Top 10 working from home lunches
Make the most of your storecupboard essentials with our easy lunches to make while working from home. See our quick rice bowls, soup and pasta dishes.
Spice up your lunch while working from home with our easy recipes made from storecupboard essentials. Our simple recipes require minimal ingredients like chopped tomatoes, canned veggies, beans and pulses.
Our lunch ideas are super speedy and nutritous, giving you the energy you need to power through the day.
For more inspiration, see our quick lunch ideas for work, plus check out our collections of healthy lunch recipes and vegetarian lunch recipes.
3 Budget ramen ideas
1) Vegetarian chilli
Raid the storecupboard for our easiest-ever vegetarian chilli with just four ingredients. Cook a pack of oven-roasted vegetables in a casserole dish for 15 minutes. Add a can of kidney beans in chilli sauce and a can of chopped tomatoes and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Heat up a ready-to-eat mixed grain pouch and you've got a satisyfing lunch in no time.
2) Quick chicken hummus bowl
Toss some fresh ingredients together for this healthy, no-cook quick chicken hummus bowl. Combine hummus with lemon juice, zest and a drizzle of water for a simple dressing. Then seperate a grain pouch into two bowls and top with avocado, chopped spinach, sliced chicken breast, pomegranate seeds, red onion and almonds.
More like this
3) Creamy pesto & kale pasta
Make a big batch of this simple creamy pesto & kale pasta with just a handful of ingredients and storecupboard staples. To make this healthy, veggie pasta, combine wholemeal penne or mafalda with leafy kale and fried red onion. Then toss in a creamy sauce made with reduced-fat soft cheese and a jar of pesto.
4) Lentil soup
Whip up a big batch of this easy lentil soup to get you through the week. This budget-friendly dish is a great way to use up stock cubes or fresh vegetable stock. Combine with red lentils, chopped carrots and sliced leeks. Simmer for up to an hour until the lentils break down, scatter over some parsley and serve with buttered bread.
5) Mexican penne with avocado
Pack in all of your five-a-day with this thrifty Mexican penne with avocado. This healthy, vegetarian dish is low in calories and fat and rich in iron, fibre and vitamin C. Make use of storecupboard essentials like chopped tomatoes, canned sweetcorn and vegetable bouillon powder. This super filling pasta is topped off with chunky avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and a handful of chopped coriander.
6) Gluten-free storecupboard fishcakes
Freeze a batch of these gluten-free storecupboard fishcakes to have on hand for an easy lunch. Combine tinned tuna with mashed potato, an egg, lemon juice and fresh chives. Shape into fishcakes and fry in oil for three minutes on each side. Mix gluten-free mayonnaise with some chopped sping onions for a tasty topping.
7) Vegan chickpea curry jacket potatoes
Take your average jacket potato to the next level with these vegan chickpea curry jacket potatoes. Make a flavourful filling with tikka masala paste and cans of chickpeas and chopped tomatoes. It's gently spiced with turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, chopped green chilli and finely grated ginger. Spoon the filling over an oven-roasted sweet potato and scatter with coriander.
8) Super-quick sesame ramen
Make the most of storecupboard instant noodles with super-quick sesame ramen. Cook the noodles with the seasoning sachet and add pak choi and spring onion for the final minute. Top with a boiled egg, a scattering of toasted sesame seeds and chilli sauce. This healthy dish is low in fat and calories and comes together in 15 minutes.
9) Veggie-loaded flatbread
Use up storecupboard staples like canned chickpeas and jarred olives with this veggie-loaded flatbread. To make this easy lunch for one, combine crushed chickpeas with tahini and lemon juice. Warm up a shop-bought flatbread, and top with the chickpea mixture, grilled onions and cherry tomatoes. Add olives, crumbled feta, shredded basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
10) Satay chicken rice bowl
This satay chicken rice bowl is a super filling midweek lunch. Use up a jar of smooth peanut butter by mixing with sesame oil and soy sauce. Use half the mixture to marinate boneless chicken breasts or thighs, then grill for 15 minutes. Slice the chicken and serve with Thai sticky rice, pickled cucumber and extra sauce.
Enjoyed these lunches? See more recipes...
Quick lunch ideas for work
Top 10 healthy storecupboard recipes
Easy vegan lunch ideas
Top 10 storecupboard recipes
5-ingredient family meals
Top 10 storecupboard pasta ideas
What is your favourite dish to make at home? Leave a comment below...
As many countries urge populations to stay at home, many of us are paying more attention to our diets and how the food we eat can support our health. To help sort out the fact from the fiction, BBC Future is updating some of their most popular nutrition stories from their archive.
