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14 Vegetarian Lunches That Will Actually Fill You Up

Let’s face it: Sometimes vegetarian lunches leave something to be desired. But we’re not settling for a pile of sad lettuce with a smear of hummus anymore. Say hello to 14 vegetarian lunches that will actually fill you up and keep you satisfied all day.

30 Vegetarian Comfort Food Recipes


vegetarian lunches black rice bowl
Aran Goyoaya/Cannalle et Vanille

1. Black Rice Bowl With Figs, Radicchio, Pickled Radishes And Pepitas

Candied pepitas and black rice elevate this simple rice bowl that will have your coworkers peering over their cubicles.

vegetarian lunches rainbow vegetable sandwich
Two Peas and Their Pod

2. Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich

Maria Lichty adds tons of vibrant color to a simple veggie sandwich that anyone would be thrilled to find in their lunchbox.

vegetarian lunches barley chickpea salad
What’s Cooking Good Looking

3. Barley Chickpea Salad With Purple Cabbage, Spinach And Almond-sesame Miso Dressing

Thank Jodi Moreno for upgrading your lunch this week. This hearty salad gets its heft from barley and chickpeas and its deliciousness from an addictive almond-sesame miso dressing.

vegetarian lunches turmeric spiced cauliflower and broccoli
Eric Wolfinger/The Mexican Keto Cookbook

4. Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower And Broccoli With Capers

Do a little meal prep on Sunday and enjoy this keto and vegetarian roasted cauliflower dish all week.

vegetarian lunches veggie nicoise salad
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

5. Veggie Niçoise Salad With Red Curry Green Beans

Most Niçoise salads come topped with tuna. Not this one. It’s so full of red curry green beans, potatoes, English cucumbers and radishes that you don’t miss the fish one bit.

vegetarian lunches smashed chickpea and avocado sandwich
Ambitious Kitchen

6. Smashed Chickpea And Avocado Sandwich With Cranberries And Lemon

Who needs avocado toast when you have this hearty avocado sandwich? It’s packed with your favorite fruit mixed with chickpeas, dried cranberries and arugula.

vegetarian lunches avocado caprese wrap
Foodie Crush

7. Avocado Caprese Wrap

Hearty doesn’t have to mean complex. Case in point: Heidi Larsen’s easy-to-make avocado Caprese wrap with mozzarella and balsamic drizzle.

vegetarian lunches kung pao cauliflower
Molly Krebs/Eat More Plants

8. Kung Pao Cauliflower

One of our favorite hacks? Swap cauliflower into all of your Chinese takeout favorites, including spicy kung pao.

vegetarian lunches taco salad
Salt and Wind

9. Taco Salad

Pass the hot sauce. You can put together a fiesta-worthy salad without cooking a single ingredient. (Thanks for the fabulous vegetarian lunch, Aida Mollenkamp.)

vegetarian lunches romaine kale and broccoli salad
The Mom 100

10. Romaine, Kale And Broccoli Salad

Toss together Katie Workman’s romaine, kale and broccoli salad—with lots of crumbled goat cheese, natch—in less than 20 minutes.

vegetarian lunches alison roman roasted squash
Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott/Nothing Fancy

11. Alison Roman’s Roasted Squash With Yogurt And Spiced Buttered Pistachios

Cook up a gorgeous seasonal lunch from one of our favorite cookbook authors, Alison Roman.

vegetarian lunches sesame ginger noodles
What’s Gaby Cooking

12. Sesame Ginger Noodles

Forget the takeout order. Gaby Dalkin’s sesame ginger noodles, you won’t need to pick up lunch, just your chopsticks.

vegetarian lunches vegan chickpea caesar wrap
The Full Helping

13. Vegan Chickpea Caesar Wrap

Vegans and vegetarians, rejoice: You can really sink your teeth into Gena Hamshaw’s Caesar wrap, thanks to a cashew cream–based dressing and plenty of chickpeas.

vegetarian lunches shred brussel sprouts and apple salad
Floating Kitchen

14. Shredded Brussels Sprout And Apple Salad

Crunchy shredded Brussels sprouts provide the base for Liz Harris’s filling salad—and did we mention the sliced apples cooked in maple syrup and crunchy pine nuts?



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Freelance PureWow Editor