading, writing and eating local all guide her in her position at EatingWell. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on March 5, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Ruth Blackburn Featuring salads, sandwiches and wraps, these cold lunch ideas are perfect for teachers. During lunch, just pull out one of these meals and enjoy—no microwave needed! Recipes like our Turkey & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps and Chickpea Tuna Salad are healthy and delicious midday meals you'll be adding to your regular rotation. 01 of 26 Turkey & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps View Recipe Crispy green lettuce leaves hold the filling inside this low-carb turkey wrap. It's perfect for lunch or a quick, easy dinner on the go. 02 of 26 Creamy Pesto Chicken Salad with Greens View Recipe For a healthy variation on creamy chicken salad, we've replaced half the mayonnaise with basil pesto. Serve over greens or make it into a sandwich for a healthy lunch. 03 of 26 Chickpea Tuna Salad View Recipe Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Ruth Blackburn This chickpea tuna salad with capers, feta and cucumber makes for the perfect lunch to pack for work or school. You can prep the salad the night before (just be sure to keep the spinach separate and dress the salad right before serving). 04 of 26 Pickled Beet, Arugula & Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich View Recipe Jacob Fox This pickled beet, arugula and goat cheese sandwich is peppery with creamy notes from the goat cheese and sweet and tangy undertones from the pickled beets. Chopped walnuts add nuttiness and crunch to this easy sandwich. 05 of 26 Spring Green Salad with Hard-Boiled Eggs View Recipe This salad capitalizes on fresh spring produce and gets a simple protein boost from hard-boiled eggs. Meal-prep this healthy lunch salad by mixing the salad base together and simmering a batch of hard-boiled eggs on the weekend. Then you'll be ready to just add one or two eggs with a drizzle of tangy vinaigrette for the simplest spring salad-to-go. 06 of 26 Veggie & Cream Cheese Sandwich View Recipe Victor Protasio The cream cheese in this veggie and cream cheese sandwich adds flavor while holding everything in place. This colorful, well-balanced sandwich is crispy from the cucumber and peppers, sweet from tomatoes and beets, and tangy from the banana peppers. 07 of 26 Protein Bistro Lunch Box View Recipe Inspired by Starbucks' bistro boxes, this affordable lunch is easy to make and pack yourself. With high-protein ingredients like a hard-boiled egg, edamame and tuna, this bistro-style lunch will leave you feeling satisfied. 08 of 26 Copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Salad View Recipe Jacob Fox This copycat Chick-fil-A kale salad has a sweet and tangy dressing coating tender kale and cabbage leaves that have been gently massaged. This salad can sit for an hour or two; just be sure to toss it before serving to redistribute the dressing. 09 of 26 Chopped Veggie Grain Bowls with Turmeric Dressing View Recipe 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. 10 of 26 Chickpea "Chicken" Salad View Recipe This chickpea salad is a vegetarian version of a classic chicken salad. It doesn't mimic the flavor of chicken; it swaps chickpeas in for the chicken. It's an ideal recipe if you're looking for simple, healthy lunch ideas. It is a delicious and fiber-packed vegetarian alternative! Plus, it's easily transportable, perfect for picnics and will surely step up your usual desk lunch. So, whether you're in need of healthy lunch ideas for work or school, or healthy lunch ideas for kids and teens alike, this fresh and creamy chickpea salad may be the answer. 11 of 26 Tuna Salad with Egg View Recipe Photography / Jennifer Causey, Styling / Ali Ramee / Audrey Davis 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. 12 of 26 Chicken & Apple Kale Wraps View Recipe Using kale leaves instead of bread to wrap your filling makes this healthy chicken lunch recipe low-calorie (and lower in carbs!). If you can't find lacinato (aka Tuscan) kale, try cabbage for your wrap. 13 of 26 Meal-Prep Turkey Cobb Salad View Recipe Cubed deli turkey takes the place of chicken, while Cheddar replaces blue cheese in this easy Cobb-inspired salad. The protein-rich turkey and cheese, plus eggs and bacon, gives the salad staying power, so you won't get hungry an hour after you eat. Feel free to swap out the turkey for cooked chicken or chickpeas to mix things up. Serve the salad right away or pack it up in individual containers and you'll be set for lunch for days. 14 of 26 Cucumber Salad, Hummus & Pita Bento Box Lunch View Recipe Enjoy this refreshing bento box idea on your lunch break. It combines cucumber salad, hummus, pita and more for a satisfying work lunch. 15 of 26 Tuna & Olive Spinach Salad View Recipe This tuna salad recipe gets an upgrade with olives, feta and a tahini dressing. Served over baby spinach, this is the perfect easy and light lunch or dinner salad. 16 of 26 Green Goddess Sandwich View Recipe Victor Protasio This green goddess sandwich is a fresh and satisfying sandwich. The dressing packs a flavorful punch with capers and lemon juice. The cucumber and sprouts add nice crunch, and the seasoned avocado brings in the creaminess. 17 of 26 Chopped Cobb Salad View Recipe This single-serving recipe for Cobb salad swaps chicken in for bacon, which makes it a great source of protein for lunch. If you prefer another salad dressing, feel free to use that instead of our honey-mustard vinaigrette. 18 of 26 Fruit & Cheese Bistro Lunch Box View Recipe This fruit, cheese and cracker box inspired by Starbucks' bistro boxes is a fun and healthy alternative to your standard sandwich. It's the perfect personal-size cheese plate to pack for a work lunch or a picnic in the park. 19 of 26 Salmon Pita Sandwich View Recipe This quick lunch recipe is loaded with heart-healthy omega-3s thanks to the canned sockeye salmon. If you're bringing this sandwich for lunch, keep the salmon salad separate and stuff the pita just before eating. 20 of 26 Spinach & Strawberry Meal-Prep Salad View Recipe Carolyn Hodges, M.S., RDN One of our most popular salad recipes, Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Feta & Walnuts, gets a makeover in these simple yet totally satisfying meal-prep spinach salad bowls. They require minimal prep and can be customized to your taste. Swap in roasted salmon for the chicken thighs, and almonds or pecans for the walnuts, and use any fresh berry that looks good at your market. 21 of 26 Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps View Recipe 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. 22 of 26 Fruit, Veggie & Cheese Plate View Recipe This healthy fruit, veggie and cheese plate is easy and affordable to pull together for a fun snack-style dinner at home or can be packed up and enjoyed as an outdoor picnic. 23 of 26 Tuna Salad Sandwich with Sweet Relish View Recipe This sweet twist on a classic tuna-salad sandwich is a healthy high-protein lunch that even your kids will love. 24 of 26 3-Ingredient Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Salad View Recipe Carolyn Hodges 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 this rotisserie chicken salad recipe with whole-grain crackers. 25 of 26 Whole-Wheat Veggie Wrap View Recipe Use whichever veggies you have on hand to fill up this veggie wrap. The avocado and hummus help hold the wrap together--and provide heart-healthy fat and fiber. 26 of 26 Mediterranean Pasta Salad View Recipe You might not think to use hummus as a pasta sauce, but the creamy dip makes the perfect backdrop to the bold flavors of this healthy Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit