6 bean and lentil lunches
Beans, lentils and chickpeas are the backbone of a lunch that is still good on Thursday. They soak up sauce instead of going soggy, and a tin costs less than a coffee.
CThe Cookpath kitchen9 min read · 6 recipes
Blackened Chicken & Rice
- 35 mintotal
- 48 gprotein
- 860kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 5servings
Why it's here: The most protein on this list. Packs well for work.
23 ingredients · 6 steps · 25 min hands-on
A big lunch for the week: blackened chicken on a one-pan rice with peppers, corn, black beans and cheddar, with a coriander lime dressing. It has 60 g of protein, and the beans and rice are what keep you going through the afternoon.
Toast the rice for a minute or two before the stock goes in, then cover it and cook on low for 10 to 12 minutes. Keep the dressing in a small pot and add it when you eat. Cook it on Sunday, because it makes 4 boxes.
Turkey Chili
- 35 mintotal
- 35 gprotein
- 470kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: Packs well for work.
19 ingredients · 5 steps · 15 min hands-on
Kidney and borlotti beans do a lot of work here. They add fibre and bulk to the turkey mince, so a bowl holds you through the afternoon. It has 35 g of protein for 470 kcal, and makes four portions.
Drain and rinse the beans before they go in, then simmer everything for 15 to 20 minutes. A chili holds well in the fridge, so make it once and take it in four times. Add the coriander and sour cream when you eat.
Minestrone
- 1 htotal
- 24 gprotein
- 530kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 8servings
Why it's here: Only 25 minutes of that is you; the rest it cooks on its own. Makes 8 servings, so it covers several days.
22 ingredients · 8 steps · 25 min hands-on
A big pot with 8 servings, built around sausage and a can of mixed beans in a tomato soup full of vegetables. At 530 kcal and 24 g of protein a bowl, it is a lunch you only have to reheat.
Cook the pasta separately and keep it separate in the fridge, spooning it into the bowl before the soup goes over, so it never turns to mush. The beans go in for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Lentil Potato Soup
- 40 mintotal
- 17 gprotein
- 400kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: Packs well for work.
15 ingredients · 6 steps · 15 min hands-on
Brown lentils and potatoes cook down into a thick, filling vegan soup flavoured with curry powder, paprika and cumin. At 400 kcal and 17 g of protein, it is a gentle lunch with plenty of staying power from the lentils.
Simmer it for 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes and lentils are tender, then blend part of it with a stick blender if you want it thicker. Stir in the spinach at the end. Make it on Sunday night and reheat it at your desk.
Vegetable Lentil Soup
- 50 mintotal
- 15 gprotein
- 310kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: Only 15 minutes of that is you; the rest it cooks on its own. Packs well for work.
16 ingredients · 6 steps · 15 min hands-on
The lightest lunch on the page at 310 kcal, with 15 g of protein. Brown lentils, carrot, celery and kale in a tomato broth with paprika and curry powder, finished with lemon.
Toast the spices with the tomato paste for a minute before the liquid goes in, and blend a little of the soup at the end for a creamier body. The kale and lemon juice go in last. It makes 4 and takes 50 minutes.
Vegetarian Chili
- 25 mintotal
- 14 gprotein
- 330kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: The fastest one here. Packs well for work.
18 ingredients · 5 steps · 10 min hands-on
Kidney beans, black beans and corn in a spicy tomato base, with 14 g of protein at 330 kcal. It is the quickest recipe on the page: 25 minutes, only 10 of them hands-on.
Stir the tomato paste and spices in for about 30 seconds on medium heat so they do not burn, then add the rest and simmer for 15 minutes. It makes 4 lunches. Keep the avocado, sour cream or tortilla chips for the day you eat it.
A lunch that has to survive three days in a fridge and a microwave needs ingredients that hold their shape. Pulses do that better than most things: they stay firm, they carry spice, and they get better as the sauce settles into them.
They also fill you up for the money. A tin of chickpeas or lentils is a few cheap minutes of work and a lot of protein and fibre per portion, so a pot made on Sunday covers several lunches without feeling like leftovers.
All of these pack well and are built around a pulse. Most make four or five portions, so one pot is most of the work week. Cook one on Sunday, a second on Wednesday if you want a change, and the rest of the week is taken care of.
Keep the sauce and anything fresh separate if you can. A squeeze of lemon, a handful of herbs or a spoon of yoghurt added on the day makes a three-day-old lunch taste like it was cooked that morning.
Three things that help
The liquid in the tin is salty and starchy. A minute under the tap makes the dish cleaner and a little lighter.
Red and green lentils cook more evenly when the salt goes in once they are soft.
Lemon, herbs or yoghurt on the day you eat it brings the flavour back after days in the fridge.
Every dish here is in the app with timers inside the steps, servings you can change and a shopping list that builds itself.
