High-Protein Vegetarian Lunch: 14 Ideas for Work and Home

Hello lovelies,

after the high-protein vegan breakfast with 12 ideas, one meal was still missing, the one that gets lost most often at our house: lunch. The kids are at school, I'm coming back from a workout or sitting at my desk, and suddenly it's 2 p.m. Then it's often a slice of bread with whatever is around, and by 4 p.m. I'm hungry again.

Since I started paying attention to protein at lunch, the meal keeps me going much longer. You don't need meat or protein powder for that, just a good base and a little planning.

Today I'll show you how much protein a lunch should reasonably have, which foods deliver the most, and 14 recipes from our kitchen with 16 to 27 g per serving. The numbers for the foods come from the Swiss Food Composition Database, and the numbers for the recipes come from our recipe pages.

How much protein should lunch have?

About 17 to 23 g is a good benchmark. There's no official number per meal, so that's a third of the daily amount: the National Academy of Medicine recommends that adults get a minimum of 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

According to Harvard's Nutrition Source on protein, that means about 50 g of protein a day for a 140-pound person and about 70 g for a 200-pound person. With 3 main meals, a third of that is about 17 to 23 g.

That's our benchmark for lunch. If you eat lighter in the evening, lunch can easily be higher: 20 to 30 g is very doable with everyday foods.

It helps to keep this in perspective: it's not a rule, just a ballpark for everyday life. For me, it's the difference between a lunch that carries me to dinner and one that has me standing in front of the pantry in the afternoon.

Which foods make a high-protein vegetarian lunch?

Cottage cheese, tofu, tempeh and lentils deliver the most protein per serving, between 17.6 and 24.8 g each. The chart uses amounts that actually end up on a lunch plate, not an abstract 100 g.

2 things stand out. First, cottage cheese and tofu are the strongest building blocks, and neither needs any cooking time. Second, the grain counts too. 7 oz (200 g) of cooked whole wheat pasta has 11.8 g of protein, 7 oz (200 g) of quinoa 8.8 g, and that side is exactly what turns a good base into a lunch with 30 g.

If you're also watching calories, look at protein per 100 calories: calculated from the values in the Swiss Food Composition Database, low-fat quark delivers 17.4 g, cottage cheese 12.4 g, tofu 9.9 g and cooked lentils 7.9 g. So all 4 bring a lot of protein for few calories. Which plant foods deliver the most protein overall, beyond lunch, is in my chart of the best plant protein sources.

The lunch formula: 6 combinations with about 30 g

A high-protein lunch has 3 parts: a protein base, a grain side and vegetables. Here's the math:

• Base (14 to 25 g): 7 oz (200 g) of cottage cheese, 5.3 oz (150 g) of tofu, 3.5 oz (100 g) of tempeh, 7 oz (200 g) of cooked lentils or 2 eggs.
• Side (9 to 12 g): 7 oz (200 g) of cooked whole wheat pasta, 7 oz (200 g) of quinoa or 2 slices of whole wheat bread.
• Topping (about 5 g): 0.5 oz (15 g) of pumpkin seeds.
• Vegetables: as much as you like, raw or roasted.

We ran the numbers on these 6 combinations, and 3 of them are vegan.

The math shows what matters: it's the combination of base and side that gets you to 30 g. A serving of lentils alone stays at 17.6 g, and with 2.6 oz (75 g) of feta it's 28.7 g.

For the vegetables, there's only one rule: plenty of them. Raw veggies, roasted vegetables from the day before or a few handfuls of greens turn any combination into a full plate.

14 high-protein vegetarian lunch recipes at a glance

These 14 recipes from our kitchen deliver 16 to 27 g of protein per serving, and 7 of them have 22 g or more. 11 are vegetarian, 3 are vegan, and each recipe page lists the number.

High-protein vegetarian lunch ideas for work

The best lunches for work are dishes that taste good cold and don't get soggy in the container: wraps, salads with lentils or bulgur, and a quiche from the day before. These are the 6 I pack most often:

Cottage cheese wrap (26 g, vegetarian). In the flourless cottage cheese wrap, the base is made from cottage cheese and eggs, and it's filled with halloumi, avocado, hummus and vegetables. For meal prep, I bake several bases ahead and fill them fresh in the morning.

Cauliflower bulgur salad with halloumi (23 g, vegetarian). The cauliflower bulgur salad with pan-fried halloumi is great warm in the evening and cold in a lunch box the next day. The bulgur, roasted vegetables and dressing keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge when stored separately.

Crispy tofu salad (20 g, vegan). The crispy tofu salad with matcha sesame dressing is on the table in 22 minutes. For the lunch box, I keep the tofu, vegetables, greens and dressing separate.

Lentil salad with feta (19 g, vegetarian). Our lentil salad with feta and mint dressing holds up in a lunch box better than any leafy salad on its own. It's made with green lentils, grated carrots, feta, cranberries and fresh mint.

Sweet potato quiche without pastry (17 g, vegetarian). I bake the sweet potato quiche with spinach and feta the night before. It tastes good lukewarm or cold and keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Green summer rolls with tahini dip (17 g, vegetarian). The green summer rolls with tahini dip are filled with green asparagus, avocado, cucumber, rice noodles, crispy tempeh and fresh herbs. You can prep the vegetables, tempeh, noodles and sauce 1 to 2 days ahead, and assembled rolls keep for a few hours if you wrap them individually.

Roasted Cauliflower Bulgur Salad with Halloumi

Crispy Tofu Salad with Matcha-Sesame Dressing

Lentil Salad with Feta and Mint Dressing

Sweet Potato Quiche with Spinach and Feta, No Pastry

On the way to work, the food belongs in a cooler bag. In its advice on cooking ahead for several days, Germany's BfR recommends transporting food containers in a cooler bag and keeping an eye on the cooling options at work.

Warm high-protein lunches

Our warm high-protein lunches are mostly dishes with halloumi, lentils, tofu and feta, and most of them taste just as good reheated the next day. These are our 8 favorites:

One-pot orzo bake with halloumi (27 g, vegetarian). The one-pot orzo bake with halloumi has 27 g of protein per serving, and no dish on this list has more. It's ready in 50 minutes. Leftovers taste almost better the next day, reheated with a splash of broth.

Protein pasta with chickpeas and lentils (27 g, vegan). The protein pasta with chickpeas and lentils also comes to 27 g per serving and is ready in 30 minutes. The sauce is easy to make ahead, so at lunchtime only the pasta needs cooking.

Sushi bake with tofu and avocado (24 g, vegetarian). The vegetarian sushi bake with tofu combines sushi rice, tofu, avocado, cucumber and nori. It takes a good hour, so it's more of a weekend lunch.

Lasagna soup with red lentils (22 g, vegetarian). The lasagna soup with red lentils and spinach is easy to cook ahead: without the pasta, it keeps for 3 days in the fridge. I like to make a double batch and freeze half of it without the pasta.

Beet waffles with goat cheese (22 g, vegetarian). The beet waffles with goat cheese and arugula are for days when lunch can be something special. Leftover waffles freeze well and crisp up again in the toaster.

Baked feta gnocchi (18 g, vegetarian). The creamy baked feta gnocchi with spinach are ready in 40 minutes. Leftovers keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge.

Lentil nachos (17 g, vegetarian). For the vegetarian lentil nachos from the oven, you can cook and season the lentils up to 2 days ahead, so almost everything is ready at lunchtime.

Mujadara (16 g, vegan). The mujadara with lentils, rice and crispy onions is a classic meal prep dish and tastes even better on day 2.

One-Pot Orzo Bake with Halloumi and Summer Vegetables

Lasagna Soup with Red Lentils and Spinach

Beet Waffles with Goat Cheese and Arugula

Creamy Baked Feta Gnocchi with Spinach

When you reheat lunch in the microwave, the CDC's food safety guidance has a clear rule: use a food thermometer to make sure the food reaches 165°F.

Quick, no-cook lunches: what works in 10 minutes?

In 10 minutes and without a stove, you can build a high-protein lunch from cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, canned chickpeas or frozen edamame. From the formula above, these 3 are the fastest:

• Bread with eggs and cottage cheese: 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 hard-boiled eggs and 3.5 oz (100 g) of cottage cheese add up to 35.0 g of protein.
• Cottage cheese bowl: 7 oz (200 g) of cottage cheese on 7 oz (200 g) of precooked quinoa with cucumber and tomatoes has 33.6 g.
• Chickpea edamame salad: 7 oz (200 g) of canned chickpeas, 3.5 oz (100 g) of thawed edamame and 0.5 oz (15 g) of pumpkin seeds come to 31.4 g.

If the pan can come out after all, our lettuce wraps with tempeh and kohlrabi are ready in 20 minutes. They have 14 g of protein per serving, so they're best with a bowl of edamame on the side. And for the afternoon that follows, you'll find ideas in my post on high-protein vegetarian snacks to make at home.

High-protein vegan lunch

A vegan lunch reaches the same numbers with tofu, tempeh, lentils, chickpeas and edamame: 5.3 oz (150 g) of tofu with 7 oz (200 g) of quinoa delivers 30.9 g of protein. In the formula above, 3 of the 6 combinations are vegan, and among the recipes, so are the tofu salad, the mujadara and the protein pasta. The tofu salad fits in a lunch box, and the mujadara and the pasta sauce are easy to prep ahead.

Tofu is best at lunch when it's crispy. How to get it there is in my guide to crispy, marinated tofu.

Do you need high-protein products from the store?

Not for a regular lunch: according to Harvard's Nutrition Source, many people in the U.S. are consuming more than enough protein, especially from animal-based foods. A homemade lunch can reach 30 g without a special label.

The formula above shows it: 5.3 oz (150 g) of tofu with 7 oz (200 g) of cooked quinoa adds up to 30.9 g of protein, from 2 plain ingredients.

Meal prep: how to plan a high-protein week

A high-protein lunch is easiest when the base is ready on Sunday: a pot of lentils, a pot of quinoa, hard-boiled eggs and a jar of dressing. During the week, that turns into bowls and salads in 5 minutes.

For storage, there's clear advice: Germany's BfR recommends eating heated meals within 2 to 3 days or freezing them, and the CDC says to keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below. How to cool, store and reheat individual dishes is in my meal prep guide to cooking ahead and storing.

Here's what a week can look like with nothing cooked sitting in the fridge for more than 3 days:

• Monday: lentil salad with feta, prepped on Sunday (19 g).
• Tuesday: lasagna soup with red lentils, cooked on Sunday (22 g).
• Wednesday: cottage cheese bowl from the formula, with quinoa from Sunday (33.6 g).
• Thursday: cauliflower bulgur salad with halloumi, cooked on Wednesday evening (23 g).
• Friday: bread with freshly boiled eggs and cottage cheese (35.0 g).

If you'd like the whole week planned for you, my shop has The Protein Week with 10 vegan recipes. It plans 7 full days, with a shopping list and a meal prep guide for Sunday.

Lovelies, if you take away just one thing from this post, make it this: a protein base, a side and plenty of vegetables. A lunch like that carries me through to dinner. For the warm meal in the evening, my high-protein recipes for bigger meals are the next step. That's also where I list my protein building blocks with the numbers per portion. And my High-Protein Vegan Cookbook with 35 recipes holds our favorite protein-rich dishes from breakfast to weeknight dinner.

Tell me in the comments: what's for lunch at your place, a packed lunch box or something warm?

Yours, Verena

Recipes to try

Vegetarian Sushi Bake with Tofu and Avocado

Loaded Vegetarian Nachos with Spiced Lentils

Mujadara with Lentils, Rice and Crispy Onions

Protein pasta with chickpeas and lentils