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54 Keto Lunch Ideas That Travel Well

by Annie Lampella, Pharm.D. Updated

Lunch is where keto quietly falls apart for most people. Breakfast was eggs, dinner is planned, and then noon arrives with a sandwich-shaped hole in it. These are the lunches that actually get made at my house, most of them fast, most of them packable.

What can you eat for lunch on keto besides a salad? Sandwiches on pepper halves and pickle bread, wraps where the meat does the wrapping, pizza in bowl form, and meal prep containers that survive a work week. Net carbs are listed on every recipe below.

Salads That Count as Lunch

Big enough to be the meal, sturdy enough to prep ahead.

  1. Broccoli Chicken Salad

    3.4g net carbs 15 min

    Chicken and crunchy broccoli in a bright yogurt-based dressing built to survive four days of fridge time. 3.4g net carbs. Meal prep royalty.

  2. Jennifer Aniston Salad

    13.7g net carbs 20 min

    The internet-famous Jennifer Aniston salad, rebuilt on cauliflower rice and lupini beans. 13.7g net carbs, the honest number, and a weekly habit at my house anyway.

  3. Thai Chicken Salad

    13.1g net carbs 15 min

    Two cabbages, cucumber, edamame, chicken, and a peanut dressing that coats everything. 13.1g net carbs, on the higher end here, and it earns them.

  4. Avocado Chicken Salad

    2.3g net carbs 5 min

    Creamy avocado holding together chicken and eggs over romaine. Under 10 minutes, 2.3g net carbs. Lunch that holds until dinner.

  5. Keto Big Mac Salad

    3.5g net carbs 15 min

    Thousand island from scratch over seasoned beef, iceberg, and pickles. 3.5g net carbs. The drive-thru order, deconstructed and improved.

Sandwiches Without the Bread Problem

The bread is a pepper, a pickle, a mushroom, or a waffle. It works.

  1. Pickle Sandwich

    4g net carbs 13 min

    Pickles plus cheese, baked until they fuse into a crispy briny slab that works as bread. Two ingredients. 4g net carbs.

  2. Bell Pepper Sandwich

    8.7g net carbs 5 min

    A crisp pepper standing in for the roll, stuffed with whatever the deli drawer offers. 6.1g net carbs. Rated 4.9 by more than 15 readers.

  3. Keto Grilled Cheese

    3g net carbs 10 min

    Ninety second bread, buttered and griddled until the outside crunches and the middle pulls. 3g net carbs. Childhood, retrieved.

  4. Carnivore Sandwich

    1.3g net carbs 11 min

    Waffles made of pork rinds and egg standing in as bread, bacon and fried egg inside, zero carbs total. Guests routinely refuse to believe the waffle part.

  5. Portobello Sandwich

    6.6g net carbs 8 min

    Two roasted caps doing bun duty, sturdier than expected, stacked Italian-style. 6.6g net carbs. Napkins required.

Wraps and Handhelds

Rolled, folded, and lunchbox-proof.

  1. Keto Tortilla Wrap

    4g net carbs 9 min

    The TikTok fold, executed low carb: four fillings, four quadrants, pan fried golden. 4g net carbs.

  2. Turkey Wrap

    2.2g net carbs 5 min

    The turkey is the wrapper. Cheese, bacon, and lettuce inside, 2.2g net carbs, protein doing all the talking.

  3. Lettuce Wraps

    4.9g net carbs 5 min

    Parchment-rolled so the fillings actually stay in past the second bite. 4.9g net carbs. The technique is the recipe.

  4. Keto Chicken Taquitos

    5.3g net carbs 10 min

    The answer to leftover chicken: rolled with cream cheese into low carb tortillas and fried until the shells snap. 5.3g net carbs. Fifteen minutes.

  5. Italian Keto Sliders

    1.1g net carbs 25 min

    Asiago, ham, salami, provolone, and a muffuletta olive spread, baked until the tops glaze golden. 1.1g net carbs each. Party lunch material.

Pizza for Lunch

Five formats, zero delivery fees.

  1. Cottage Cheese Pizza Bowl

    7.7g net carbs 15 min

    Blended cottage cheese as the base, more than 30g of protein, no watery mess. 7.7g net carbs. The viral one, and it holds up.

  2. Pizza Bowl

    3.5g net carbs 2 min

    Ramekin, toppings, sixty seconds of microwave. 3.5g net carbs. Pizza at desk lunch speed.

  3. Keto Pizza Pockets

    7.2g net carbs 30 min

    Fathead dough around a molten pepperoni center, freezer-friendly by design. 7.2g net carbs. More than 75 readers keep these at 4.8.

  4. Keto Pizza Chaffle

    2.2g net carbs 6 min

    Sauce mixed into the batter instead of spread on top, which keeps the base crisp under toppings. 2.2g net carbs, six minutes.

  5. Keto Pizza Meatballs

    0.4g net carbs 25 min

    Pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and cheese packed into the meatball itself. 0.4g net carbs apiece, forty to a batch. Lunchbox pizza, no crust required.

Hot Lunches Worth the Container

For thermoses, microwaves, and anyone tired of cold lunch.

  1. Keto Corn Dogs

    5.5g net carbs 20 min

    Fathead dough that survives the deep fryer, wrapped around a hot dog with 30g of protein. 5.5g net carbs. The blind test at my table keeps failing.

  2. Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Bowls

    6.5g net carbs 35 min

    Chicken and alfredo layered between egg white wraps in single-serve containers that reheat any way you like. 6.5g net carbs and lunch is solved for days.

  3. Keto Ramen

    6.9g net carbs 10 min

    The viral TikTok ramen, low carbed with Immi noodles in a buttery garlic toss with Everything Bagel seasoning. 6.9g net carbs. Sweet, spicy, gone.

  4. Mexican Lasagna Bowls

    7.5g net carbs 40 min

    Enchilada-sauced chicken stacked with cheese in individual meal prep containers, 45g of protein each. 7.5g net carbs. The work lunch that causes questions.

  5. Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders

    1.4g net carbs 20 min

    Smoky paprika rub, tangy glaze, and bacon holding it all together in the air fryer. 1.4g net carbs. Twenty minutes, mostly hands-off.

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1.5g NET CARBS
Zero carb chicken calzone cut open to reveal melted mozzarella and pepperoni inside a seasoned ground chicken crust.
Lunch Ground Chicken Calzone New 32 min
6.2g NET CARBS
Creamy kani salad with shredded crab, cucumber, carrots, avocado, spicy mayo, and black sesame seeds served in a white bowl.
Lunch Kani Salad 15 min
3.6g NET CARBS
A crispy keto McChicken sandwich topped with shredded lettuce, pickles, and creamy sauce on a soft low-carb bun.
Lunch Keto Chicken Sandwich 40 min
5g NET CARBS
A bowl of Chinese chicken salad with canned chicken, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, green onions, and sesame dressing.
Lunch Asian Chicken Salad 10 min
6g NET CARBS
Creamy Southwest chicken salad with celery and red bell pepper in a white bowl.
Lunch Southwest Chicken Salad 5 min
2.2g NET CARBS
Golden canned chicken nuggets served with a side of creamy ranch dipping sauce on a white plate.
Lunch Canned Chicken Nuggets 15 min
7.9g NET CARBS
Chicken Cobb salad with bacon, eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, blue cheese and herb dressing.
Lunch Chicken Cobb Salad 10 min
5.4g NET CARBS
Kale harvest salad with apples, prosciutto, cheese and spiced pecans.
Lunch Prosciutto & Brie Harvest Salad 25 min
3g NET CARBS
Close up of juicy, buttery parmesan garlic chicken skewers.
Lunch Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers 30 min
6.5g NET CARBS
A fresh salad with lettuce, egg, tomato, cheese and radish with ranch dressing nearby.
Lunch Chef Salad 15 min
4.7g NET CARBS
colorful salad in a bowl with egg, pickle and tomatoes
Lunch Sandwich Bowl 5 min

Keto Ingredients

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