7 Easy Preppable Salads You’ll Love for Lunch

When most people think about salads, they picture a bowl of limp lettuce leaves and a few slices of cucumber. But salads don’t have to be boring — in fact, with a little creativity and some help from the air fryer, they can be one of the tastiest and most satisfying meals you’ll make all week.

Easy Salads Perfect For Lunch Time

These seven salad recipes are all designed with meal prep in mind, meaning you can make them in advance, portion them up, and enjoy fresh, flavour-packed lunches without the hassle. Each one is different, so you’ll never get bored — from hearty noodle salads and crisp chicken bowls to charred prawn tacos and a fresh take on Vietnamese bun cha.

If you’re looking for healthy, easy salads that make lunch something to look forward to, you’re in the right place.

bored of lunch meal prep - hassleback salmon bake

Hassleback Salmon Bake with Salad

This salad is great for meal prep because the salmon keeps well in the fridge, so you can cook once and eat twice. The hassleback cut lets the flavours soak in, and the salad is light but filling — perfect for a quick, healthy lunch.

Hassleback Salmon Bake with salad

Chopped Chicken Salad with a Tangy Dressing

This chopped chicken salad is packed with flavour, crisp veggies, and juicy air fryer chicken with a tangy dressing. It’s perfect for meal prep — the chicken stays juicy, the veggies stay crunchy, and the dressing can be kept separate until ready to eat. You can also swap the chicken for turkey or tofu for a vegetarian option.

Chopped Chicken Salad

Cold Rainbow Veg and Sesame Noodle Salad

This rainbow veg and noodle salad is packed with crisp veggies and a sesame dressing. Served cold, it’s perfect for packed lunches and keeps well in the fridge. Add air fryer tofu, chicken, or prawns for extra protein, or enjoy it on its own — fresh, crunchy, and filling.

Cold Rainbow Veg and Sesame Noodle Salad

Thai Beef Noodle Salad

This Thai beef noodle salad is full of flavour with tender air-fried beef, rice noodles, crunchy veggies, and a zingy lime dressing. It’s hearty enough for dinner but perfect for lunchboxes. Keep beef and noodles separate from veggies and dressing for easy meal prep and lasting freshness.

Thai Beef Noodle Salad 

Chicken and Cashew ‘Crunch’ Salad

This chicken and cashew salad is all about the crunch, with juicy air-fried chicken, roasted cashews, and fresh veggies. It’s perfect for meal prep, staying crisp and tasty for days, and makes a filling, healthy lunch full of protein and flavour.

Chicken and Cashew ‘Crunch’ Salad

Charred Prawn Taco Salad Bowls

These prawn taco salad bowls are full of flavour, with air-fried charred prawns, fresh salad, avocado, and crunchy tortilla chips. Perfect for meal prep — keep prawns and salad separate, then add avocado and chips before eating for a fresh, fun lunch.

Charred Prawn Taco Salad Bowls

Bun Cha Style Vietnamese Salad

This Bun Cha-inspired Vietnamese salad is packed with flavour, featuring air-fried pork, rice noodles, fresh herbs, and crisp vegetables. Perfect for meal prep — cook and store components separately, then assemble with the tangy dressing for a fresh, tasty lunch any day of the week.

Bun Cha Style Vietnamese Salad

Tips for Prepping Salads with an Air Fryer

Since so many of these recipes use the air fryer, it’s worth highlighting a few tips that make meal prepping salads even easier:

Batch cook proteins: Cook several chicken breasts, salmon fillets, or batches of prawns at once in the air fryer. Store them in the fridge and portion them into salads throughout the week.
Crisp toppings: Air fry nuts, chickpeas, or tortilla strips for added crunch. They stay fresh for days and instantly make a salad more exciting.
Separate wet and dry: Keep dressings in a jar and add them just before serving to stop salads going soggy.
Mix textures: The best salads combine crunchy, soft, and chewy elements. The air fryer makes this easy by crisping up proteins and toppings without much effort.

Why These Salads Work for Meal Prep Lunches

Salads sometimes get a bad reputation for being unsatisfying or hard to store. But with the right recipes, they’re one of the best meal prep lunches you can make. Each of these seven salads is designed to last in the fridge for a few days, keeping well without losing flavour or texture.

Using the air fryer also makes prep more efficient. Proteins cook faster and with less oil, and you can batch cook several elements at once. This means less time in the kitchen and more healthy, tasty lunches ready to grab and go.

Happy cooking!

These seven preppable salads prove that lunch doesn’t have to be boring. With a mix of bold flavours, fresh ingredients, and a little help from the air fryer, you can create meals that are quick to make, easy to store, and genuinely satisfying. Whether you’re in the mood for something light and refreshing like a sesame noodle salad, or a heartier option like Thai beef or Vietnamese bun cha, there’s something here for every craving.

If you’re looking to get into meal prepping, start with one of these recipes and build from there. A few hours of prep at the weekend can give you a full week of lunches that you’ll actually be excited to eat.