21 Easy Keto Lunch Ideas for Work
You have a busy day at the office and you can scarcely spare a few minutes to head to the break room to pull your lunch from the fridge. Maybe you don’t have access to a microwave and need something you can eat cold, or you need something that’s easy to eat at your desk without a lot of utensils. You can still stick to your keto lifestyle when it comes to lunchtime at the office–all you need are some great keto lunch ideas for work.
From quick and easy sandwiches that you can assemble the night before to salads you can eat on the go, this comprehensive list of great keto-friendly work lunches will help you save money and time while keeping you on the keto straight and narrow.
Keto Sandwiches for Lunch
The most universal lunch of all time is a sandwich, maybe eaten over your desk at lunch while you try to cram a few more minutes of work in before the big meeting. You can still have a convenient sandwich on the keto diet, but you may have to do so more mindfully–and it will involve some prep time at home.
You can make one of these two bread recipes ahead of time at home, then all you have to do is add the filling:
- Keto Quick and Easy Microwaveable Almond Flour Bread (2.5 grams net carbs)
- Keto Cloud Bread (0 grams net carbs)
If you don’t want to make your own bread, keto bread and low-carb tortilla options are available at many supermarkets. Once you have your bread sorted out, here are a few ideas for keto sandwich ingredients:
- Keto Sandwich with Cloud Bread, Avocado, and Smoked Salmon (2.2 grams net carbs)
- Low Carb Chicken Salad (1.4 grams net carbs)
- Keto Fresh Tuna Salad (3.1 grams net carbs)
- Keto Reuben Sandwich (6.4 grams net carbs)
If you prefer to avoid the net carbs in a serving of keto bread, there are still recipes that offer the same convenience of a sandwich but without the bread. Assemble these bread-free wraps and rollups and pop them into your lunchbox for a convenient and ultra-low-carb meal:
- Keto Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (1 gram net carbs)
- Keto Tuna Wraps (0.7 grams net carbs)
- Easy Keto Rollups (0.7 grams net carbs)
- Keto Pinwheels (2 grams net carbs)
Prep Ahead Lunches for Work
If you have the opportunity to do a little more prep work at home or in your kitchen at work, you might be able to utilize some of these other recipes. You can assemble most of them at home, and simply eat them straight from the refrigerator when lunchtime rolls around again, no need for reheating.
- Shrimp-Stuffed Avocado (4 grams net carbs)
- Shrimp Lettuce Wraps (7 grams net carbs)
- Keto Curry Chicken Stuffed Avocados (4 grams net carbs)
- Keto Cauliflower Tabbouleh (7 grams net carbs)
- Keto Summer Caprese Salad (4 grams net carbs)
- Antipasto and Pepperoncini Salad (5 grams net carbs)
Most of these recipes use fresh ingredients that allow you to indulge in bright flavors without cooking a full meal for lunch.
Work-Friendly Keto Salads
A salad is another common choice for work lunches. Salads are a healthy option that usually contain plenty of fiber- and vitamin-rich raw vegetables. While many salads are higher in carbs than other keto options, they tend to be low in calories, which is great for those who are aiming to lose weight. You may need to balance out your carbs in other meals if your salad is on the carb-heavy side.
While many of the recipes below have meat in them, you can prepare these at home, and the meat is meant to be eaten cold, along with the rest of the salad.
The only thing to keep in mind here is that you may want to keep your dressing on the side, as it can make your lettuce wilt and may separate if you pour it on in advance. Invest in a small container that can hold your dressings or put it in the bottom of the jar if you’re making a mason jar salad.
- Creamy Dill Salad with Chicken (4 grams net carbs)
- Cheeseburger Salad in a Jar (5 grams net carbs)
- Chopped Tahini Salad (11 grams net carbs)
- BLT Salad with Zesty Sesame Mustard Dressing (10.5 grams net carbs)
- Fennel Salad with Chicken and Arugula (10 grams net carbs)
- Pecan Crusted Keto Chicken Salad (7.6 grams net carbs)
- Keto Southwest Chicken Mixed Green Salad with Cilantro Lime Avocado Dressing (7.3 grams net carbs)
Prepping for Keto Work Lunches
While there are tons of recipes out there to help you eat satisfying keto meals, these keto lunch ideas for work are some of the easiest and most portable. With a great keto lunch, you can stick with your keto diet without missing out on flavor or feeling deprived while your colleagues chow down. With these recipes on rotation, your lunchtime may even turn out to be your favorite meal of the day!
