10 School Lunch Ideas Your Kids Will Actually Want to Eat
Reading Time: 7 minutes 10 School Lunch Ideas Kids Will Love
Does your child prefer a packed lunch over whatever is being served in the cafeteria?
Both of my boys did.
And while I loved knowing they were eating something from home, there was one small problem:
I had to figure out what to put in those lunch bags.
Every. Single. School. Day.
Coming up with easy, original, packed lunch ideas kids will actually eat gets harder somewhere around week three.
And then you have approximately 33 more weeks to go.
So, rather than staring into the refrigerator at 7:00 a.m. hoping inspiration magically appears between the cheese sticks and last night’s leftovers, here are some of our favorite school lunch ideas—plus a few I know my boys would have loved if I had thought of them back then.
And none of these require you to turn a sandwich into a beautiful flower or really anything photo worthy!
10 Packed Lunch Ideas Kids Will Love
1. The “31 Flavors” Sandwich
I know. A sandwich isn’t exactly revolutionary.
But at the beginning of each school year, we made sandwich shopping an event.
Our local grocery store carried Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, and there were so many choices that we nicknamed the deli counter “31 Flavors” after Baskin-Robbins.
The boys could taste different meats and cheeses and create their own sandwich combination for the year.
Then we’d choose a bread they liked to go with it.
Suddenly, it wasn’t just a sandwich. It was their sandwich.
You could do the same thing with wraps, bagels, croissants, rolls, or whatever your child actually likes.
Give them several choices and let them create their own “signature sandwich.”
2. The Garden Sandwich
Yes, this one is a favorite of mine, especially on a bagel-but in case you have that child that likes the garden “fresh”.
Spread cream cheese on the bagel, sprinkle it with a little dry Italian salad dressing mix, and then pile on cucumber slices, grated carrots, tomato, and sprouts.
Of course, “garden” can mean whatever your child will eat.
Bell peppers, spinach, avocado, or shredded lettuce can all work.
And if your child considers lettuce suspicious and sprouts downright offensive? (Like my boys) Treat yourself to this one!
3. Tortilla Pinwheels
There is something about slicing a tortilla into little wheels that makes an ordinary lunch more fun.
Start with a tortilla, add a spread and your child’s favorite fillings, roll it tightly, and slice.
Try combinations like:
- Turkey and cheese
- Ham and cream cheese
- Chicken Caesar
- BLT
- Peanut butter and banana
- Cream cheese and strawberry
Basically, if you can put it on a sandwich, you can probably roll it into a tortilla.
4. Pizza…in All Its Wonderful Forms
I do not love pizza-I think that makes me “odd man out.”
However, what child doesn’t love pizza in some form?
And this is one of those packed lunch ideas that can be as easy or as ambitious as you want it to be.
The easiest version? Put leftover pizza in the lunchbox.
Done.
Or try mini pizzas, pizza roll-ups, pizza croissants, pizza quesadillas, or a make-your-own pizza lunch with small naan or pita bread, sauce, cheese, and toppings.
Your child gets pizza. You get lunch packed. Everyone wins.
5. Chilled Noodles
If your child likes pasta, don’t forget that it doesn’t have to be hot.
Sometimes we get “stuck” in the way it “should be.”
Chilled sesame noodles can make a great lunch and can range from slightly sweet to savory depending on the recipe.
You can add chicken, edamame, shredded carrots, cucumber, or whatever your child likes.
And you certainly don’t have to stop at sesame noodles.
Leftover pasta can become tomorrow’s lunch with very little effort—which is my favorite kind of lunch transformation.
6. The No-Fancy-Equipment-Required Bento Box
We are walking a very fine line between pinterest worthy lunches and the “regular” busy mom with this one!
Bento boxes are basically little portions of several different foods—which makes them perfect for children who would rather graze than eat one big “main” item.
Pick a protein, fruit, vegetable, something crunchy, and perhaps a dip or little treat.
For example:
Cheese cubes + crackers + strawberries + cucumber + a small cookie.
That’s a bento lunch.
Yes, you can get out the cookie cutters and turn sandwiches into stars, hearts, dinosaurs, and woodland creatures.
Some moms are still wearing their Superwoman capes.
I wasn’t going for the cape. I was going for lunch packed before school started.
7. Build-a-Bowl Lunch
Bowls have become popular for good reason: almost anything can go in them.
Start with a base such as rice, quinoa, noodles, or lettuce.
Add a protein, a couple of toppings, and a sauce your child likes.
Think:
Rice + chicken + corn + black beans + cheese + salsa.
Or:
Rice + teriyaki chicken + cucumber + carrots.
For my youngest-if there was sauce-it had to be ranch, the oldest was willing to be a little more adventurous.
In case you are wondering, yes, they do outgrow this-both are foodies now!
The trick isn’t creating the perfect bowl.
It’s filling it with foods your child enjoys.
8. Taco Salad—or Any “Deconstructed” Favorite
True confession: my boys would not have happily opened their lunchboxes to discover a beautiful green salad.
Unless it was Caesar. Then we could talk.
But taco salad-well-that actually, might have worked.
And that brings up a better idea than simply telling kids to eat salads: deconstruct something they already love.
Pack taco meat or chicken with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, tortilla chips, and salsa or dressing separately.
You can do the same with a Caesar salad, Greek-inspired lunch, or even a cheeseburger bowl.
No Mason jar required—especially if you aren’t interested in wondering whether that glass jar will ever make it home alive.
9. Chicken Salad & Crackers
Chicken salad is filling, easy to make ahead, and doesn’t have to become a sandwich.
Pack it with crackers, pita wedges, cucumber slices, or mini naan and let your child scoop and dip.
I’ve shared my chicken salad in Quick and Easy Meals Your Kids Can Cook, and it works especially well here because older kids can help make it themselves.
Bonus: it also slides beautifully into that no-cape-required bento box.
10. Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is another lunch that can be made ahead and changed depending on what your family likes.
My boys still love tuna pasta salad, but you could also try pesto pasta, chicken Caesar pasta, Italian pasta salad, BLT pasta salad, or a simple combination of pasta, cheese cubes, vegetables, and dressing.
Make a batch for dinner and you’ve already started tomorrow’s lunches.
I call that planning ahead—even if you didn’t actually plan it.
Don’t Forget the Sides!
Once you have the “main attraction,” you only need a couple of easy sides to turn it into lunch.
And please don’t feel like you need six different compartments filled with six different foods.
We’re feeding children, not creating lunchbox art for Instagram.
Fresh Fruit
Make it easy to eat, especially for younger kids who are probably thinking less about lunch and more about how quickly they can get outside.
Try:
- Apple or pear slices
- Grapes
- Strawberries or blueberries
- Melon
- Pineapple
- Clementines
- Kiwi
- Peaches, plums, or cherries
And somehow, putting the exact same fruit on a little skewer can make it infinitely more exciting.
Kids are funny that way.
Dried or Packaged Fruit
Dried fruit is handy because it travels well and gives kids different flavors and textures.
Apple chips, dried mango, apricots, banana chips, raisins, dried coconut, applesauce, mandarin oranges, peaches, pears, and pineapple cups can all make easy lunchbox additions.
Veggies + Something to Dip Them In
If plain vegetables aren’t exactly greeted with cheers, add a dip.
Try cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, celery, snap peas, or jicama with ranch, hummus, cream cheese, guacamole, or another favorite dip.
Cucumber “sticks” were actually my boys’ favorite.
Celery? I personally know of no child who willingly eats celery without peanut butter, but perhaps yours will surprise me.
Make-Your-Own Trail Mix
This is an easy one to customize.
Let your child choose a few favorites from nuts or seeds (if allowed at your school), dried fruit, pretzels, cereal, popcorn, coconut, chocolate chips, yogurt chips, or another small treat.
The beauty of DIY trail mix is that you already know they’ll like what’s in it—because they picked it.
There are lots of different kinds of treats.
One is tasty, the other is the kind that says “I love and believe in you!”
Here are 36 Heart Shaped Affirmations to tell your child how wonderful they are!
And Yes, Put in a Treat
When I was a kid, my friends would pull Hostess fruit pies, Twinkies, and my personal favorite—Ding Dongs—out of their lunchboxes.
I was not so fortunate.
I had a mom who believed in healthy food.
I did not feel like a lucky duck.
Now, of course, I understand what she was doing.
But I still think there is something wonderful about opening a lunchbox and finding a little treat.
It doesn’t have to be huge.
Try a muffin, pudding, yogurt parfait, fruit leather, homemade energy bite, small cookie, or another treat you and your child can both live with.
And every once in a while?
Maybe even a Ding Dong.
Make Packed Lunches Easier on Yourself
The goal isn’t to create a different Pinterest-worthy lunch every day of the school year.
Find five or six school lunch ideas your child loves and rotate them.
Let your kids help choose their favorites.
Give them a few options for fruits and sides.
Older kids can even take over part—or all—of the packing themselves.
Because the school year already comes with enough: new teachers, homework, carpools, sports, activities, permission slips, missing shoes, and mornings when someone remembers at 7:42 that they need poster board.
Lunch does not need to be one more complicated thing.
A few favorite foods, something fresh, something fun, and perhaps a little surprise tucked inside can be more than enough.
“One bite and all your dreams will come true.”
— Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs