100 Easy Healthy School Lunch Ideas for Kids
Quick and Simple Lunchbox Ideas
Can we just talk about how hard it can be to come up with new lunchbox ideas every single day?
Whether you’re packing lunches for your kids to take to school, making something for your husband to bring to work, or trying to throw together something for yourself before heading out the door with the littles… it can feel like the ideas run out really quickly.
Because let’s be honest, nobody wants to hear, “A peanut butter and jelly sandwich again!?” after you feel like you’ve already made that same lunch approximately one million times.
But the tricky part is that we don’t just want new ideas. We want ideas that are actually realistic.
We need lunches that are:
- Easy to make
- Fast enough for busy mornings
- Healthy and nourishing
- Creative enough that everyone is excited to eat them
And honestly… that can feel like a pretty big ask. But it doesn’t have to be impossible.
With a good list of simple lunchbox ideas and a few tricks to make the process easier, packing lunches can become one less thing you have to stress about during your busy week.
Because even a lunch that seems simple can take way longer than it should if you’re digging through the fridge every morning, trying to find something that works.
A little preparation, a few go-to ideas, and having the right foods ready to grab can make a huge difference.
The goal isn’t to create a picture-perfect lunch every single day. It’s to have simple options that your family will actually eat, that help keep everyone fueled, and that don’t leave you feeling overwhelmed before the day has even started.
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How to make school lunches faster
There are lots of tricks and tips that I’ve found through the years that can make putting together school lunches so much easier, faster, and even more enjoyable!
- Get the kids involved in the shopping process. When kids have more of a say on what they eat (well on anything really) within a reasonable amount, they are more likely to eat it!
- Let the kids help pack lunches. You don’t always have to go it alone mama. Just like tip #1, if they help put that lunch together, it’s a lot more likely it gets eaten! That doesn’t mean give the kids free range of the meal. But you can give them options like, which fruit would you like? Or, which cracker do you want today?
- Get organized with your lunch prep! If you don’thave convenient and logic organization for lunch prep you’ll repeatedly go to the same place to get “one more thing.” After opening the fridge 7 different times to pack one set of lunches, I knew I needed something better.
How to Get Your Lunchbox Prep Really Organized… and Fast
By picking up a few affordable organization tools, your lunchbox prep time can be easily quartered! And gasp, you might actually begin enjoying lunch preparation!
Here are a few simple but life-changin tools that I use to organize my kitchen, pantry, and overall lunchbox making process.
1. Add color-coded bins to your pantry
When attempting to involve the kids in lunch packing (which realistically doesn’t happen every single day, but when it does it’s always nice) it is WAY easier to say, “Ok, now go pick a snack from the green bin.” than it is just pointing them toward the shelf.
By having colored bins set up for different types of snacks it’s very easy for kids, AND FOR YOU, to go grab a snack cracker or fruit from it’s designated bin. (We also use them in the fridge for a bit more organization.)
2. While we’re at it, color-code your lunch boxes.
There are a lot of really nice and affordable BPA free bento-style lunchboxes available on amazon. I like having color-coded lunchboxes for two reasons.
- It makes for a lot less confusion when you hit that rushed time of the morning and I can just holler out, “Jade grab the green box!”
- Once again, giving kids options makes them feel happy, involved, and important. So the days they are helping they get to pick their lid color.
3. Organize the rest of your pantry in clear plastic containers.
I like having my pantry crazy organized. We go through a lot of food in my house, and when I say a lot I’m sure if you saw the amount of food the 4 of us alone purchase and consume every month you’d be astounded!
With all that food quickly coming in and out everything needs to have a place or it gets lost in the shuffle. Behind my color-coded bins of snacks that the kids can pick, there are clear plastic bins that hold the staples in an easy to see and access place.
Having an organized pantry makes the whole cooking and preparation process exponentially easier.
Now that you have a more organized pantry, fridge, and an idea of how to put these lunches together more quickly, let’s dive into the fast and easy school lunch ideas!
But quickly before we jump into the new ideas, I have LOTS of lunchbox roundups from previous school years. Between these 4 posts you will never need to hunt for school lunch ideas again.
- Healthy Bentobox Style School Lunch Ideas
- The Best School Lunch Ideas for Even Picky Eaters
- The Ultimate School Lunch Roundup
Quick and Easy Lunchbox Ideas for 2019
1. Gluten-free Allergy-free Uncrustables
Gluten free Uncrustables from Strength and Sunshine
This recipe is perfect, easy, healthy, and can be made in batches! It calls for sunflower butter, my absolute favorite! Plus here’s the big peanut butter and jelly secret and makes this the fastest and easiest recipe of all: you can make these in batches and freeze them in ziplock baggies for up to 6 weeks! Talk about a time-saver!
2. Paleo Corn Dog Muffins
Corn Dog Muffins from Mom Eats Paleo
Awesome, easy batch cooking recipe! That’s what this post is all about, fast, easy, fun, delicious, kid approved school lunch ideas! This recipes hits a home run with the kids. This Paleo recipe will have any child delighted when they open up their lunchbox!
3. Vegetarian Taco Wraps
Vegetarian Taco Wraps from Living Lou
Wraps are perfect for fast and easy school lunches. They mix up the sandwich monotony and virtually everyone likes wraps. It’s one lunch recipe that I know every member of the family will eat (husband and kids included!). These wraps take only minutes to put together and are perfect for a light, filling, and satisfying meal.
4. Italian Pinwheel Wrap
Italian Pinwheel from Vigor it Out
So now we’ve established that wraps are a perfect fast and easy lunchbox staple. This post features our family favorite, Italian Pinwheels! Not to mention 6 other creative wrap recipes for those busy mornings so that you are sure to be able to please every palate.
5. Zucchini Tots
Zucchini Tots from Brooklyn Farm Girl
These are are beautiful nad sneaky way to get your kids to love their vegetables! These tots are made with zucchini and are meat-free but SO delicious! Dip in red sauce, ranch, or just eat them plain! Even picky toddlers and turn their nose up at this easy lunch idea.
6. Pepperoni Rolls
Pepperoni Rolls by Dancing in the Rain
This recipe is far to easy and creative to not have in your school lunchbox arsenal! They’re like tiny little pizza sandwiches that are easy to make and irresistable. This is a really fun one to get the kids involoved in putting together before you give them a quick fry.
7. Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders from Recipes from a Pantry
This recipe makes me want an air fryer so bad! I see something going on my Christmas list now, I have a bit of a kitchen appliance addiction, but I digress.
These tasty chicken tenders are totally healthy, take about 15 minutes, and are definately kid approved! Any type of chicken nugget is really, but when you make them healthy in an air fryer with a kick of parnesean?! To die for!
8. Low-carb Egg Muffins
Paleo Breakfast Muffins from Wholesome Yum
Eggs are not nearly only for breakfast, at least in my book! Eggs are a staple food item rich in choline and one of the few non-fish foods naturally with omega-3’s! This recipe is easy to make in large batches, delicious beyond compare, and super nutritious!
9. Turkey Club Wraps
Turkey Club Wraps from Kylee Cooks
An easy delicious classic with a twist. Wraps are easier to handle than sandwiches for little hands so the perfect pick for your school lunch ideas! This easy wrap is like a blt a turkey sandwich had a baby. Yum!
10. 2 weeks of Gluten-free School Lunch Recipes
From: Gluten Free School Lunch Recipes from Cool Mom Picks
Stacie from Cool Mom Picks has put together two weeks of delicious looking school lunch ideas for you to try now! They are simple, creative, and completely healthy. I will definitely be making some of these for the kiddos and myself! Even if you love gluten you should give these all a try.
11. Ham and Mac n’ Cheese Lunchbox Muffins
From: Ham and Mac n’ Cheese Lunch Box Muffins from I Should be Mopping the Floor
What kid doesn’t love mac n’ cheese? I LOVE Kristi’s idea of making single serve mac n’ cheese bites in a muffin tin. They are super easy and fun plus totally unique and adorable.
RELATED: Better School Lunch Ideas Extensive 2018 Edition
12. 6 Epic Lunchbox Wrap Recipes
From: Lunch Box Wrap Recipes from Vigor it Out
This is an absolutely phenomenal resource of delicious ways to mix up your lunchbox. Wraps are even more versatile than sandwiches and this creative list of recipes will please kids and adults alike.
13. School Lunch Ideas For A Month
From: School Lunch Ideas for a Month from Mom Endeavors
A full MONTH of lunch box ideas? Yes please! Sara, has outdone herself with ideas that are completely cute and REALLY keep it fun even for the entire month! I LOVE the Frozen themed lunch. Who doesn’t want to pop open that bento box
to see Olaf’s ridiculously captivating face staring at them?
14. 2 Weeks of Healthy School Lunch Ideas
From: 2 Weeks of Healthy School Lunch Ideas from Kristine’s Kitchen
Kristine as great healthy ideas all over her blog and I’m so glad she created 2 weeks of lunch box ideas for me to include in this roundup. They involve a lot of ingredients and take a little work to fill the whole box this way but I stand firm by eating a rainbow to include all the vitamins and nutrients in healthy natural foods and she definitely must live by that mantra as well.
15. Fresh Simple Unique Kid-Friedly Lunch Ideas
From: Quick and Easy Kid Approved School Lunches from Vigor it Out
These are fresh new ideas for 2019. This roundup is focused on fast, fresh, and unique ideas blending kid-friendly flavors. You are sure to find a new family favorite in this brand new post!
16. Back To School Lunch Ideas
From: Back to School Lunch Ideas from Belly Full
You can find 3 totally creative school lunch ideas here! PLUS the post has photos of her great ideas from the two previous years as well! My favorite is the sandwich kabobs which will definitely be happening this year in my home! It’s a ridiculously cute way to put together a sandwich especially for those kids (like mine) who will take it apart and eat each item separately anyways.
