Lunch Recipes

Portable is the test here more than fast. Vegetarian Kimbap and Tofu Banh Mi are built to sit in a container for a few hours and still taste right at noon, one rolled and sliced ahead of time, the other a sandwich that only improves as the pickled vegetables inside it settle. Vegan Ramen and Vegetarian Tteokbokki, both built around noodles that change texture within minutes of leaving the pot, stay on the dinner page instead.

Veggie Salad Without Lettuce is the fastest thing here at about twenty-five minutes, and it holds up in a container because there is no lettuce in it to wilt by noon. Vegan Potato Soup and Vegetable Crock Pot Soup both reheat cleanly, which is most of what a weekday lunch needs. Vegetarian Banh Cuon takes closer to two hours the first time, but that time goes into learning the technique, and the rolls keep well once you have it down.

The thread running through the rolls and wraps is that warmth does the shaping. Banh Cuon’s rice sheet is set by the lid of a covered skillet standing in for a steamer, not by frying, and Vegetarian Kimbap works from the same idea in reverse, rice seasoned while still warm enough to hold its shape once it is rolled and sliced.

Badges on each card mark vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free. Tofu Banh Mi carries wheat in its baguette, and Vegetarian Kimbap is not gluten-free either, so check the ingredient list rather than assume a vegetable-forward lunch skips wheat on its own.