Lunch
2782 recipes found
Grilled Tofu Salad
Perfect for simple summer grilling, this vegetarian salad makes a great weeknight meal or easy-to-transport picnic fare. Grilled tofu and zucchini pick up smoky notes and light char from the grill in just 10 minutes. They’re dressed in a rich and tangy lemon-miso vinaigrette that does double duty as basting sauce and dressing. The grilled salad is brightened by a final shower of fragrant herbs, plus a raw snap pea topping that adds fresh, crisp bites. Leftovers turn into a fantastic pasta salad the next day; simply toss with cooked short pasta and finish with more olive oil and grated Parmesan.
Caramelized Zucchini and White Bean Salad
This flavorful and hearty salad makes use of one of summer’s most abundant vegetables, zucchini. You start with a big pile of shredded zucchini and onions, then might marvel at how much it cooks down as it browns and caramelizes. Next, you’ll toss that potent blend with creamy white beans and herbs to make an easy, flavorful side or main. The mint adds brightness, and it pairs well with other soft herbs, like parsley, dill and basil. The caramelized zucchini mixture makes a great base for bean salad, but it is so versatile it can be used in many other ways: Make a big batch and toss it with pasta, serve it on top of ricotta-slathered toast, or top a flatbread with it; you really can’t go wrong.
Dumpling Tomato Salad With Chile Crisp Vinaigrette
Harness the crowd-pleasing power of dumplings in this hearty yet light main course salad. The base is simple and summery: Ripe tomatoes are lightly touched with salt, garlic and basil, providing a perfectly fragrant canvas for pan-fried potsticker dumplings. Salting intensifies the tanginess and fruitiness of tomatoes, while also coaxing out some of the juice, which becomes a light sauce for the dumplings. (Salting also works wonders for out-of-season tomatoes, meaning you could eat this salad all year round.) Use your favorite chile crisp as it is the dominant flavor in the dressing and will greatly impact the final dish; all brands of crisp will have different levels of saltiness and spice, so season accordingly.
Tofu and Asparagus With Frizzled Leeks
This almost-no-cook vegan meal is a spunky mix of flavors and textures: Fried leeks add crunch and sweetness; asparagus provides snap and pleasant bitterness; miso lends savoriness; and tender, mild tofu balances it all out. The leeks get frizzled in oil, then the mixture is poured over the miso-dressed tofu and asparagus for an aromatic finish, similar to techniques common in Chinese and Indian cooking. (You could also swap in juicy, crunchy snap or snow peas, cucumbers or celery.) Serve over rice, soba or rice noodles, or spring lettuces drizzled with lemon or lime juice.
Zaalouk With Tahini
A Moroccan salad or dip, zaalouk is typically composed of tomatoes and eggplants, plus spices and a good amount of olive oil. It’s usually served at room temperature, with plenty of bread to mop it all up, but it’s equally delicious warmed and spooned over baked potatoes, or accompanied by fish or meat. Here, it's topped with tahini, which is untraditional but adds a lovely nutty, creamy element to the dish. The vegetables are roasted in this recipe for ease, but feel free to grill them over an open flame to get an extra smoky flavor, if you like.
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Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Velveted Chicken and Mushrooms (北菇滑雞煲仔飯)
When done properly, velveting can render a relatively lean cut of meat moist and tender—even after extended steaming.
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Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Chinese Meatloaf (肉餅煲仔飯)
Pleasantly springy and fragrant with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine, Chinese meatloaf is delicious served on its own or atop Cantonese claypot rice.
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How to Make Cantonese Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯)
This comforting meal of rice steamed and crisped within a Cantonese clay pot is a favorite in Hong Kong, where it’s served with an assortment of savory toppings and a seasoned soy sauce.
Charred Green Beans and Lemony Yogurt
Everyone needs a simple summer side dish formula and this one is very adaptable. Broil or grill a pile of bright, snappy green beans until just charred but still crisp-tender, then set over a bed of well-seasoned lemony yogurt. Top with a flurry of herbs plus a squeeze of lemon juice and you have the foundation for endless summer lunches and dinners. This recipe is equally delicious with broccoli florets, small peppers, sliced eggplant or halved carrots. You can char the green beans under your broiler or on a grill, but make sure to use a basket if you are grilling, otherwise the beans may fall through the grates. Serve the veggies and yogurt with a quickly grilled protein, like chicken, tofu, or shrimp, or simply with bread.
Chorizo Taquitos
Chorizo taquitos are quick, filling and endlessly customizable. While a taquito’s more traditional iterations involve frying the filled and rolled tortilla until crisp, this recipe is styled after a fast-casual version from the Whataburger restaurant chain. It’s made with flour tortillas (rather than corn tortillas) and skips the frying process. The chorizo filling is cooked with aromatics and seasonings, then mixed with scrambled eggs, ladled across tortillas with cheese, rolled and garnished with salsa. The dish retains its Mexican origins while adapting to the flavor profiles and preferences of its many locales. The taquito is as straightforward or complex as you’d like it to be — which is another joy of this delicious dish.
Tuna and Tomato Salad
Tuna, tomatoes and onions dressed with oil and vinegar hit all the notes of a summer salad: rich, refreshing, crunchy and fast. It’s no wonder the combination is common throughout the Mediterranean (especially in Spain and Portugal). As with all few-ingredient, no-cook dishes, the deliciousness will depend on your ingredients, so use summer-ripe tomatoes, fruity olive oil and quality tuna. (You could also add green or Kalamata olives, capers, cucumbers, white beans or herbs such as parsley, basil or oregano.) The tomato juices will blend with the oil and vinegar to make a vinaigrette you’ll want to sop every drop of, so serve this dish alongside crusty bread, grains, potatoes or eggs.
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Easy Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Salting in advance and grilling over high-heat are the key steps to great grilled pork tenderloin.
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Jamaican Oxtail
This deeply flavorful Jamaican stew is loaded with tender oxtail, butter beans, and broth-thickening dumplings.
Oven BBQ Ribs
Oven-baked ribs are a great way to enjoy barbecue flavor without stepping outside. This is a foolproof, supersimple recipe, using seasonings you probably already have in your pantry, plus store-bought barbecue sauce that caramelizes into a sticky-sweet, smoky finish. Instead of using traditional pork ribs, this recipe uses beef back ribs, which are juicier. If you can only find them in chunks, rather than a whole rack, that’s more than OK: Wrap the pieces in aluminum foil, which creates a moist environment that yields fall-off-the-bone meat, and start checking them early. When they start to shrink down and the meat pulls away from the bone with the gentlest tug of a fork, they’re ready.
Orecchiette Salad With Halloumi Croutons
Crispy, salty, chewy cubes of sautéed halloumi add great texture and heartiness to this bright pasta salad filled with veggies, herbs and tomatoes. The tomatoes are marinated with red wine vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, which infuses them with flavor and helps them release their juices for the punchy dressing. Crunchy cucumbers, lots of fresh herbs and some optional arugula round out this hearty salad. When seasoning the pasta and vegetables, keep in mind that the halloumi is quite salty. This salad is best enjoyed the day it’s made, while the halloumi cubes are still warm.
Çilbir (Turkish Eggs With Yogurt)
This traditional Turkish egg dish of garlicky yogurt with poached eggs and a drizzle of spicy butter is rich, luscious and faintly smoky. Typically served as a meze among a spread of other dishes, it makes a light lunch or brunch that comes together in the time it takes to poach eggs. For your base, opt for Greek yogurt to mimic the thicker yogurt common in Turkey. Next, bloom Aleppo pepper in butter or olive oil. Also known as pul biber, it delivers about as much heat as chipotle, with smoky notes and a fruity flavor. This version of çilbir is adapted from Özlem Warren, a cookbook author and blogger. Though the dish is traditionally served without herbs, she recommends dill or parsley for a modern flourish.
Green Salad With Sour Cream and Onion Dressing
This playful recipe borrows the flavors of sour cream and onion dip and reimagines them into a bright, punchy salad with a creamy dressing. Onion powder is used without restraint here, highlighting the virtues of the reliable pantry staple. Tossing the dressing with a mountain of crisp lettuce leaves tames its intensity and creates a well-balanced salad that makes the perfect accompaniment to any meal. If you like, garnish it with crushed potato chips right before serving for an additional pop of texture and a nod to its inspiration.
Roasted Zucchini Pasta Salad
This pasta salad is loaded with two pounds of zucchini, roasted until golden and caramelized, then tossed in a tangy garlic-tahini dressing. Roasted sunflower seeds bring crunch and nuttiness. (Pepitas, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts are other great options.) Golden raisins add unexpected pops of sweetness that round out the tart lemon. The zucchini can be roasted a few hours ahead or even the night before. Make the pasta salad a few hours ahead and keep refrigerated; bring to room temperature and give it a final toss before serving.
Chive Pesto Potato Salad
This vibrant homemade pesto is made with fresh chives and parsley in place of basil. It’s a bright sauce with savory, onion notes, making it a great dressing for mild, creamy potatoes. Green beans or asparagus are added to the potatoes during the last few minutes of cooking, for an easy one-pot approach. Once drained, the potatoes and veggies are returned to the hot pot to dry out in the residual heat, which means your potato salad won’t end up watery. Toss the potatoes with the pesto while warm so they readily absorb all of the flavors. Make this highly adaptable recipe with any vegetable on hand; peas, corn and broccoli florets are all great alternatives.
Sweet Corn Salad With Buttermilk Vinaigrette
Fresh corn on the cob is given a quick blanch for this salad, an easy yet valuable technique that takes away the starchy flavor and brings out the natural sweetness in the kernels. A cool, light buttermilk dressing is spiked with sour cream, garlic and black pepper for creamed corn vibes without the heaviness. Crisp cucumbers add crunch and pair beautifully with the herbaceous dill; feel free to use any soft herb, like chives, parsley, tarragon or basil. Make the salad a few hours ahead to allow all of the flavors to meld.
Sesame Tomato Salad
This simple yet stunning salad celebrates the beauty of summer tomatoes and highlights their sweetness with a rich, tangy sesame vinaigrette. A mild, buttery California-style olive oil will meld well with soy sauce and sesame oil, so avoid using a spicier olive oil that may be bitter. The dressing and tomatoes can both be prepared separately a few hours ahead and kept refrigerated. The tomatoes will release juices as they sit, which can dilute the dressing, so serve the salad with extra dressing on the side for a fresh hit of umami. Leftover dressing can be refrigerated for up to one week and is delicious drizzled over rice, roasted chicken and green salads.
Savory Fruit Salad
This colorful, sweet-tart fruit salad has a savory twist, making it a vibrant side dish, a refreshing dessert or both. Fresh fennel gives the salad an unexpected, subtle anise fragrance, and adds crisp texture to counter the soft, juicy fruit. A few berries mashed with golden honey and fresh orange juice provide moisture, and a deeper layer of natural sweetness. A final addition of fresh mint, lime juice and salt perks up the fruit and brightens the salad.
Roasted Potato Salad With Lemon and Feta
Roasting the potatoes rather than boiling them gives this potato salad great texture and deep caramelized flavor. Potatoes are a great canvas for all sorts of flavors; this salad pairs them with creamy feta, briny olives, punchy pepperoncini, juicy tomatoes and lots of herbs for a bright twist on a classic picnic side. Take care not to season the potatoes too heavily with salt, as the feta and olives will add lots on their own.
Snap Pea Salad With Walnuts and Parmesan
For an especially bright snap pea salad, skip the oil and coat blanched snap peas with punchy mustard and lemon juice. Toasted walnuts and shavings of Parmesan add richness and crunch, while a shower of fresh mint adds freshness. This salad is great right when you make it but can also be made ahead and eaten cold from the fridge. How’s that for bright and breezy cooking?