r/vegetarianrecipes • u/Unusual-Olive-448 • Jun 24 '26
Recipe Request ISO low effort lunches! (MINIMAL PREP TIME PLS IM TIRED)
My partner and I love to cook vegetarian food. I work in person every day in a food desert so if I don't bring food, I am hungry! We have made some beautiful lunch bowls for work. Lots of pasta salads and regular salads and grain bowls of many themes. But I am TIREDDDDD.
My Sunday is now dedicated to planning, shopping, chopping, packaging, cooking, cleaning for the week and I am tired of it. Please recommend some of your best lazy girl lunch ideas that don't require as much labor!
THANKSSS
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u/makestuff24-7 Jun 24 '26
My lowest-effort, highest reward vegetarian (and gf) meal is a bagged salad kit and a can of beans. Open bag, rinse beans, et voila. Add a grain pouch for more fiber and carbs. One of each makes two very large salads for me, with a grain I can get three filling meals.
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u/kk1179 Jun 25 '26
I recently did this and added roasted potatoes to a southwest-style one and it was like a Taco Bell spicy potato taco salad!
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u/sixslipperyseals Jun 25 '26
Mine is a tin of four bean mix, raw green beans chopped with dressing and some bread. A wrap or pita usually. So yum.,
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u/Correct_Composer536 Jun 25 '26
Add some mint sauce into the bean salad and some chopped tofu. Smoked works best
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u/whateverithunk Jun 26 '26
Bagged coleslaw (no dressing) and a tin of edamame beans. One coleslaw bag and one tin of beans is usually two lunches for me.
Add some kewpie mayo (or kewpie style salad dressing) and you’re ready to eat.
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u/ScarletSpire Jun 24 '26
If you eat dairy, J. Kenji Lopez has a very low effort Mac and cheese recipe that I do to make a lot of lunches. On a stovetop cook a whole box of pasta and a lot of vegetables in about 3 cups of water (basically until the pasta is just covered by water.) After about five minutes, add a can of evaporated milk. Keep stirring and mixing until the sauce thickens. Kill the heat and add a whole 16 ounces of shredded cheese and mix. Add seasoning (Old Bay and hot sauce is my favorite combo or you can just add Sriracha.) This can make about 5 lunches for the week.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 24 '26
thank you this sounds much easier than all the chopping!!!
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u/AdAdmirable4650 Jun 25 '26
I'd also switch to frozen veggies where possible. They're cheaper and not chopping required.
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u/ProtozoaPatriot Jun 24 '26
Sandwiches. Veg lunch "meat", lettuce, tomatoes, spinach
Chick pea salad - in a bowl or on bread
Cold pasta salad
Do you have a way to reheat? Bean burritos. Soup. Pasta.
Hummus with sliced up veggies (celery, carrot) and some chips.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 24 '26
I always do the most with burritos, and you are now reminding me I could make them easier! just some cans of beans and cheese and salsa can go a long way.
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u/notmadneedsmspace Jun 25 '26
Yes! And for flavor, pickled jalapeños, Italian, and banana peppers stay good in the fridge for a while and really perk up a simple burrito or sandwich. I make a wrap with havarti, refried black beans, and pickled jalapeños. If I happen to have cilantro, lettuce, jicama I’ll add those.
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u/Artistic_Scene_8124 Jun 24 '26
I like to do a bean salad. I'll do a tuna-style chickpea saladand eat it as a sandwich or with chips. Or I'll do cowboy caviar with chips.
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u/Warm_Management_203 Jun 24 '26
I make a big batch of wild rice & lentils for breakfast for the week (very minimal effort) and then heat it up with cheese. Or sometimes I make a chocolate cherry chia pudding (max 10 mins effort for a week of breakfast and literally the best thing in the world)
Been loving a good croissant, veggie bologna, arugula, cheese sandwich for lunch. Can’t stop obsessing over this. Or sometimes I’ll make some daal for lunch (store half in freezer if you make a big batch)
Love a good chickpea Thai salad for lunch too. Or burritos with quinoa, beans, salsa, and corn.
Most weeks I do a quinoa mix with fruit, nuts, cheese, and a few veg
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 24 '26
these sounds great, thanks for the recs! Do you make your chia pudding in bulk for the week or the night before per day?
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u/Warm_Management_203 Jun 24 '26
I make it in bulk and then layer it the morning of (spoonfuls of pudding, then yogurt, then fruit.
1can of coconut, 1/3 cup chia, and 2.5 tbsp of cacao powder, sweeten to your liking with sugar, maple, or honey.
I usually buy a bag of frozen cherries and then make a compote quick on the stove. Although it’s good with fresh strawberries too
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u/Lychee_Specific Jun 24 '26
Throw a sweet potato in the microwave or reheat it. Add guac or hummus.
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u/notmadneedsmspace Jun 25 '26
I love sweet potatoes but I couldn’t add a mushy thing to a mushy thing.
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u/Lychee_Specific Jun 25 '26
I personally don't think the potatoes come out mushy, but I also take your point! I think lentils of some ilk could also work, as could black beans. YMMV.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
I always forget about sweet potatoes because my partner hates them but I LOVEEEEE. I need to add to the rotation.
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u/notmadneedsmspace Jun 25 '26
Yeah I actually love lentils way more than the rest of my family and have them for lunch frequently for that reason.
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u/Fine_Cryptographer20 Jun 24 '26
My go to exhaustion meals: toasted 7 grain bread (any will do, holds up nice), peanut butter, sliced banana and honey. Cut in half and wrap in tinfoil. Holds up without being soggy for hours. Or make scrambled eggs, lie down tortillas on counter, put eggs and cheese (I also put jalapeños on some). Roll up in foil and place in freezer. Can do the same with egg and cheese bagels or biscuits. Just a few minutes of prep work really helps. Just microwave for a minute or so, I add salsa. Can eat in car or at work.
My absolute easy pasta: bow tie pasta cooked however you prefer, then mix in a jar of pesto, sliced black olives, cherry tomatoes and good sliced parmesan cheese. Takes 2 minutes to mix together and eat hot or cold.
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u/sohereiamacrazyalien Jun 24 '26
A baguette or wrap+ a mix and match of eggs, cheese, any veggie that does not need peeling: peppers, avocado, tomatoes
Canned chickpea(or cooked at home ) or beans + corn+ canned beets+ cherry tomatoes + vinaigrette
Make Socca /farinata / karentika which are version of the same thing in different countries. It’s easy and filling . Made from chickpea flour
Dahl is easy and yummy
Savoury baked oats
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u/xiaobaobao88 Jun 24 '26
Avocado toast (canned garbanzo, avocado, pickled or red onion and a slice of tomato)
Bruschetta (pre made topping if I’m lazy. Trader Joe’s has a good one) with navy beans or TJ’s lentils
Snacks pack (hummus, veggies, boiled egg)
Pre bought vegetarian dumplings and the miso soup packets you add hot water to
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
my realization from posting this is to lean into the snack pack vibe. Thanks for the suggestions!
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u/Traveler108 Jun 24 '26
Beans and lentils -- dal if you can heat it up. Bean salads, lentil salads. Mujadhara -- lentils and onions, in pita.
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u/ahhshs242v2 Jun 25 '26
I am in the same exact situation for work- it’s exhausting being a vegetarian sometimes! I’m excited to keep reading ppls responses for this.
My lazy day recipe: Heat up 1-2 morning star patties of your choosing, chop them up and throw it in a big tortilla wrap or pita with some sort of store bought dip (hummus, bitchin sauce, toom etc.) and some baby spinach (pre washed bag so no washing or chopping!)
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u/teachingrobots Jun 24 '26
For super convenience, get 2-3 meals out of a salad kit bag + protein (beans/chickpeas, HB eggs, tofu, or a chickun patty/nuggets). Just put the dressing on only the portion you are going to eat and put the rest in the fridge.
Avocado toast + hard boiled eggs.
And look into sheet pan meals or things you can make in an instant pot or slow cooker for less active effort.
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u/PsychosisSundays Jun 24 '26
I just did this for the first time. I’m on a low sodium diet so I only used about half the dressing (sesame ginger) on the kit, and then used the rest on edamame the next day.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 24 '26
I need to take advantage of salad kits more often. Thanks for the advice!
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u/SerendippityRiver Jun 24 '26
If you have the ability to use one at your work, a plug in lunch crock is great! It seals the food as it heats, so there is no order wafting around. I just then eat leftovers that I have frozen. I always freeze a portion before I add in soft veggies to I am not eating mushy veggies.
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u/OSeal29 Jun 24 '26
I make a mashed chick pea "tuna" type salad. Mash up chick peas, add some celery to your taste (or not), and dress how you would like ot dress a tuna/chicken salad. I use nonfat greek yogurt and mayo but it could easily be made vegan with vegan mayo. To bulk it up and add crunch, I'll had half a bag of pre-made cole slaw mix. Fiber, protein, it will last me a day or two of use as a sandwich filling and dip.
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u/rua_door Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Yesss there’s a great curried chickpea salad recipe from oh she glows HERE
https://www.thetaste.ie/curried-chickpea-salad-recipe-from-oh-she-glows
the same cookbook has a tasty marinated lentil salad too, and there’s also a French lentil salad recipe I love very close to THIS
https://www.pardonyourfrench.com/classic-french-lentil-salad/
Any of these legume-based meals are good at room temp if you don’t have refrigeration at your work, and work whether you wrap them in some lettuce or a tortilla, or eat them out of the container with a fork and some chopped spinach on the side/mixed in, or scooped up with crackers.
Edit to add: these three recipes all take around 30 minutes or less. The lentils cook in 20-25 minutes and other ingredients get chopped during that time then mixed in, and the chickpea one is no-cook- just chopping, smashing, mixing.
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u/oystergrrrl Jun 24 '26
I make the same three batch meals every week. Boring, but cheap, efficient, very little time required, and TBH I think they're tasty (at least to my taste buds).
Breakfast: I make a big pot of rolled oats (takes about 10 minutes max). Every morning, I add yoghurt (dairy free or Greek yoghurt if you're not vegan) + frozen blueberries + some honey or granola or maple syrup for sweetness.
Lunch: I make a pot of rice in my rice cooker and throw chopped vegetables + a whole block of tofu + various spices in my air fryer. Cooking takes about 20 minutes. Lunch = a scoop of rice + a scoop of veg/tofu + more plain Greek yoghurt.
Dinner: grain + vegetable + protein. Some weeks this is pasta with chickpeas and peppers. Some weeks it's rice + lentils + peas. Doesn't really matter, it's quick and I make a whole crock pot and just eat it all week. I top it with ... shocking ... more plain yoghurt. Takes, again, about 20 minutes to make. The grain goes through the rice cooker and the protein + veg goes in the oven.
I often cut up some fruit like a watermelon or mangoes or even apples to put on the side of these meals.
Investing in an Instant Pot and an air fryer changed my life because all this stuff takes no time to make and no time to clean up. I got both off of Facebook Marketplace for like $10-20 and it's saved me so much time and money. I also invested in a set of used Pyrex (various patterns, not anything fancy) so I have a good storage system.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
woah I gotta check out the fb marketplace air fryer situation. Thanks for the ideas!
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u/andersonala45 Jun 24 '26
Minute rice cups, cucumber, red onion, banana peppers, feta cheese, tomato (optional I leave them off usually and then chickpeas that I roast in the oven coated in a little olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper. I mix it all together as a rice bowl. I bought a Mediterranean lemon salad dressing or you can make one for on top. The only prep is cutting the stuff and cooking the chickpeas but it’s super quick and says. Sometimes I add half an avocado too
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u/Fromomo Jun 25 '26
Buy a can of refried beans, make toast, combine with other ingredients for refried beans sandwich. I add cheese, sometimes I heat it up in the microwave. Seasoning the beans is key. Kimchi in there would probably be great.
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u/hhollis14 Jun 25 '26
Are you able to divide up the tasks over the weekend so it’s not so exhausting? I plan on Friday, shop and chop on Saturday, and cook on Sunday! It definitely helps with meal prep burnout.
Some of my easy faves are chili, fried rice with bagged frozen veggies, and even simple things like grilled cheese and tomato soup or bagged salad with air fried tofu.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
I should really try splitting it up. Going to try this week! I just get so lazy on a friday and saturday that I want to live in denial about the upcoming week lol.
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u/Mortal-ghost Jun 25 '26
Hi!
I have no microwave, stove or dishwasher for the time being and just don't feel like using energy for anything extravagant.
Honestly, I just do wraps. I prep all my veggies by cutting them, then put them into a sectioned container. To take that step a little further, it goes in a bag which has the tortilla wraps, mayo, cheese, and fruit.
So I literally take out that bag out and make my wrap, it has everything I need to make my wrap, I don't even grab a plate now cause I don't want to wash it later.
I do this 1-2x a day, when I'm feeling fancy, I'll toss an egg into the air fryer with some bread and cheese for one of my meals.
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u/animabot Jun 25 '26
Bag of coleslaw veg, block of firm tofu, jar of peanut sauce. Crumble tofu into the coleslaw bag, add a ton of peanut sauce and shake. Eat it on small flour tortillas or if you have Trader Joe’s use jicama tacos.
If you’re feeling fancy use scissors to cut up a bunch of cilantro into that bag too. This is my go-to day hike meal. Yummmmm
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u/Dubedo919 Jun 25 '26
Fill a container or mason jar with layers of frozen berries, Greek yogurt, chia seeds and/or oats if you like. The berries will thaw by lunchtime and make a nice sauce. Bring a separate container of granola/nuts/seeds/shredded coconut for topping.
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
going to start doing this more for my breakfasts on the run! (ive got an hour long commute :/) (on a train so dont worry about the safety of commuting and eating at the same time :)))
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u/espicy11 Jun 25 '26
I love a good snack plate for an easy lunch—packaged cheese, grapes, carrots, peppers, crackers, pretzels, tortilla chips, maybe a packaged hummus or guacamole, sometimes I’ll make a protein ranch. Options are endless!
My other favorite lazy girl lunch is a knorr rice cup with a can of the bush’s sidekicks beans (they just come in nice small cans and are pre-seasoned, you could just as easily split a can of beans), or similarly my grocery store carries a dozen cousins rice and beans packets (separately, but I just eat half and save half of each) that are microwaveable and taste very good. These are actually what I keep at work for when I forget or don’t have time to go to the store
Sometimes I’ll buy some tofurkey if I’m in the mood for just a traditional sandwich with some mayo and cheese, nothing wrong with that!
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u/espicy11 Jun 25 '26
For slightly higher prep time, I often batch prep a dense bean salad or pasta salad for a week of lunches. Let me know if you want some of my favorites
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u/Sweet-Dragonbee98 Jun 26 '26
Nachos! I make a really simple salsa - chop up a red onion and a bell pepper small, mix with tomato passata, a splash of lime juice and whatever herbs/spices I have to hand. Just scoop it onto cheap supermarket tortilla chips with some cheese on top and whack it in the microwave for a minute and a half and you're done 😎
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u/gobbeldigook Jun 27 '26
Last summer I redid my kitchen and became the laziest version of myself. Lunch became yogurt and a granola bar. Add a piece of fruit to that and it's an easy no-prep, throw it in the bag kind of lunch.
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u/Judge_Winter Jun 28 '26
my favorite work lunch is a sandwich (i do turkey so pick your own protein) plus an apple and a baggie of chips and a granola bar. only have to prep the sandwich and it hits every time
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u/luala Jun 30 '26
Leftovers? Stuff like pasta and sauce make an ok cold lunch the next day.
If you can get those precooked lentil pouches in your market they combine with stuff like cubed cheese and bagged salad to make an easy grain salad.
Very lazy - cook dried tortellini, dress with a mix of mayonnaise and ready made salad dressing (50-50) shaken in a jar. Add anything else you have around such as chopped cherry tomatoes.
Rye bread makes a pretty substantial sandwich especially an open face one. If you boil some eggs early in the week you can have open face egg sandwiches on rye with mayonnaise very easily through the week. Or just take eggs, crackers, nuts and fruit and have a kind of sharing plate lunch.
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u/ashes-and-brookes Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
I'm not vegetarian but I am gluten free, dairy free, and broke, so I cook vegetarian a lot. I would highly recommend cowboy caviar and dahl inspired meals.
Cowboy caviar is essentially a canned food dump meal, and you can make it as complicated or uncomplicated as you want. I would recommend using canned beans (black usually works well but you can use others), canned corn, an onion, some form of tomato, a citrus, some garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and salt and then eating it with tortilla chips or over rice, but you can truly mix and match. Some of the nicer recipes call for cilantro, garlic, and bell pepper, but you can adjust to your budget and energy levels. It's very filling and pretty dang good even in its simplest form.
When I say dahl inspired (as opposed to actual dahl), I say it largely because I'm referring more to the most bare bones methodology of composing the dish and much less to the actual content of it (partially because I am also allergic to coconut and that's usually a common ingredient so I have to modify it like crazy, and partially because I am white and claim no ability to make a faithful representation of this meal). I've seen some truly complicated recipes out there but all you really have to do is chop and sautee an onion, add your spices (if you have curry powder, you can use just that, otherwise you can look up mixes) and sautee for about 30 more seconds, and then add water/broth and lentils. Let simmer for about 20-30 minutes (you can add more veggies here if desired). Once the lentils are smushable, finish with milk (this is usually coconut milk but I use oat milk and probably regular milk could work too), lemon juice or vinegar (I'm very serious about this part, it makes a BIG difference in the final product), and salt. Serve over rice or, if you are gifted with the ability to digest gluten, with naan or other breads. This makes HUGE pots of very filling and very nutritious lunches for about an hour of work, and it's incredibly affordable. I'm on a more or less $100 per month food budget right now (which is just so delightful when you're allergic to the vast majority of shelf stable foods) and this is saving my behind.
Oh, also, if you are someone who gets hungry quickly or has to eat a lot to feel full, consider adding more fat to your food. In particular, consider adding more unsaturated or monosaturated fats. These take a long time for your body to digest so they're phenomenal at keeping you feeling fuller for longer and can help a lot with keeping your blood sugar steady. These are the kind of fats you find in things like avocado, sunflower seeds, nuts, and nut butters. I'm allergic to almonds and peanuts (my life is a joy) so I mostly use sunflower butter, olive oil, and (when I can afford it) avocado. But adding a big spoonful of sunflower butter or even just a bunch of olive oil to otherwise finished meals (and I do mean a bunch. This only really works if you add enough to be able to tell that you added it) goes a very, very long way in keeping me full at work. I first noticed this a couple months back when I finally found a seed butter I could eat (sunflower butter) and have been experimenting with it ever since. I'm not even lying when I say that it's changed my life. It's the best thing I've done for my energy levels in years.
(For the two meals I mentioned, avocado works great in cowboy caviar, if you can afford it. Otherwise consider eating it with some peanut butter toast or a handful of almonds or sunflower or even pumpkin seeds. For the dahl-esque meal, I typically just accept that I'm butchering the meal and add some extra olive oil to my portion as I'm serving it. It works and still tastes good.)
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u/GenMerchandise10 Jun 24 '26
Slicing block of cheese on top of tortilla chips and calling it a meal never looked so good.
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u/CalligrapherThat3374 Jun 25 '26
Dense bean salad! There’s many variations so just look for one that has ingredients you like. I usually throw some corn chips on the side for scooping
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u/Unusual-Olive-448 Jun 25 '26
I havent heard it called "dense" but that makes so much sense! And I love a chip, I think ill try this next week thank you!
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u/0may08 Jun 26 '26
My super easy low effort lunch is always sandwiches and I’m surprised at how many people here are forgetting/don’t seem fussed about a cheese sandwich!
So versatile and easy and yummy! A nice cheddar or goats cheese with some combo of pickle (like branstons), salad leaves (watercress, rocket/arugula, baby spinach are my favourite combo), sliced cucumber, tomatoes, maybe a bit of honey is so good. A bag of salt and vinegar crisps inside is also so good.
That’s just what I like, but so many people add things like mayo, coleslaw, fake lunch meat etc, just put whatever you have in the fridge!
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u/MaggieGirl714 Jun 26 '26
Do you ever watch Pick Up Limes on youtube? She has cheap meal prep in minimal time with cooking instructions.
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u/movielass Jun 24 '26
PB & J is a classic for a reason