100 New Lunch Ideas for Kids (and Parents)
Dumplings. Ham and cheese quesadillas. An apple variety that doesn’t brown when sliced. And 97 more homemade and store-bought healthy lunch ideas perfect for the school year ahead.
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The formula for a balanced lunch is foolproof: Choose one main, a fruit and/or veg, and a side or dessert. What's not so foolproof? Keeping things interesting every day of the week.
Enter our biggest list of school lunch ideas ever. Keep it handy, and enjoy instant inspiration every time you pack a meal for your kids—or yourself!
Main Dish Lunch Ideas
Build your child’s lunch box around an easy, appealing dish that’s packed with protein or fiber. Both keep kids full.
1. Premade dumplings + soy sauce
2. Ham + pineapple mini skewers
3. Soba noodles + chopped veggies + sesame dressing
4. Hummus + sliced cucumber on whole-wheat bread
5. Sliced and cooked kielbasa or veggie sausage + mustard
6. Deli turkey + pesto + Swiss cheese on whole-wheat bread
7. Store-bought smoked tofu sticks
8. Salami + pickles + mayo on a mini bagel
9. Cream cheese + sliced cucumber + sesame seeds on a rice cake
10. Black beans + shredded cheese + salsa in tortilla-chip cups
11. Chicken soup with tortellini
12. Baby bell peppers stuffed with tuna, egg, or chicken salad
13. Veggie burger cut into wedges + green-goddess dressing
14. Stuffed grape leaves
15. Whole-grain waffles + orange slices + maple syrup
16. Turkey meatballs + tzatziki
Store-Bought Main Dishes
18. Banza Chickpea Rice (serve with peas and Parm!)
19. Kween Granola Butter (nut-free!) on whole-wheat bread
20. 2 Peckish Boiled Eggs & “Everything” bagel spices
21. Chicken of the Sea Infusions (serve tuna with cooked pasta and chopped fresh veggies)
Leftover Pasta Main Dishes
22. Spaghetti + pesto + pine nuts
23. Penne + diced cheddar + salami + bell peppers + a splash of olive oil and red-wine vinegar
24. Rice noodles + shredded carrots + cooked corn or peas + sesame oil
25. Elbow macaroni + goat cheese + lemon zest + chopped sugar snap peas
26. Orzo + cucumber + cherry tomatoes + feta + a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Kid-Friendly Main Dish Recipes
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Veggie Sides for Lunch
Even self-declared veggie haters sometimes eat them at school. Take advantage with these craveable ideas.
31. Sweet-potato fries
32. Roasted chickpeas
33. Raw orange and/or purple cauliflower florets
34. Snow peas
35. Halved radishes with butter + salt
36. Iceberg squares + buttermilk dressing
37. Kale chips
38. Good Foods Plant Based Dips (Try the avocado pesto flavor!)
39. Edamame + soy sauce + sesame seeds
40. Baby bell peppers
41. Blanched asparagus + ranch dressing
42. Pickles
43. Cherry or grape tomatoes
45. Roasted broccoli florets + grated Parmesan cheese
46. Rainbow carrots cut into coins
48. Store-bought tabbouleh
49. Jicama sticks with lime juice
50. Sugar snap peas + celery
Fab Fruit Options for Lunch
For most kids, fruit rules! And in our opinion, a lunch box without it is barely a meal. Nothing beats the yumminess factor and the fiber, vitamins, and minerals that produce brings to the party.
51. Pineapple dusted with cinnamon
52. Dried apricots
53. Rainier cherries
54. Cotton Candy grapes
55. Mango sprinkled with unsweetened toasted coconut
56. Bare Fruit Chips
58. Cara Cara oranges
59. Sliced Asian pear rubbed in lemon juice
60. Arctic apples (nonbrowning!)
61. Mixed fresh berries
62. Freeze-dried strawberries
63. Baby bananas
64. Melon balls
65. Fresh or dried figs
66. Sliced plumcots (a cross between a plum and an apricot)
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Healthy Desserts for Lunch
Healthy ingredients should make up the bulk of every lunch, but including a small treat is a surefire way to bring on a smile. These sweets are all the right size, and none have too much added sugar.
69. Yogurt pretzels
70. Fortune cookies
74. Fig cookies
78. Crispy rice treats
79. Dark chocolate–covered raisins
80. Zucchini or banana bread
81. Cinnamon graham crackers
Fruity Desserts
82. Strawberries + chocolate hazelnut spread
83. Pear wedges + chopped walnuts + a drizzle of honey
84. Apple wedges + almond butter + crushed graham crackers
85. Blueberries + lemon curd
86. Half a banana + mini chocolate chips
87. Plain Greek yogurt + pomegranate seeds
88. Plain Greek yogurt + dark-chocolate chips + dried cranberries
89. Plain Greek yogurt + sliced banana + a swirl of fig preserves
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Lunch Snack Ideas
Round out a midday meal with a satisfying snack.
90. Popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast (for a cheesy flavor)
91. Lightly salted pepitas
92. Pitted olives
93. Seaweed snacks
94. Bean-based tortilla chips
95. Plantain chips
Fun New Store-Bought Snacks
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