This Sicilian Tuna and Chickpea Salad is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 474 calories, 34.6g protein, and 39.2g carbs per serving. Ready in 15 minutes. High in fiber (11.2g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
This is the kind of salad Sicilians make in summer when it is too hot to cook. Tuna, chickpeas, tomatoes, olives and capers go into one bowl with lemon and good olive oil. That is it. It takes 15 minutes, packs well for work, and each serving has about 474 calories, 35g of protein and 11g of fibre.
Grocery list:
- Canned tuna in water (2 cans)
- Canned chickpeas
- Cherry tomatoes
- Celery
- Red onion
- Black olives
- Capers
- Flat-leaf parsley
- Arugula (rocket)
- Olive oil
- Lemon
- Dried oregano
Nutrition notes: figures are per serving, half the salad, worked from USDA FoodData Central values. Olives and capers are salty, so taste before you add any salt. Oregano and pepper are not counted.
Keeps: Keeps 2 days in the fridge. Keep the arugula separate and add it just before eating.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Put the sliced red onion in a large bowl with the lemon juice. Leave it for 5 minutes. This takes the sharp edge off the onion.Add the olive oil, oregano and plenty of black pepper to the bowl and whisk with a fork.Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, celery, olives, capers and parsley. Toss well.Flake in the tuna in big pieces and fold it through gently.Divide the arugula between two plates or boxes and pile the salad on top.
Why this works for PCOS
A sandwich at lunch is fast carbs with a bit of filling. This salad flips that around. Tuna gives most of the 35g of protein, and chickpeas bring slow carbs with fibre attached. That mix keeps you full and avoids the afternoon slump that can come with a bread-heavy lunch.
The ingredients doing the work
- Canned tuna: cheap, shelf-stable and very high in protein.
- Chickpeas: protein, fibre and slow-release carbs in one.
- Olives, capers and olive oil: the Sicilian flavours. They bring the salt and richness you might get from cheese.
- Arugula and celery: crunch and freshness for very few calories.
Pack it for work
Make the salad the night before and keep the arugula in a separate bag. The chickpeas soak up the dressing overnight and taste even better.
How this fits a PCOS week
PCOS Meal Planner builds a week of meals around the food you like, keeps out the foods you avoid, and gives you one shopping list.
Why this Sicilian Tuna and Chickpea Salad works for PCOS
With 34.6g of protein per serving (about 29% of calories), this Sicilian Tuna and Chickpea Salad sits at the top end of the 25-35g per-meal range that the 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends for managing insulin resistance and supporting lean mass. Higher-protein meals also blunt the glucose response when carbohydrates are included, which matters for women with PCOS because chronic insulin elevation drives androgen excess and irregular cycles.
The 39.2g of carbohydrates here come paired with 11.2g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 42% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Lunch is where most PCOS meal plans either succeed or collapse. A meal like this Sicilian Tuna and Chickpea Salad that combines adequate protein, fibre-rich carbs, and fat keeps blood sugar stable for the rest of the workday and reduces the late-afternoon energy crash that drives sugar cravings around 3-4pm.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Sicilian Tuna and Chickpea Salad recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 474 calories per serving with 34.6g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 11.2g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 15 minutes total. Prep time is 15 minutes. It makes 2 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 474 calories, 34.6g protein (29%), 39.2g carbs, 21.9g fat. Plus 11.2g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Lunch. At 474 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Lunch. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 2 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
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