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Keep the kiddos (and adults) happy with these delicious and nutritious back to school lunch ideas. Many of these options are budget-friendly and good for meal prep. Plus there’s lots of inspiration for healthy lunch ideas for work because mom, dad and teachers also deserve a good lunch, right?!
When the end of summer break rolls around, there’s no need to stress about the new school year! (At least not in terms of lunch.) These healthy back to school lunch ideas will help you keep things exciting while nourishing your whole family.
You can make many of these lunches ahead of time, so they’re perfect for meal prep. Because on a busy weekday morning, the last thing anyone wants to do is make lunch, right?!
I’m including kindergarten lunch ideas for the little ones. These will have even the pickiest eaters enjoying their meal! There are also tons of healthy and delicious lunch options for older kids.
I also share lots of healthy lunch ideas for work because mom has to eat too! And also, they’re great for teachers.
Incredibly Easy Back to School Lunch Ideas
Let’s start with the basics for days when you have to throw something for lunch together in about 2 minutes! Here are a few cheap and easy school lunch ideas for kids (beyond peanut butter and jelly sandwiches):
- Apple slices with peanut butter
- Celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter and raisins
- Rolled up turkey and/or cheese from the deli counter served with ranch or honey mustard for dipping
- Hummus and dippers (like chopped broccoli, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, etc.)
- Pinwheels made with rolled up soft tortillas, cream cheese, and deli meat or cheese
- Lunch toothpick kebabs (just not for the really little ones!) – meat, cheese, vegetables, and/or bread cut into cubes and skewered on toothpicks
Kindergarten Lunch Ideas
We all know that younger children can be really, really picky. Here you’ll find some great kindergarten lunch ideas that your kiddos will actually want to eat!
First think about ease of use. If you give little ones things they can easily pick up with their tiny fingers – such as homemade chicken nuggets and Uncrustables – they’re more likely to eat their lunches.
If you want small kids to try new vegetables, it helps to pick ones with beautiful rainbow colors. You can’t go wrong if you roll up a ton of nutritious, colorful veggies in a soft tortilla and slice it into little pinwheels.
When you’re planning healthy school lunches, keep in mind that you know your own kid. Some of them like bolder flavors, but many young children prefer blander flavors until their palates are a little more developed. Set them up for success by packing a variety of nutritious foods that you know they like. Fruity muffins (like strawberry lemonade muffins!) are a good option, especially if you bake them in a mini muffin pan.
And if you make food look cute, like hippo-shaped sandwiches, even better!
High School Teenage Lunch Ideas
By the time kiddos are in high school, school lunches look a little different! I remember as a teenager, I either skipped lunch (terrible, I know!) or grabbed a salad at the salad bar in the cafeteria. I would pile the veggies high, top it with a little chickpeas and a lot of shredded cheddar, and douse the entire thing in ranch dressing, lol.
The great thing about the high school lunch ideas in this recipe collection is that teenagers can make most (if not all) of these recipes on their own, or with just a little bit of adult supervision. It lets mom and dad off the hook for having to make their teen’s lunch, and it helps teenagers learn how to cook! Win-win, right?
And a lot of these lunch recipes will stay good in the fridge for a while, and also freeze well. They’re perfect for meal prep!
These high school lunch ideas should stay chilled (all they need is an ice pack placed in the lunchbox), and they can all be eaten cold. I wanted to make sure that none of these school lunch ideas for teenagers require reheating. I remember as a teenager I didn’t always have access to a microwave in school. Sometimes it was a teachers-only situation, lol.
A lot of these lunch ideas are super simple, like canned chicken salad, roasted red pepper hummus, and pimento cheese. All of these can be used to make sandwiches or wraps, spread onto crackers, or served with raw veggies for dipping.
There are a couple filling pasta salad recipes here, my favorite of which is copycat Portillo’s chopped salad. Like any salad you pack for lunch, pack the dressing separately so the salad doesn’t get soggy.
Also, there are a couple taco ideas (if you’re from the WNY area or just really like beef tacos, the homemade Mighty Taco beef copycat is a must-try) because tacos are always a hit!
Teacher Lunch Ideas
Let’s not forget school lunches for teachers! I remember a couple of my favorite high school teachers telling me that lunch was their favorite part of the day. Dealing with kids nonstop, I can imagine a little peace and quiet and a good meal is something to truly look forward to mid-day.
These teacher lunch ideas range from flavor-packed leafy green salads to pasta salads and nutrient-rich quinoa salads.
These lunches need to stay chilled, but an ice pack is enough to get the job done if you don’t have access to a fridge. Some of these lunches are served cold, and others need to be heated for those that have access to a microwave.
A lot of these school lunches are quick and easy, and others are recipes that you can make ahead and portion out (perfect for a meal prep day!). For example, black beans, chicken panang curry (which only takes 30 minutes to make!), and Instant Pot creamy tortellini soup are all great options if you want a hot lunch and have a way to reheat food.
One of my favorite teacher lunch ideas is individual charcuterie boxes. You can fill them with any foods you like (cheese, nuts, fruit, dip, crackers, etc.), and they’re essentially like Lunchables for grown-ups!
Back to School Lunch Boxes
Here are a few lunch boxes I hand-selected that are functional and look great!
Kindergarten Lunch Box Top Pick
This kids lunch box on Amazon looks like the perfect balance between adorable and functional! It has the following features:
- Insulated lunch bag
- 5-compartment bento + spork
- 16-ounce water bottle
- Ice pack
- And there are tons of designs and colors to choose from!
Teenager Lunch Box Ideas
This reusable brown paper lunch bag on Amazon is my absolute favorite budget-friendly lunch box for teens. It’s thermal-insulated and water-proof, and comes with a spork and pouch for it. But I mostly just love that it’s a play on the classic brown bag look.
If you want something that’s a little more durable, my top pick is this Yeti lunch box on Amazon. It has a Thermosnap closure and Coldcell Flex insulation that’s designed to keep your hot food hot and your cold food cold.
No matter what lunchbox you go with for your high school kids, a stackable lunch container is perfect for packing things like salad or leftovers.
Functional Teacher Lunch Box
I love this bento box set on Amazon. It’s perfect for teachers! It features:
- Insulated tote bag
- Stackable bento box
- Travel mug
- Cutlery set (steel-tipped chopsticks, fork, spoon, and knife – no plastic utensils!) with zippered pouch
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This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on August 23, 2019, and updated on September 1, 2023.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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