Best Make-Ahead Lunches

What Our Editors are Making for Lunch

Created January 23, 2020

We’re food people. But we’re also regular people, who eat regular lunches.

Like you, we’re stuck indoors, working from home and trying to stay sane. One of the ways we’re trying to retain some sense of normalcy is that we’re still packing our lunches for the workday. Well, “packing.” We’re making our lunches ahead, so that way we have something normal to look forward to during the middle of our otherwise weird workday. And even though we love all things food, it’s not like we’re assembling intricate bento boxes or impressive gourmet salads for ourselves every day. We have our easy favorites, our stand-bys, our tried-and-trues—and we’re going to spill our best make-ahead lunch ideas with you.

Grain Bowls

When polling the editorial team here at Tablespoon, a grain bowl was the most popular of the make-ahead lunches we like to bring. It’s understandable: a grain bowl is easy to assemble, it re-heats well and the variety in flavor combinations is virtually endless. Our social media guru Lydia usually makes her grain bowls from rice, whatever fresh veggies are in her crisper drawer and some kind of chicken or ground turkey. Vegetarian editor M.E. also starts her grain bowls off with rice, but then substitutes the meat for canned beans and usually uses frozen vegetables, because they keep longer than fresh ones.

Soup

How about a make-ahead lunch that you don’t actually have to make ahead? Especially during the colder months, a can of soup really hits the spot in the middle of the day. We like to dress our up (because we’re #extra) with cheese, baby spinach, shredded chicken or fresh herbs, depending on what flavor of soup we’re enjoying for the day. A can of tomato basil tastes great with cubed, precooked ham and some cheese. Mmm-mmm.

Avocado Toast

Can you tell a bunch of millennials are behind the scenes at Tablespoon? Seriously though, eating two slices of avocado toast is a pretty great way to spend you lunch break. Enjoying this millennial meal for lunch does mean a bit of lunch is spent prepping—you have to toast the bread and crack open a ripe avocado. All the assembling of the meal has to happen in-house. But avocado toast is ridiculously easy to make, and the toppings you can add are vast in variety. Fresh sprouts, red onion, slices of ham, tomatoes—the list could go on and on. If you ask us though, the most important addition to avocado toast is a shake of everything bagel seasoning.

PB + J

Hear us out: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a fantastic make-ahead lunch idea. Chances are you haven’t enjoyed a good PB & J since you were in elementary school, but it’s a pretty dang good lunch. Pair with a piece of fresh fruit and you’re looking at a protein-packed meal. The Tablespoon team prefers almond butter, and a smashed banana in place of jelly is a favorite substitute, too. Just remember to put peanut butter on both pieces of bread so the bread doesn’t get soggy.