Healthy Recipes Healthy Seasonal Recipes Healthy Summer Recipes 15 High-Protein, Low-Calorie Lunches You'll Want to Make This Summer By Dillon Evans Dillon Evans Dillon Evans fell in love with cooking at a very young age. He remembers the novel experiences of microwaving a bowl of oatmeal without his parents' permission and asking to make his mother's morning pot of coffee. These moments became catalysts for his interest in cooking and baking. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 23, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is 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 These recipes make the perfect meals to help you stay nourished this summer while supporting weight loss, if that's your goal. Packed with lean proteins and fresh seasonal produce like carrots, bell peppers, black beans and avocado, these nutritious dishes contain no more than 485 calories per serving. Plus, each of these lunch recipes meets our high-protein nutrition parameters with at least 15 grams per serving to help keep you full and energized until your next meal. Recipes like our Cumin Chicken & Chickpea Stew and Chimichurri Noodle Bowls are healthy and flavorful ways to satisfy midday hunger. 01 of 15 Chicken Caprese Pasta Salad Bowls View Recipe Pasta salad is a classic summer side dish, but adding protein (leftover grilled chicken is perfect here) and extra greens makes it a super-satisfying lunch. We use baby spinach, but arugula or baby kale works too. Top with a bright and tangy basil vinaigrette just before serving. The great news is that these easy meal-prep lunches take just 20 minutes to prepare—that's 4 days of lunches in less than 30 minutes. 02 of 15 Chicken Quinoa Fried Rice View Recipe Regular fried rice gets a protein boost when rice is swapped for quinoa in this healthy dinner recipe. Feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand—broccoli, green beans and mushrooms are all good options in this quinoa fried rice. Serve with hot sauce, if desired. 03 of 15 Chimichurri Noodle Bowls View Recipe We're mixing whole-grain spaghetti with zucchini noodles to add volume and save calories in these simple, flavor-packed meal-prep bowls. The bright and herby chimichurri sauce originally appeared in Katie Workman's salmon recipe for EatingWell magazine (see Associated Recipes). Leftover chicken, tofu or canned beans can be swapped in for the shrimp. 04 of 15 Sweet Potato, Kale & Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing View Recipe Ali Redmond These hearty kale salads hold up well for 4 days, making them perfect for meal-prep lunches. To keep the ingredients from getting soggy, dress this salad and top it with peanuts just before serving. For a delicious vegan option, swap in roasted tofu for the chicken breast (see Associated Recipes). 05 of 15 Spicy Ramen Cup of Noodles View Recipe Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Make your own cup of instant soup at home with this vegetarian ramen recipe. Pack several jars at once to take to work for easy lunches throughout the week. 06 of 15 Cumin Chicken & Chickpea Stew View Recipe Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall This quick, protein-rich chicken stew recipe draws flavor inspiration from shawarma with spices like cumin, paprika and pepper. Make a double batch and freeze it for a quick healthy dinner. Serve the stew with couscous and steamed broccoli. 07 of 15 Tangy Chicken Salad with Grapes View Recipe Antonis Achilleos Sweet red grapes and crunchy celery make this chicken salad sing, and also balance out the slight tang from the yogurt and lemon. But go ahead and customize the mix-ins with whatever you desire (perhaps some chopped nuts or dried fruit) because this chicken salad recipe is easily adaptable. We use rotisserie chicken (look for unseasoned to keep sodium in check!) to simplify things, but any leftover cooked chicken will work. 08 of 15 One-Pot Chicken Pesto Pasta with Asparagus View Recipe This healthy chicken pesto pasta recipe is easy to make thanks to convenience ingredients like rotisserie chicken and store-bought pesto. The addition of fresh asparagus brightens up the look and flavors of this easy one-pot dinner. Fresh basil, if you have it on hand, is a nice finishing touch. 09 of 15 Mason Jar Power Salad with Chickpeas & Tuna View Recipe This power salad will keep you fueled for hours, thanks to 26 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. Tossing the dressing and kale, and then letting it stand in the jar, softens it enough so you don't need to massage or cook it to make it tender. 10 of 15 Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad with Chicken View Recipe Ali Redmond In this healthy copycat of a takeout salad favorite we combine precooked (or leftover) chicken and poppy seed dressing with fresh greens, strawberries and goat cheese for an easy throw-together meal that's ready in 10 minutes. 11 of 15 Chicken Hummus Bowls View Recipe The spiced chicken atop these bowls is ready fast with the help of the broiler. Serve with warm whole-wheat pita for scooping up extra hummus at the bottom of the bowl. 12 of 15 Spicy Slaw Bowls with Shrimp & Edamame View Recipe The quick 10-minute Spicy Cabbage Slaw serves as the low-carb base in this veggie-packed lunch recipe. Topped with high-protein edamame and shrimp, this satisfying lunch will help you power through the afternoon. 13 of 15 Green Goddess Salad with Chicken View Recipe For this cucumber, tomato, Swiss cheese and chicken salad recipe, a healthy green goddess salad dressing recipe gets its creaminess from avocado, buttermilk and herbs. Any extra dressing is delicious served over grilled chicken or flaky white fish, such as cod or flounder. 14 of 15 Black Bean & Slaw Bagel View Recipe Ted & Chelsea Cavanaugh This easy open-face sandwich recipe uses a jalapeño-Cheddar bagel, but a plain bagel would work just as well. Top each bagel half with black beans and fresh slaw for a satisfying bite. 15 of 15 Salmon Caesar Salad View Recipe This easy Caesar salad subs creamy Greek yogurt and buttermilk for the traditional egg yolks and olive oil and mixes in mildly bitter radicchio in addition to classic romaine. Using just a small amount of flavorful Parmigiano-Reggiano shaves calories and sodium too. 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