Sticking to a ketogenic diet can be challenging, especially when it comes to lunch. Finding quick, easy, and keto-friendly options that you can take on the go is essential for success. This article provides a comprehensive guide to keto lunch ideas, from salads and soups to wraps, bowls, and snackable creations.
The Importance of Planning and Preparation
The key to successfully maintaining a keto diet during lunchtime lies in planning and preparation. Coming up with new and creative lunch recipes every day can be exhausting, but so is eating the same thing over and over again.
- Plan ahead: Meal planning is crucial. Create a list of lunch ideas for the week or two and use it to guide you at the grocery store.
- Meal prep: Prepare as much as possible in advance. This will save you time and ensure you always have a healthy keto lunch ready to go.
- Don’t overcomplicate: Stick to one or two primary proteins throughout the week and vary the meals with different sauces or dressings.
Keto-Friendly Lunch Staples
Before diving into specific recipes, let's establish some fundamental keto-friendly ingredients and food groups:
- Proteins: Chicken, steak, salmon, eggs, and other meats are excellent sources of protein and fat with zero carbs.
- Fats: Healthy fats are essential for keto. Avocados, cheese, cream, and nuts are great options, provided they are full-fat and free of additives.
- Vegetables: Non-starchy vegetables like spinach, zucchini, cauliflower, bell peppers, and leafy greens are low in carbs and packed with nutrients.
Keto Lunch Ideas: A Variety of Options
Salads
Salads are a versatile and refreshing option for keto lunches. They can be easily customized to your liking and are perfect for meal prepping.
- Big Mac Salad: Turn the classic Big Mac flavors into a salad with your favorite burger ingredients and a keto-friendly dressing. Just be sure to swap in your favorite keto ketchup when making the dressing! The Big Mac salad combines the satisfying crunch of a salad with the flavors of a burger.
- Cobb Egg Salad: Elevate traditional egg salad with bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and tomatoes for a satisfying and flavorful lunch.
- Garden Salmon Salad: A light and no-cook salad with salmon, courgettes, peas, pea shoots, and radishes, ready in just 15 minutes.
- Best Tuna Salad: Enjoy tuna salad in lettuce wraps or with keto crackers for a simple and satisfying low-carb lunch.
Soups
Soups are a comforting and convenient option for keto lunches, especially during colder months.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
- Keto Beef Stew: A warm, comforting, and hearty beef stew made with jicama instead of potatoes.
- Creamy Taco Soup: A flavorful, low-carb soup packed with ground beef, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and spices.
- Proper Good Soups: Proper Good offers a variety of on-the-go keto soup options, such as Red Pepper Meatball Soup and Creamy Chicken Soup.
Wraps and Lettuce Cups
Keto wraps and lettuce cups are excellent low-carb alternatives to traditional sandwiches.
- Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps: A quick and flavorful option made with ground turkey and your favorite taco toppings. These lettuce wraps come together fast (just 20 minutes!), are super flavorful, and can be customized how you like it.
- Philly Cheesesteak Lettuce Wraps: Enjoy the flavors of a Philly cheesesteak without the bread by using lettuce wraps.
- Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps: A spicy and flavorful option with shrimp and buffalo sauce.
- Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps: A delightful solution for those in search of a low-carb, yet delicious lunch option.
- Keto Egg Salad Wrap: A delicious and easy keto lunch recipe that you can add to your favorite keto lunch recipes. Start by scrambling the eggs in a pan over medium heat. Once the eggs have cooled, combine them with the chopped bell pepper and red onion in a bowl.
- Keto Turkey Club Lettuce Cups: Provide a delightful, low-carb spin on the classic club sandwich.
Bowls and One-Pot Meals
Bowls and one-pot meals are satisfying, easy-to-prepare lunch options perfect for a low-carb keto lifestyle.
- Egg Roll Bowls: An unwrapped version of crispy egg rolls, packed with veggies and ready in under an hour.
- Keto Stir Fry: An effortless 15-minute meal perfect for meal prep.
- Spinach and Mushroom Cauliflower Risotto: A flavorful one-pot meal that will satisfy your cravings.
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp Zoodle Bowl: A keto-friendly lunch option bursting with flavor.
- Keto Taco Cups: Taco shells made out of cheese = the ultimate keto hack. We're basically talking about frico, an Italian cooking method in which cheese is cooked in a pan until slightly crispy but malleable. Here, we're baking little mounds of cheddar and shaping them into handheld cups before they cool completely.
- Burrito Zucchini Boats:
- Lasagna-Stuffed Zucchini: Made with layers of tender zucchini noodles, savory meat sauce, and plenty of melty cheese.
- Cauliflower Fried Rice: Whether you’re skipping carbs or trying to eat more vegetables, this cauliflower fried rice is for you.
Snackable Keto Lunch Ideas
For days when you need a fuss-free, satisfying low carb keto lunch meal on the go, snackable keto lunch ideas are the perfect solution.
- Antipasto Skewers: A low-carb, easy-to-make lunch option for finger food lovers.
- Keto Taquitos:
- No-Cook Bento Lunchbox: This no-cook keto lunch box idea is an easy and packable lunch that’s anything but boring. Feel free to swap out the types of berries, raw or roasted nuts, and cheese to fit your tastes!
Other Keto Lunch Ideas
- Pizza Frittata: If you're craving pizza but want a substantial meal, turn to this pizza frittata. We load this frittata up with marinara, shredded mozzarella, and sliced pepperoni for savory pizza flavor in the classic frittata form. Serve at as the ultimate brunch dish or for a protein-packed lunch.
- Caprese Chicken Stuffed Peppers:
- Italian Antipasto Brussels Sprouts Salad:
- Philly Cheesesteak Cabbage Wraps:
- Keto Sushi: This easy low-carb version comes together effortlessly.
- Baked salmon: Get all the goodness of omega-3 with easy baked salmon for lunch or supper.
- Roasted cauliflower steaks: Unlock the flavours of cauliflower with a red pepper, olive and caper salsa, topped with almonds.
- Keto avocado toast:
- Chicken lettuce wraps: These lettuce cups are piled high with juicy seasoned ground chicken.
- Air fryer hamburgers: We never tire of burgers in my house, and making them keto-friendly is surprisingly easy.
- Pan-seared salmon: These quick and easy sautéed salmon bites come together in 10 minutes and reheat even faster.
- Bacon wrapped chicken: Perfect hot or cold, can you ever go wrong with bacon?
- Pan-seared chicken tenders: I love these crispy and juicy chicken tenderloins which I batch prep on the weekend and save for meals during the week.
- Crustless quiche: Make an easy crustless quiche to cut out the faff of making pastry.
- Masala omelette muffins: This recipe makes four large muffin-shaped bakes which you can eat over two days.
- Seared tuna & anchovy runner beans: The perfect lunch or light dinner, this healthy seared tuna and runner bean dish packs in nutrients and tastes great
- Barbecued bavette steak & tomato salad: Barbecue bavette steak and drape over Tom's simple tomato, red onion and feta salad.
Considerations and Tips
- What can I eat freely on keto? Protein and fats are typically safe bets to eat freely on keto. Foods like chicken, steak, salmon, and eggs all have zero carbs but plenty of protein and some fat. Some dairy products like cheese and cream are also safe bets, provided they are full-fat and have no additives in them.
- Is hummus allowed on keto? Traditional hummus made with chickpeas is not allowed, but you can easily make keto hummus, which uses cauliflower as the base.
- Rotisserie chicken: Rotisserie chicken is a great keto-friendly option, with zero net carbs and plenty of protein.
- Mayo and Peanut Butter: Yes, mayo is allowed on keto! Yes, you can have peanut butter on keto! Stick to natural options that are free of extra flavors and sweeteners, and be mindful of your portion size.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto