Keto Lunch Meal Prep: Find Out How to Make Lunchtime Quick and Easy
Looking for quick and easy keto lunch ideas for when you get caught up in the hustle and bustle of your day? Between meetings, deadlines, and ensuring the family is taken care of, your keto lunch may end up missing the mark.
Meal prep takes the hassle out of cooking dinner every night when you’re following the keto diet. However, for experienced meal preppers, it is just as helpful when you apply it to keto lunch ideas.
You, too, can take advantage of the benefits of keto meal prep lunch ideas to help boost your energy in the middle of the day while maintaining ketosis.
Read this article to find out how to use make-ahead recipes and other meal prep techniques to ensure that you enjoy a low-carb meal at midday, even when you are busy.
Keto Diet Review
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb lifestyle that promotes weight loss and improved metabolic health by restricting your carbohydrate intake and increasing the amount of healthy fat you eat to achieve a state of nutritional ketosis.
This means that your cells switch from using glucose for energy to burning fat in the form of ketone bodies. The result is better blood sugar control and improved insulin sensitivity.
Ideally, your keto meal plan should provide 5–10% of your calories from net carbs, 20–30% from protein, and 65–75% from healthy fats. Therefore, keto meals typically include a protein food, a source of healthy fat, and low-carb vegetables.
It can be challenging to stick to eating only low-carb, high-fat meals when you make the change to a low-carb diet. However, it is easier to do if you use your meal plan along with some keto meal prep ideas.
Keto Meal Prep
Meal prep can make your low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet simpler and easier to follow, whether you are cooking meals for the entire family, sticking to a strict budget, or eating plant-based.
Finding make-ahead recipes is the first step to effective meal prepping. However, it isn’t an all-or-nothing concept. You can simply begin your weekly meal prep with a few key, versatile ingredients that can be cooked in advance, stored in the fridge, and used in a variety of meals throughout the week.
Examples of keto meal prep ideas include:
- Grilled chicken
- Ground beef
- Grilled fish
- Roasted vegetables
- Cauliflower rice
- Zucchini noodles
- Salads
- Dried beans, lentils, and chickpeas (vegetarian protein options)
- Soups
- Casseroles
- Curries
4 tips to make low-carb meal prep easy
Use the following tips to prevent keto meal prep from becoming just another chore:
#1 Create a keto meal plan
Meal prep is simple when you have a diet plan to follow. Create your own plan using reliable keto recipes, or use one of our many plans designed for a range of different requirements, such as women over 50, men, and those who require a dairy-free diet plan.
When you sign up for Keto Cycle, our nutrition experts will design a personalized meal plan for you, taking into consideration your personal requirements and circumstances to ensure your success on the ketogenic diet.
#2 Go shopping
Use your meal plan to make a shopping list of all the ingredients you need for your week’s meals. Make sure to include ingredients that are suitable for meal prep so that you have no excuse for not eating low-carb meals.
#3 Use containers
Storage containers are crucial for meal prep. Ziplock bags, glass containers with tight-fitting lids, and easy-to-transport jars are great for storing pre-prepared low-carb ingredients and meals.
#4 Set aside some time for meal prep
Decide when you’re going to do your meal prepping. Meal preppers usually advise setting aside some time over the weekend to chop and dice, put your instant pot to work, portion out your meals, and store keto-friendly meals in the fridge.
Keto Meal Prep Ideas for Lunch
Preparing a selection of versatile ingredients that can be used in a range of different meals is helpful for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
While some ingredients, such as avocados, are best prepared right before a meal, there is a wide variety of foods that can be prepared in advance. Here are some meal prep keto lunch ideas.
Vegetables
A meal based on veggies equals a meal full of nutrients. Therefore, low-carb vegetables are a key component of keto meals and must be included in meal prep keto lunch recipes.
Keep a selection of prepared and cooked vegetables on hand for quick and easy veggie-packed keto lunch ideas. Broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, green beans, eggplant, and Brussels sprouts can be sauteed or roasted and stored in airtight containers in the fridge until needed.
Prepared uncooked vegetables are handy to keep in the fridge to cook quickly when you are ready for lunch. Otherwise, cooked vegetables can be eaten cold as a salad or warmed up and served with grilled meat, fish, or chicken.
Salads
Salads can make a fresh and filling lunch and are perfect meal prep keto lunch ideas. Lettuce, kale, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, mushrooms, and celery are good examples of salad ingredients that can be prepared ahead of time.
For example, if you assemble your salads in easy-to-carry jars, layer your ingredients with the most water at the bottom of the jar and the least water at the top.
Pour your dressing into the bottom of the jar; next, add cucumbers and tomatoes, followed by bell peppers, mushrooms, leafy greens, and your protein of choice.
Avocados are best peeled and sliced immediately before serving. However, you could make an avocado dressing instead if you’re not able to prepare an avocado at the time of your meal.
Protein
Grilled chicken, flavorful sauteed shrimp, ground chicken or beef, and hard-boiled eggs are the perfect meal prep protein options for low-carb lunch ideas.
Cook as much as you need for low-carb work lunches for the week, and simply add the protein to your prepared veggies or salad for an effortlessly satisfying lunch on the go.
Use a flavorful peanut chicken to make a tasty chicken salad, flavorful sautéed shrimp served with salad greens, along with a selection of other pre-prepared salad vegetables or eggs served on top of roasted vegetables to make a filling lunch.
Sides
Don’t forget the side dishes in your meal prep keto lunch ideas. You can prepare some lower-carb spaghetti squash, tender cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles to complete your keto lunch recipes.
15 Keto Meal Prep Lunch Recipes
We have a wide selection of recipes on our blog and even more available to Keto Cycle members. Use these hand-picked easy keto meal prep lunch ideas to jump-start your keto meal prep routine so that you always have lunch on hand.
1. Keto Egg Salad
Hard-boiled eggs in the shell keep well in the fridge for up to a week and are perfect for easy keto lunch meal prep. Use them to make a simple protein-packed lunch by chopping and mixing them with a tangy mayonnaise and lemon juice dressing, as well as celery and chives. It’s a low-carb lunch that can be prepared the night before while you are cooking dinner.
2. Keto Burrito Bowl
The keto burrito bowl is a delicious keto meal prep lunch that uses simple ingredients that can be used to create more than one different keto lunch. Tender cauliflower rice (prepared in advance) is topped with seasoned and sauteed beef cuts (pre-prepared), diced tomato (pre-chopped), and avocado (sliced before serving) to make a tempting low-carb lunch.
3. Grilled Chicken Veggie Bowl
Meal prep cauliflower rice, low-carb veggies, and grilled chicken to make a hearty salad for a fresh and filling lunch on the go. Multiply the recipe quantities by the number of portions you wish to make.
4. Keto Caesar Salad
The components of easy keto meal prep lunches must sometimes be stored separately to avoid spoiling. For example, the keto Caesar salad is the perfect go-to lunch packed with protein from grilled chicken and hard-boiled eggs. However, for the best keto lunch, prepare the hearty salad and the dressing separately.
5. Low-Carb Broccoli Cheese Soup
Soup is the ultimate meal prep dish. It’s easy to make a big pot of soup, portion it into freezer-proof bowls, and store it in the freezer. Just thaw it out and reheat it in the microwave for a cozy meal. When your freezer is stocked with soup, you always have lunch on hand.
6. Keto Chili
When it comes to keto lunch ideas, you can’t go wrong with keto chili served with fresh salsa (pre-prepared) and cauliflower rice (pre-cooked). It’s perfect for low-carb meal prep, and it makes a satisfying lunch or light dinner. Make a large pot to share with friends or include in your meal prep menu.
7. Low-Carb Fish Taco Bowls
You may not be able to eat fish tacos on a low-carb diet, but low-carb fish taco bowls are just as tasty and an easy meal prep keto lunch. The fish, cauliflower rice, red cabbage, and sauce can be prepared ahead of time and dished up into a bowl at lunchtime. Take it up a notch and replace the fish with flavorful sauteed shrimp and the sauce with creamy and tangy yogurt.
8. Spinach Feta Savory Pancakes
Savory low-carb pancakes are versatile and should be added to your list of keto lunch ideas. Made with almond flour, spinach, feta, and aromatic spices, you can easily whip up a batch over the weekend as part of your keto meal prep lunch plan. They keep well in the fridge and freezer.
9. Keto Broccoli Salad
Broccoli is not only a versatile ingredient in many low-carb lunch ideas, but it’s also one of the best vegetables for keto meal prep. Assemble the veggie-packed salad in a glass container, keeping the dressing separate until lunchtime.
10. Big Mac Salad
There’s no need to compromise on flavor when making easy keto meal prep lunches. This Big Mac salad is the perfect example of a simple protein-packed lunch that is bursting with the fast food taste you love. Depending on how long you need to store it, you can keep it in the fridge or freezer. It’s so delicious and easy to make, we think it will be top of the list of keto lunch ideas.
11. Keto Chicken Chili
If you’re looking for spicy keto lunch ideas, this one’s for you. It’s a cozy meal prep dish you can keep on hand for cooler days or when your craving for spicy food takes hold. Serve with cauliflower rice, shredded cheese, or low-carb tortillas.
12. Greek Chicken
Mediterranean flavors make our Greek chicken recipe a delicious addition to our list of keto lunch ideas. Prepare as many chicken breasts as you need for the week and pair them with cooked vegetables or slice them to make a chicken salad for an easy keto lunch meal prep dish.
13. Keto Chicken Salad With Bacon
Perfectly seasoned grilled chicken, bacon, and avocado are what chicken salad dreams are made of. It’s a simple meal prep recipe that makes a refreshing lunch when drizzled with the dressing just before digging in.
14. Grilled Chicken With Salad and Feta
Salads make for a fresh and filling lunch, especially when they are packed with protein and healthy fat. Add this recipe to your meal prep ketogenic diet plan. If you leave the cherry tomatoes whole, you can assemble the salad in advance, ready to grab and go on busy mornings.
15. Mozzarella Salad With Arugula and Walnuts
Meal prep doesn’t get easier than this no-cook mozzarella salad recipe. Simply chop the arugula leaves, and toss in whole cherry tomatoes and cubes of mozzarella cheese for a super quick and easy low-carb lunch. Add some extra zing with a homemade garlicky vinaigrette when you sit down to eat.
Conclusion
Meal prep can help you eat the perfect keto lunch – even on busy days. Begin by looking for low-carb lunch ideas that fit into your keto diet plan. If you don’t have one, consider taking the short Keto Cycle quiz and signing up for your personalized plan.
Use these keto meal prep ideas, your instant pot, and a little imagination to keep you motivated and in ketosis so that you can lose weight effortlessly on the keto diet.
