This Mediterranean meal prep lunch box is incredibly simple to make and filled with wholesome, fresh ingredients. It’s full of veggies, protein-rich chickpeas, and creamy hummus. Ready in around 20 minutes, it’s perfect to prep ahead for a quick lunch.
Mediterranean Lunch Box
Made with fresh ingredients that grow under the sun, I think of my vacations in Greece and Sicily every time I eat this lunch.
Much like my Panzanella salad and Mediterranean quinoa salad, it’s simple, filling, and perfect when you don’t have much time to spare cooking.
These lunch box ideas are naturally vegan and can be made gluten-free by substituting the couscous for a gluten-free version or quinoa or brown rice.
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What’s in this lunch box
This is what I used:
- Wholegrain couscous
- Chickpeas
- Black olives
- Bell peppers
- Red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Creamy homemade hummus
- A simple dressing made with extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, the juice of one lemon, salt, and pepper.
And what’s great is that you can customize each one of these boxes with whatever you have available, as long as you remember to add wholesome grains, proteins, and fresh crunchy veggies.
Grains: You can use brown rice, quinoa, orzo pasta, farro, or other grain.
Proteins: You can use any lentils or beans, tofu, or if you are not on a plant-based diet, eggs, or roasted chicken.
Veggies: Anything goes—rocket, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, just to name a few.
How to assemble
Thankfully, there isn’t much cooking involved.
All you have to do is prep the couscous according to the package instructions. Then make the hummus, following my straightforward hummus recipe. Sure, you can buy it too. But honestly, it takes just a few minutes to make, and it’s creamy and much better than the one you can buy.
Last wash and chop the veggies and add some dressing and you are ready to go.
How to make the chickpeas taste nice
To keep this recipe extremely simple and perfect for meal prep, I used canned chickpeas, but I know some of you find the taste bland.
You can make these chickpeas taste much better in 2 ways:
- Before adding them to the lunch box, toss them in a bowl with some sweet smoked paprika, and a tablespoon of the dressing.
- You can do the same as above and then roast them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. This will add more prep time, but the result will be delicious.
For my lunch boxes, I opted for option 1.
And if you like this recipe, check out these other lunch ideas:
- 5 Awesome Lunch Box Ideas for adults
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
- One-Pan Mexican Quinoa
- 10-Minute Chickpea Curry
- Panzanella
Mediterranean Lunch Box (Meal Prep)
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked wholewheat couscous
- 1 medium cucumber - roughly chopped
- 2 bell peppers - 1 red, 1 yellow
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes - halved
- 1/2 cup fresh flat leave parsley
- 1 can chickpeas - 15 ounces
- 1 cup hummus
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon - juiced
- 1/4 cup white or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
Instructions
- Prepare the couscous according to the package instructions, making sure to add a bit of salt to the water.
- While the couscous is cooking and resting, prepare the veggies: chop the cucumber, the peppers, the red onion, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Finely chop the parsley.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil, the juice of one lemon, dried oregano, salt, and pepper in a jar. Make sure to taste the seasoning and adjust to your liking.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas, add them to a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of dressing and the smoked paprika. If you prefer, you can also roast the chickpeas in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F.
- In another bowl, mix the bell peppers with the chopped red onion, 2 tablespoons of dressing, and the chopped parsley.
- Divide the couscous equally among the meal prep containers. Then add all the chopped veggies, olives, chickpea salad, and top everything with a good serving of hummus (if you are making the hummus on the go, you'll need an extra 5 minutes – you can follow my recipe here).
- Divide the remaining dressing between the bowls, and mix well before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
Kathy says
Do you prepare the entire lunchbox in advance – including all the chopped vegetables and dressing? Can it then go fully assembled in the fridge for several days? Or is it best to assemble the morning of?
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Hey Kathy,
Sorry for the late reply! I normally prepare the whole box in advance and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days. As there are no greens it doesn’t spoil easily. If you want to keep it in the fridge for longer, I would suggest adding the chopped veggies later on.
I hope this helps!
Jane says
This was so good! Thank you, perfect for lunch 🙂
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Thank you so much, Jane! Glad you liked it!
Amanda says
Is this four servings?
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Yes, Amanda! It’s 4 servings. I’ve updated the recipe 🙂
Sarah says
Thank you for sharing the recipe – I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been chopping and cooking everything on Sunday and making a salad for lunch each day. I’ve had trouble storing my couscous. It is one hard stuck together lump. I wait for it to cool before refrigerating….any tips?!?
Sara @ Gathering Dreams says
Hi Sarah,
Glad you liked it 🙂 The best thing to avoid couscous from sticking together is to let it cool a bit, and fluff it well using a fork. Make sure all the grains are already well separated before you store the couscous in the fridge. You can also add a touch of olive oil after when separating the couscous with a fork. I hope this helps to solve the problem!