Here are 90 Healthy No-Heat Lunches for taking to work or just for grabbing a super quick lunch when you work at home! And most of these healthy no heat lunch ideas are low-carb and gluten-free. 

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90 Healthy No-Heat Lunches for Taking to Work collage of featured recipes.

When I taught elementary school and also worked on this blog, I was grateful for leftovers to take to school and warm up for lunch. But without a place to heat food at the workplace, healthy lunches are more challenging.

Years ago I had a request on the Kalyn’s Kitchen Facebook page to share ideas for healthy brown bag lunches that don’t need to be heated, and I worked hard on this collection of 90 No-Heat Lunches that ended up being a big hit on the blog.

Now fast forward quite a few years and I’m focused more on low-carb eating, and my blog has also changed since this was first posted. So I’m updating this collection of healthy lunches with more low-carb options, although there are still plenty of ideas for readers who follow other diets as well.

How can you tell if the no-heat lunch ideas fit your way of eating?

I am tagging this post with low-carb, Keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, South Beach Diet, and vegetarian because there are ideas here that fit all those diets! My site has diet-type tags above the recipe title on every post, so if a recipe in this round-up sounds good to you but you’re not sure it will fit your diet, just click the link to go to that post and you can see what diets I feel it’s suitable for! 

What kinds of no-heat lunches will you find here:

I focused on no-heat lunches I think will keep in the fridge for at least a day or two, but check individual recipes for more information. Some dishes contain ingredients (like fresh tomatoes or avocados) that I’d cut up in the morning and add when I eat the lunch. And some salads might be best if you refrigerate the dressing and salad separately and combine at lunchtime.

There are a few dishes (like the tostadas) would definitely need to be packed separately and then assembled when you eat them. But all these are tasty ideas that I hope can make your brown-bag lunches a lot more interesting! 

Historical Information for this post:

90 Healthy No-Heat Lunches for Taking to Work was first posted in 2012. The post was updated in 2020 with new photos and lots more low-carb lunch ideas, and it was updated again with more information in 2023.

Spicy Tomato-Cucumber Salad with Peperoncini

Salads with Tomatoes for a No-Heat Lunch:

Easy Guacamole Tostadas

Pitas, Tostadas, and Wraps for a No-Heat Lunch:

Low-Carb Loaded Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad

Salads with Eggs and Cheese for a No-Heat Lunch:

Tuna Stuffed Avocado

Snack Foods and Appetizers, for a No-Heat Lunch:

Low-Carb Chicken Pesto Salad with Olives and Peas

Salads with Chicken or Fish for a No-Heat Lunch:

Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Peppers, Cilantro, and Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette

Salads with Beans or Lentils for a No-Heat Lunch:

Baby Arugula Chopped Salad with Chicken, Fresh Mozzarella, and Tomatoes

Salads with Greens for a No-Heat Lunch:

Perfect Low-Carb Taco Salad

Salads with Lettuce or Cabbage for a No-Heat Lunch

Brown Rice Salad with Olives, Bell Peppers, Peas, and Basil Vinaigrette

Salads with Grain or Quinoa for a No-Heat Lunch:

Marinated Zucchini Salad with Olives, Artichokes, and Red Pepper 

Salads with Vegetables or Fruit for a No-Heat Lunch:

Sheila's Low-Carb Shrimp Dip

Dips for a No-Heat Lunch:

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