50 Packable School Lunch Ideas
Don’t sweat school lunch! Get fresh ideas from our huge list of healthy, simple, and packable lunches. Get the free printable at the bottom of the post.
Also check out our huge school lunch photo gallery with 90+ complete kid lunches.
Packing a school lunch: how hard can it be? Slap together a sandwich, add a piece of fruit and some baby carrots, and you’re done. Easy, right? At least in September, it’s that easy.
But a month or two into the school year, packing lunches starts to feel like a slog. The food starts to come back uneaten. Your kids are complaining about their umpteenth turkey sandwich on wheat. And most troubling of all, there’s no end in sight.
Don’t sweat it. And avoid the lunch-packing burnout with our huge list of packable school lunch ideas to keep you ticking all year long.
Before we get to the list, we’ve got two tips for packing lunches:
First, do your best to include a fruit and a veggie with every packed lunch. Consistency wins!
Second, try packing lunches the night before school. This is SUCH a sanity-saver. The lunches stay fresh in the fridge overnight, and you don’t have to scramble around in the morning to get lunch packed before everybody has to rush out the door.
Now, to the lunches!
50 Packable School Lunch Ideas
- Cream cheese and deli meat pinwheels.
- Tomato soup in a thermos with grilled cheese
- Kid-friendly green salad topped with chopped eggs and/or deli meat
- Veggie-packed Pizza Rolls
- Muffins with a cheese stick
- Waffle sandwiches with cream cheese and raisins, or PB and J
- “Finger Food” lunch: trail mix, cheese cubes, and raw veggies
- Egg salad sandwich
- Lemony Quinoa with Spinach, Feta, and Beans
- Bean and cheese burritos
- Tuna and crackers
- Homemade “Lunchables” with crackers, meat, cheese, a fruit, and veggie
- Quick pita pizza
- Egg and cheese sandwich on a whole wheat roll
- Pasta salad
- Peanut butter and jelly on leftover pancakes
- Egg cups
- Chicken nuggets
- Cold bean salad with vinaigrette and tortilla chips
- Pasta and meat sauce in a thermos
- Leftover Butternut Squash Soup in a thermos.
- Almond butter and honey sandwich
- Cheese quesadillas with guacamole
- Pizza kebabs
- Homemade “Uncrustables”
- Ham and cheese inside leftover crepes
- Meatballs on toothpicks
- Cold sesame noodles and veggies
- Black bean and turkey salad
- Chicken salad wrap
- Veggie Lunch Wrap
- Yogurt and granola
- Turkey, cheese, and spinach on a bagel
- Banana bread with a hard-boiled egg
- Quick Mac and Cheese in a thermos
- Pita filled with hummus and shredded cheese
- Rice cakes with nut or seed butter
- Spring rolls
- BLT
- A thermos of chili
- “Bistro Box” with fruit, veggies, cheese, crackers, and hummus
- Buffalo Chicken Wrap
- English muffin pizzas
- Lunchbox Taco Salad
- A thermos of Homemade Spaghettios
- Apple and cheddar grilled cheese
- Tuna salad in a whole wheat hot dog bun
- Brown rice balls
- Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
- The easiest packed lunch of all: leftovers from dinner
Free Printable!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
What suggestions do you have for keeping the grilled cheese and quesadilla from getting hard? Do you wrap in foil or keep in thermos? I’ll have to try the waffle sandwich idea! Similar question though on your recommendations for packing it. Thx!
Hi Linda! Every kid is different, but we find that ours aren’t that particular about the temperature or texture of these foods that are usually eaten hot, but are served cool in a lunchbox. I do know some parents have tried putting non-liquids in thermoses to keep them cool, so you could certainly try that, too. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I hope you will continue to have great articles like this to share with everyone!
We adore these ideas thank you. Do you have any recommendations for keeping relevant foods chilled and thus safe for lunchtime? I use a little cooler and 2 ice bricks which are very heavy for my little one. We live in Asia so things get steamy!! Thanks.
Hi Liv, thanks for reaching out! We like to use a soft-sided lunch bag and just one slim ice pack inside the keep it cool. It isn’t super heavy that way. Here’s a post with some lunch bag reviews, and at the bottom you’ll find a link to our favorite ice packs (small and light!) https://www.superhealthykids.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=36386&action=edit
Hello! Could you link the metal container you’ve put some of the delicious food above in?
Thanks!!
Hi Meghan, sure! It’s a Lunch Bots Stainless Steel container, and you can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/LunchBots-Stainless-Steel-Food-Container/dp/B0044R7VTS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=lunch+bots+metal&qid=1563806065&s=pet-supplies&sr=8-4
Thankbyou for these Fresh & Fun new Lunch Ideas can’t wait to try all of these!!!!!
Great ideas! Could you make this list printable?
Hi Cheryl, great idea! We went ahead and added a printable. You should see it at the bottom of the post now.
i don’t have kids in school till next year but love this list for new ideas for us! Is there any way to print it off so I can put it on the fridge??
Hi Jamie! Yes, we just made this list printable for you. Check it out at the bottom of the post.
I really appreciate the ideas and recipes for kids’ lunches, however my son is gluten free and dairy free. Some GF, DF suggestions with the recipes would be really great!
Gluten and dairy allergies/intolerances are very common, so I know I’m not the only mama needing these accommodations. Thanks!
We know that it can be difficult navigating dietary restrictions. We’ll keep this in mind when making future posts. You can also use our recipe search function for GF and DF recipes. Thanks so much for sharing your feedback!
What great ideas for my kids. I showed them this list and tomorrow’s lunch will start with veggie lunch wrap. Thanks alot for sharing, Natalie!
What a fantastic recipe list! Thank you very much fro sharing!