20 Budget Lunch Ideas for Work That Won’t Wreck Your Wallet

Skip the intro · jump to the list ↓

For a solid year I was buying lunch out almost every single day at the little sandwich place near my old office, and I did the math on that recently. I will not repeat the number here. I am too embarrassed.

So here are twenty budget lunch ideas for work that keep me full, keep my card balance intact, and mostly do not require a grocery run every single week.

20 Lunches That Won’t Cost You Much

1. Rice and Beans

This is the one I go back to when my bank app starts giving me looks. Rice, canned beans, a squeeze of lime, maybe some hot sauce if I have it.

My mom used to make a version of this on Thursdays before payday and I never once complained.

2. Peanut Butter Banana Toast

I know this sounds more like breakfast. It is also a completely legitimate desk lunch when I forgot to plan anything and the vending machine is looking too tempting.

3. Egg Fried Rice From Leftover Rice

This one is basically the best of the leftover lunch ideas work has to offer, because it saves rice that would otherwise go stiff in the fridge and get thrown out on Sunday.

4. Lentil Soup From the Pantry

Lentils are dirt cheap and this soup makes a huge pot for very little money.

I freeze half of it in an old yogurt tub, which is not glamorous but it works.

See the Recipe

5. Tuna Sandwich, the Boring Reliable One

Nobody is impressed by a tuna sandwich. I am not trying to impress anyone at my desk at noon.

This is one of the cheapest things I make and I do not feel bad eating it three days a week.

6. Baked Potato Bar, Solo Edition

A big potato, some shredded cheese, whatever else is hanging around. I microwave mine because I refuse to heat my entire oven for one potato on a Tuesday.

7. Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Mash chickpeas with a fork, add mayo and mustard, treat it exactly like egg salad. Tessa introduced me to this and I was skeptical at first, but it holds up in the fridge better than actual egg salad does.

8. Vegetable Fried Noodles

Whatever vegetables are wilting slightly in my fridge go into this. Frozen mixed vegetables work just as well and honestly cost less, so I do not feel guilty using them instead of fresh.

9. Big Batch Vegetable Chili

This is one of my go-to cheap meal prep lunches because a single pot lasts me most of the week and gets better by day three. My neighbor Marlene doubles her batch every time and freezes half without even thinking about it anymore.

See the Recipe

10. Leftover Roast Chicken Wrap

Whatever chicken is left from a weekend roast goes straight into a tortilla the next day. I do not even measure anything, I just grab and roll.

11. Pasta With Garlic and Olive Oil

This is embarrassingly simple and I still make it. Garlic, olive oil, a little parmesan if it exists in my fridge that week, and pasta. That’s it, that’s the idea.

12. Oatmeal, But Savory

Plain oats cooked in broth instead of water, topped with a fried egg. I was doubtful the first time and now I make it whenever I am low on groceries and payday is still a few days off.

13. Pantry Pasta Salad

Whatever cans I have get thrown into cooked pasta with a little dressing. This is one of my favorite pantry lunch ideas when the fridge is basically empty and I am too tired to go to the store after work.

14. Grilled Cheese and Canned Tomato Soup

This one is nostalgic more than practical, honestly. My mom made this constantly growing up and I still reach for it when I want lunch to feel like a small hug.

15. Fried Rice With Leftover Vegetables and an Egg

Similar to entry three but with whatever vegetable scraps are sitting in my crisper. I keep a small container in the fridge specifically for odds and ends destined for this dish.

16. Bean and Cheese Quesadilla

I make this so often that I have started buying tortillas two packs at a time. Beans, cheese, a hot pan, done.

17. Overnight Oats With Peanut Butter

I mix this the night before and grab it on my way out the door. There is something satisfying about eating breakfast for lunch and calling it a system.

18. Rotisserie Chicken Rice Bowl

One store-bought rotisserie chicken stretches across four lunches if I portion it out right away instead of picking at it all weekend. Tessa taught me this trick and I have not gone back to buying chicken breasts since.

19. Canned Soup Upgraded

A plain can of soup with an extra can of beans dumped in and some fresh herbs on top stops tasting like a can of soup. Small effort, much better lunch.

20. PB&J, No Shame

I’m not going to pretend I have moved past this one. Some weeks it is peanut butter and jelly four days running and that is fine. Nobody at my desk has ever judged me for it, or if they have, they kept it to themselves.