15 Low-Carb, High-Protein Lunch Recipes to Make Ahead By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 10, 2025 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is the senior nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close Credit: Heami Lee, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley For busy weekdays, preparing meals ahead of time can really make life easier. These low-carb lunch recipes have at most 14 grams of carbs per serving and are perfect to make ahead for busy weeks. They are also great choices for those looking to get in some more protein, offering at least 15 grams per serving. This combination can help you feel satisfied while supporting your nutritional goals. Options like our Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps and our Ham & Spinach Quiche will make it easy and delicious to have healthy meals for lunch. Love any of these recipes? Tap "Save" to add them to MyRecipes, your new, free recipe box for EatingWell. 01 of 15 Chicken Salad-Stuffed Avocados This healthy homemade chicken salad served inside an avocado instead of with bread makes enough for easy lunches throughout the week! View Recipe Save 02 of 15 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. View Recipe Save 03 of 15 Ham & Spinach Quiche Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser This 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. View Recipe Save 04 of 15 Lemon-Dill Tuna Salad Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Styling: Lindsey Lower This lemon-dill tuna salad packs plenty of protein and gets a boost of flavor from sumac—a spice used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and North African cooking that adds a citrusy touch, enhancing the lemon flavor without overshadowing the other ingredients. View Recipe Save 05 of 15 Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps Photography / Greg DuPree, Styling / Ali Ramee / Christine Keely 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. View Recipe Save 06 of 15 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. View Recipe Save 07 of 15 Spinach & Artichoke Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette Ali Redmond 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. View Recipe Save 08 of 15 Spinach & Mushroom Quiche Photographer: Jen Causey This vegetarian quiche is as simple as it gets, filled with sweet wild mushrooms and savory Gruyère cheese. Enjoy it for breakfast or brunch, or serve it with a light salad for lunch. View Recipe Save 09 of 15 Avocado Ranch Chicken Salad Avocado makes an exceptionally creamy and healthful dressing for this chicken salad. A bit of ranch dressing with pickled jalapeño adds a tangy spin to the lunchtime classic. Serve it on a slice of whole-wheat toast for an open-face sandwich or in a lettuce cup for a low-carb lunch. View Recipe Save 10 of 15 Smoked Trout Salad with Herb & Horseradish Dressing Photography / Jenny Huang, Food Styling / Tyna Hoang, Prop Styling / Nicole Louie This no-cook main-dish salad pairs a flavorful dressing featuring sharp horseradish and tangy crème fraîche with smoked trout. View Recipe Save 11 of 15 Chicken Curry Cup of Noodles This cup soup is packed with flavor, thanks to a spoonful of Thai red curry paste. Zucchini noodles have a tender versatile flavor that makes them a great way to add some veggies to soups. View Recipe Save 12 of 15 Cauliflower Rice Bowls with Grilled Asparagus & Chicken Sausage Here, we’ve swapped in riced cauliflower for regular rice and added pre-grilled asparagus, which bulks up these bowls and adds fiber. At lunchtime, just reheat to steaming then top with a bit of pesto. View Recipe Save 13 of 15 Low-Carb Chicken & Cheddar Lettuce Wraps Jennifer Causey This fresh, crunchy wrap sandwich is brimming with vegetables, yet still delivers a satisfying amount of protein thanks to the chicken and cheese. Crisp iceberg lettuce is what keeps this wrap sandwich ultra-low in carbs (just 4 grams per serving). View Recipe Save 14 of 15 Chicken & Cabbage Salad Bowls with Sesame Dressing A bag of pre-chopped red and green cabbage serves as the crunchy low-carb base in these chicken salad bowls, which only require 10 minutes to assemble. Top with sesame-flavored almonds and a sesame dressing and you have one irresistible lunch you’ll look forward to all week. View Recipe Save 15 of 15 Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Crustless Quiche This crustless quiche is loaded with tender roasted tomatoes and tender asparagus. Perfect for making ahead, it makes a delicious lunch for busy days. View Recipe Explore more: Healthy Recipes Lifestyle Diets Low-Carb Low-Carb Lunch Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit