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Healthy school lunches can seem like another overwhelming and impossible task to conquer in the morning. It can seem impossible sometimes to make something nutritious and something the kids will ACTUALLY eat. I’ve compiled a list of 25+ healthy school lunch ideas (entrée and sides) that add variety as much as they do nutrients for you and your children. You’ll also find tips on how to keep lunch time costs low and some best practices when it comes to prepping and packing your kids lunches! You can turn this seemingly impossible task into something fun that both you and your children look forward too!
I’ve created a free school lunch planner and a cute template to write lunch notes on just for you!
Why Unique School Lunch Ideas Matter for Kids
There is nothing wrong with packing an Uncrustable for the 5th time in a week but there are benefits for our kiddos to switch it up in their school lunch. When we provide our kids with well-balanced meals they are able to fuel their bodies and their brains for the day ahead. There are tons of studies that show there is a large connection between academic performance and nutrition.
“We know that a hungry child cannot learn, a hungry child cannot grow and a hungry child cannot reach their full potential,” says World Food Program USA CEO Baron Segar.
You’re kids could experience a world of difference this year when the processed foods are replaced with whole foods made right in your kitchen.
Here is a table for the top 3 most important nutrients for ages 5-15 with an example of a food you can provide your children to meet their needs. These are great guidelines when looking for school lunch ideas!
Top 3 Most Important Nutrients by Age (5-15 years)
| Age Group | 1st Priority | 2nd Priority | 3rd Priority |
| 5-8 years | Calcium – Critical for bone development and tooth formation Example: 1 cup milk, 1 slice cheese | Iron – Supports growth, brain development, and prevents anemia Example: 3 oz lean beef, 1 cup fortified cereal | Protein – Essential for muscle growth and overall development Example: 1 egg, 2 tbsp peanut butter |
| 9-12 years | Calcium – Peak bone-building years, prevents future osteoporosis Example: 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup broccoli | Vitamin D – Works with calcium for bone health and immune function Example: 3 oz salmon, 1 cup fortified milk | Iron – Increased needs due to growth spurts and approaching puberty Example: 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup beans |
| 13-15 years | Iron – Critical for adolescent growth, especially for menstruating girls Example: 3 oz chicken, 1 cup iron-fortified cereal | Calcium – Final opportunity for peak bone mass development Example: 1 cup milk, 1.5 oz cheddar cheese | Protein – High needs for rapid growth and muscle development Example: 4 oz chicken, 1/2 cup quinoa |
This list has 25+ ideas so you can find something that even your pickiest eater will be willing to try! Finding things our kids like will reduce lunch waste and bonus if those options are healthy. We can involve them in the planning process and minimize food refusal as well, which is a big win or mamma and kiddo!
Another reason creative school lunch ideas matter for kids is that it creates an opportunity for our kids to look forward to lunch time and helps them build healthy eating habits early on. Both of these things help our children build healthy relationships towards food which help avoid different eating disorders in adulthood.
Essential Guidelines for Packing Healthy School Lunch Ideas
When packing a school lunch is it important that we are keeping the food well so that our kids don’t get sick! Temperature control is the most important aspect of food safety! Cold food needs to stay cold and hot food needs to stay hot. A lot of this has to do with the containers that we store the food in. When using lunch boxes make sure an ice pack is provided to keep cold food cold or a thermos or heat-capturing container that will keep hot food hot. Food should not be at “room temperature” for more than 2 hours. I’ve linked some of my favorite ice packs and thermoses to keep your kiddos food safe!
Along with food safety, providing our kids with balanced meals is crucial to their growth, development and ultimately their success! Let’s talk what a balanced meal looks like. There are tons of ideas or opinions of what “healthy food” is but it can be simple. A balanced meal has: protein, carbs and fats. It also includes whole fruits and vegetables that provide us with essential vitamins and minerals. Processed foods do have protein, carbs and fats INCLUDING a list of 50 more ingredients and they lack a lot of those vitamins and minerals.
I am a big proponent of giving my kids the best but snacks, treats, and convenience are all important too! Especially as a busy parent! Giving your kids autonomy and freedom within reasonable bounds is super important to their relationship with food. They need to know fruit snacks are okay and normal as much as vegetables are. Balance is important is what we eat, say and think about food!
We want to make sure we are giving our kids enough to be full but not too much to avoid a lot of waste! Each child is different but here are some age- appropriate guidelines you can reference.
Ages 5-8:
- Grains: 4-5 servings (1 slice bread, ½ cup rice/pasta, ½ cup cereal)
- Vegetables: 1½-2 cups daily (child’s fist size per serving)
- Fruits: 1-1½ cups daily (small apple, ½ banana, ¼ cup dried fruit)
- Protein: 3-4 ounces daily (palm-sized portion of meat/fish, 1 egg, 2 tbsp peanut butter)
- Dairy: 2-2½ cups daily (1 cup milk, 1 slice cheese, ¾ cup yogurt)
Ages 9-12:
- Grains: 5-6 servings (portions slightly larger than younger children)
- Vegetables: 2-2½ cups daily
- Fruits: 1½-2 cups daily
- Protein: 4-5 ounces daily
- Dairy: 2½-3 cups daily
Here are some products that I love in my kitchen that make making lunches faster and easier.
- Cutting board, the best sizes for all things lunch (https://amzn.to/4mrFSo6)
- Sandwich crust cutter for homemade “uncrustables” (https://amzn.to/3J0dwmo)
- Rubbermaid Tupperware (https://amzn.to/4fn0pba)
- Swedish Dishcloths, perfect for wiping down counters (https://amzn.to/4fn0pba)
- Ziplock bags (https://amzn.to/47l3ztM)
- Apple Slicer (https://amzn.to/3J12NYX)
- Measuring Cups (https://amzn.to/4fI6X4t)
- Sandwich shape cutters (https://amzn.to/4fsZOom )
Smart Tips for Making School Lunch Ideas Fun and Healthy
Get Your Kids Involved
Kids love to feel like they are apart of something and that includes the creation of their meals! Helping them pack or make their lunches can be small bonding moments that set the tone for the day and make room for some meaningful conversation. Your children may also want to choose out their lunch containers from the options you give them or choose what “shape” their sandwich is cut into that day.
This also opens the door to teaching them about food and expanding their palate day by day. You can talk about why each food they’ll be eating today is good for their body and why it is important to fuel our bodies well. You could give them the opportunity to choose a food from each food group! These things can be done the night before or in the morning, whatever works best for your family.
Keep It Budget-Friendly
Packing lunches can get expensive, especially when you do it everyday all school year. One easy way to cut down on cost is to prep in batches. If you bought grapes or celery for the week, cut and wash the celery for the whole week once, it saves you time and is much cheaper than buying precut celery.
When making meals try doing meals with similar ingredients for the week to reduce buying a ton of different ingredients. For example, different wrap variations throughout the week reduce ingredients and make it easier to prep all the lunches on the weekend if you wanted. Shopping in bulk, of course, can reduce costs as well. If you’re adding fruit leather to each lunch, buying them at a wholesale club is way cheaper than buying them at Walmart.
You can also get creative with leftovers from dinner. You can send those for lunch or utilize components to make their lunches easier and more cost-effective. (Click here for 10 Easy Dinner Ideas, great for weeknights!) There might be some things that you always keep in your pantry that you could get creative with to make a meal with. Some leftovers or pantry staples that could prove helpful would be:
- beans
- rice
- canned vegetables
- potatoes
- nut butters
- cereal
- tuna
- bread
- tortillas
- pasta
If you’re on a budget, planning your kiddos’ meals around weekly sales can also be very beneficial. You don’t even have to go to the store to see what the sales are, make use of store apps or online ads to plan lunches before you shop!
25 Kids School Lunch Ideas (With Allergy-Friendly Options)
All of these back to school lunch ideas are easy to prep, fun to eat, and packed with nutrition. Plus, many are gluten- and dairy-free or have easy to-do modifications for any kids dietary needs!
Cold Lunch Ideas for Kids
- Turkey & hummus roll-ups + carrots + grapes
- Pasta salad with veggies (GF option) + apple slices
- Easy Pasta Salad Recipe (The Best!) – Cooking Classy
- Use gluten free noodles in place of regular noodles
- Chicken salad lettuce wraps + veggie chips + oranges
- Nut-free sunflower butter & jelly sandwich (GF bread)
- Mini bagel sandwiches+ cherry tomatoes + strawberries
Hot Lunch Ideas (Use a Thermos!)
- Leftover taco meat + corn + rice
- Mini Corn Dogs + cottage cheese + fruit
- Vegetable soup + cheese cubes (or DF alternative) + crackers
- Pizza Roll-ups + veggie sticks
- Pizza Roll Ups
- GF Mod- use GF tortillas
- Mac & cheese (DF + GF options) + peas
Dairy-Free School Lunch Ideas
- Grilled chicken wrap (dairy-free tortilla) + tortilla chips + salsa or hummus
- Chicken + black bean quesadillas (DF cheese)
- Tuna salad + crackers + veggie sticks
- Almond butter + jelly sandwich + fruit + trail mix
- Turkey and avocado pinwheels + fruit
Gluten-Free School Lunch Ideas
- Egg muffins + gluten-free toast + blueberries
- Chicken nuggets (GF) + sweet potato fries
- Gluten-free mini corn dogs + veggie sticks + orange
- Taco rice bowl + rice crackers
- Cheesy potato soup (GF) + apple slices
Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Favorites
- Rice cakes with seed butter + banana
- Veggie sushi rolls (GF soy sauce)
- Turkey slices + cucumbers + melon
- Plant-based cheese quesadillas (GF & DF)
- DIY snack box: popcorn, trail mix, fruit, hard-boiled egg, veggie sticks, cheese cubes
Back to School Lunch Packing Essentials
Recommended lunch boxes and thermoses
- 4 compartment bento lunch box (https://amzn.to/3Hl91Cq)
- Insulated lunch box with tons of colors (https://amzn.to/3UKkmiq)
- Hard lunch box with stool utensils (https://amzn.to/4mxHIUE)
- Bento lunch box, insulated bag, thermos and silverware (https://amzn.to/4lhLcJV)
- Insulated lunch bag (https://amzn.to/4msMS3Y)
- Thermos (https://amzn.to/3UK9dyb)
- Fun pattern thermos (https://amzn.to/4omxdVR)
Ice packs and reusable containers
- 42 piece food storage containers (https://amzn.to/4fwKVl2)
- Reuseable food storage bags (https://amzn.to/4mb3Zb6)
- 4 pack colorful ice packs (https://amzn.to/45q5x9P)
- 4 pack slim ice packs (https://amzn.to/4fohDER)
Labels for allergy-safe handling
- Waterproof labels (https://amzn.to/45Ar0xX)
Making School Lunch Ideas Fun and Interactive
Getting to school and finally opening their lunch box can be an exciting ritual for your child. You can include small ways to connect with them and make lunch exciting for them every day.
Lunch-themed days are something that can be incorporated every week or on special occasions. Some ideas of themes are:
- Colors
- Birthday
- Holidays
- TV Show
- Character
- Shape
- Culture (i.e. Mexican, Italian, Asian, etc…)
- Food tied to a day of the week (ex. Taco Tuesday)
Note-writing and small surprises are easy and fun ways to remind your child they are special and loved. You could include a note with a joke or a reminded of your love. Small surprises such as a dessert or a small trinket can be a fun way to lift them up on a bad day or just make they day exciting. Small surprises or notes don’t have to cost money, just be creative! You kids don’t care about the cost they are more interested in the love and care they feel through these small acts when you’re apart.
Involving them in their lunch creation can help them get excited about food, especially if your little one has trouble eating or even feels socially awkward at lunch time. Letting them help make their lunch is an easy way to get them involved. They could also decorate their lunch box (a paper bag would be great for this) or even pack your lunch for the day if you’re headed to work as well! Eating is a bonding experience and it can be whether you’re apart or together this school year!
Final Tips for Success with Healthy School Lunches
Prepping our kids’ lunches helps us to plan what they’ll be eating, make a grocery list and ultimately save money. Especially when providing for kiddos with allergies, prepping at home will save tons of money! Prep on whatever day or night works best for your family. For older kiddos and yourself you can even keep a lunch menu or checklist on the fridge so you can just pack and go!
I’ve included a cute free school lunch planner and note template for this very thing!
Variety is great for kids but rotating through a couple of healthy meals every week makes prepping and decision-making a little easier. Rotating through 3 or 4 meals that week ensures your kids don’t have to make a ton of decisions and neither do you!
Share Your Favorite School Lunch Ideas Below!
I’d love to hear what your favorite school lunches are or some of your favorites that you try from this list!
Free School Lunch Planner + Note Template
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