Summer Lunch Recipes

I’ll let you in on a secret. I much prefer autumn and winter but only because I’m lazy. Hear me out though; I make weekday lunches for me and J every day and it’s so easy to buy cheapy cans of soup from Asda, but in the hotter months, I actually have to put a little bit of effort in!

Recently though, I’ve stumbled on some really simple and easy-to-make recipes which we’ve been absolutely loving, so I’m sharing them with you, in case you’re looking for some summer lunch inspiration ๐Ÿ™‚

I always make mine the night before, split them into two Tupperware boxes (Joseph Joseph in case you’re interested) and put them in the fridge overnight! To make sure we never forget to take our lunch (there’s nothing worse), I leave out a post-it note to remind us about our lunches the next day ๐Ÿ˜€

Tortellini with pesto and broccoli – This simple recipe takes about 10/15 mins depending if you use fresh pasta or not and serves 2 people.

  • 140g Tenderstem broccoli, cut into short lengths (I use frozen and it only takes about 6 mins to cook! Once it’s done, I drain it under cold water to cool it quicker!)
  • 250g fresh tortellini (I just use dried pasta but I use 100g instead)
  • tbsp pesto (I use the green one because it’s yummy and cheaper!)
  • 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (I don’t bother toasting them as I quite like them raw :D)
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 8 cherry tomatoes, halved

Method:

  • Once you’ve cooked the pasta and broccoli and it’s cold, just add all the ingredients together and mix well.
  • Split into two boxes and store in the fridge overnight!

Greek pasta salad: This recipe takes about 35 mins to make and serves 4 people.

  • 300g fusilli pasta spirals (or whatever pasta shapes you want. I use 150g for two people)
  • 225g bag prepared fresh baby spinach (I used about 112g frozen spinach)
  • 250g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved (I just used a large handful of cherry tomatoes)
  • 100g black olives (I used a large handful of green olives)
  • 200g feta cheese, broken into rough chunks (I used about 100g Asda salad cheese)

Method:

  • Cook the pasta according to the instructions. I added the frozen spinach in when the pasta had about 6 mins left to cook (fresh spinach only needs about 2 minutes). Once it’s cooked (I run it under cold water to cool it down faster), squeeze all the excess water out of the spinach (if you’ve used frozen)!
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add some black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
  • Split into two boxes and store in the fridge overnight!

Help yourself tuna and rice salad – This delicious recipe takes about 25 mins to make and serves 8! (I’ve put how much I use for two in brackets)

  • approx 900g cold cooked rice or 400g uncooked rice (for two people I use about 100g uncooked rice)
  • 400g tuna (for two people I use 160g)
  • 200g frozen petits pois, defrosted (for two people I use a large handful of frozen peas and cook them with the peppers – see below)
  • 2 red peppers, peeled with a potato peeler, deseeded and diced (for two people I use a large handful of frozen pepper slices and cook them with the peas – see above)
  • 3 tomatoes, chopped into small chunks (for two people I use 4/5 cherry tomatoes)
  • 5 spring onions, finely sliced (I don’t like raw spring onion so I skip this step)
  • bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I only have dried so I skip this step too)
  • large handful stoned green olives (I use a massive handful because I love olives. I just chop mine in half)
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise (for two people I use 1 tbsp mayo)
  • juice 1 lemon (I use a squirt of lemon juice from a bottle)
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (I just use a drizzle of olive oil)

Method:

  • Cook your rice according to the instructions; it’s usually about 15-18 mins. I often add the peas and peppers in about 7/8 mins before the end of the cooking time as frozen food will make the water colder for a while so the food needs longer to cook!
  • Once you’ve drained the rice, peas and peppers, either leave them to cool down or run them under cold water to cool them quicker, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
  • Split into two boxes and store in the fridge overnight!

Couscous salad: This gorgeous, fresh lunch only takes 10 minutes to make and serves two people.

  • 100g couscous
  • 200ml hot low salt vegetable stock (I just use water as I find veg stock too overpowering).
  • 2 spring onions (I skip this step as I’m not a massive fan of raw spring onion)
  • 1 red pepper (I use a hanful of frozen pepper slices from Asda which includes yellow, green and orange peppers too)
  • ยฝ cucumber
  • 50g feta cheese, cubed (Salad cheese works just as well and is usually cheaper than feta)
  • 2 tbsp pesto
  • 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts (I don’t bother toasting mine. Ain’t nobody got time for that!)

Method:

  • Put the couscous in a bowl, add the hot stock or boiling water, stir once and cover for 10 minutes.
  • Once it’s cooked, fluff it up with a fork or it’ll be clumpy.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
  • Split into two boxes and store in the fridge overnight!

Tricolore Salad: This beautiful recipe takes about 15 minutes and serves 4 people.

  • 200g couscous
  • 2 tsp vegetable stock (or use a cube)
  • 250g pack cherry tomato, halved
  • 2 avocados, peeled, stoned and chopped
  • 150g pack mozzarella, drained and chopped
  • handful rocket or young spinach leaves (I use frozen spinach. I pop it in a bowl, add a little bit of water, cover with a plate and cook it in the microwave for about 3 mins!)
  • 1 rounded tbsp pesto
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

Method:

    • Mix the couscous and stock in a bowl, pour over 300ml boiling water, then cover with a plate and leave for 10 mins.
    • Mix the pesto, lemon juice and some seasoning together and mix in the oil.
    • Pour over the couscous and mix with a fork.
    • Add the tomatoes, avocado and mozzarella into the couscous, then lightly stir in the rocket or spinach to serve.

Would you try these delicious summer lunches? Do you have a favourite recipe you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below ๐Ÿ™‚ x

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12 Comments

  1. These look delicious! I’m always looking for ways to spice up my lunches at work and love a good pasta / rice salad. Not tried much couscous before though.

  2. Ooo these look so good, especially the cous cous salad! Iโ€™ve been looking for new lunch recipes because Iโ€™m getting a bit sick of making the same things every day for my lunch!

    Julia // The Sunday Mode

    1. It’s so hard to find easy recipes isn’t it? I want to knock up a nice salad in 15 mins not spend 3 hours on it!

  3. These all look great – I definitely would like to try that couscous salad. I’m a big fan of pasta and pesto too though, it’s great cold with a red pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and feta! xx

  4. Oh my word, Holly! These lunches look delicious, I’m making a note of them so I can have a go at doing them myself, I’m always stuck for ideas!

    Sharon xx

    rosieloveslife.co.uk

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