High Calorie Lunch Ideas for Weight Gain
Are you looking for some high calorie lunch ideas for weight gain? We’ve got you covered!
This article provides some ideas for high calorie lunches and provides 9 delicious recipes.
High Calorie Foods for Weight Gain
Gaining weight can be hard. To gain weight you need more calories. High calorie foods provide the most calories per volume of food.
Examples of high calorie foods include:
- Avocado
- Butter and oils
- Whole fat dairy
- Salmon
- Nut butters
- Whole eggs
- Nuts and seeds
- Etc.
You can find lots and lots of articles in our high calorie archive.
High Calorie Meals
Adding high calorie foods at each meal is a good way to bump your daily calories to promote weight gain.
We’ve created a free weight gaining meal plan with some high calorie meal ideas. This can be a great resource to help get you started with high calorie meals!
Let’s dive more into high calorie lunch ideas.
High Calorie Lunch Ideas
What makes a high calorie lunch?
In reality, you can eat any food for lunch. But typically, we like to eat lunches that are easy to prepare and clean up. We tend to save the complicated meals for dinnertime!
Some high calorie lunch ideas include:
- Soups
- Sandwiches
- Wraps
- Salads
- Quesadillas
- Pastas
- Smoothies
- Etc.
High Calorie Soups
We have an entire article dedicated to high calorie soups. And we have 3 high calorie soups listed in our high calorie lunch recipes below.
The best ways to boost calories in soup is to add heart healthy fats like olive oil or make cream-based soups using whole milk or cream.
High Calorie Sandwiches and Wraps
Sandwiches and wraps are a pretty classic lunch idea. To make your sandwiches and wraps higher in calories, add high calorie spreads (like mayo), avocado, and cheese.
You can grill your sandwiches in butter to add extra calories and flavor.
High Calorie Salads
While salads are often promoted as a low-calorie food, it is easy to convert to a high calorie meal. It’s all about what you put on your salad.
High calorie foods to add to salads:
- Olive oil
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Croutons
- Cheese
- Legumes
- Dried fruit
- Tuna
- Avocado
- Etc.
You can pile on any combination of high calorie foods to build a high calorie salad.
High Calorie Pastas
Pastas can easily be made high calorie by adding butter, olive oil, cheese, etc.
A macaroni and cheese and garlic butter pasta recipe are provided below in our high calorie recipes section.
High Calorie Smoothies
High calorie smoothies are one of my favorite high calorie options.
Sometimes we don’t feel like eating food or a full meal. But sipping on a high calorie smoothie can be an easier way to sneak in some calories.
I have a pretty detailed article on High Calorie Smoothies with recipes and ideas for premade smoothies here.
9 High Calorie Lunch Recipes
Here are 9 delicious high calorie lunch recipes from our sister website, High Calorie Recipes. Be sure to bookmark this website because we are always adding new recipes to help you gain weight!
1. Shrimp Avocado Wrap
Wraps are a great lunch time option. Our shrimp avocado wrap provides 444 calories.
This recipe includes shrimp, avocado, cheese, greens, and lime for an extra kick of flavor.
The article provides variations if shrimp isn’t your thing.
You can pair this wrap with a high calorie drink for even more calories.
2. Italian Sausage and Summer Vegetable Soup with Orzo
Nothing says lunch like tasty soup recipe!
One serving of this recipe provides 419 calories.
This recipe includes sausage, olive oil, lots of veggies, and some heavy cream for an extra punch of calories.
You can pair your soup with a sandwich made with a hearty bread, some mayo or high calorie spread, avocado, and cheese for a good high calorie lunch.
You can find more high calorie soup recipes here.
3. Summer Vegetable Frittata
A frittata doesn’t just have to be for breakfast! It can make a great brunch or lunch.
This frittata provides over 1,000 calories.
Eating half of the frittata (about the size of a 3-egg omelet) will provide 500 calories.
The calories in this dish are coming from the olive oil, eggs, whole milk, and cheese.
Eat with a large glass of orange juice or whole milk for even more calories.
4. High Protein High Calorie Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese is a classic comfort food and makes a delicious high calorie lunch!
A one cup serving of our mac and cheese provides 403 calories.
The calories in this dish are coming from the whole milk, butter, and cheese.
There is a little extra nutrition thrown in with the broccoli. But you can leave out the broccoli if it’s not your thing.
Have a large glass of whole milk to add more calories to your lunch.
5. High Protein High Calorie Lentil Soup
Here’s another delicious soup recipe for a high calorie lunch!
A serving of this soup provides 600 calories.
In addition to being high in calories and protein, this soup is high in fiber! You can find more high fiber foods here.
The calories in this soup come from olive oil, avocado, quinoa, and lentils.
Pair this soup with a grilled cheese sandwich (grilled in butter!) for even more calories.
6. Chicken Avocado Quesadilla
Quesadillas are an easy high calorie lunch idea. Our chicken avocado quesadilla recipe provides 444 calories.
The calories in this recipe are primarily coming from the cheese and avocado.
To add more calories, you can cook in butter, add extra cheese, or cream cheese.
7. Garlic Butter Pasta
Pasta is another easy lunch time idea. Adding in some butter makes a good high calorie lunch.
A serving of this dish is 281 calories.
If you are looking for some added nutrition, add veggies and chicken to your garlic butter pasta.
Pair this pasta dish with a salad topped with an olive oil-based dressing, avocado, nuts or seeds, and cheese for an extra boost of calories.
8. Beef and Farro High Protein High Calorie Soup
We have one last high calorie soup recipe!
This soup is high in protein and has some fun grains (farro).
One serving of this soup provides 443 calories.
The calories from this soup are primarily coming from the olive oil, beef, cheese, and farro.
Pair this soup with a high calorie sandwich or salad.
9. Spinach Peanut Butter Smoothie
Smoothies are great any time of the day. But they make a great on-the-go lunch too!
This spinach peanut butter smoothie provides 495 calories.
The spinach and peanut butter add a boost of good nutrition.
The calories are coming from the peanut butter, whole milk, and banana.
If you are allergic to peanuts, you can use any other type of nut butter or seed butter that you can tolerate.
Conclusion: High Calorie Lunch Ideas
I hope these high calorie lunch ideas and recipes are helpful to you as you go on your weight gain journey.
Gaining weight can be hard, but you can do this. High calorie foods can be tasty and enjoyable.
Don’t forget to grab your free weight gaining meal plan here.
Best of luck!