Three Easy Weekday Lunches | Cup of Jo

Confession: I am a professional recipe developer, and yet every single day I stand in front of the morass of my refrigerator and wonder, What’s for lunch…again?? Figuring out what to make for weekday lunch, especially, can feel about as inspiring as washing the sheets.

Once I started paying attention to the lunch foods that made me feel the best for the rest of the day, however, I came up with a handful of guidelines I try to hew to no matter what I have in the fridge and pantry. These days, my work-from-home lunches (or lunch al desko) meet the following parameters:

1. Exciting enough to eat that I’m not tempted to order a mediocre salad instead
2. Made with ingredients already in the house
3. Filling and fueling, can’t immediately induce a post-meal nap
4. Requires no more than 5-10 minutes to put together
5. More about assembly/throwing things together than actual cooking

Below, I share three easy lunches I love that are on heavy rotation in my household.

Upgraded Tuna Salad

The “upgrade” in question is a handful of chopped peperoncini and a splash of the pickling brine, though any chopped pickle + brine combo (Dill pickles! Kimchi! Sauerkraut!) adds transformative verve and brightness to familiar tuna salad.

Dress some lettuce (Bibb, romaine, or iceberg are all good options) with lemon, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Arrange lettuce on a plate or shallow bowl and top with some sliced avocado.

Drain two 5-oz. cans of tuna and dump into the same mixing bowl. Add the saucy stuff: a big spoonful of mayonnaise (or extra-virgin olive oil if you don’t do mayo), a small spoonful of Dijon mustard, a couple dashes of hot sauce, and a squeeze of lemon juice or splash of your favorite vinegar. Now add any number of optional crunchies: 2 chopped celery stalks, ¼ diced red onion or some shallot or scallions, a small handful of chopped herbs (dill or parsley are my favorites), and, critically, 2-3 chopped peperoncini with a splash of their pickling brine. Season with salt and pepper. Mix, mix, mix until everything is combined. Place a big scoop on top of the salad and enjoy.

Other ideas with tuna salad: Smash a little avocado on toasted grainy bread and pile tuna salad on top for an open-faced tartine, or eat with hearty crackers like Wasa or seed-packed Norwegian crispbreads.

Dressed-Up Lentils with a Fried Egg

I often make a pot of lentils and a sheet pan of roasted vegetables to eat with various meals throughout the week. Realizing I only love eating lentils warm was a game changer and made them a lot more appealing to me as a go-to lunch option.

Dress some arugula or other peppery salad greens with lemon, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Arrange greens on a plate or shallow bowl. Reheat 1 cup cooked lentils (French, brown, or green) and toss with 1 cup of leftover roasted vegetables in the same bowl. Season with a tiny splash of red wine vinegar or squeeze of lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Add a few shavings of Parmesan and/or some thinly sliced scallions if you’d like. Spoon the warm lentils on top of the greens and top with a runny fried egg.

Kitchen Sink Sandwich

Whenever I have a whole-grain, seeded sandwich loaf (Lost Bread Co. sells an incredible loaf at my local farmers market in Brooklyn), these towering kitchen sink sandwiches — inspired by classic hippie fare — inevitably find their way into my lunch rotation. Think of these as a salad sandwiched between two slices of bread. And like any good salad, a kitchen sink sandwich comprises multiple flavors and textures.

Spread one slice of grainy bread with mashed avocado or hummus. Spread a second slice of bread with a thick layer of herby goat cheese (also good: a plank of feta, fresh mozzarella sliced off the ball, sharp cheddar, or even cream cheese). Fill the sandwich with any/all of the following:

Something crunchy: Cucumber, tomato, lettuce, apples, thinly sliced radishes or fennel, shredded carrots

Something hearty: Baked tofu, sliced hard-boiled egg, sliced leftover roasted vegetables (beets, squash, sweet potato, or carrots are especially good),

Something pickle-y: Pickled beets, pickled carrots, sauerkraut, chopped kimchi, pickled onions

Sprouts and herbs: Alfalfa, broccoli, whatever you fancy — but an inch-high tuft of sprouts is a must for proper hippie sandwich vibes. If you have them, throw in a handful of tender herbs, such as basil, mint, cilantro, or parsley.

Finish the sandwich by seasoning both halves with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper before closing up (this ties all the flavors together).

Sandwich in the photo has mashed avocado, goat cheese, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, Bibb lettuce, pickled red onions, and alfalfa sprouts

What go-to easy weekday lunches do you like?

Christina Chaey is a writer and recipe developer living in Brooklyn. A former senior editor at Bon Appétit, she writes a newsletter called Gentle Foods, where she explores the intersection of cooking and mental health and shares recipes from her home kitchen. She is working on her debut cookbook, coming spring 2026. Follow her on on Instagram, if you’d like.

P.S. A formula for easy lunchbox packing and what food geniuses eat for lunch.

(Photos by Christina Chaey.)