23 High-Protein, Anti-Inflammatory Lunches (2024)

These recipes are delicious ways to get a healthy and filling midday meal. Each of these recipes follows our nutrition parameters for high-protein meals by containing 15 grams or more per serving. Protein is an essential nutrient that is important for keeping muscles healthy, promoting heart health and supporting healthy weight maintenance. Not only are these lunches high in protein, but they also can help you reduce chronic inflammation and its pesky symptoms like stiff joints, digestive issues and brain fog. These meals are packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients like lean protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains to help you reap the benefits. Recipes like our Cucumber-Chicken Green Goddess Wrap and Chicken-Quinoa Bowl with Strawberries & Pecans will make your lunch the healthiest and most delicious meal of the day.

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Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowls

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This pesto chicken quinoa bowl is packed with herbs from the basil pesto and the Italian spice mix and gets a slight kick of heat from the red pepper. If you enjoy the flavor profile, this dish can also be made with orzo in place of quinoa.

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Cucumber-Chicken Green Goddess Wrap

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This quick and easy wrap rolls up and is ready for a casual, stationary lunch or a meal on the go, with protein from chicken to keep you going. The green goddess dressing is creamy with cheese and avocado and bright from lemon and herbs. Cucumber and carrots add color and crunch to this healthy, robust whole-wheat wrap.

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Roasted Salmon Rice Bowl with Beets & Brussels

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Roasting vegetables and salmon together on one sheet pan while the rice cooks makes an easy, satisfying meal packed with protein, whole grains and veggies. To ensure that you're getting 100 percent whole grains, look for a wild rice blend that consists of wild and brown rice.

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Baked Falafel Sandwiches

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This street-style falafel sandwich is herbaceous, tangy and rich. The falafel gets nice and crispy in the oven while the veggies inside keep it simple and fresh. Make the tahini sauce (see Associated Recipes) ahead of time for easy prep. Wrapping the sandwich in foil makes it a perfect bring-along lunch and helps hold it together for eating on the go.

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Green Veggie Bowl with Chicken & Lemon-Tahini Dressing

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For this healthy 30-minute dinner, treat your veggies like pasta and cook until al dente, or just done. If you have a little extra time, double or triple the lemon-tahini dressing and use it to quickly dress a salad or as a sauce for steak or shrimp.

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Chickpea Tuna Salad

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Tomato-&-Avocado Cheese Sandwich

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Parmesan cheese is such a bold flavor, you only need 1/4 cup to add a big punch to this vegetarian toaster-oven sandwich. Get a serving of fruit too, when you enjoy the sandwich with a fresh pear.

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Orzo Salad with Chickpeas & Artichoke Hearts

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This hearty orzo salad features feta, lemon and dill, three ingredients often found in Greek cuisine. Enjoy for lunch or dinner.

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Salmon-Stuffed Avocados

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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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Chicken-Quinoa Bowl with Strawberries & Pecans

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This simple chicken grain bowl makes a perfect family dinner. Let everyone customize their meal by portioning the greens and grains into bowls, then serving the remaining ingredients buffet-style so eaters can pick and choose what they want to top theirs with.

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Shrimp, Avocado & Feta Wrap

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This easy wrap makes a great healthy lunch to pack for work. Buy cooked shrimp in the seafood department at most supermarkets and grocery stores, or check the freezer section for tailed and deveined shrimp that are easy to thaw and steam. Salty feta and chopped fresh vegetables keep this easy lunchtime wrap flavorful and satisfying.

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Chicken & Apple Kale Wraps

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Using kale leaves instead of bread to wrap your filling makes this healthy chicken lunch recipe low-calorie (and lower in carbs!). If you can't find lacinato (aka Tuscan) kale, try cabbage for your wrap.

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Roasted Salmon Rice Bowl with Beets & Brussels

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Salmon Rice Bowl

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Inspired by the viral TikTok trend, this salmon rice bowl makes for a tasty lunch or dinner. With healthy ingredients like instant brown rice, salmon and veggies, you'll have a flavorful meal in just 25 minutes.

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Spinach & Feta Turkey Meatballs with Herbed Quinoa

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With a variety of flavors and textures (and a whopping 30 grams of protein!), these meal-prep bowls will keep you fueled all afternoon. The spinach and feta turkey meatballs are adapted from by Hilary Meyer. Look for premade tzatziki near the specialty cheeses and dips at your grocery store or make your own.

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Chickpea Salad Sandwich

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This vegan chickpea salad sandwich is lemony, bright and surprisingly delicious. It's got all the flavors of a classic tuna salad sandwich—dill, lemon and a bit of garlic—but with chickpeas instead to add a vegan source of protein and a healthy boost of fiber. Celery brings a nice crunch.

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Black Bean-Quinoa Bowl

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This black bean and quinoa bowl has many of the usual hallmarks of a taco salad, minus the fried bowl. We've loaded it up with pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and avocado plus an easy hummus dressing to drizzle on top.

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Avocado Chicken Salad

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This avocado chicken salad is herbaceous, bright and creamy. The blend of cilantro, dill and chives pairs nicely with fresh avocado. Enjoy this easy chicken salad over lettuce, on crackers or in a wrap.

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Citrus Lime Tofu Salad

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This veggie-packed salad has plenty of protein and fiber, so you'll feel full and satisfied. Prep the ingredients ahead of time for an easy vegan lunch idea to pack for work.

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Edamame Hummus Wrap

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Made with protein-rich edamame instead of chickpeas, this easy hummus recipe is the perfect vegetarian filling for a grab-and-go wrap. Or double the recipe and use the hummus for a healthy snack with cut-up vegetables.

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Winter Greens Bowl

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This one-pan meal packs in lots of plant-based protein and flavor thanks to beans and quinoa, while a creamy lemon-garlic dressing completes the dish.

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Stuffed Sweet Potato with Hummus Dressing

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Hearty yet simple to prepare, this stuffed sweet potato with black beans, kale and hummus dressing is a fantastic 5-ingredient lunch for one!

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Vegan Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice

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These meal-prep vegan burrito bowls are healthier and more flavorful than takeout. Make them early in the week for grab-and-go meals when days are busy. We use frozen cauliflower rice, a low-carb substitute for white or brown rice, to cut down on prep time.