Skip to content

Sign up for free daily recipes! →

  • Breakfast
  • Salad
  • Soup
  • Sides
  • Dinners
  • Dessert
  • Diets
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • FAQs
  • Contact

Home | Lunch Recipes

Lunch Recipes

When lunchtime rolls around, I want something quick, satisfying, and packed with flavor—and these recipes check all the boxes. Whether I’m meal prepping for the week or tossing together something fresh midday, these are my go-to lunch ideas.

I love keeping things simple with a Protein Snack Pack—perfect for busy days and on-the-go meals. For something light but filling, Canned Salmon Salad and classic Chicken Salad are always in rotation. These recipes are easy to make, great for meal prep, and totally customizable depending on what you’ve got in the fridge.

Overhead view of sliced chicken breast on Greek salad with pita and avocado.

Greek Chicken Salad Recipe

Tender slow-cooked chicken gyro on a vertical spit with crispy charred edges.

Easy Gyros Recipe

A big, round serving bowl brimming with a colorful house salad, perfectly layered with fresh lettuce, crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, shredded carrots, Cheddar cheese, sliced hard-boiled eggs, and golden croutons, all finished with a generous drizzle of ranch dressing.

Everyday House Salad Recipe – Quick and Customizable

Perfectly golden brown and crispy chicken tenders being lifted from a large pot of sizzling oil in a spider strainer with text overlay reading " Tips and Recipes: Deep Frying 101"

Deep Frying 101: How to Successfully Deep Fry Anything

Salad tongs lifting a serving of Greek salad from the white platter.

Traditional Greek Salad Recipe (Horiatiki)

Large mixing bowl filled with a prepared ramen noodle salad consisting of toasted ramen noodles and almonds, coleslaw mix, and sliced green onions tossed in a simple sesame dressing.

Ramen Noodle Salad

Homemade sloppy joe mixture sandwiches between a toasted hamburger bun.

Sloppy Joe Recipe

Round serving plate with crisp Romaine lettuce, iceberg, radicchio, halved cherry tomatoes, black olives, sliced pepperoncini, shaved parmesan, and croutons.

Italian Salad Recipe

Silver spoon drizzling homemade lemon-Dijon dressing over a salad bowl filled with lentil salad made with with cooked green lentils, fresh parsley, cucumber, feta cheese, red onion, cherry tomatoes.

Easy Lentil Salad with Lemon-Dijon Dressing

Large forkful of shredded cooked chicken breast hovering above a glass dish filled with additional shredded chicken breast.

Super Easy Shredded Chicken Recipe (Three Ways!)

Large white bowl filled with chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, red onion, corn, avocado, and crumbled cheese, topped with plump tail-on cooked shrimp and drizzled with cilantro lime vinaigrette.

Chopped Salad with Shrimp

Overhead image of a large pot of Manhattan clam chowder filled with carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, little neck clams, all simmering in a tomato and clam broth.

Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe

Large white bowl filled with a bed of fresh greens topped with ground beef taco meat, shredded cheese, avocado, olives, tomatoes, and sour cream.

Taco Salad Recipe

Large round plate filled with homemade honey walnut shrimp garnished with sliced green onions.

Honey Walnut Shrimp

White soup bowl on a rustic wood board filled with homemade creamy potato leek soup and garnished with sour cream, homemade croutons, and freshly chopped chives.

Potato Leek Soup

Large white plate filled with six crispy pan-fried zucchini fritters with a side of herbed yogurt dip in a small white serving bowl.

Zucchini Fritters

Large white oval-shaped serving plate filled with bowtie pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, diced red onion, and mozzarella pearls all tossed in a simple champagne vinaigrette.

Bowtie Pasta Salad

Large white mixing bowl filled with prepared tuna pasta salad made with cooked shells, peas, diced celery and onion, in a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Large white rectangular serving platter with four wedges of iceberg lettuce, cut-side-up, drizzled with homemade blue cheese dressing and sprinkled with crumbled bacon bits, halved cherry tomatoes, chives, and blue cheese crumbles.

Classic Wedge Salad

Assembled buffalo chicken chopped salad made with Romaine lettuce topped with creamy buffalo sauce coated chicken, avocado, corn, carrots, celery, green onions, blue cheese, tortilla strips, cooked bacon, and drizzled with creamy ranch dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

A white plate with three sandwiches made with leftover turkey salad piled between a golden buttery butter croissant with lettuce.

Turkey Salad Recipe

Large white bowl filled with the famous la scala salad that consists of chopped lettuce, salami, chickpeas, mozzarella cheese, and red onion tossed in a tangy dijon vinaigrette.

La Scala Salad

Salad tongs filled with a large serving of green goddess pasta salad and hovering above a large bowl filled with the remaining prepared pasta salad.

Green Goddess Pasta Salad

Chipped Beef on Toast

Small plate with golden buttery crackers topped with homemade canned salmon salad and garnished with fresh minced dill.

Canned Salmon Salad

Large white salad bowl filled with halved cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, garlic, salt, black pepper, and fresh herbs.

Cherry Tomato Salad

Cooling rack topped with perfectly baked bone-in skin-on BBQ chicken thighs and drumsticks coated in sticky BBQ sauce.

Easy Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe

Large white salad bowl filled with a cold Italian pasta salad made with cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, mozzarella pearls, salami, black olives, artichoke hearts and rotini pasta all tossed in a homemade Italian dressing.

Italian Pasta Salad

Small serving bowl filled with Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad garnished with minced chives and crumbled blue cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

One dozen baked buffalo chicken sliders made with shredded chicken mixed in creamy buffalo sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Large salad bowl filled with chicken Caesar pasta salad filled with Romaine lettuce, croutons, chicken, and penne pasta tossed in Caesar salad dressing.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Speckled white plated presented with six golden baked crab cakes served with fresh lemon wedges and garnished with freshly minced parsley.

Crab Cake Recipe with Creamy Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce

Wide shallow serving bowl filled with white fish ceviche and small diced pieces of tomato, shallot, and bell pepper, garnished with fresh minced parsley.

Ceviche Recipe

Large serving spoon filled with Mediterranean orzo salad hovering over a large bowl filled with the salad.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

White shallow serving plate filled with shrimp ceviche made with chopped shrimp, sliced onion, chopped bell peppers, and tomatoes in citrus juice with chopped cilantro and chopped jalapenos.

Shrimp Ceviche Recipe (Ceviche de Camaron)

Crab salad served over mixed greens and served with buttery crackers on a white plate.

Crab Salad Recipe

Grinder salad presented in a large white ceramic salad bowl filled with chopped iceberg lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, sliced pepperoncini peppers, and sliced ham, pepperoni, and salami.

Grinder Salad

Oval salad plate filled with romaine lettuce tossed in homemade Caesar salad dressing, homemade croutons and shaved parmesan cheese.

Caesar Salad Recipe

Toasted white bread topped with crisp lettuce and creamy avocado egg salad and garnished with fresh chives.

Avocado Egg Salad

Bright green and fresh homemade tabouli in a white bowl.

Tabouli Recipe (Tabbouleh)

Platter lined with parchment paper and filled with golden brown fried falafel balls with a side of tzatziki and lemon wedges.

Falafel Recipe

Three small bowls filled with chopped Israeli salad.

Israeli Salad

Beautiful slice of golden baked Southern tomato pie on a white plate with the tomato layer on the bottom and cheety mayo layer on top.

Best Tomato Pie Recipe

Large white shallow bowl filled with easy egg drop soup recipe garnished with sliced green onions.

Egg Drop Soup

Overhead image of egg salad made with hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, parsley, chives, red onion.

Egg Salad Recipe

Large serving bowl filled with cold pesto pasta salad made with rotini pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, mozzarella pearls, and kalamata olives.

Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

White serving plate with golden brown cooked pork fried rice garnished with green onion.

Pork Fried Rice Recipe

White serving bowl filled with creamy ham salad made with diced pieces of ham, celery, hard-boiled egg, and onion.

Ham Salad Recipe

Posts navigation

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Go to Next Page

As Seen In

Logo of Country Living.
Logo of Yahoo.
Logo of Parade.
Logo of Cosmopolitan.
logo of MSN.
Logo of Better Homes and Gardens.
Logo of Forbes.
Logo of Womens Health.

Back to Top

The Forked Spoon
  • Information
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Browse
    • 40+ Dutch Oven Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Butternut Squash Recipes
    • Recipe Index

©2025 The Forked Spoon. All rights reserved.Powered by CultivateWP.