10 Manly Lunch Ideas for Your Husband to Save Money

It’s no secret that packing your lunch and taking it to work can save you tons of money over the year.  Plus, it can be so much healthier than ordering food or going out for lunch!

But what do you do when your other half gets tired of plain old sandwiches?  How do you prevent him from spending money unnecessarily and buying his lunch?

You have to get creative!  Today I am going to help you with that.  I have some quick and easy lunch ideas for your husband (or boyfriend, partner, man, etc) that are manly.

Yup, no girly, dainty lunch ideas here. Just delicious, filling lunches that will make your working man want to eat his packed lunch instead of ordering food.  

Some of these are perfect lunch ideas for construction workers or other types of jobs where there is no access to a microwave.

And I have some ideas down below that are non-sandwich ideas.  Most of these are cold lunch ideas.  But some could be eaten cold or heated.   

I don’t have any actual recipes down below.  These lunch ideas are so simple that you don’t even need a recipe to make them. 

That’s the kind of lunch I like!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  You can read my full disclosure here.  

Lunch Ideas for Your Husband: Benefits of Taking a Packed Lunch to Work

I already touched on two major benefits of packing a lunch for work. Both saving money and eating healthier are what I would argue to be the top reasons for taking lunch to work. 

But there are a few other benefits too.  So let’s dive into the benefits first. 

Packing Your Husband’s Lunch Saves Money

Here’s the math.  Say your husband buys his lunch three days a week 50 weeks out of the year (factoring in 2 weeks of vacation).

To make it easy, let’s say he spends around $10 per lunch when he orders food.  That equals $1500 a year spent on work lunches.

That money could go toward so many things that would benefit your financial situation

You could use it for:

• Paying off debt
• Boosting your emergency fund
• Starting a Roth IRA 
• Saving for college
• Replacing a worn appliance
• Paying for home repairs or renovations
• Saving for other large purchases, like a car or down payment on a home
• Funding a family vacation

You get the point. 

Eating Healthier

When I first met my husband, he never packed his lunch to take to work.  He is on the road most of his day for work, so he would swing into a fast food joint or grab a Subway sandwich for lunch.

Every single day.

After we got married and bought our first home, we realized just how much debt we had.  

Between student loans, car payments, the mortgage, and the home equity line of credit we opened to avoid paying PMI, we were up to our ears in debt and bills.

Plus, we didn’t know anything about budgeting or how to manage our money.  

The first thing we did to start digging our way out from under the pile of debt was to start eating dinner at home, and we both consistently took our lunches to work. 

He lost 20 pounds by changing his eating habits and taking his lunch to work. And losing weight is only one example of the health benefits of packing your lunch for work. 

Because you are controlling what you put into your body, packing a lunch can also help you keep other medical conditions under control.  

It really is a win-win.

Be More Focused and Productive

Taking a balanced and nutritious lunch to eat at work will help you stay focused because you won’t feel as sluggish or sleepy as you might after eating takeout. 

Also, you won’t have to decide what you will order for lunch or which restaurant you want to eat at. 

And typically, fewer distractions equals more productive work.  

Improve Your Feeling of Well Being

Taking your lunch to work will allow for more time to eat.  You can take your time and not feel rushed, like when you are just sitting down to eat your takeout, and your meal break is already ending.

We all know what happens when you slam your food…indigestion, feeling sick, bloating.  

Especially food that is unhealthy!

Have Time to Take a Walk or Do Some Stretching

If you aren’t pressed for time, you could take a walk or stretch.  This can be especially beneficial if you have a desk job.

So now you are wondering what to put in your working man’s lunch?  Okay, here we go!

Manly Lunch Ideas for Your Husband

#1 Change up the standard sandwich

If your man is getting tired of his regular ol’ sandwich on regular ol’ bread, try ditching the bread for something else.  

Some substitutions for regular bread are:

• Hamburger rolls
• Hoagie rolls
• Wraps
• Ciabatta
• French bread
• Pretzel rolls
• English Muffins
• Bagels

I  bought this bread maker earlier this year and started making homemade bread.  My husband said even this small change has made his sandwich more interesting and enjoyable. 

The key to making a sandwich manly is to avoid skimping on the fillings.  The more meat, cheese, and veggies, the better. 

#2 Adult Lunchable (aka protein power pack)

Lunchables are super popular and loved by kids.  But they make great lunches for adults too.  And they are really easy to turn into a manly lunch by including foods that are high in protein.  

That’s why I like to call them a protein power pack.  Sounds much more manly than adult Lunchable, right?

Some different food ideas for these are:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Beef sticks or jerky
• Cut up cheese
• Rolled up lunchmeat
• Nuts
• Whole-grain crackers or pita chips
• Hummus
• Veggies
• Cottage cheese
• Tuna
• Fruit
• Nut butter to dip fruit or crackers into

#3 Hot lunch in a thermos

If your husband doesn’t have access to a microwave but is getting tired of cold food for lunch, you could always try out a thermos.  

That’s what my husband did.  We got him this one on Amazon, and he loves it!

If you aren’t familiar with how they work, you should heat the food up before leaving the house in the morning.  

Then put the heated food right into the thermos and seal it up. It keeps your food hot for several hours.  

Just make sure you get one that is shorter and wider so you can reach the bottom with a spoon or fork!

Some ideas for what your husband could take to work in a thermos are:

• Leftover casseroles
• Hearty Soups
• Oatmeal
• Pasta with marinara sauce
• Scrambled eggs

#4 Chicken, tuna, or egg salad

Chicken, tuna, and egg salad are quite versatile.  You can put it on a sandwich, eat it as it is with crackers or pita chips, or put it over a bed of lettuce and veggies.

If you don’t have time to cook chicken for chicken salad, you could always use canned chicken.  

We use canned chicken quite a bit for chicken salad and it turns out really good. We like to add celery, hard-boiled egg, and spices to doctor it up.

Or you could buy those individual packs of premade chicken or tuna salad to make it even easier to pack a lunch.  

The cost would most likely be higher per ounce than making it yourself, however, it is still much cheaper than buying lunch.  

#5 Meat roll-ups

Meat roll-ups are another manly lunch idea.  Simply take your lunch meat of choice, put a slice of cheese on it, and roll it up.  

Another version of this uses Lebanon bologna and cream cheese.  Spread a layer of cream cheese on the slice of bologna and roll it up. 

Meat roll-ups would make a good alternative to a sandwich if your husband is tired of sandwiches. 

Don’t forget his other favorites like chips or crackers, fruit and veggies, and something sweet to round out his lunch and make sure he doesn’t get hungry.  

#6 Walking tacos or taco salad

Walking tacos are made by placing the taco meat and toppings right into a snack-size bag of Doritos or Fritos.  

You could precook the taco meat and divide it into containers for the week.  Put your husband’s favorite toppings into another small container to transport to work.  

Your husband can just grab his bag of chips, meat, and toppings to pack in his lunch bag on the way out the door.  

Heat up the meat (or it would also be tasty cold) and toss everything together either in the bag (walking tacos) or on a plate (taco salad).

#7 Beef sticks and cheese

Why do men love beef sticks and beef jerky so much? Beef sticks and cubes of his favorite cheese (mine loves pepper jack) would make a lunch he would look forward to eating.  

Again, don’t forget the rest of his favorite snacks so he doesn’t get hungry and raid the vending machine later in the day!

#8 Hamburgers

Is your husband missing his usual fast food?  Why not send him to work with a healthier version of his favorite fast food meal?  

#9 Pasta salad with meat

Make a big batch of your husband’s favorite pasta salad and throw in some meat to give it protein and make it more filling.  

You could throw in cubed ham, pepperoni, sausage, shredded turkey or chicken, or even shredded pork.  

Tip: Use up your leftover meat from dinner to add to the pasta salad to decrease food waste!

#10  Lunch in a bowl

I love this kind of meal because you throw everything in a bowl and call it a day!  This lunch idea will require some pre-cooking and prepping.

But you could make a big batch, pack some up for the week, and freeze the rest in individual containers for the next couple of weeks.  

To make a bowl-style meal, typically, you pick a starch like rice, quinoa, or noodles for the bottom of the bowl.  Then throw in veggies and protein on top.    

Instead of starchy food for the base, you could put your add-ins over lettuce for a healthier alternative.  Or use your meat as the base to make it super manly!

Here are some super delicious-looking meals in a bowl from one of my favorite recipe websites, Allrecipes.com.

Here is a quick tip for you:

If you absolutely hate meal planning or you have tried it and you just can’t seem to figure out a system that works for you, you should take a look at $5 Meal Plan.

$5 Meal Plan is a meal plan service that sends you weekly meal plans (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) right to your inbox and includes the grocery list for the meal plan!  

All you have to do is check off the things you already have and head to the grocery store to get the rest.

Most of the meals work out to be around $2 per person.  And it’s only $5 a month!  

So if you would like to check it out, they have a free 14-day trial you can sign up for here.  

Lunch Ideas for Your Husband: Tips for Budget-Friendly Lunches

When your husband takes his lunch to work, you will definitely save a ton of money.  There is no doubt about that.

But, if you put in a little more effort, you can stretch your food budget further.  I love writing about ways to save money.  So I wanted to add some ways to stretch your dollars into this post.

Shop at Discount Grocery Stores

My absolute favorite way to shop is with Walmart Grocery Pickup for multiple reasons (you can read about them here).  

However, if Walmart is out of something or we forgot to add something to our list (which happens quite frequently), one of us will head over to Aldi or Lidl to get it.  

If you don’t have an Aldi or Lidl in your area, that’s okay.  I’ve noticed other discount grocery stores have just as awesome deals!

It really is amazing how much cheaper you can find things at a discount grocery store.  And usually, the quality is just as good or better than the name brands you find at a regular grocery store.  

Use Ibotta

Ibotta is a cash-back app that is free to download.  It works with Walmart Grocery Pickup, which is awesome!  The other thing I love about Ibotta is they have offers that aren’t brand specific.  

So the offer might be for 10 cents back on any brand of apple sauce or fruit snacks.  This allows you to get cash-back on the already super cheap store brands.  

If you don’t have an Ibotta account yet, you can sign up here.

The average active Ibotta user makes $150 per year! And new users can get up to $20 in welcome bonuses!

Buy in Bulk

We head to Sam’s Club every 12-14 weeks to stock up on our main dinner items.  But Sam’s is also great to stock up on lunch items for your husband and your kids.

For example, Sam’s Club has the same juice boxes as Walmart, and they are actually cheaper per unit than Walmart.  Same with the little bags of Cheez-Its my boys love to take to school.  

They have big boxes of beef sticks, big containers of lunch meat (you can freeze some until you need it), and tons of snacks your husband could take with his lunch.

But just be sure to check the unit prices to ensure you are definitely getting a deal.

Plan Your Family’s Lunches

Planning what you and your family will take for lunch is important because the last thing you want is to run out of things to take for lunch or not have anything suitable to take.

Then what?  You end up spending the money on lunches for the week that you were planning to use for something else.

Shop Sales

Keep your eye out for great deals on meats, cheeses, canned soups (to take in a thermos!), snacks, and nuts.  You can always freeze the meats and cheeses if you buy more than you need for the week. 

Also, check out the discount bakery rack at your grocery store if they have one.  You will find super deals on bread alternatives like hard rolls, ciabatta, croissants, and french bread.  

You will need to freeze them to use over the next couple of weeks because the items on those racks are usually near their sell-by dates.

Final Thoughts on Manly Lunch Ideas for Your Husband 

Finding quick, easy, and manly lunch ideas for your husband for work is not always easy.  It can actually be a downright challenge.

It might take some trial and error to determine what he will enjoy and look forward to eating while at work.  But once you figure out a handful of lunch ideas your man loves, you will both reap the rewards!

What are your favorite lunch ideas for your husband? Let me know in the comments.