16 Low-Key Genius Hacks, Tips, And Tricks For The Next Time You Make Lunch

    These are cheap, fast, filling — and pretty impossible to mess up.

    Hannah Loewentheil
    by Hannah Loewentheil

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This school year looks different for many students. Instead of eating lunch in a cafeteria, many are now making their mid-day meals at home. If you're busy, hungry, and don't want to spend forever in the kitchen, try out some of these easy lunch tips, tricks, and hacks. 🍜

    1. Cut down on cleanup by making eggs in the microwave. Add leftover veggies and you've got a quick, high-protein lunch.

    Marie Telling/BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

    If you're looking for a quick meal, there's no wrong time of day to eat eggs. Make this with whatever veggies, cheese, or protein (like leftover rotisserie chicken) you have — so it's easy to mix it up for variety. Best of all, it takes about five minutes and you don't even need to wash the pan afterwards.

    Recipe: Microwave Scrambled Eggs with Veggies and Avocado

    2. If you don't want to wait for a big pot of water to boil, you can cook pasta in the microwave, too.

    Marie Telling / BuzzFeed

    It's just a matter of getting the water ratio right. After that, just fold in any add-ins you want. This Trader Joe's version with marinara sauce, pre-cooked chicken sausage, and cheese is super affordable.

    Recipe: Microwave Mug Pasta With Sausage & Tomato

    3. Or make a loaded, fiber-rich sweet potato in the microwave — in way less time than it would take in the oven.

    Marie Telling/BuzzFeed / Via buzzfeed.com

    Microwaving a sweet potato takes about seven minutes, but you can even prep and make a few at the beginning of the week to cut down on time. This one's filled with bacon, broccoli, and cheese, but again: use what you have! Like black beans, avocado, or a 5-minute fried egg.

    Recipe: Microwave Loaded Sweet Potato

    4. Turn your favorite boxed mac 'n' cheese into a fancy lunch with the help of just a few ingredients.

    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed / Via tasty.co, Hannah Loewnetheil/BuzzFeed / Via tasty.co

    Grab our favorite box of mac 'n' cheese (or even the microwaveable kind) and add some extra cheese, veggies, and protein. Within minutes, you get a comforting lunch that tastes homemade.

    Recipe: Easiest Mac 'n' Cheese Upgrades

    5. If you're really pressed for time, meal-prep sandwiches and freeze them for a grab-and-go meal.

    6. If you use a tortilla as the crust, you can make a shortcut personal pizza in just a few minutes.

    Fresh April Flours / Via freshaprilflours.com

    Start with a burrito-sized flour tortilla and top it with marinara sauce and cheese or really, any of your favorite pizza toppings. Bake it in the oven for five minutes until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted.

    Recipe: Five-Minute Tortilla Pizza

    7. You can use naan or halved French bread as the crust, too.

    8. Turn a basic can of tomato soup into a ~sophisticated~ lunch by adding condiments or fresh herbs.

    9. Boil-bake a dozen eggs at once in the oven — and keep them in the fridge to use all week in sandwiches, salads, and more.

    Wholesome Yum / Via wholesomeyum.com

    One of the most hands-off ways to batch-cook eggs is to "boil" them in the oven. Place one egg in each cup of a muffin tin and bake at 325°F. If you like runny soft-boiled eggs, cook for about 22 minutes. For hard-boiled eggs, cook for closer to 30 minutes. (Want them faster? Try the Instant Pot method.)

    Tutorial: How To Boil-Bake Eggs In The Oven

    10. Speaking of eggs, you can meal prep egg muffin cups and store them in the freezer for future lazy lunches.

    Five egg muffins filled with different veggies like tomato, spinach, mushroom, and pepper.
    Cafe Delites / Via cafedelites.com

    You'll need a muffin tin, whisked eggs, and any of your favorite add-ins — like cooked bacon, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and shredded cheese. These muffin cups keep in the fridge for four days, but you can also freeze them for two months and quickly defrost in the microwave.

    Recipe: Egg Muffins Three Ways

    11. Make an easy "sushi stack" with canned tuna + leftover rice + toppings.

    A "sushi" stack made with rice, canned tuna, avocado, mango, cucumer, red onion, and sesame seeds.
    Chelsea's Messy Apron / Via chelseasmessyapron.com

    Layer rice, tuna, and your favorite toppings like mango, avocado, scallions, and spicy mayo for an easy, DIY-take on sushi.

    Recipe: Tuna "Sushi" Stacks

    12. Keep a $5 rotisserie chicken in your fridge and you'll have dozens of easy meals at your disposal.

    Getty Images, Good Cook / Via goodcook.com

    There's no shortage of quick lunches you can make with a cheap rotisserie chicken. Think: buffalo chicken wraps, chicken fried rice, chicken ramen, or shredded chicken nachos.

    Here's a full list of recipes that start with a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

    13. Whip up the easiest 15-minute carbonara by stirring an egg yolk directly over cooked pasta.

    Two different shots of lazy carbonara, one with the yolk cooked through and another topped with runny egg yolk.
    Hannah Loewentheil/BuzzFeed

    All you need is spaghetti (or your favorite noodle), pancetta or bacon, cheese, and eggs. Instead of whisking the egg and combining it with Parmesan to make a sauce, just crack an egg directly over the pasta as soon as you take it off the flame. The yolk will continue to cook through, but it will still taste runny and decadent.

    14. Freeze fruits and veggies in little baggies, then dump them into the blender with milk or juice for a two-minute smoothie.

    15. Turn $1 instant ramen into a satisfying soup by adding just about whatever is in your fridge.

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed / Via tasty.co

    Feel free to get creative here. Once you've heated up instant ramen according to package directions, add some veggies, protein, and if you're feeling fancy: a soft-boiled, fried, or poached egg.

    Here's a list of recipes to upgrade your instant ramen.

    16. Prep and freeze burritos for an on-the-go lunch that you'll crave all the time.

    Fit Foodie Finds / Via fitfoodiefinds.com

    Pick a grain (like rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice), a protein (shredded rotisserie chicken or ground beef), veggies, and cheese. Prep all of the ingredients ahead of time, roll them up in tortillas, wrap with foil, and freeze individually. To quickly defrost, just pop a frozen burrito into the microwave for two minutes.

    Recipe: Make-Ahead Freezer Burritos