15+ No-Cook Lunch Recipes You Can Make Ahead

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On May 11, 2025

Want a tasty lunch that requires no cooking? You’re in the right place! These no-cook lunch recipes are simple and flavorful options. Plus, they’re easy to make ahead of time, so you’ll have a meal ready to go. Whip up easy options like our High-Protein White Bean Salad with Feta & Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette or our Green Goddess Wrap for a grab-and-go lunch that’s cool and refreshing.

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High-Protein White Bean Salad with Feta & Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette

Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen

White beans provide plant-based protein while also adding fiber to keep you full. Creamy feta cheese provides a tangy, salty contrast to the bright vinaigrette. Tossed with fresh herbs and toasted walnuts, this salad is perfect for a light lunch.

Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich

Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley

This sandwich takes classic tuna salad and adds a creamy twist with ripe avocado for a fresh, buttery flavor and texture. It’s the ideal upgrade to your usual tuna salad, and it’s sure to become your new favorite lunchtime sandwich for work or home.

Green Goddess Wrap

Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf

A soft and silky green goddess dressing blends with crunchy fresh cucumber and tender greens in this easy wrap. If you prefer, you can ditch the wrap and enjoy the filling as a salad instead.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Photographer / Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist / Karen Rankin, Prop Stylist / Christine Keely

This light and fresh caprese pasta salad is brought together with a bright and tangy dressing, with fresh mozzarella pearls adding creaminess to every bite.

Cucumber Chickpea Salad with Feta & Lemon

Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food Stylist: Annie Probst

This refreshing salad is loaded with flavor, thanks to crisp cucumbers and fiber-packed chickpeas. Feta and lemon add a delicious tanginess. You can enjoy it on its own or toss it with greens for an easy lunch or dinner.

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

Heami Lee, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley

These lettuce wraps are filled with a tasty tuna salad, which provides plenty of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. These wraps are packed with chopped apple, onion and celery to provide a welcome crunch.

Vegetarian Chopped Power Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing

Brie Passano

This healthy vegetarian salad features chickpeas and quinoa for a boost of protein. Cilantro adds color and flavor when blended to make a creamy dressing. Serve this cold salad for lunch or dinner.

Lemon-Dill Tuna Salad

Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Lindsey Lower

This tuna salad packs plenty of protein and gets a boost of flavor from sumac—a citrusy spice used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and North African cooking. Serve this between two pieces of whole-wheat bread as a sandwich or by itself with tender Bibb lettuce or crunchy celery sticks.

Chickpea Tuna Salad

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).

Green Goddess Tuna Salad

Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Lauren McAnelly, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco

Canned tuna makes this recipe convenient and pantry-friendly. Use the remaining herb sauce as a dressing for salads or grain bowls, as a spread on sandwiches or as a dip for vegetables. Serve on bread or in a wrap, over a bed of greens or scooped up with your favorite chips, crackers or cucumber slices.

Buffalo Chickpea Salad

Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food Stylist: Lauren McAnelly

This plant-based chickpea salad has all the flavors you know and love from Buffalo wings. Celery adds a satisfying crunch, while blue cheese provides a cooling element to balance the spicy sauce. Serve on top of leafy greens or use as a sandwich filling.

Pasta Salad with Vinaigrette Lunchbox

Diana Chistruga

Pasta salad is a great take-along lunch with tons of opportunity to make it your own. Want to make it vegetarian? Pack olives in place of salami. Don’t love peppers? Try tomatoes instead!

3-Ingredient Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Salad

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.

Mashed Chickpea Salad with Dill & Capers

This creamy yet light vegan salad is full of bright, herby goodness. 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.

Chopped Veggie Grain Bowls with Turmeric Dressing

In about 10 minutes, you can prep a week’s worth of lunches using 4 simple store-bought ingredients from your local specialty grocery store. These crunchy chopped salad bowls are high in fiber but lower in calories, making them perfect for those following a reduced-calorie diet.

Egg Salad Lunchbox

Diana Chistruga

Enjoy hard-boiled eggs on their own or chopped up and mixed with creamy dressing and some veggies thrown in for good measure. If you’re making lunch the night before, sprinkling the apple slices with a little cinnamon will add flavor and help mask any unsightly browning.

Southwest Black-Bean Pasta Salad Bowls

In this Southwestern-style pasta salad, we’re using pasta made with black beans to bump up the fiber to an impressive 14 grams per serving. Paired with seasoned chicken strips and a flavorful corn salad, this meal-prep lunch is one you’ll get excited for.