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15 Easy Vegan Homemade Lunch Ideas in 15 Minutes or Less

August 3, 2020Updated December 31, 2023 By Nava Atlas Leave a Comment

Whether you’re working (or doing school) remotely or in person and need fresh ideas, here are 15 easy vegan homemade lunch ideas that are ready in 15 minutes or less. Some pack up well to make them portable, others are best made and eaten right away.

15-minute vegan lunches roundup

Here’s a slew of ideas to explore that will please adult and teen eaters, as well as kids who are open to plant-based flavors and textures.

WRAPS & SANDWICH SPREADS

Chickpea salad or sandwich spread

Chickpea Salad & Sandwich Spread: If you’ve been vegan for a while, you probably have your own version of this chickpea salad recipe. But if you’re a newbie or an omnivore, the idea of making a chopped chickpeas might be new to you. It’s just as good dolloped onto salad greens as it is as a spread on fresh bread.

Vegan "Tofuna" sandwich spread

Ridiculously Easy “Tofuna” — Tofu Salad or Sandwich Spread: “Tofuna,” aka tuna-style tofu salad, is my go-to recipe as a sandwich spread. You can also stuff it into pita bread, wrap it up with leafy greens, or mound over a simple green salad. Though all you absolutely need are three ingredients, the two optional ingredients are highly recommended.

Ultimate tofu eggless salad

Ultimate Tofu Eggless Salad: Tofu eggless salad has the look and feel of egg salad, though it’s not intended to fool anyone! Whether as an egg salad knock-off or not, it’s delicious in its own right. Serve open face or closed on fresh bread or in a pita. Shredded lettuce, green sprouts, or baby greens make it that much better. You can also skip the bread altogether and dollop it on a green salad — or serve in a large romaine leaf.

Baked Tofu Wraps in bento box

Baked Tofu Wraps with Greens, Apple, and Avocado: These easy baked tofu wraps feature baby greens, avocado, and the surprising pop of tart green apple.The ingredient that pulls everything together is French dressing. Its tart-sweet flavor is the perfect “secret sauce” for these wraps. That said, they’d be just as good with a tahini dressing, vegan ranch dressing, or even just vegan mayo.

Creamy coleslaw and portobello wraps

Easy Creamy Coleslaw & Portobello Wraps: Teriyaki-glazed portobello mushrooms and creamy coleslaw make a dynamic duo in wraps that are equally good for lunch or dinner. If you’ve got any other type of mushroom on hand, go ahead and swap it in — this will still be delicious.

Olive hummus wraps plated

Olive Hummus Wraps with Greens & Avocado: Featuring an easy homemade olive hummus, these wraps are an easy and delicious lunch for home, school, or work. That being said, if you don’t want to take the extra time (maybe 5 minutes) to make your own olive hummus, go ahead and use prepared hummus and add some sliced olives to the wrap.

Avocado Toast with Brown Mushrooms

5 Deliciously Offbeat Ways to Make Avocado Toast: With a wealth of good fats and carbs, avocado toast makes a great quick lunch (or breakfast, of course). Here are 5 deliciously offbeat ways to embellish it, plus lots more ideas.

SALADS

Raw Vegetables Rainbow Bowl

Rainbow Salad Bowl: You don’t have to slavishly follow a recipe to make an eye-popping rainbow salad bowl. Simply use plenty of colorful veggies and serve in an arrangement by color. As a quick lunch dish, this needs a bit of protein so toss some chickpeas or cubes of baked tofu over the top.

Vegan curried chicken salad with grapes and almonds

Curried Vegan Chicken Salad with Grapes & Almonds: This easy vegan chicken salad recipe — the classic curried variety — can be served on fresh bread or dolloped onto lettuce leaves. Like the original, there are just a few simple additions to the salad — grapes, celery, and scallion. It’s all pulled together with a mildly curry flavored vegan mayo.

Pinto Bean and Avocado Salad with black olives

Super-Easy Avocado and Bean Salad: This easy salad is richly flavored with olives and cherry tomatoes. It can be can be made with pinto or red beans and is simply dressed in lime juice. Extra-virgin olive oil, cilantro, and pumpkin seeds are suggested as optional embellishments.

Easy Two-bean salad

Super-Quick Two-Bean Salad: This super-easy two-bean salad can be made in 10 minutes or less. Bonus — this simple dish gives you the plant-powered goodness and protein of seeds as well. It makes a great portable lunch packed into a container for work or school or to enjoy for lunch at home, served with tortilla chips or fresh bread, and fresh fruit.

HOT FOODS

Instant Butternut Squash soup with spinach & peas

Super-Quick Butternut Squash Soup with Spinach & Peas: A quick butternut squash soup that comes together in minutes has to rely on a clever shortcut. And for this one, that’s a carton of butternut squash puree. Add lots of fresh baby spinach and scallions, and a heavenly hot soup is yours for lunch.

Quick and easy ramen vegetable soup

Easiest, Cheapest Raman Noodle Vegetable Soup: This ramen noodle vegetable soup comes in handy when you need a hot, comforting soup, and you need it right away. No chopping other than scallions! The clever hack here is using a bag of frozen mixed Asian vegetables. They taste surprisingly fresh and stay nice and crisp in the soup if you’re careful not to overcook.

Chana Masala - Super Easy Chickpea curry

Super-Easy Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala): An easy chickpea curry (also known as chana masala) is an always-welcome, practically last-minute meal. For an in-a-hurry lunch, simply add fresh flatbread or pita and a fruit to finish; if you’d like to make this for dinner, a simple salad and grain are nice accompaniments.

Warm or cold udon noodles with bok choy

Hoisin-Ginger Udon Noodles: Hoisin-ginger udon noodles featuring plenty of bok choy is a 5-ingredient dish with great flavor that’s ready in minutes. Depending on how many servings you need for lunch, you may have enough to stretch to dinner. For extra protein, serve with a couple of slices of baked tofu or tempeh bacon. A few cherry tomatoes will add color to your bowl or plate.

Enjoy these vegan homemade lunch ideas on busy weekdays or leisurely weekends!

Filed Under: Recipe Roundups, Vegan Recipes

About Nava Atlas

Nava Atlas is the author of many vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including Vegetariana, Plant-Powered Protein, 5-Ingredient Vegan, Wild About Greens, Vegan Holiday Kitchen, and many more. A longtime dedicated vegan, find out more about her on this site's About page.

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