Five easy lunches that will save you cash in 2026

New year, same old meal deal? We’ve got you.

With barely a whisper of effort, you can save yourself cash, skip the lunchtime queues and treat yourself to a top-tier midday meal.

Get ready to appreciate the office microwave like never before, with these cheap, healthy lunch ideas that taste as good as they look.

1. Quick and easy coconut dal

Cold, drizzly days call for warming comfort food – and nothing hits that particular nail on the head like dal. This recipe makes four portions, so that’s almost a week’s worth of lunches sorted.

It uses red lentils, whose virtues include (but are by no means limited to) being cheap, packing nutrients and quick cook times.

More dals to try

2. Pea pesto pasta salad

You don’t even need a microwave for this one. Wholewheat pasta holds its own in the fridge for a few days better than the regular stuff, so is perfect for meal prep. Plus, it pumps up the fibre content.

This is a filling, satisfying lunch to pack up for work – and will get you well on your way to those 30 plant points.

More great pasta salad ideas

3. Instant brothy noodles

If you love ramen, pho or any kind of brothy, noodley situation, this is the one for you. Chuck some veg, a stock cube, dried noodles, garlic and ginger into a container then at lunchtime just add boiling water and your protein of choice (we love cooked chicken or tofu).

A super flexible recipe that can help you use up odds and ends in your fridge, this one’s going to cost you a fraction of that spenny lunch deal and be a whole lot more enjoyable to eat.

More easy noodle lunches

4. Fridge-raid soup

Sure, soup really comes into its own in winter, but it’s very much a year-round lunch option.

This one is based on those bags of chopped root veg that you’ll always find on the yellow sticker shelf – but works just as well with whatever you have kicking around in your fridge.

The Parmesan and seed topping really makes it. Take that to work in a separate container and scatter it over the top of the soup after you’ve heated it up.

Try these super soups too

5. Anything goes frittata

If you’ve got eggs in your kitchen then congratulations – you’ve got a frittata. A protein-packed and conveniently portable lunch, this version is designed to make use of any odds and ends that need using up.

You’ll get four portions from this budget-beating 20-minute recipe below – that’s a convincing cost-benefit ratio if ever we saw one.