A healthy lunch with avocado is an easy way to make your workday more enjoyable. Enjoy these delicious recipes and make sure to put avocado in your lunch today. Are you looking for a healthy lunch idea? A lunch that looks and tastes delicious? Avocados are an excellent addition to any dish, as they have a variety of health benefits. Also, avocados can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. There are many ways to use avocado in your lunch recipes. There are literally hundreds of different lunch recipes that you can make by using avocado as a main ingredient. Today we’re going to share with you some of the best lunch ideas with avocado.
Healthy Lunch Ideas With Avocado
1. Add It To A Bean Salad.
Beans are a nutritious and economical base to salads, salsas, and dips. Avocado adds a nice contrast of texture as well as smooth flavor. Stir a chopped avocado into your favorite bean salad for a hearty meatless lunch.
2. Bake An Egg In It.
Baked eggs are one of the simplest lunches on the planet. Crack the egg and just walk away — but not before you transform an avocado into the baking vessel. So delicious and easy!
3. Top A Green Salad With It.
Lunch salads can be as fancy as you want them to be. Slicing an avocado atop a bed of greens makes it a feast. Avocado pairs particularly well with fruit and cheese, offering you lots of fun options.
4. Fill It With Your Favorite Salad.
Again with the avocado vessel. The first time I was served an avocado half, I was in France and the avocado was filled simply with vinaigrette. So delicious, but not exactly lunch. Take it one step further and fill avocado halves with your favorite egg, tuna, or chicken salad.
5. Blend It Into Your Smoothie.
Avocados add a creamy texture to your smoothies that can’t be beat. When you need a quick lunch that really hits the spot, add an avocado to the mix.
6. Tuck It Into A Grilled Cheese.
You may be most familiar with avocados served cold or at room temperature, but heating the avocado changes its texture, creating a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Tuck it into your next grilled cheese and see if you aren’t a believer.
7. Make It Into A Pasta Sauce.
Whiz an avocado or two, some herbs, and a bit of olive oil through the food processor and you’ve got an instant sauce that goes great on your favorite pasta. Easy yet impressive, it makes an awesome vegan dish.
8. Turn It Into A Dip.
Take three simple things — ripe avocado, soft goat cheese, and lemon juice — and whirl them together to create the creamiest, dreamiest dip you’ve ever imagined. Serve it with tortilla or pita chips, crackers, or crudité for a snacky lunch, and it will be gone before you blink.
9. Make Breakfast Pizza For Lunch.
You’ve heard of breakfast for dinner, but what about breakfast for lunch? This simple recipe calls for some pizza dough, avocado, and eggs for a filling and fun twist on pizza. Just don’t forget the hot sauce!
10. Make Avocado Toast, Of Course!
Avocado toast is ubiquitous, to be sure, but that’s because it’s amazing. What other three-ingredient — avocado, bread, salt — recipe can achieve such happiness with such little work? If the standard is getting old to you, know that there are plenty of ways to take your avocado toast to the next level.
Try Out These Recipes
1. Grilled Kale Salad With Avocado, Lemon & Parm
This grilled kale salad is paired with avocado, lemon, garlic, toasted pecans, and parmesan. Grilling kale makes it SO flavourful and a little crispy – it’s one of my favourite salad recipes to date!
So I know I’ve said in the past that massaged kale salads are the BEST way to enjoy kale. Well, I wasn’t wrong, but I clearly had never tried GRILLING kale before.
Let’s just say…the two cooking methods are now tied for the best way to eat kale haha.
Anyway – if you haven’t tried grilling kale before, you are in for a serious treat! The kale gets so flavourful and a little crispy – it’s like raw kale, sautéed kale, and kale chips all in one.
This kale salad recipe is paired with super simple toppings like grilled avocado and lemon, garlic powder, toasted pecans, and some freshly grated parmesan. It’s just 9 ingredients, but it tastes SO good. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Let’s get cooking.
Ingredients Needed
All you need to make this grilled kale salad are 9 simple, healthy ingredients (many of which you likely have already!):
- curly kale
- avocado
- lemon
- olive oil
- pecans
- parmesan
- garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
How To Grill Kale
Grilling kale is incredibly easy and SO worth the extra little bit of effort! The flavour of it is just incredible.
Start by washing kale leaves and drying them well with a towel. Slice off any large stems that don’t have any leaves on them.
Place kale leaves in a large mixing bowl and gently toss them with olive oil and salt. I just mix things up with my hands. It’s a little messy, but no need to be perfect here!
Next, place the kale leaves in a single layer on your grill (heated to medium). Grill them for 1-2 minutes each side, depending on your grill and the size of the leaves.
You want them to be charred, but not burnt to a crisp. Work in batches if you need to.
Remove kale leaves from the grill and set aside to cool for a few minutes (during this time you can toast the pecans for this recipe).
Once cool enough to touch, tear kale leaves off of stems into smaller pieces. Add the rest of the salad ingredients, toss, and enjoy!
Storage Notes
Leftovers of this grilled kale salad will keep for 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
The best thing about kale is that it doesn’t go soggy. That said, I doubt leftovers of this salad will last that long 😉
Note – if you’re intentionally planning to eat this salad at a later date, I would advise NOT grilling the avocado with the kale and keeping the toasted pecans separate. Instead, add slices of fresh avocado and toasted pecans right before eating!
What To Serve With Grilled Kale Salad
While you can definitely enjoy this grilled kale salad on it’s own, I would highly recommend pairing it with your favourite protein!
It would taste great with a simple baked salmon or chicken. Or, you can throw a hard-boiled egg or some roasted chickpeas on there too.
2. Strawberry Tomato & Avocado Salad
This strawberry, tomato, and avocado salad with balsamic dressing is bursting with flavour and nutrition. You can make it in minutes and it’s absolutely perfect for your next summer BBQ or picnic!
As soon as strawberry season hits, I can’t help but add them to ALL. MY. MEALS. Anyone else?
If you love strawberries as much as I do, you’re in luck – I’ve got a bunch of strawberry recipes in the works. But first up – this insanely flavourful Strawberry, Tomato & Avocado Salad.
I think this would be a perfect salad option to make ahead and bring to a summer BBQ or picnic. There’s no lettuce in here, so it won’t go limp and soggy!
If making in advance, the only thing I would suggest is adding the avocado just before serving to prevent browning.
This salad is beyond quick and easy to make (15 minutes), and it’s bursting with flavour from all the fresh seasonal ingredients. I guarantee it’ll be a hit at your next get together!
Want more summer salad recipe inspiration? Check out my roundup of 20+ easy, healthy summer salad recipes for more ideas!
Strawberry Nutrition Benefits
Not only are strawberries bursting with flavour, but they’re packed with nutrients, too!
Did you know that 1 cup of strawberries provides 140% of your daily vitamin C needs? It’s one of the best sources of vitamin C out there, playing a role in keeping our skin healthy and preventing cell damage (it’s an antioxidant).
Like other berries, strawberries are also a great source of good-for-the-gut dietary fibre; 1 cup provides 3 grams.
Strawberries also contain a small amount of:
- potassium
- vitamin B6
- folate
- phosphorus
- magnesium
Tomato Nutrition Benefits
Like strawberries, tomatoes are also a rich source of vitamin C and other phytochemicals that act as antioxidants, like lycopene and beta-carotene.
In addition, tomatoes are a source of:
- dietary fibre
- potassium
- folate
- vitamin K
TIP: For the best flavour – I highly recommend purchasing vine-ripened tomatoes. It makes such a difference (promise).
Avocado Nutrition Benefits
Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and are actually super high in dietary fibre (1 cup provides 40% of your daily fibre needs)!
This unique combination of monounsaturated fats and fibre makes them extremely heart-healthy, as both nutrients are linked to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Avocados are also a good source of many different micronutrients, including:
- vitamin C
- vitamin B6
- magnesium
- potassium
- folate
- vitamin K
- vitamin E
The fact that they’re rich in fat will help your body absorb many of the nutrients in this salad, too!
As you can see, this Strawberry, Tomato & Avocado Salad is not only rich in flavour, but it’s jam-packed with nutritious ingredients to support your overall health.
3. Easy Cucumber Avocado Salad With Quinoa
This Easy Cucumber Avocado Salad is made with nutritious ingredients like quinoa, sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, lemon, and fresh herbs. It’s healthy, refreshing, and can be enjoyed as a complete meal or side salad! Gluten-free with vegan option available.
This post was updated with helpful content + fresh images on 05.05.2020.
This cucumber avocado salad recipe was originally born from one of my clean-out-the-fridge meals. I LOVED the flavour of the ingredient combination so much, that it’s become one of my go-to salads for years!
I love how easy this cucumber salad is to make and it’s awesome for both a filling, nutrient-dense meal or as a side salad if you’d prefer.
I often make this salad with ingredients that I’ve already batch-cooked for the week (i.e. the cooked quinoa and hard-boiled eggs). When done this way, this salad comes together in under 10 minutes! That said, you can of course make it from scratch.
Feel free to take inspiration from the base ingredients in this recipe while experimenting with different toppings to switch things up. I’ve included some recipe modifications for you below as well.
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, but can easily be made vegan if needed. As a dietitian, I’ve also included some nutrition facts about this salad’s ingredients below!
How To Make Cucumber Salad
To make this cucumber avocado salad, start by cooking the quinoa. I have an in-depth blog post all about cooking quinoa if you’d like some helpful tips.
In a separate saucepan, hard boil the eggs by placing them into water and bringing to a boil. Once water has boiled, cover and reduce from heat. Allow the eggs to cook for 10 minutes (no peeking!)
Meanwhile, slice one long English cucumber thinly, ideally using a mandoline slicer – a mandoline makes this process WAY faster and evenly-shaped. Place the sliced cucumber into a large mixing bowl.
Next, add sauerkraut, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, hemp seeds, chopped herbs, salt, and pepper to the bowl.
Once the eggs have boiled, place under cold water to stop cooking. Peel, slice, and add hard-boiled eggs to the rest of the ingredients.
Finally, add the cooked quinoa to the bowl and toss all ingredients together, adjusting seasonings to taste.
This salad is best enjoyed cold, so if using freshly cooked quinoa you may like to chill it in the fridge for about 30 minutes before eating, although it’s not necessary! Add freshly sliced avocado right before serving.
How Long Is Cucumber Salad Good For?
This cucumber salad will keep in an airtight container for about 1 day in the fridge. Because cucumber is quite watery, I would suggest keeping this salad no longer than that and ideally eating it immediately!
If you would like to make this salad in advance, you can easily prep the longer-to-cook ingredients ahead of time. In this case, cooking the quinoa and hard-boiling the eggs beforehand and adding them to the other raw ingredients right before eating. If doing so, this salad will come together in under 10 minutes.
Do note that cucumber does not freeze well.
Recipe Variations & Modifications
You can modify this recipe in many ways if you’d like!
For instance, you can swap the hard-boiled eggs with another protein source like canned tuna or even chickpeas if you’re vegan. If having this salad as a side to a protein dish, you may choose to omit the eggs altogether.
I used chopped parsley in this recipe, but feel free to experiment with other fresh herbs, like dill. You can also add different raw veggies to this salad, like cherry tomatoes or bell peppers if you’d like.
If you feel like something lighter, feel free to omit the quinoa. It’ll taste great either way!
This refreshing veggie is 96% water, making them super hydrating and a perfect food for warmer weather. Cucumbers are a great source of vitamins like vitamin K and C, as well as minerals like potassium, manganese, and magnesium.
In addition, cucumbers are a good source of fibre and antioxidants. To maximize the nutrition benefits of cucumbers, be sure to leave the peel on!
Avocado Nutrition Facts
Avocados not only taste amazing and add a satisfying creaminess to this recipe, they’re jam-packed with nutrition too. They’re an excellent source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids as well as dietary fibre. 1 cup of avocado provides 40% of your daily fibre needs!
Avocados are also a source of vitamins C, B6, E, K, and folate, as well as minerals like magnesium and potassium.