I’ve been eating salads for lunch for the last two years—and they’ve helped me lose weight, stay full, and hit my protein goals. These 5 Indian-inspired vegetarian salads are perfect for meal prep, high in protein, and far from boring.
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1. Three-Bean Salad with Rajma Masala Flavors
Macros: ~350 cal | ~22g protein | ~35g carbs | ~4g fat
Ingredients: White, red kidney, and black beans (1 can each, rinsed), ¼ chopped onion, 1 tsp each cumin & coriander seeds, 1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chili paste, ½ tbsp tomato paste, ½ tsp each red chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander powder, salt, lemon juice, arugula, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, cilantro.
Instructions: Sauté whole spices, paste, and tomato. Add onions, cook till soft. Mix in spices and beans. Layer salad with arugula, fresh veggies, and masala beans. Garnish with cilantro.
2. Orange Salad with Achari Tofu Tikka
Macros: ~380 cal | ~28g protein | ~40g carbs | ~7g fat
Ingredients: 1 block tofu (cubed), 2 tbsp achari spice mix, ½ cup fat-free Greek yogurt, spinach, 1 orange, 1 tbsp chopped almonds, cranberry dressing (cranberries, jalapeño, maple syrup).
Instructions: Marinate tofu in yogurt + achari spices, roast. Assemble with spinach, orange, chopped veggies, almonds. Serve with cranberry dressing.
3. Falafel Salad with Za’atar Dressing
Macros: ~370 cal | ~20g protein | ~35g carbs | ~15g fat
Ingredients: Falafel – soaked chickpeas, parsley, green onion, red onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, baking soda, lemon juice, olive oil. Salad – spinach, cucumbers, radish, bell pepper, pickled cabbage. Dressing – olive oil, lemon juice, za’atar, sumac, pomegranate molasses.
Instructions: Blend falafel ingredients, form patties, bake at 375°F for 25 min. Serve 4 falafels over salad and drizzle with dressing.
4. Beetroot Chickpea Salad with Crispy Chicken
Macros: ~450 cal | ~40g protein | ~45g carbs | ~12g fat
Ingredients: Diced raw beetroot, cucumber, bell pepper, canned chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, za’atar, mixed greens, optional crispy chicken (Costco).
Instructions: Toss veggies and chickpeas with oil, lemon, and spices. Serve over greens with crispy chicken on top.
5. Indian-Style Chickpea Salad
Macros: ~400 cal | ~22g protein | ~38g carbs | ~10g fat
Ingredients: Cooked + canned chickpeas (1 cup each), chopped bell pepper, arugula, onion, jalapeño, green onion. Optional fresh dressing: lemon juice, cumin, chili flakes, olive oil.
Instructions: Mix chickpeas and chopped veggies in meal prep containers. Add dressing fresh before eating.
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I’ve been having salads for lunch almost every day for the last 2 years, and honestly, they’ve played a big role in helping me hit my fitness goals. In this video, I’m sharing five high protein vegetarian salads that are perfect for meal prep. Low in calories, high in fiber, and actually satisfying. First up, I have a three bean salad inspired by Rajma Masala. I used one can each of white beans, red beans, and black beans. First, I thoroughly rinsed the beans to remove any salty residue. After setting them aside to dry, I chopped a quarter of an onion. To prepare the masala, I sprayed the pan lightly with oil. Then added cumin and coriander seeds along with a tablespoon of my 3G paste, ginger, garlic, and green chili. I followed up with half a tablespoon of tomato paste, a splash of water to prevent burning, and the chopped onion. I seasoned everything with red chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Then I stirred in the beans to coat them in the spices. Since the beans are cooked already, they only needed about five or so minutes to absorb all the flavors. I added a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to finish them off. They tasted so flavorful and good, I could have just eaten this entire pan. While the beans cooled, I set up my salad containers. To keep the salads fresh and crisp, I placed a paper napkin at the bottom to absorb any extra moisture from the veggies. After that, I layered in baby arugula. Whenever available, I buy baby version of salad greens, baby arugula, baby spinach, baby spring mix. Because they are smaller in size, I don’t chop them. For the rest of the salad, I finally chopped a bell pepper, about quarter of an onion, and a large cucumber. After adding all the chopped veggies into the containers, I added the beans, about 1 cup into each container. Then I also chopped some cilantro and added that on top of the salads. The beans were so flavorful on their own that I didn’t feel a need to make a fancy dressing. I just added some lemon juice, salt and pepper at the time of eating the salad. My second favorite salad is inspired by mutter chart. It’s a street food found in Delhi where I grew up. It’s made with white peas topped with two types of chutney and some veggies. So, I made a salad version of it. The only thing I did the night before was soak about 300 g of dried white peas in water. By the time I was ready to meal prep the morning after, they had doubled in size. I drained the water and put the peas into an Instant Pot and seasoned them with red chili powder, turmeric, salt, and grated ginger. Then added just enough water to cover all the peas. I want the texture to be mushy, not watery, so I made sure to not add too much water. Then I covered the Instant Pot and set it on pressure cook for 20 minutes. While it was cooking, I started chopping a bunch of veggies including onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, cucumber, and tomatoes. I chopped all the veggies finely using a chopper. It got so full, I had to chop the tomatoes separately. By this time, the white peas were cooked. I mashed them slightly and then left them to cool down. Once they were cooled down, I layered the salads with arugula as the base, then the mashed white peas, about 1 cup in each box, and then added the veggies over them and topped them with some cilantro. For the dressing, I made a cilantro chutney by blending a small bunch of cilantro, some jalapeno, yogurt, dried mint, lemon juice, chart masala, salt, and pepper. In addition, I’m also planning to add a touch of tamarind chutney. It’s high in sugar, so I didn’t mix it with rest of the dressing. That way, I can decide each day if I want extra sugar or not. The salad tastes good both cold or heated up. I had it both ways throughout the week. Next up is orange salad with achari tofu tikka paired with cranberry chutney. My childhood favorite protein was actually paneer, not tofu. But to make things higher in protein and lower in fats, I used tofu instead. I wanted bold flavor, so I made achari tofu tikka. I have this homemade mix of achari spices. I will drop the recipe in the description. I roasted about two spoons of the spices lightly on the stove and then ground them coarsely in motor and pestl. If you like a finer texture of spices, you can grind them in electric grinder. But grinding them like this gives them a good texture as well. Then I made the marination using about half2 cup of Greek yogurt adding the roasted spices along with red chili powder, turmeric and some lemon juice. I mixed the marination thoroughly and then added the tofu pieces to it and carefully coated each tofu piece with the marination. I used my hands because whenever I try to mix tofu using spatula or tongs, I end up breaking the pieces. Once tofu pieces were fully marinated, I threaded them onto skewers, put them on a baking sheet, sprayed some oil, and put the tray in the oven right next to the shredded tofu. So, I took it out and left it to cool while I started preparing salads for lunch. I started by chopping spinach and added them to the salad containers lined with paper napkin to soak any extra moisture. Then, I chopped some peppers and cucumbers and added them in as well. To give a fun winter twist to my salads, I also added oranges cuz there’s no such thing as too much vitamin C in winters. For a crisp, I added some chopped almonds. I kept them in a silicon mold inside the salad container so that the moisture from the veggies doesn’t make them soggy. Speaking of winters, I only find fresh cranberries in grocery stores during peak winter season. So, I got a big bag of it. I prefer fresh cranberries over dried ones because of their tart flavor. that’s not overly sweet like dried ones. I made a dressing out of it by mixing a cup of berries with jalapeno, a touch of maple syrup, some salt and pepper. This dressing is a perfect balance of sweet, sour, spice, and everything nice. I stored the dressing and tofu separately from the salads. During the week, I will lightly toast almonds and heat up tofu tikka and mix it all together for a perfect comforting lunch. Next up, for lunch, I made this marinated beetroot chickpea salad that’s high in protein and perfect for meal prep. It’s sweet, tangy, crunchy, and super satisfying. I started by chopping a variety of veggies. I diced cucumber, bell pepper, and a beetroot into fine small pieces. I didn’t boil the beetroot since I like it with a crunch. I tossed all the veggies into a bowl along with a can of chickpeas and gave them a good mix. Now, since this is a marinated salad, I added the dressing directly rather than storing it separately. I tossed in some olive oil, followed by a squeeze of fresh lemon, then added a dash of sumak and zatar spice mix for a Mediterranean kick. It tastes good on its own, but to make this meal even more balanced and filling, I added a layer of fresh greens on the bottom while eating. Next up, I have one of my all-time favorites, baked falafel salad. The night before, I soaked two cups of chickpeas. By morning, they had doubled in size. I drained them and prepped the other ingredients. Chopped a bunch of parsley, about half a red onion, and a bunch of green onions, both the green and the white part of it, and a couple of garlic cloves. Ideally, you can just dump all of these ingredients into a food processor if you have a big one, but mine is very small, so I worked in batches and blended everything until it reached a coarse consistency. I transferred all the mixture to a bowl and add the remaining seasonings including cumin powder, red chili powder, salt and pepper, lemon juice, a touch of olive oil and a bit of chickpea flour just for binding and finally some baking soda. All the ingredients measurements are mentioned in the description below. After mixing everything, I shape the dough into round falafil. To keep things mess-free, I sprayed my hands with a little bit of oil before forming the falafil. It also helps to get rid of that garlic smell from hands. I laid them all out on a foil lined baking tray, sprayed them lightly with oil, and before popping them into the oven, I chilled the tray in the fridge for a few minutes. By now, the falafil were ready. I ate one fresh out of the oven. It was so good, but I burned my tongue from the heat. I let them cool down while I started assembling the salads. I added some of my go-to veggies, starting with a layer of chopped spinach, then red onions, cucumbers, radishes, bell peppers. I added the baked falafil on top and included some pickled cabbage as well, which I stored separately in a silicone mold to keep salads fresh. Finally, I garnished it with parsley. And then for the dressing, I whisked together 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp each of zur and sumak, and a teaspoon of pomegranate molasses. I add only a touch of dressing. So if you want more quantity, you can just double up the measurements. Another one of my favorite salads is black and white chickpea salad. I started by boiling one cup of soaked black chickpeas in an Instant Pot. Since it had soaked overnight, it took about 20 minutes only. This time chickpeas were cooked, so I took them out of the Instant Pot to let them cool down. I started chopping veggies for salads and added them directly into the meal prep containers. This is my favorite part of the whole meal prep process, peacefully chopping all veggies. I find it so therapeutic. I added bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno. You can also add cucumber and tomatoes over it. I added the chickpeas over the chopped veggies. I used both homemade black chickpeas and canned white chickpeas to add a variety and color to my salads. I topped them with green onions and the salads were ready as well. Prepare a dressing because my plan was to make a different fresh dressing each day to add another layer of variety. These salads have made meal prep so much easier, and honestly, sticking to my fitness goals has never felt this doable. If you found a favorite, let me know in the comments. And don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell button so you don’t miss more easy, high protein meal prep
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So happy that you are back again 🎉🎉 great recipes ❤