Amp up your midday meal with one of these nutritious lunch recipes. Highlighting seasonal ingredients like cabbage, celery, lemons and onions, these afternoon meals are well-suited for the winter months. Plus, with no more than 14 grams of carbohydrates and at least 15 grams of protein per serving, these dishes are satisfying choices to help keep you energized while meeting your nutrition goals. Recipes like our Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps and our Ham & Spinach Quiche are great additions to your lunch routine.
Chopped Power Salad with Chicken
Photographer: Grant Webster, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop Stylist: Joseph Wanek
Enjoy this filling and colorful salad for lunch. The dressing gets made in the same bowl that the salad is tossed in, so the greens absorb every bit of flavor.
Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps
Heami Lee, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley
These tuna salad lettuce wraps are a fun anti-inflammatory-friendly lunch idea. Tuna provides protein and omega-3 fatty acids, while the addition of Greek-style yogurt in the dressing helps amp up the protein. These wraps are packed with chopped apple, onion and celery to provide a welcome crunch.
Ham & Spinach Quiche
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser
This ham and spinach quiche skips the crust, making it incredibly easy to pull together even on short notice. Swap out the Cheddar cheese for Gruyère or use Swiss chard in place of the spinach for a slightly different spin.
Chicken Salad Sandwich
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
What’s the key to the best chicken salad? Use punchy, flavorful ingredients that pack in the flavor, like zesty herbs, acidic lemon juice, sharp onion or shallots. This herbaceous chicken salad recipe is perfect sandwiched between two slices of whole-wheat country bread, but don’t stop there! Enjoy it with crackers, in a wrap or serve it on top of greens.
Crustless Caprese Quiche
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This light and fluffy crustless quiche is dotted with tomatoes, little bites of melty mozzarella and savory pesto. And the best part—it’s mixed, assembled and baked in a pie plate for easy cleanup. Enjoy as an easy breakfast or brunch option or serve for lunch with a mixed green salad on the side.
Low-Carb Chicken & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps
This fresh, crunchy wrap sandwich is brimming with vegetables, yet still delivers a satisfying amount of protein thanks to the chicken and cheese. The hardest part of this 10-minute recipe is rolling the sandwich, but our parchment paper trick makes it infinitely simpler.
Tangy Chicken Salad with Grapes
Sweet red grapes and crunchy celery make this chicken salad sing, and also balance the slight tang from the yogurt and lemon. We use rotisserie chicken (look for unseasoned to keep sodium in check!) to simplify things, but any leftover cooked chicken will work.
Crustless Spinach & Asparagus Quiche with Gruyère
This light but filling crustless spinach-and-asparagus quiche features plenty of spring vegetables baked with richly flavored Gruyère cheese. Enjoy a slice for lunch with a salad on the side.
Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
This recipe produces a large batch of sweet-and-spicy ground chicken studded with crunchy cashews and celery—making it great for easy weeknight entertaining or meal prepping.
Cheesesteak Salad
Inspired by the Philly cheesesteak, this salad features the flavors of the East Coast classic without the hoagie roll. Adding Worcestershire sauce and the steak drippings to the dressing gives it even more umami.
Avocado Tuna Salad
Jazz up a can of tuna with this easy avocado tuna salad recipe. Silky avocado adds creaminess that’s cut with a hit of acidity from lemon and a briny punch from feta cheese. Romaine hearts and cucumber offer refreshing crunch.
Air-Fryer Tuna Patties
These bright and savory air-fryer tuna patties won’t disappoint for a quick lunch. They hold their shape nicely while cooking, with a tender middle and a crispy crust on the outside. Peppery arugula and a lemony mayonnaise sauce round out the meal.
Shrimp Niçoise Meal-Prep Bowls
With a whopping 41 grams of protein per serving, these bowls will keep hunger at bay all afternoon. To switch things up, feel free to swap in canned tuna or leftover roasted salmon for the shrimp.
Spinach & Mushroom Quiche
Photographer: Jen Causey
This healthy vegetarian quiche recipe is as simple as it gets. It’s a quiche without the fussy crust! It’s filled with sweet wild mushrooms and savory Gruyère cheese. Enjoy it for breakfast or brunch, or serve it with a light salad for lunch.
Spinach & Artichoke Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Inspired by the classic warm party dip, this simple salad can be served up right away or divided into small lidded containers for a week of delicious lunches. To keep the hard-boiled eggs tasting fresh, we suggest adding them to your salad just before serving or in the morning before packing your lunch to go.
Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Grilled Asparagus & Chicken Sausage
Here we swap in riced cauliflower for regular rice and adding pregrilled asparagus, which bulks up these bowls and adds fiber. At lunchtime, just reheat to steaming then top with a bit of pesto.
Turkey & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps
Crispy green lettuce leaves hold the filling inside this low-carb turkey wrap. It’s perfect for quick and easy lunch on the go.
Goat Cheese & Fresh Herb Omelet
The secret to this easy omelet is choosing a really great goat cheese. Aside from the goat cheese, eggs and herbs, you need just a few pantry ingredients and 20 minutes for one of the best omelets you can make.
Caesar Salad with Cashew Dressing & Tofu “Croutons”
In this healthy salad, blended cashews and flaxseed take the place of oil in the dressing, while seasoned tofu works as a lower-carb crouton alternative. Cashews are packed with potassium and iron, but also have more carbs than many other nuts (they have 8 grams per ounce vs. 4 grams for walnuts).
Salmon-Stuffed Avocados
Canned salmon is a valuable pantry staple and a practical way to include heart-healthy, omega-3-rich fish in your diet. Here, we combine it with avocados in an easy no-cook meal.
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