20+ Make-Ahead Lunch Recipes For Better Blood Sugar

If you’re looking to switch up your lunches, these tasty make-ahead recipes are delicious options to try! Each recipe aligns with our parameters for a diabetes-friendly eating pattern by being lower in saturated fat and sodium and mindful of carbs to support healthy blood sugar levels and lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease. They are also made with heart-healthy ingredients like whole grains, legumes and vegetables for something that’s both nourishing and flavorfull. Plus, you can prep them in advance so they’re ready to grab and go when you need them. Try options like our Spinach & Strawberry Meal-Prep Salad or Chickpea & Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce for a tasty midday meal.

Spinach & Strawberry Meal-Prep Salad

One of our most popular salad recipes, Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Feta & Walnuts, gets a makeover in these simple yet totally satisfying meal-prep spinach salad bowls. They require minimal prep and can be customized to your taste. Swap in roasted salmon for the chicken thighs, and almonds or pecans for the walnuts, and use any fresh berry that looks good at your market.

Chopped Salad with Chicken & Creamy Chipotle Dressing

Photography / Jennifer Causey, Styling / Melissa Gray / Kay Clarke

This chopped salad with chicken is smoky and zesty thanks to the creamy chipotle dressing. Cilantro adds a pop of freshness to each bite.

Chickpea & Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Photographer: Carson Downing, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco

Quinoa and chickpeas pack this vegetarian grain bowl with plenty of plant-based protein. Whip up a batch of these flavorful grain bowls and store them in lidded containers to stash in the fridge for easy, healthy grab-and-go lunches all week long.

Veggie & Hummus Sandwich

Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey

This mile-high vegetable and hummus sandwich makes the perfect heart-healthy vegetarian lunch to go. Mix it up with different flavors of hummus and different types of vegetables, depending on your mood.

Green Goddess Salad with Chickpeas

In this cucumber, tomato, Swiss cheese and chickpea salad recipe, a healthy green goddess dressing is made from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. The extra dressing is delicious served with grilled vegetables.

Salmon & Quinoa Bowls with Green Beans, Olives & Feta

This flavorful and easy salmon quinoa bowl is a meal that keeps on giving. Pack up any leftovers for a next-day lunch, or make the entire recipe ahead and pack it into individual serving containers for ready-to-go meals.

Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu & Peanut Dressing

Because this salad mix is hearty, you can dress these bowls up to 24 hours before serving to allow the flavors in this healthy chopped salad to marry. If you can’t find a hearty mix, go with broccoli slaw or shredded Brussels sprouts.

Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Taco Bowls

A bold, smoky marinade elevates roasted cauliflower in this meal-prep version of our popular Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Tacos (see Associated Recipes). To cut down on prep time, look for precut cauliflower in the produce department. You can also save time by using microwaveable quinoa pouches (you’ll need one 8-ounce pouch for this recipe) instead of cooking quinoa.

Curried Chickpea Stew

Who says a meatless meal isn’t filling? Packed with fiber-rich vegetables and chickpeas, this fragrant stew satisfies.

Zucchini Noodles with Quick Turkey Bolognese

Forgo regular pasta (and most of the carbs) for spiralized zucchini “noodles” in these make-ahead meals. The zoodles quickly turn tender-crisp as the veggie-packed Bolognese warms in the microwave.

Southwest Black-Bean Pasta Salad Bowls

Meal-prep a week’s worth of delicious and satisfying high-fiber lunches with just 5 simple ingredients and 20 minutes. In this Southwestern-style pasta salad, we’re using pasta made with black beans to bump up the fiber to an impressive 14 grams per serving. Paired with seasoned chicken strips and a flavorful corn salad–shortcut ingredients you can often find at your local specialty grocery store–this meal-prep lunch is one you’ll get excited for.

Chimichurri Noodle Bowls

We’re mixing whole-grain spaghetti with zucchini noodles to add volume and save calories in these simple, flavor-packed meal-prep bowls topped with a bright and herby chimichurri sauce.

Spring Veggie Wraps

A tangy tahini-ginger-soy mixture both marinates the tofu and serves as a sauce for this colorful veggie wrap recipe. Look for spinach tortillas for an additional pop of green.

Quinoa Deli Salad

This healthy version of a deli salad combines hearty quinoa and chickpeas with small amounts of ham and mozzarella, so you get all of the flavor without overdoing it on the sodium. This healthy quinoa salad is great as dinner and doubles as a delicious lunch the next day.

Lemon-Roasted Vegetable Hummus Bowls

Brimming with colorful roasted vegetables, these plant-based meal-prep lunch bowls are high in fiber to keep you full through the afternoon. The easy roasted veggies are based on a popular recipe from our sister magazine (see Associated Recipes).

Pork Wrap with Lime-Jalapeño Slaw

A leftover cooked pork cutlet and coleslaw from earlier meals make this lunch a breeze to put together.

Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. For a delicious vegan option, swap in roasted tofu for the chicken breast (see Associated Recipes).

Make-Ahead Spinach & Black Bean Burritos

These egg, bean and cheese burritos are designed to be made ahead and frozen. They are perfect for busy days and make a satisfying breakfast or lunch.

Chopped Veggie Grain Bowls with Turmeric Dressing

In about 10 minutes, you can prep a week’s worth of lunches using 4 simple ingredients from your local specialty grocery store. To minimize prep, we’re taking advantage of prechopped fresh veggie mix and frozen quinoa (which heats in the microwave in under 5 minutes). These crunchy chopped salad bowls are high in fiber but lower in calories, making them perfect for those following a reduced-calorie diet.

Pesto Chicken & Cannellini Bean Soup

This healthy, Italian-inspired chicken soup recipe is loaded with fiber-rich vegetables and beans and gets an extra boost of flavor from a swirl of pesto at the end. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.

Grilled Vegetable Salads with Goat Cheese

Prepare a week’s worth of lunches in about 10 minutes using a handful of ingredients from your local specialty grocery store. To save time, we’re using a bag of frozen grilled and marinated vegetables, then adding big flavor with marinated goat cheese. If you want to bump up the protein, leftover chicken breast or salmon pair perfectly with this hearty salad.

Chicken & Cabbage Salad Bowls with Sesame Dressing

A bag of prechopped red and green cabbage serves as the crunchy low-carb base in these chicken salad bowls, which only require 10 minutes to assemble. Top with sesame-flavored almonds and a sesame dressing and you have one irresistible lunch you’ll look forward to all week.

Green Goddess Quinoa Bowls with Arugula & Shrimp

To add extra protein (while minimizing prep time), we’re using fully cooked quinoa and cooked shrimp, both of which you can find in the freezer section. With a few more simple items, including bottled salad dressing, you’ll have all the ingredients you need to make these high-protein green goddess salad bowls in under 20 minutes.

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