Tuna and egg rice meal prep: a recipe for four portions

A tuna and egg rice recipe for four lunch boxes: exact quantities, step-by-step method, an estimated 38 g of protein per portion and storage rules.

The same thing happens most weeks: there's nothing to take to work, so lunch turns into whatever the nearest bakery is selling. Rice with tinned tuna and boiled eggs fixes three or four of those lunches in one go — half an hour of cooking, three days in the fridge, around 38 g of protein a portion. Tuna and eggs carry the protein between them, so you don't need to spend on meat.

Prep time and portions

Prep 15 min, cooking 20 min, about 35 minutes in total. The recipe makes 4 portions of roughly 350 g each — four boxes.

Ingredients

300 g long-grain rice, uncooked (weighed dry)
3 tins of tuna in spring water, about 330 g drained
6 eggs (around 330 g shelled)
150 g frozen peas
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
100 g red onion, finely chopped
30 ml olive oil
30 ml lemon juice (about half a lemon)
10 g fresh parsley
salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. That washes off surface starch, which is why the grains stay separate in the box rather than setting into a block.
Cook the rice in 600 ml of salted water, covered, for 12–15 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Take it off the heat and leave it covered for another 5 minutes.
While the rice cooks, put the eggs in cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 8–9 minutes for a firm yolk. Move them into cold water for 5 minutes, then peel.
Drop the peas into boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water so they stay green and firm.
Drain the tuna properly. The less liquid you leave in, the better the dish holds for three days. Break it up with a fork into decent chunks rather than paste.
Spread the cooked rice over a wide tray or large plate and let it cool for 10 minutes. Mixing hot rice with everything else crushes the tomatoes and turns the lot into mush.
Combine the rice, tuna, peas, onion, tomatoes and parsley. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and fold it together gently.
Divide between four boxes. Halve the eggs and lay them on top of each portion just before you close the lid, so the yolks stay intact.

Nutrition per portion

These figures are an estimate per serving, calculated from the quantities listed above. The real number shifts with egg size and with how much oil stays in the tuna after draining.

Calories: around 600 kcal
Protein: 38 g
Carbohydrates: 69 g
Fat: 18 g

If 600 kcal is too much for one sitting, split the same pan into 5 boxes instead of 4. That gives roughly 480 kcal and 30 g of protein per portion, which sits more comfortably in a 1,800 kcal day.

Storage and safety

Cooked rice is where most people get meal prep wrong. Cool it within an hour and get it into the fridge — don't leave the pan on the hob overnight, because the spores that survive cooking multiply quickly at room temperature.

Keep it at 4 °C for up to 3 days. Reheat one portion at a time, once only, and heat it right through to the middle. It also eats well cold, like a rice salad, so you don't strictly need a microwave at work.

When to see a doctor

If vomiting and diarrhoea after a meal last longer than 48 hours, or you get a high fever, blood in your stools, or signs of dehydration (little urine, dizziness), see a doctor. Do that sooner if you're pregnant, or for young children and older adults.

Swaps and variations

Tuna in oil works instead of tuna in water — drain it well and skip the olive oil from the recipe, otherwise the portion climbs past 700 kcal. Tinned salmon does the same job with a bit more fat.

For fewer carbs, drop the rice to 200 g and add another 150 g of peas or some cooked chickpeas. For more protein without many extra calories, use four egg whites in place of two whole eggs.

Brown rice works too (25–30 minutes of cooking), as does bulgur or couscous. If you want something you can eat one-handed at a desk, the same combination goes into a tuna wrap for work. On days you're not in the mood for fish, pasta with chicken follows the same batch logic, and a vegetable and cheese omelette covers a fast post-training dinner.

The short version

One pan of rice, three tins of tuna and six eggs give you four meals at about 600 kcal and 38 g of protein, for a fraction of what four deliveries cost. Two details decide whether day three is still worth eating: drain the tuna, and cool the rice before mixing. With lunch handled, breakfast is the easy part — overnight oats with protein take two minutes the night before.