Practical Lunch Recipes for Every Day

Guide

Which lunch fits your everyday life?

Lunch at home has different requirements to a meal at the office or on the go. In the home office, something may come fresh from a pan or pot, while transported dishes should remain stable, be well packed and taste cold or warmed up.

Therefore, decide first according to time and place: Do you want to cook in 20 to 30 minutes, use leftovers from the previous day or prepare several portions? After that, the choice between pasta, bowl, soup, salad, pan dish or oven recipe is much easier.

Quick hot lunch

Pasta, gnocchi pans, fried rice, omelets, curries and quick soups are ideal for a short lunch break. While pasta or rice is cooking, vegetables and sauce can be prepared in parallel. Recipes with a few steps are often more practical than dishes with a particularly short total time but many individual components.

The Quick Dinner You'll find many dishes that work just as well at lunchtime. One-pot dishes save additional washing up and are particularly suitable for home offices or family kitchens.

Cold lunch: Salads, bowls and sandwiches

A cold lunch is easy to transport and does not require a kitchen on site. To make a salad or bowl work as a meal, you add a base such as potatoes, couscous, rice, pasta or bread and a filling component such as beans, lentils, eggs, tofu, cheese, fish or chicken.

Dressings, herbs and crispy toppings remain separate until the meal, so that lettuce, bread and roasted ingredients do not become soft. In sandwiches and wraps, a solid layer of salad, cheese or spread protects the bread from very moist fillings.

Meal Prep for office and home office

Meal Prep does not have to mean cooking five identical portions. Often, it is enough to prepare individual components: cooked rice, baked vegetables, a sauce, boiled eggs or washed salad can be combined in different ways over several days.

• easy to prepare in advance: Curries, soups, stews, casseroles, rice dishes and many pasta sauces.
• Packaging separately: Add dressing, herbs, cheese and crispy ingredients just before eating.
• Safely plan transportation: Liquid dishes and sauces belong in tightly sealed containers.
• When warming up, readjust: Rice and pasta absorb liquid; a little water or broth makes them looser again.

Satisfying, fresh or savoury combine

How strong a lunch should be depends on your daily routine and personal appetite. A helpful structure is the combination of a base, vegetables and a source of protein. This makes light salads and hot pan dishes complete meals.

• Basis: Noodles, Rice, Potatoes, bread, couscous or cereals.
• Vegetables and freshness: raw vegetables, baked vegetables, salad, herbs or seasonal ingredients.
• Protein: Legumes, eggs, tofu, cheese, fish or meat.
• Taste: Dressing, sauce, spices, acidity and a crispy topping.

Lunch for the family

For families, dishes that can be adapted at the table work particularly well. Pasta, bowls, wraps, baked potatoes and mild curries can be served with various toppings. Spiciness, herbs, cheese and sauces are added separately, so that multiple main courses are not required.

Dishes from an oven, pot or large pan are also easier to cook in large quantities. Consciously plan an additional portion if a quick lunch is needed the next day.

Use leftovers sensibly for lunch

Boiled potatoes are used to make fried potatoes, frittata or potato salad. Rice is suitable for a quick vegetable pan or bowl, other noodles for pasta salad or casserole. Cooked vegetables can be used in soup, curry, omelette or wrap.

Start planning with what is already available. About the category Recipes by ingredients you will find suitable ideas without buying completely new for each lunch.