5-Minute Vegan Lunch Ideas (I timed them!)

Today I'm sharing four different vegan lunch options, each of which can be made in just five minutes. They're reasonably nutritious, but more importantly, they taste great, which means you'll actually be excited to eat them come lunchtime. For our first meal, we're gonna make an edamame rice bowl. It's got protein, fiber, healthy fats, and of course, lots of flavor. Now, you might be thinking it's impossible to cook rice in five minutes, and that's what I thought too, until I started using frozen, boxed, pre-cooked rice. This stuff is a game changer when it comes to quick meals. Yes, I normally like to cook my rice and grains from scratch, but when I don't have the time, having these in the freever, freever? Having these in the freezer is a lifesaver. All you have to do is pop a packet in the microwave for three minutes, and it honestly tastes really freaking good. Today I'm gonna opt for the brown rice, just because it's a little more nutrient dense, but either white or brown rice works here. And while the rice is getting nuked, we'll make our sauce. This is a sweet and spicy almond butter sauce that's so good, and it takes just a minute to make. You need two tablespoons of creamy almond butter. You can use peanut butter if you're into that kind of thing, or if you're nut-free, use tahini. A teaspoon of soy sauce for the savory saltiness, two teaspoons of rice vinegar for tang, a half tablespoon of sriracha and maple syrup for that spicy, sweet balance, and a pinch of salt. That's it, super quick. It's creamy, nutty, zingy, salty, and really just so perfect. We also need some edamame, and I love using edamame in quick meals because it requires no cooking, and it's also high in protein. And once the rice is ready, just top it off with some edamame, as much as you want or as much as your body needs. For some veggie action, I've got shredded carrots in a bag because I have no time left in my five minutes to prep vegetables. Spoon on the nutty sauce. You could leave this as is, but to take it over the top with extra flavor, I recommend a couple of spoons of chili crisp. It's the ultimate umami bomb. It adds a crunch, some heat, savoriness. And when you are short on time, a high-impact ingredient like this is gonna make a huge difference. And if you want an extra crunch, go ahead and scatter on some roasted peanuts. Time for lunch. So good and so easy. If you watch my channel regularly, you know that five-minute meals aren't usually my style because cooking excellent food at home, it takes some time, which is why I'm super impressed that this recipe took basically no time and is still quite tasty. Of course, the almond butter sauce and the chili crisp are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. They're really jazzing up the flavor of some pretty basic ingredients. You can also customize this meal. So if edamame is not your jam, I know some people don't like it, you can use store-bought baked tofu instead. Or if you don't wanna use the chili crisp, you could add some more flavor with some vegan furikake or some vegan kimchi for some of that good gut bacteria. For our next lunch idea, we're making a chickpea salad sandwich. I love this recipe so much because it comes together in a flash, so you can make it immediately if you need lunch right now, but you can also make a double batch, store it in the fridge, and then you basically have lunch for the entire week. First things first, drain a can of chickpeas and rinse these little guys. And then we just add the chickpeas to a food processor with all of the flavorings. A few tablespoons of vegan mayo because a chickpea salad needs some creaminess and a little tang. Some Dijon mustard. A big tablespoon of nutritional yeast for those savory notes. Half teaspoon of garlic powder because we don't have time for fresh garlic. A tablespoon of dill pickle relish, which is gonna add a subtle sweet tartness. Freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten everything up. And of course, good old salt and pepper to season. Now, this part is important. Do not blend. Just pulse it several times, maybe 10 to 15 times until it is somewhat mashed, but not pureed. Do not pureed. It will get weird. By the way, I've included the full recipes in this video in a free PDF guide. You can download that by going to the description box below the video. Now, you might be tempted to eat this chickpea salad with a spoon, but you're not an animal and your mother raised you better than that. Instead, spread a generous dollop of the chickpea salad on your favorite sandwich bread and add whatever quick toppings you can find in your crisper. Cukes, tomatoes, lettuce. I like to add sliced avocado for extra creamy goodness and healthy fats. Just season it with a little salt and lemon juice for flavor. Or you could add some more vegan mayo on the second side of your bread. Up to you. And serve with some pickles on the side if you like them as much as I do. Or you can serve this in lettuce cups if you have a gluten intolerance or you're one of those people that pretends to have a gluten intolerance so you don't have to eat carbs. This is a really good sandwich, especially for how easy and quick it was, as you saw. And if you have some pickled onions or sauerkraut in your fridge, that would make a really nice, tangy, crisp, sharp topping. And if you have a few extra minutes, you can turn this into a chickpea tuna salad sandwich. I have a recipe for that on my blog. It tastes just like tuna salad, but of course it's 100% plant-based. This next idea is for anyone who loves a big salad. I love a salad for lunch, but it's got to be super filling. I don't do garden salads. So here's what I do when I have just five minutes. First, I like to use two different kinds of lettuce for textural variety. Today I've got a super greens mix for maximum nutrients and little gem lettuce for that refreshing, crisp bite. I like to season the greens at this point with just a pinch of salt and pepper for a little more flavor. And then whatever veggie you have in your crisper that's quick, I've got shredded carrots again and some leftover red cabbage. I'm using my handheld mandolin to shred it. It's a bit quicker than slicing by hand and you can get it really fine. And I never measure this stuff. It's really just as much as your body needs. For proteins, one of my favorite options are roasted chickpeas. Ideally I would roast these myself, but when I'm in a pinch, these add an amazing crunch, almost like a crouton. To make this more filling, I'm also adding cooked lentils. And I'll be the first to admit it, I prefer to cook lentils from scratch. It's easy, it's quick, and they taste a lot better. But if I don't happen to have them in my fridge already cooked, these boxed lentils are a decent alternative. I always need a creamy factor in my salad, so I'm adding half of a ripe avocado. That's healthy fats for your brain, your skin, and your heart. And now we just need a dressing. And one of my go-tos is a tahini dressing because it adds another layer of creaminess, some more good fats, and it's also very fast. You'll need two heaping tablespoons of tahini, a heaping tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper to season, of course. And if you want, a couple of spices, totally optional. Today, I've got onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. You'll whisk this together until it's thick, and then start pouring in a bit of ice water. Whisk again until it's creamy yet pourable. Give it a taste, and if the dressing is too tart or bitter, add just a tiny bit of maple syrup to balance it all out. And that's it. It's nutrient-dense, actually filling, and a great blend of crisp, creamy, and crunchy textures. I like to use tongs to mix everything up and mash the avocado into the salad so it's even creamier. Give it a taste, and then season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if you need it. Oh, and if you're packing this lunch to go, wait until you eat to dress the salad. Maybe also wait till you slice up the avocado to make sure it stays fresh. Next on deck, we've got teriyaki tofu pitas with a creamy chili sauce. We'll start with the sauce, and let me just say it is extremely delicious. You need a quarter cup of vegan mayo, which gives you a creamy, tangy base without having to make your own sauce, a tablespoon of chili garlic sauce, another high-impact ingredient that brings both heat and flavor, a bit of lime juice or rice vinegar, half teaspoon of agave nectar, and an eighth of a teaspoon of five-spice powder. The spice blend adds a distinct Chinese flavor to the sauce that I absolutely adore. It's really good in marinades and stir-fries as well, and it really takes the sauce over the top so I wouldn't skip it. You can find it at most grocery stores these days. If you can't, you can still make the sauce without it, but it's a really special ingredient. As quickly as you can, chop up a cucumber without chopping off your fingers. Mix those into the dressing to coat the cucumbers, not your fingers. I'm also adding a pre-bagged broccoli slaw mix for a nutrient variety, but you could also just use those shredded carrots from earlier, and feel free to customize this. If you already have veggies in your fridge like bell peppers or snap peas, just go ahead and use those. As for our tofu, I'm using store-bought baked teriyaki tofu that's gonna pair super nicely with the flavors in the sauce. You can dice it up or slice it thinly like so. By now, you'll have realized that in order to make a really delicious meal in just five minutes, you kind of have to take some shortcuts, so the boxed rice, the pre-cut tofu and veggies, using vegan mayo from time to time. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, though, so you can always customize these recipes to your dietary preferences and make certain things from scratch. Of course, you won't make it into that five-minute window, so I leave the trade-off up to you. Okay, grab a round of pita. You should have enough ingredients for two to three pitas depending on their size. Carefully stuff them with the chili sauce-covered vegetables, fold in your sliced tofu, and wedge a piece of lettuce in there for good measure. And if pita bread isn't your thing, you could serve this over rice instead. With all the grace your fans have come to expect from you. Yeah, maybe I should have cut that lettuce. That was a strategic error. I was literally just gonna apologize for my lack of grace, but you'll already know that I'm not that graceful when I eat, so I won't apologize. Anyways, this sauce is so delicious. I feel like you're gonna wanna put it on everything. In five minutes, it's not a lot of time, but I think we did a really good job here today, so if you wanna make these recipes at home yourself, be sure to print out that downloadable PDF guide that's linked below. You can print out the recipes and make them yourself, and thanks for watching. Bye.