Hands up if the thought of lunch is sometimes the only thing that gets you through a working day.
When you've got a day full of meetings and an overflowing inbox, you deserve something to look forward to. Leave behind limp sandwiches and dry chicken with plain boiled rice... you deserve so much more than that.
Every lunch here packs up well for work and gets at least 20% of its calories from protein, and most have 30g or more per serving. We've listed the calories, protein, carbs and fat for each one, so get your meal prep containers at the ready.
Looking for something lighter? See our low-calorie meal prep recipes, all at 500kcal or less, or our high-protein meal prep ideas.
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Pasta recipes
If it were down to us, we'd have pasta for lunch every day. These all pack up well for the office.
1. Creamy sausage pasta
Made with quark instead of cream cheese or double cream, this pasta dish doesn’t come with the calories or fat content that you might expect. It’s so good that you’ll certainly be considering seconds.
Per serving: 415kcal | 34g protein | 48g carbs | 6g fat. Ready in 25 minutes.
2. Buffalo chicken pasta salad
Another spicy little number for your chicken meal prep, this pasta salad is loaded with flavour and packed with protein.
Per serving: 485kcal | 49g protein | 30g carbs | 20g fat.
3. Tuna pasta salad
Boil some pasta, and chuck in some tuna, enjoy. Alright, it’s not quite that simple, after all, flavour requires a bit of effort, but not much.
Per serving: 415kcal | 26g protein | 40g carbs | 20g fat.
4. Chicken Caesar pasta salad
No complicated steps, no obscure ingredients, no wasted time, just flavour and macros wrapped up in an absolutely banging midday treat.
Per serving: 557kcal | 41g protein | 65g carbs | 16g fat. Ready in 10 minutes.
Rice recipes
Rice bowls are made for meal prep: cook once, portion up and you're sorted for days.
5. Sweet chilli glazed salmon
Salmon is an oily fish, so it’s a source of omega-3 fats, plus it brings plenty of protein, too. Double win.
Per serving: 483kcal | 30g protein | 54g carbs | 16g fat. Ready in 40 minutes.
Sweet Chilli Glazed Salmon
6. Sticky teriyaki chicken rice bowl
Plain old chicken and rice is a thing of the past... bland, dry and boring. Sticky teriyaki chicken is where it’s at now.
Per serving: 472kcal | 41g protein | 47g carbs | 13g fat. Ready in 15 minutes.
7. Barbecue chicken and rice
Yet another take on chicken and rice, but this time with a smoky barbeque flavour. It’s simple, quick, and it won't break the bank. What’s not to love?
Per serving: 511kcal | 41g protein | 57g carbs | 6g fat.
Wraps and sandwich recipes
Easy to pack, easy to eat at your desk, and a world away from a limp meal deal.
8. Spicy Korean beef wraps
This spicy Korean beef wrap ticks all of the meal prep boxes. It’s a big one, with 70g of protein, super tasty, and oozing food envy (apologies in advance to all of your colleagues).
Per serving: 970kcal | 70g protein | 105g carbs | 30g fat. Ready in 2 hours 20 minutes.
Spicy Korean Beef Wraps
9. Vegan “meatball” sub
Rich, ‘meaty’ and filling, it’s the perfect combination of carbs and protein. Plus, it’s loaded with tonnes of marinara sauce, it might be messy, but it’s so worth it.
Per serving: 498kcal | 29g protein | 66g carbs | 11g fat. Ready in 25 minutes.
Vegan “Meatball” Sub
10. Egg-stuffed tortilla wrap
Ready in just 10 minutes, this egg-stuffed tortilla is the ideal lunch for when you need to squeeze in some goodness in between meetings. It's got protein, carbs and healthy fats, plus you can jazz it up with whatever you’ve got in the fridge.
Per serving: 667kcal | 50g protein | 41g carbs | 34g fat. Ready in 11 minutes.
11. Protein-packed sandwiches 2 ways
Sandwiches, when done right, are a top-tier lunch. And don’t worry, we’ve got them down. Zero cooking, no time wasted waiting for the dreaded office microwave, and full to the brim with a delicious filling.
Per serving: 336kcal | 30g protein | 33g carbs | 9g fat.
Protein-Packed Sandwiches 2 Ways
12. Sweet chilli chicken wrap
It’s the wrap of the day, sweet chilli chicken. High protein, low-calorie and the sort of lunch you can’t stop thinking about.
Per serving: 372kcal | 32g protein | 49g carbs | 5g fat. Ready in 20 minutes.
13. Air-fryer chicken sandwich
And now we have it, the sandwich of all sandwiches. Mild or fiery, however you like it, this one is bound to hit the spot.
Per serving: 400kcal | 46g protein | 36g carbs | 7g fat. Ready in 27 minutes.
14. Creamy tomato chicken sandwich
Creamy, saucy and packed into a sandwich, it beats a meal deal any day of the week.
Per serving: 359kcal | 29g protein | 32g carbs | 11g fat. Ready in 30 minutes.
Salad recipes
Salads that are actually filling, with plenty of protein to keep you going all afternoon.
15. Chipotle chicken salad
Spice up your salad with an iconic Mexican flavour. Chipotle has a smoky, spicy taste that is absolutely made for chicken.
Per serving: 509kcal | 48g protein | 33g carbs | 21g fat.
16. Chicken protein bowl
Loaded full of veggies and protein, this bowl is as colourful as it is filling. And it requires next to no prep: once your chicken is cooked, you just need to get chopping.
Per serving: 620kcal | 55g protein | 87g carbs | 10g fat.
Easy Protein Bowl Meal Prep
17. Cold peanut noodle salad
Looking for a low-calorie lunch option that’s big on flavour? Look no further. This cold peanut noodle salad ticks all of those boxes and more.
Per serving: 176kcal | 10g protein | 26g carbs | 3g fat. Ready in 10 minutes.
Couscous recipes
Quick to make and great cold, couscous is a desk-lunch hero.
18. Spicy chicken with couscous
Give that chicken meal prep a makeover with this easy homemade marinade and switch out the plain rice for some stock-infused couscous. You’ll never look back.
Per serving: 284kcal | 50g protein | 22g carbs | 3g fat.
19. Harissa chicken and Moroccan couscous
Spicy and succulent chicken paired with fresh veg and a good serving of couscous. Now that’s a healthy balanced lunch.
Per serving: 579kcal | 29g protein | 30g carbs | 21g fat. Ready in 35 minutes.
Other recipes
A couple more ideas to keep things interesting.
20. Hearty one-pan vegan soup
Tasty, satisfying and a real comfort meal, perfect for those winter days, or those summer days when it feels like winter...
Per serving: 318kcal | 16g protein | 55g carbs | 2g fat. Ready in 30 minutes.
21. Easy pesto chicken and veg
It turns out pesto isn’t just for pasta, it actually makes a great sauce for chicken and veg. Served up on a fluffy bed of quinoa, it’s a simple lunch that hits the spot.
Per serving: 523kcal | 52g protein | 36g carbs | 16g fat. Ready in 22 minutes.
FAQs
What are the best high-protein lunches for work?
The highest-protein lunches here are the spicy Korean beef wraps (70g of protein per serving), the chicken protein bowl (55g), easy pesto chicken and veg (52g) and the egg-stuffed tortilla wrap (50g).
Which of these lunches are under 400kcal?
Six of the recipes come in under 400kcal per serving: the protein-packed sandwiches, sweet chilli chicken wrap, creamy tomato chicken sandwich, cold peanut noodle salad, spicy chicken with couscous and hearty one-pan vegan soup. For more, see our low-calorie meal prep recipes.
Are there any vegan lunch ideas?
Yes. The vegan “meatball” sub, cold peanut noodle salad and hearty one-pan vegan soup are all vegan. For more, see our high-protein vegan meals.
Which lunches don't need reheating?
The pasta salads, sandwiches, wraps and the cold peanut noodle salad are all made to eat cold, so they're ideal if you don't have a microwave at work.
Take home message
Whether you're after pasta, rice, wraps or salad, there's a high-protein lunch here for every working day. Pick a few favourites, batch-cook them at the weekend and you're sorted for the week.
For dinner ideas too, see our low-calorie, high-protein dinners.
After finishing an internship with Myprotein, Emily returned to university to finish her degree in Business Management and Marketing, before coming back to work full-time with the team. Emily specialises in high-protein recipes, inspiring real-life stories and accessible health and fitness advice, and her work has been featured in The Supplement Magazine. When she’s not in the kitchen baking or cooking, she’s out exploring Manchester’s best food spots, or working up an appetite at the gym.
