Mediterranean Lunch Box (Perfect For Meal Prep)

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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.

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 of quinoa or brown rice.

Close ups of 4 Mediterranean lunch boxes

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. You can also use this simple Mediterranean salad dressing.
3 Mediterranean lunch boxes

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.

Hands holding a Mediterranean lunch box

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:

  1. Before adding them to the lunch box, toss them in a bowl with some sweet smoked paprika, and a tablespoon of the dressing.
  2. 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.

Top view of 4 Mediterranean lunch boxes

Why I love this Mediterranean Lunch Box

More healthy lunch recipes you’ll love

And if you like this recipe, check out these other lunch ideas:

And don’t forget to check out this incredible Beginner’s Meal Prep Guide: to Stress-Free Cooking!

If you try this Mediterranean Lunch Box recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!

Mediterranean Lunch Box (Meal Prep)

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.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings (6 small servings)
Calories: 480kcal
Author: Sara Trezzi

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup uncooked wholewheat couscous
  • 1 medium cucumber - roughly chopped
  • 2 bell peppers - 1 red, 1 yellow
  • ½ red onion
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes - halved
  • ½ cup fresh flat leave parsley
  • 1 can chickpeas - 15 ounces
  • 1 cup hummus
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives

Dressing

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

Storage: You can store this Mediterranean lunch box in the fridge for 3-5 days. 
Nutritional values are calculated on 6 servings and are only an indication.

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Sugar: 6g

Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!

4.72 from 14 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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28 Comments

  1. 3 stars
    This was very nice but 2 cups of cous cous uncooked was a lot of cous when cooked! I used about half for this recipe and will use the other half for something else. Was the 2 cups supposed to be cooked weight? Not sure what I did wrong here. Otherwise it was very nice combination of flavours and I would make again. Thank you.

    1. Thank you Amy, 2 cups was uncooked. It’s for 4 to 6 people.

  2. 5 stars
    I haven’t tried this yet but will be! I’m wondering where you got your containers!

  3. Margo Edge says:

    5 stars
    This has become a regular lunch meal prep recipe for us. We love it!

  4. 5 stars
    This was very good. I used quinoa in place of couscous and added a little honey to the dressing.

  5. 4 stars
    Very delicious but my couscous was a stuck together at the bottom after storing in the fridge, how do I avoid that the next time I make this?

  6. Hi. Is the nutritional values for the whole meal prep or just one of the four servings?

  7. 5 stars
    This was delicious!!! Very filling, which is perfect for a work lunch! And guilt free!!

  8. Shannon Ferrell says:

    5 stars
    This recipe turned out delicious! I’m not a fan of couscous so I swapped it for BowTie pasta & I love it. Definitely recommend.

  9. 5 stars
    This recipe has become a family favorite. We like really strong flavors so the couscous was too bland for our tastes. I swap the couscous for tabbouleh. I buy the boxed version from Near East and make two boxes to have enough. It’s amazing!!

  10. How long does this last in the fridge? If I prep for Monday through Friday, will it last?

    1. Hi Dawn,
      I usually keep it for 3-4 days max. It can last 5 days as nothing will go bad, but cucumbers and tomatoes could get a bit soggy.

  11. 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?

    1. 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!

  12. 5 stars
    This was so good! Thank you, perfect for lunch 🙂

  13. Is this four servings?

  14. 4 stars
    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?!?

    1. 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!