20 +Meal-Prep Fall Lunch Recipes for Adults

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Have a week’s worth of lunches ready to go with these tasty fall recipes! Each dish makes multiple servings, so you can prep them ahead of time and make your week easier. They’re also packed with delicious fall produce like cauliflower, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and squash. Make options like our Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing or Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Taco Bowls for a flavorful meal that will have you excited for your lunch break.

Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Grilled Asparagus & Chicken Sausage

Stock the fridge with a week’s worth of lunches using a handful of ingredients from your local grocery store. To save on carbs, we’re swapping in riced cauliflower for regular rice and adding pregrilled asparagus, which bulks up these bowls and adds fiber. At lunchtime, just reheat to steaming then top with a bit of pesto. Try Trader Joe’s for fast shortcut ingredients like these–see Tip (below) for our product recommendations.

Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

Ali Redmond


These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. For a delicious vegan option, swap in roasted tofu for the chicken breast (see Associated Recipes).

Grilled Vegetable Salads with Goat Cheese

Here we use a bag of frozen grilled and marinated vegetables, then add big flavor with marinated goat cheese. If you want to bump up the protein, leftover chicken breast or salmon pair perfectly with this hearty salad.

Spinach & Artichoke Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette

Ali Redmond


Inspired by the classic warm party dip, this simple salad can be served up right away or divided into small lidded containers for a week of delicious lunches. To keep the hard-boiled eggs tasting fresh, we suggest adding them to your salad just before serving or in the morning before packing your lunch to go.

Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Taco Bowls

Ali Redmond


A bold, smoky marinade elevates roasted cauliflower in this meal-prep version of our popular Chipotle-Lime Cauliflower Tacos by Carolyn Malcoun. To cut down on prep time for these healthy taco bowls, look for precut cauliflower in the produce department.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas

This healthy high-fiber salad comes together in just 10 minutes. Serve it right away or pack it in individual servings for four super-satisfying high-fiber lunches for the week ahead. To cut down on prep time, we’re using preshredded Brussels sprouts from the produce department and store-bought roasted chickpeas.

Roasted Butternut Squash & Root Vegetables with Cauliflower Gnocchi

Take cauliflower gnocchi to the next level with these hearty, plant-based meal-prep bowls. Here we double up our Roasted Butternut Squash & Root Vegetables recipe (see Associated Recipes) and combine it with white beans, pesto and store-bought cauliflower gnocchi to make a week of healthy meal-prep lunches.

Butternut Squash, Tomato, Chard & Chickpea Soup

This vegan soup recipe is chock-full of colorful vegetables. All those veggies give this soup plenty of fiber, upping the satisfaction factor while keeping calories low—a combination that can aid in weight loss over time and potentially help you lose belly fat. Vibrant turmeric adds a golden color to the flavorful broth, while cumin and ginger give it a bright, fresh finish. And the best part? This healthy soup recipe takes only 20 minutes, start to finish!

Creamy White Bean Soup

Photography: Caitlin bensel, Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Styling: Julia Bayless


This light, creamy white bean soup recipe is richly flavored thanks to plenty of beans, veggies and Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Veggie & Hummus Pita Pockets

These satisfying and tasty pita-pocket sandwiches are packed with roasted veggies and greens. A spread of hummus adds creaminess and keeps everything from falling out.

Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup

Mild Italian sausage and potatoes are the foundation for this simple sausage, potato and kale soup. Serve it with slices of whole-wheat bread or a side salad for a complete and satisfying lunch or dinner.

Loaded Chicken-Quinoa Salad

Turn simple precooked ingredients into a delicious one-dish meal, high in fiber and with plenty of protein to keep you feeling satisfied.

Green Goddess Grain Bowl

This healthy grain bowl packs in the greens with peas, asparagus and a creamy yogurt dressing. Tofu adds protein while keeping it vegetarian, but you could also swap in cooked shrimp or chicken for a satisfying dinner or packable lunch ready in just 15 minutes.

Vegan Cabbage Soup

This vegan soup recipe is surprisingly easy to make. The flavorful broth is spiked with garlic, tomatoes and a hint of coriander. Just slice and dice your cabbage and fennel and you’ll be enjoying this quick healthy soup in no time.

Roasted Veggie & Quinoa Salad

Quick, simple and packed with satisfying protein and fiber, this salad makes a perfect lunch or easy one-dish dinner.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup Meal-Prep Freezer Pack

Not only does this chicken noodle soup recipe utilize the crock pot for a set-it-and-forget-it easy dinner, you can also prep all the ingredients ahead of time and store them away in the freezer to pull out on a day where you forgot to plan dinner. That’s a meal-prep win!

Grain Bowl with Chickpeas & Cauliflower

This beautiful grain bowl is packed with healthy ingredients like quinoa, chickpeas, kale and cauliflower–all drizzled with a lemony tahini sauce. The fast one-bowl meal makes a satisfying weeknight dinner or packable work lunch. If you don’t have za’atar, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander.

Chickpea & Veggie Grain Bowl

This high-fiber vegetarian grain bowl is packed with colorful veggies and plant-based protein to keep you feeling energized and satisfied.

Rainbow Grain Bowl with Cashew Sauce

This vibrant bowl is packed with nutrients to keep you full for hours. Look for precooked lentils in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

Chicken, Quinoa & Veggie Bowl

With a whopping 19 grams of protein, this one-dish meal will keep you feeling full and satisfied for hours.

Black Bean-Quinoa Bowl

Photography: Carson Downing, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Gabe Greco


This black bean and quinoa bowl has many of the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the fried bowl. We’ve loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top.

Chickpea & Quinoa Grain Bowl

Robby Lozano


It seems grain bowls have as many variations as there are stars in the sky, and there is no wrong way to build one! But we prefer to keep things classic and simple with hummus, quinoa, avocado and loads of veggies!

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