These 4 easy pita recipes are great packed for healthy lunches! All are vegetarian - prep the components ahead of time for a fast, delicious midday meal.
make-ahead / vegetarian / lunch
There’s a category that’s seriously underrepresented on Love & Lemons: lunch. Lunch, for me, is the meal that happens in between all of these recipe posts. It’s usually a quick throw-together meal that utilizes a previous night’s dinner and/or an assortment of random on-hand ingredients… (ie. a half of an avocado, a few leaves of kale, leftover quinoa, an opened container of greek yogurt). I love a big lunch salad, but when I don’t have enough greens & things to make up a full meal, I take what I do have and put it in (or on) a pita.
I keep these Stonefire pitas on hand, usually in my freezer for easy access – they reheat and toast up perfectly. (And yes, they are sponsoring this post, but I’ve seriously been buying their pita and flatbread for years).
You’ll notice I haven’t included actual measurements in this ingredient list – since I’m usually “cooking” for one, my measurements are truly “a bit of this, a pinch of that.” Feel free to adapt & interchange things, using what you have. Everything here can be made ahead & stored for days in the fridge. It’s all pretty packable – just keep the pita separate and stuff it when you’re ready to eat. (A soggy pita would be a pity!)
For more lunch inspiration, check out this post that’s full of Healthy Lunch Ideas.
5.0 from 1 reviews
These 4 easy sandwich recipes are some of my go-to quick, healthy lunches. They're great for packing up and taking on the go, and with 4 options, your lunch rotation will never get boring.
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Ingredients
1. Kale & Apple Salad with Avocado
- Kale
- Drizzle of olive oil
- A bit of Dijon mustard
- Squeezes of lemon
- Apple slices
- Avocado
- Pine nuts
- Salt & pepper
2. Smashed Avocado and Sunflower Seeds
- Avocado
- Squeeze of lemon
- Sprinkle of sunflower seeds (or any seeds you like)
- Salt & pepper
3. Red Pepper Hummus with Chickpeas & Feta
- Red pepper hummus (recipe below)
- A few chickpeas
- Diced red onion
- Feta
- Pine nuts
- Parsley
- Red pepper flakes
Red pepper hummus (make in advance)
- 1¼ cups chickpeas
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 jarred roasted red pepper (about ¼ cup worth)
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1-2 teaspoons dry harissa seasoning
- Water, if necessary for consistency
- Salt & pepper
4. Carrot & Quinoa Salad with Curry Yogurt
- Leftover cooked quinoa
- Dried currants
- Olive oil
- Squeezes of lime
- A bit of cumin
- Shaved carrot ribbons
- A few salad greens
- Greek yogurt
- A bit of curry powder
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- For the Kale & Apple Salad: Chop the kale. Massage the leaves with olive oil salt and pepper until the leaves are tender. Add a bit of dijon mustard and a good squeeze of lemon. Mix with diced avocado, sliced apples, and toasted pine nuts. Stuff in pita.
- For the Smashed Avocado & Sunflower Seeds: Slice avocado and add a bit of lemon juice, salt & pepper. Use the back of a fork to mash it into the pita. Top with seeds.
- For the Red Pepper Hummus with Chickpeas & Feta: Blend all hummus ingredients together, set aside. Drizzle pita with olive oil and grill on a grill pan. Slather with hummus and top with chickpeas, red onion, feta, pine nuts and parsley. Top with a few red pepper flakes.
- For the Carrot & Quinoa Salad: Mix quinoa with olive oil, lime juice, cumin, currants, salt & pepper. Toss with carrot ribbons and watercress. Mix yogurt with lime, curry powder, and salt. Stuff salad in pita and top with a dollop of curry yogurt.
Notes
Some tips:
Keep your avocado un-sliced until you're ready to use it - and if you're storing a half-avocado, keep it in a plastic bag with part of a sliced onion to slow down the browning process.
Make a big batch of the quinoa salad, serve it with a protein for dinner and reuse the leftovers for lunch all week.
This post is sponsored byStonefire, all opinions are our own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!
