Food Recipe Collections & Favorites Healthy Meals 10 Quick and Easy Lunch Salads You Can Make in Less Than 10 Minutes These simple salad ideas—from pesto chicken salad to roast beef salad with goat cheese—are perfect for those who enjoy eating salads for lunch. By Liz Regalia Liz Regalia Liz Regalia is a lifestyle editor and SEO content strategist with 13+ years of digital media experience. She has held senior and executive level positions in both publishing and digital media at multiple national brands including, Real Simple (where she served as senior SEO editor), Parents, Patch, Nickelodeon, and Martha Stewart Weddings. Additionally, she's written about health and wellness for Care.com, Everyday Health, and WhatToExpect.com. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 21, 2021 Close Photo: vi-mart Move over, bagged salads. When it comes to healthy lunch ideas, we're well aware that fast ingredients are equally as important as fresh ingredients if they're going to be feasible to pull off, especially during the week. But these lunch salads happen to have both thanks to easy salad dressings, canned proteins, and smart store-bought staples like pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. There are very few kitchen tools required, save perhaps a good grater for citrus zest or Parmesan cheese. 01 of 10 Pesto Chicken Salad Annie Schlecter Want to set yourself up for a week of healthy lunches? Snag a rotisserie chicken on Sunday at the store to use for a few of these salads. Here, it's chopped then mixed with mayo and pre-made pesto to make an easy, speedy chicken salad. 02 of 10 Turkey Salad With Tomato and Avocado Anna Williams It's time to start thinking beyond the sandwich when it comes to deli meat. Add fresh sliced turkey to a bowl of torn green leaf lettuce dressed with olive oil and vinegar and fresh chopped veggies for a simple salad instead. 03 of 10 Greek Salad With Basil Dressing Sang An Greek salads are a go-to for anyone wanting to save time on a healthy meal since so many ingredients take barely any prep. Save even more time on this salad by mixing store-bought pesto with olive oil to make the dressing. 04 of 10 Arugula Salad With Green Beans and Radishes Con Poulos Zesty fennel, crisp radishes, and spicy arugula add max flavor and texture to this lunch salad with minimum effort. 05 of 10 Romaine Salad With Tomatoes and Bacon Con Poulos Bacon crisps up on the stove in a quick 6 to 8 minutes. But if you want to save even more time, opt to microwave it which takes just over 5 minutes. You'll have less mess to clean up, too. 06 of 10 Greens With Quick Artichoke Vinaigrette Marcus Nilsson Meatless Monday? Jarred artichoke hearts packed in water or oil replace a standard protein for this quick vegetarian lunch salad. 07 of 10 Roast Beef Salad With Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette Anna Williams This deli-inspired lunch salad dressed with balsamic and topped with roast beef has all the flavors of your favorite sub minus the bread. 08 of 10 Southwestern Chicken Salad Charles Masters Canned beans may be hands-down the quickest way to add extra protein to a salad. Here, black beans pair perfectly with an easy southwestern-inspired sour cream, lime juice, and chili powder dressing. 09 of 10 Green Apple and Watercress Chicken Salad Annie Schlecter Tart Granny Smith apple slices add flavor and a quick crunch to this simple watercress salad with chicken. 10 of 10 Caesar Salad With Chicken and Avocado Michael Paul Chickpeas, walnuts, and avocado add so much extra oomph to this spin on a classic Caesar salad that you won't miss the chicken if you want to save some prep time. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit