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Items15
1
Burrito
Chicken burrito bowl
The most adaptable formula here, because every part keeps on its own terms. Spiced chicken thighs, cilantro-lime rice, black beans, corn and roasted peppers all reheat happily, while salsa, sour cream, cheese and lettuce go in a small side container so nothing turns limp. Thighs stay juicier than breasts through several days of fridge time and a quick microwave blast.
It scales almost without effort: one sheet pan of chicken and peppers, one pot of rice, two cans of beans. Swapping the chicken for ground turkey or chorizo from one week to the next keeps the formula from getting boring.
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Teriyaki
Chicken teriyaki rice bowls
Sweet, salty and glossy, teriyaki is the Japanese way of glazing meat or fish in a sauce traditionally made from soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, and a homemade batch takes a few minutes in a small pan. Glazed chicken thighs over rice with steamed broccoli and edamame reheat in a couple of minutes and taste the way takeout should.
The glaze is what makes it a good prep dish: it clings to the meat and helps keep it from drying out. Keep a little extra sauce in a jar for the rice, and steam the broccoli only until bright green, since it softens further every day in the box.
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Bibimbap
Korea's "mixed rice" is a bowl of warm rice topped with namul, seasoned vegetables that are sautéed or blanched, and gochujang chili paste, and it suits prep because every topping is cooked separately anyway. Spinach, bean sprouts, carrots and mushrooms each take minutes and hold up well in the fridge for a few days.
Cook ground or thinly sliced beef in a soy, garlic and sesame marinade, divide the rice and vegetables among containers, and keep the gochujang sauce in a small jar. Fry an egg fresh if there is a stove at work, or pack a boiled one instead. Mixing everything together at the desk is half the pleasure.
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Fried rice
The one dish on the list that needs leftovers to begin with. Rice that has spent a night in the fridge firms up and dries out, so it fries into separate grains instead of a sticky clump, which makes a big Sunday batch from Saturday's rice the natural order of things.
Eggs, frozen peas and carrots, scallions and diced ham, chicken or shrimp turn it into a full lunch, and it reheats better than most rice dishes. Cool the cooked rice quickly in shallow containers before refrigerating it, and be generous with the egg, since that is the protein holding the meal together.
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Adobo (Filipino dish)
Chicken or pork adobo
The Filipino braise of meat in vinegar, soy sauce and garlic has a reputation for tasting even better the next day, and with chicken, the vinegar's acidity helps it last longer than most other cooked chicken dishes. That makes it close to ideal for Sunday cooking.
Bone-in chicken thighs or chunks of pork shoulder both stay tender through reheating. Most of the cooking is unattended simmering, and doubling it costs nothing but a bigger pot. Serve it over plain rice with the sauce spooned on top, with sautéed greens or quick-pickled cucumber for color. Store it in glass or other nonreactive containers, since the vinegar can react with some metals.
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Chili con carne
A pot of chili on Sunday is four lunches that get better as they wait, as the spices have time to blend. Ground beef or cubed chuck, beans, tomatoes and dried chiles reheat without losing anything, and a thick chili travels in a leak-proof container better than most soups.
It is also among the easiest dishes here to scale: eight portions take barely more work than four. A big pot cools slowly, though, so ladle it into shallow containers before refrigerating. Keep cheese, scallions and sour cream separate, and pack cornbread or tortilla chips for crunch. With both meat and beans, it is one of the most filling lunches on the list.
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Chana masala
A chickpea curry in a tomato-based sauce, a staple of North Indian and Pakistani cooking and one of the cheapest lunches on this list. Canned chickpeas cut the cooking right down, and they hold their shape for days instead of breaking down.
It tastes good warm rather than piping hot, which helps when the office microwave line is long. Rice is the easy partner, but naan or whole-wheat flatbreads packed separately keep the week varied. It is naturally vegan, and a spoon of yogurt on top adds creaminess and a little extra protein for anyone who eats dairy.
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Dal
Red lentil dal
Split red lentils, or masoor dal, cook down quickly into a thick, golden purée, which makes this one of the fastest pots on the list. Finished with cumin seeds, garlic and chili sizzled in ghee or oil, it is mild and comforting enough to eat several days running.
Dal keeps thickening after it is cooked and sets firmer in the fridge, so loosen each portion with a splash of water before reheating, or cook it a little thinner than you would serve it fresh. Pair it with rice and a vegetable, such as roasted cauliflower or spinach wilted straight into the pot, for a balanced lunch that costs very little.
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Red beans and rice
New Orleans built this dish for hands-off cooking. The best-known story is that Monday was laundry day, so a pot of red beans simmered with the ham bone left from Sunday dinner while the washing got done. It is still a Monday staple in Louisiana, and the same patience makes it a natural Sunday prep.
Red kidney beans cooked low with onion, celery and bell pepper, plus andouille or smoked sausage, turn creamy and thicken further overnight. Keep the rice in its own container and add a spoonful of water to the beans before reheating. A slow cooker or pressure cooker handles the beans while the rest of the week's prep gets done.
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Mujaddara
Lentils and rice cooked together and crowned with onions fried until crisp and deeply caramelized, a much-loved dish across the Middle East. It can be served hot, warm or at room temperature, so it is one of the few lunches here that never needs the microwave.
The onions are the point and also the one fragile part: store some apart in a small container so they keep their crunch. A cucumber and tomato salad or a scoop of plain yogurt on the side makes it a complete meal. It is vegan, inexpensive and filling, though leaner on protein than the meat dishes, so add a boiled egg or extra yogurt if that matters.
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Souvlaki
Souvlaki bowls
The Greek skewered-meat favorite translates neatly into a lunch box: pork or chicken marinated in lemon, oregano and garlic, grilled on skewers or simply roasted on a sheet pan, then packed over rice or orzo with cucumber, tomato, red onion and a pot of tzatziki. The lemony marinade keeps the meat tasting bright late in the week.
Grate and squeeze the cucumber before stirring it into thick Greek yogurt and the tzatziki stays thick rather than watery. Keep the chopped vegetables in their own compartment and add feta and olives as you like. Warm the meat and grain, leave the vegetables and sauce cold, and it eats like a freshly made plate.
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Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Cucumber
A noodle dish meant to be eaten cold, so it skips reheating altogether. Wheat noodles go into a sauce of sesame paste or peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil, then get topped with shredded chicken or baked tofu and cucumber.
Noodles keep soaking up sauce as they sit, so for several days of lunches rinse them cold after cooking, store the sauce separately and combine the two each morning. Add the cucumber at the last moment so it stays crisp.
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Lasagna
Lasagna makes a better lunch on day two than a dinner on day one: once chilled, the layers set firm and cut into neat squares that pack and reheat without sliding apart. A single large pan covers four lunches with portions to spare for dinner.
Make it with a meat ragù or with spinach and ricotta, and bake it Sunday afternoon so it has time to cool and set before slicing. Reheat portions covered, with a spoonful of water or sauce, to keep the edges from drying out. It is rich, so pair it with raw vegetables or a side of simply dressed greens to round out the lunch.
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Stuffed peppers
Each pepper is its own portion, which makes this the tidiest prep on the list: bell peppers filled with rice, ground beef or turkey, tomatoes, onion and cheese, baked together in one dish and lifted into containers one at a time. Count the peppers and you know exactly how many lunches you have.
Peppers keep softening as they sit, so bake them until just tender rather than collapsed; reheating finishes the job. Black beans and corn make a vegetarian filling that is just as sturdy. Choose peppers that stand upright, and spoon a little extra tomato sauce over each one so it stays moist in the microwave.
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Spanish omelette
A thick omelet of eggs and potatoes, often with onion, that Spain commonly serves at room temperature as a tapa, so eating it cold from the box is the intended way, not a compromise. One skillet-sized tortilla cuts into wedges for several lunches.
The potatoes cook slowly in olive oil before the eggs go in, and the flip is the only tricky moment. Take a wedge out of the fridge a little before lunch so the chill comes off. Pair it with a tomato salad, roasted peppers or crusty bread rubbed with tomato, and it makes a lunch that needs no reheating and no microwave line.
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