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When it comes to healthy lunches you can make at home and then take to work, healthy wraps and creative sandwiches may come to mind. However, you don't have to eat wraps and sammies in order to enjoy fresh, healthy lunches every day. In fact, prepping your next meal can be even EASIER — you can make a one-pot Paleo lunch, pack it up, and reheat it during the work day. Talk about easy-peasy!
Here are our favorite one-pot Paleo and Whole30-approved meals that make for delicious work lunches *and* that will help you during busy weeknights when you need to make a meal in a pinch.
Our Favorite Paleo Lunch Ideas
Roasted Salmon Nicoise
Make this delicious dish for your next work lunch and *all* your coworkers will ask you for the recipe. Potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and green beans) taste amazing when paired with the salmon. Depending on when you decide to whip this up, you can swap for the veggies that are in season. Regardless of what you pick, we're pretty sure the star of the show is the basil pesto that goes on top. (via Brit + Co)
Instant Pot Dandelion Greens With Caramelized Onions
Give your lunch a flavorful (and unexpected) upgrade with this delicious recipe. This Lebanese dish is tangy and has just the right amount of citrus from the lemon garlic dressing. The good thing about this dish is that pressure cooking the dandelion dressing means you won't have that bitter taste. (via Forks & Foliage)
One Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies
This super healthy and nutritious meal features chicken breasts and the veggies of your choice, all topped with a delicious balsamic and Italian dressing. Pro tip: As with all of these recipes, make sure to wait until you're ready to eat before you add any glazes or dressings on top. (via Chelsea's Messy Apron)
Paleo Butternut Sausage Bake With Kale
Featuring butternut squash, pork sausage, kale, and marinara sauce, this delicious combination of flavors goes into one cast-iron skillet before getting popped in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. You'll have to roast the squash for 30 minutes too, so this bad boy takes a total of about one hour of prep time. WORTH IT. (via Paleo Running Mama)
Paleo Skillet Beef Fajitas
Fajitas are basically the secret that allows low-carb eaters everywhere to still go out for Mexican food. Recreate the dish at home in just one pan by sizzling strips of beef, red pepper, yellow pepper, jalapeño, and assorted spices together on high heat. (via A Healthy Life for Me)
One Pot Cabbage and Sausage
This one-pot, Paleo-friendly recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes, making it perfect for cooking up, well, whenever. In addition to smoked sausage, it showcases the flavors of cabbage, onions, bell peppers, olive oil, and garlic. (via Bravo for Paleo)
Dutch Oven Grecian Chicken
Talk about healthy! This Mediterranean chicken recipe is chock-full of heart-healthy garlic, lean chicken, detoxifying lemons, and fresh oregano. You'll cook it in a Dutch oven for roughly 90 minutes, and after that, it'll be ready to heat up throughout the week. (via Sweet C's Designs)
Paleo Jicama Hash
Jicama (a root veggie with brown skin) is a great alternative when you don't want to eat potatoes, and happens to taste SUPER amazing in hash form. With fajita veggies thrown into the mix, this sizzling dish has pretty much ZERO downsides. (via Sweet C's Designs)
Keto Egg Fried Rice
The ketogenic diet promotes a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb approach to eating, and this fried rice recipe is perfect for anyone trying to eat LCHF (low-carb, high-fat). Don't be fooled: That's cauliflower rice in there, but we promise you won't miss the real thing. (via Primal Palate)
One-Pot Paleo Lunch Recipes That Are Perfect For Work
Healthy Beef and Butternut Squash Stew
If you've noticed that there's A LOT of butternut squash in these recipes, that's because it's a fabulous Paleo-friendly carb source that won't weigh you down or disrupt your digestion. This stew makes good use of it too, combining it with beef, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil. (via Noshtastic)
One Pan Paleo Jerky Nachos
Indulge your cravings for Mexican food with these DELICIOUS Paleo-friendly nachos. Instead of the usual fare, you'll make your tacos with sweet potatoes, avocado, tomatoes, onion, and jerky sticks. They're the perfect take-away meal to bring to work. (via Paleo Hacks)
Paleo Vegan "Meaty" Taco Skillet
If craving tacos is basically your default state, you don't need to be scared off of Paleo eating. This taco skillet will help you get your fix sans tortilla. Just shovel it on a salad or eat it in a bowl. Bonus points if you add some avocado on top. (via Sweet C's Designs)
One Pan Cajun Chicken Dinner
If Cajun is the cuisine you're craving, pop this crazy good recipe into the oven. Parsley, black pepper, onion, and bell peppers come together to create the ultimate healthy Cajun poultry dish. We also think shrimp could be a delicious protein alternative. (via Cooking Classy)
Bacon, Garlic, Chicken, and Spinach Dinner
You'll love these tender skillet chicken thighs, cooked full with flavor and set atop a bed of wilted greens. There are also easy suggestions for swapping in chicken breasts, pork chops, or shrimp in place of the chicken thighs, so you definitely won't suffer from lunch boredom. (via Sweet C's Designs)
Whole30 Eggroll Bowls
When you're craving Chinese takeout, these chicken and veggie bowls taste just like the savory egg roll filling. They're so satisfying, you won't even miss the fried wrapper. Coconut aminos in place of soy sauce keep it in line with Whole30. (via TastyThin)
Chicken Curry With Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes
This chicken curry dish is high in protein, which makes it the perfect midday meal break once you start to get hungry. It also happens to be easy to throw together, so you can work it into your weekly meal prep without breaking a sweat. (via Abbey's Kitchen)
Italian Sweet Potato Spaghetti Bowls
Swap out the heavy pasta plate and try these sweet potato noodles with zesty tomato sauce. You won't believe how tasty it is! Mix it up throughout the week by switching up your toppings every night. Think olives, capers, and fresh herbs. (via Cotter Crunch)
We Can't Get Enough Of These Paleo Lunches
Zucchini Beef Skillet
Keep things easy with this beef and zucchini skillet recipe, which uses all kinds of flavor-boosting shortcuts like jarred salsa and dehydrated onions. Make this on a busy weeknight for a delicious lunch the next day. Just skip the rice to keep it truly paleo. (via Eating Richly)
Apple Cider Braised Chicken With Brussels Sprouts and Bacon
These chicken thighs are slowly braised in a bath of apple cider, leeks, and spices until tender and bursting with flavor. Make this for your Sunday night chicken dinner so you can enjoy an easy Monday pick-me-up lunch. (via Lexi's Clean Kitchen)
One Pot Paleo Mexican Chicken Stir Fry
When you think of stir-frys, you probably envision an Asian-inspired meal… not anymore. This Mexican-flavored dish uses fajita veggies, spices, and lean chicken, as well as uber healthy broccoli florets. Perfect for Mexican food fanatics! (via Sweet C's Designs)
10-Minute Whole30 Curry
This yellow curry, packed with turmeric, ginger, and garlic, may be our favorite new way to squeeze in those veggies. The best part is that you can use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, so it's never out of season. (via The Movement Menu)
For more Paleo-friendly recipe ideas, follow us on Pinterest!
(Additional reporting by Justina Huddleston and Chloe Williams)
This post has been updated.
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Maggie McCracken
Maggie is a writer and editor currently based in Chicago. She writes about mindfulness, astrology, nutrition, self-development, and fitness, and has a background in yoga instruction.
