Best Office Lunch Meal Prep

Probably the number one reason people get into meal prepping is to make the best office lunch meal prep. You want to eat healthier, cheaper, and better and the options outside the home are severely lacking. You have fast food, deli’s, fast casual, and sit down restaurants. That is if you’re not just snacking at the vending machine. Meal prepping your lunches for work can be a life changing lifestyle improvement. Even if you don’t want to meal prep every single lunch, try it for a couple of days each week and just enjoy the variety it gives you from the usual options available near your work.

The best office lunch meal prep is straight forward but there are some corners you can cut to make it easier, some prep work you can do to help you out, and some tips to provide a better experience. Sandwiches are a great option, however, meal prepping allows for a much wider variety of foods and recipes.

Plan Your Meal Prep Lunch Recipes

Any good meal prep recipe stores and reheats well but the best office lunch meal prep recipes work well with minimal kitchen options. A fridge and a microwave and coworkers to consider. Try to avoid recipes that include fish, pungent sauces, mixed eggs, or foods you eat with your hands.

Fish, pungent sauces, brussel sprouts, and mixed eggs (eggs salad, etc.) can all put off an intense smell. Some coworkers may find this repulsive or even sickening. Be considerate and try to avoid recipes that contain these ingredients.

Hand foods can be fun but it’s often messy. You can get your keyboard greasy, your phone sticky, or your general workspace crummy. Keep it professional and eat lunches that don’t require making a mess.

Fresh & Balanced Ingredients

The best meal prep office lunches incorporate well balanced nutrition that focuses on light, easily digestible calories that can fuel you through the day without weighing you down. Fast foods like chips and candy bars are high calories but the high sugar content and how quick these types of foods digest will lead to a crash. Incorporate some complex carbohydrates with fruits and vegetables for a good day of work.

Incorporate these ingredients for the best office lunch meal prep:

• Chicken Breast: Grilled, baked, or roasted, chicken breast is lean and versatile.
• Tofu: A great plant-based option, perfect for stir-fries or salads.
• Beans and Lentils: High in fiber and protein, ideal for soups, salads, and bowls.
• Fruits: Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, black berries,and  raspberries. 
• Beef: ground beef or steak
• Vegetables: carrots, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, and bell peppers.

Choose Versatile Lunch Recipes

A good place to start with any meal prep is a versatile recipe. It’s easy to get bored with prepared meals if you don’t absolutely love it. Stick to ingredients that can be used in multiple recipes that you like. If you’re a big fan of chicken, leverage recipes that use chicken breasts or go with ground beef for very flexible proteins. Tofu is also famously versatile and a great option for tons of recipes.

• One-Pot Recipes: One pot recipes are great and simple to make. If soup isn’t a difficult option for your office environment this is a fantastic method of getting a lot of delicious food easily.
• Salads: Salads offer a ton of variety. Leafy green salads, quinoa salads, and many more. The individual ingredients are also easy to mix and match.
• Sheet Pan Meals: Sheet pan meals provide a great option of mixing and matching proteins and veggies. These are also easy to make and can be tailored to the volume that you need.

Invest In Quality Containers

Invest in durable and well designed meal prep containers. Good quality meal prep containers will pay for themselves and you’ll enjoy your lunches more.

• Leak-proof: To avoid spills in your bag.
• Microwave-safe: For easy reheating.
• Freezer-friendly: To store extra portions.
• Compartmentalized: To keep different food items separate and fresh.

Shop our favorite meal prep containers

Meal Prep Easy Work Lunches

Sometimes the best office lunch meal prep is simple and easy. Healthy snack boxes or assortments of individual foods can be a fun and nutritious lunch. Here are a few examples:

• Cottage cheese, strawberries, broccoli, beef jerky
• Greek Yogurt, grapes, almonds, cherry tomatoes
• Crackers, carrots, raisins, cashews
• Learn more about lunch snack boxes

Learn more about lunch snack boxes

Make It Easy

The best office lunch meal prep is easy, nutritious, and delicious. Don’t overcomplicate it. Having delicious, well-prepared lunches at work will impress your coworkers and help you enjoy your lunch breaks significantly more than eating vending machine foods every day.

Office Lunch Meal Prep Ideas

Need help with recipes? Start with our weekly meal plan for balanced recipes. Updated weekly! Or try these recipes below: