11 Lunch Recipes That’ll Ease the Back-To-Work Blues

Morning Market's salad sandwich
Erin Alderson’s eggplant onigiri
Neil Perry's deli sandwich
Sarah Pound’s herby chickpea salad with maple and tahini dressing
Danielle Alvarez's tomato, onion and cheddar tart
Ella Mittas's zucchini fritters
Molly Baz's cauliflower salad
Christine Manfield's dal
Matty Matheson's submarine sandwich
The Farm Cafe's super salad
Brunswick Street Alimentari’s cauliflower and tahini salad

Morning Market's salad sandwich ·Photo: Mark Roper

Step away from the soggy sandwich and put these lunches on high rotation. With crisp and colourful salads, make-ahead dal and several sandwiches, you’ll be sure to induce lunch envy in the office.

Already blew off your new year’s resolutions? Here’s a late contender you might actually keep: bring tasty lunches to work every day. Unlike so many other resolutions, it doesn’t involve deprivation and unrealistic goals; instead it’s a delicious, achievable reward for a job well done that’ll break up long days at the desk.

Some of these skew classic – sandwiches and salads – while others will add a little more pep to your midweek lunch options. We have The Bear star Matty Matheson’s New York Italian deli-style sandwich; Danielle Alvarez’s tomato, onion and cheddar tart; and a “super” salad for when maximising veggie intake is the number-one goal. You’ll be the envy of the office.

Matty Matheson’s submarine sandwich

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Celebrity chef Matty Matheson has made headlines recently for his outstanding red-carpet-style, awards-show wins and work on The Bear – but it’s the food world where he made his name. Thus, we trust him when he calls this sub “perfect”. A melange of cheese and cured meats, and a bit of salad and vinegar to cut through the richness, it’s the boisterous chef’s take on New York Italian deli sandwiches. This recipe makes two subs, and we recommend sharing one with a co-worker. They might want to kiss you à la Matheson and Moss-Bachrach, but we (and probably your HR department) would advise against it.

Morning Market’s salad sandwich

Morning Market’s Andrew McConnell reckons this is a salad sandwich you’ll “want to eat every day”. Challenge accepted. It’s a slightly fancy take on the beetroot-, grated carrot- and alfalfa-loaded milk bar and school canteen classic; the cheese is provolone, the bread is seeded spelt sourdough and ranch dressing is brought into the mix for a little extra punch. But ultimately, it’s a solid midweek sandwich that’ll keep you going till clock-off time.

Danielle Alvarez’s tomato, onion and cheddar tart

The best tomatoes of the year are beginning to hit shelves, making it the perfect time to throw together Danielle Alvarez’s impressive tomato, onion and cheddar tart. While it makes a lovely centrepiece for a dinner party straight from the oven, it doesn’t need to be eaten hot, so you can make in advance for a week’s worth of banging lunches. Or, make it for your mates and bring the leftovers to the office. The flaky, buttery pastry case is bound to be the high point of your workday.

Erin Alderson’s eggplant onigiri

Break away from sandwiches and salads with a serving of fluffy onigiri. US cookbook author Erin Alderson’s take puts a vegetarian spin on sticky sweet unagi (eel) onigiri, instead using eggplant enriched with soy, mirin and oyster sauce. They last about a day in the fridge, making them an ideal night-before meal prep.

Molly Baz’s cauliflower salad with vegan ranch

Cook and former Bon Appetit Test Kitchen star Molly Baz’s MO is packing as much flavour as possible into your home cooking – and that extends to this office-friendly salad. Baz says it’s a “texture wonderland”, chock-full with craggy cauliflower that holds pockets of the deceptively creamy tofu-based sauce. If you’re working from home, you can make it from scratch and serve warm. For the office-based, it stands up equally as well straight from the refrigerator.

Brunswick Street Alimentari’s cauliflower and tahini salad

Salad for lunch doesn’t need to mean hunger will set in by 3pm. This hefty – yet simple to make – salad is a lavish combination of lightly fried cauliflower, an abundance of herbs and a creamy tahini and yoghurt dressing, all heaped on toasted Lebanese pita for extra bulk. Make it tonight for a lunch you’ll look forward to tomorrow.

Ella Mittas’s zucchini fritters

Time to break out of your salad-leftovers-sandwich routine? Say hello to fritters which, when you think about it, are perfect lunchtime fodder: you can pack them with veggies, they won’t spill in your bag and you can batch-cook them ahead of time. Melbourne cook Ella Mittas’s zucchini fritters fit the brief perfectly and are supremely simple to make. Just make sure you give the zucchinis a good squeeze to ensure extra-crunchy fritters.

Christine Manfield’s spiced chickpea dal

When the weather finally cools down, you’ll want something warm and spice-heavy to sink your spoon into. And this is just the thing: spice queen Christine Manfield’s chickpea dal. It’s just one of the recipes she’s developed based on what she’s eaten during 40 research trips to India. This is a Punjabi variation on the dish, which Manfield enjoys for breakfast but also makes a bang-up lunch. It can be easily scaled up – so make a big batch, freeze a few containers of the stuff and thank your past self when you’re warming it up in the office microwave a couple of weeks down the track.

Sarah Pound’s herby chickpea salad with maple and tahini dressing

A salad like this went viral because Jennifer Aniston ate it in 2022 – but apparently that is an urban myth, says nutritionist and recipe writer Sarah Pound. Nontheless, this salad is a worthy addition to your lunchtime recipe rota. It’ll fuel you up and fill you up for the afternoon with a mix of nuts, freekeh, chickpeas, feta and herbs swished through with a salty-sweet tahini and maple dressing.

Neil Perry’s “ultimate” deli sandwich

The infamous “I’ll have what she’s having” Katz’s Deli scene from When Harry Met Sally may not have been about the sandwiches – but it’s what your co-workers will be saying when you bring this bad boy back to your desk. Neil Perry calls it his “ultimate” deli sandwich, and it involves almost every cured meat you can think of: sopressa, mortadella, capocollo and more, plus cheese, dill pickles and a homemade dressing (prep that at home ahead of time). And despite its good looks, it’ll only take 15 minutes to put together – a true lunchtime win.

The Farm Cafe’s super salad

Some salads can feel so light-on that your “I just ate a salad for lunch” smugness can quickly be replaced with hunger pains and a longing for carbs. Not this bolstering beauty. From Melbourne’s Farm Cafe, it’s a hearty union of quinoa, veggies, herbs, avocado and pumpkin seeds, as well as a creamy cashew mayo. It’ll tick off a few food groups, and keep you properly sated till dinner.

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