Even lunchtime can feel cozy and comforting with these recipes. Each dish is packed with seasonal vegetables like cauliflower, kale and sweet potato to help make your midday meal taste like the perfect lunch for fall. Lunches like our One-Pot Lentil & Vegetable Soup with Parmesan and Vegan Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice are healthy, warm and flavorful.
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).
Veggistrone
This vegetable-packed minestrone soup recipe is inspired by a popular Weight Watchers vegetable soup recipe. It makes a big pot of soup, so keep some in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze the rest in single-serve portions. That way you always have an easy, delicious vegetable soup to start your meal or to eat for lunch. Think of this vegetable minestrone recipe as a starting point for other healthy soup variations, too: toss in leftover chopped cooked chicken or whole-wheat pasta or brown rice to make it more satisfying.
Vegan Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice
These meal-prep vegan burrito bowls are healthier and more flavorful than takeout. Make them early in the week for grab-and-go meals when days are busy. We use frozen cauliflower rice, a low-carb substitute for white or brown rice, to cut down on prep time.
One-Pot Lentil & Vegetable Soup with Parmesan
This lentil-vegetable soup is packed with kale and tomatoes for a filling, flavorful main dish. If you have it, the Parmesan cheese rind adds nuttiness and gives the broth some body. If you avoid cheese made with rennet, look for vegetarian Parmesan cheese, which is made without it.
Chicken Ramen with Bok Choy & Soy Eggs
Ditch the seasoning packet! Homemade ramen may take more time but it’s worth it for the deep, impressive flavor.
Teriyaki Tofu Rice Bowls
With a handful of shortcut ingredients from your grocery store, including precooked rice packets and seasoned baked tofu, you can prepare several high-fiber, high-protein meals in about 15 minutes.
Loaded Chicken-Quinoa Salad
Turn simple precooked ingredients into a delicious one-dish meal, high in fiber and with plenty of protein to keep you feeling satisfied.
White Bean Soup with Pasta
We use mirepoix—a combination of onion, celery and carrots—to flavor this white bean soup. Keep a store-bought bag of the mixture in your freezer to ensure you always have some on hand without worrying about it going bad.
Corned Beet Reuben Sandwich
Tossing beets with coriander, mustard seeds, cinnamon and allspice gives them savory corned-beef flavor. With this vegetarian Reuben sandwich, you won’t miss the meat.
Pear, Gorgonzola & Walnut Salad
This pear and gorgonzola salad celebrates fall with its beautiful colors. The light and refreshing vinaigrette offsets the tangy funk of Gorgonzola and the sweetness from the raisins and pears.
Loaded Black Bean Nacho Soup
Jazz up a can of black bean soup with your favorite nacho toppings, such as cheese, avocado and fresh tomatoes. A bit of smoked paprika adds a bold flavor kick, but you can swap in any warm spices you prefer, such as cumin or chili powder. Look for a soup that contains no more than 450 mg sodium per serving.
Curried Chickpea Stew
Who says a meatless meal isn’t filling? Packed with fiber-rich vegetables and chickpeas, this fragrant stew satisfies.
Moroccan-Inspired Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup
This healthy chicken soup recipe gets bold Moroccan flavor from sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and a touch of fiery harissa. 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.
Kale & Quinoa Salad with Lemon Dressing
This kale-quinoa salad pops with different flavors and textures. Massaging the kale helps break down its fibrous nature, while add-ins like toasted almonds, feta and cucumber add crunch and saltiness.
Chopped Chicken & Sweet Potato Salad
This easy salad recipe allows for a wonderful use of leftover cooked chicken. Look for escarole in the produce section near the leafy greens; if you can’t find it, you can use romaine instead.
Andouille, Sweet Potato & Broccoli Salad with Creole Mustard Dressing
Look to root vegetables for hearty winter salads. Technically a tuber rather than a root, sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family. They come in a variety of colors—orange-fleshed ones tend to be sweet and creamy, yellow varieties are drier and purple spuds fall somewhere in between. A drizzle of Creole mustard dressing gives this composed salad zing.
Roasted Veggie & Quinoa Salad