Lunch Recipes
Simple midday meals that come together fast.
Creamy Tuscan White Bean Skillet with Crispy Sage
Creamy Tuscan white bean skillet: cannellini beans simmered in rosemary-garlic olive oil until silky, finished with lemon and crispy fried sage. A $3 pantry lunch ready in 30 minutes.
Roasted Carrot and Harissa Soup with Yogurt Swirl
Roasted harissa carrot soup with smoky chili heat and a cool yogurt swirl. Tastes fancy, costs almost nothing, and needs only 10 minutes of hands-on work.
Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim) in 10 Minutes
Crunchy Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim) in a sweet-spicy gochugaru dressing. This 10-minute side dish is sweet, spicy, and gone before dinner hits the table.
Miso-Glazed Eggplant Donburi (15-Minute Rice Bowls)
Miso-glazed eggplant, caramelized until sticky and sweet-savory, piled over steaming rice with scallions and sesame. This 15-minute bowl beats takeout.
Easy Okonomiyaki (Japanese Savory Cabbage Pancakes)
This is the pancake that eats like a meal: a crunchy-chewy slab of shredded cabbage held together with just enough batter, crowned with zigzags of kewpie mayo, a slick of sweet-savory okonomi sauce, and bonito flakes that wave in the steam. Osaka's street-food icon is easier than you think — one bowl, one pan, about 35 minutes.
Japanese Egg Salad Sando (Tamago Sando)
The cult konbini sandwich, made at home: chopped hard-boiled eggs folded with tangy Kewpie mayo, a pinch of sugar and salt, packed thick between crustless slices of soft shokupan and cut into perfect triangles. Creamy, lightly sweet, impossibly soft, and ready in about 25 minutes. Three ingredients doing all the work.
Nam Khao (Lao Crispy Rice Salad with Herbs)
The crunchiest salad you will ever eat: seasoned jasmine rice balls fried until shattering-crisp, then broken apart and tossed with toasted coconut, two cups of fresh herbs, peanuts, and a lime-fish-sauce dressing. It is a texture bomb from Laos that turns leftover rice into the best thing on the table.
Larb Gai (Thai Minced Chicken Salad)
Larb gai is a Thai minced chicken salad with toasted rice powder, lime, fish sauce, and mint. Scoop it into lettuce cups for a fresh 35-minute lunch.