45 Healthy School Lunch Ideas (Make Ahead, Quick & Easy!) (2024)

Back-to-school time means back to packing school lunches!

Whether you’re about to pack your first-ever school lunch or have been packing lunches for years, it can be a challenge… and a source of frustration.

Especially if you’re navigating food preferences or allergies, time constraints, and/or healthy eating!

It’s time to simplify your lunchbox routine while developing an arsenal of healthy food choices your family will actually eat and enjoy! Here are 45 lunchbox recipes and bonus tips for packing a nourishing lunch for school.

Healthy School Lunch Ideas

The best healthy lunches start with the highest-quality ingredients that your budget will allow.

And if there’s one category of food that should get priority with quality control, it’s fats.

Opt for the highest-quality fats you can. That means reach for pastured butter, raw cheddar, sustainably-produced bacon, and nitrate/nitrite-free cured meats.

The reason is because environmental pollutants and other toxins are stored in fatty tissue. Always go organic and even pastured and grass-fed for those foods!

Other areas to focus on organic is the “Dirty Dozen” list from the Environmental Working Group. Strawberries, apples, grapes and tomatoes are on the dirty dozen, as are peaches and pears. You can check out their complete list here and take a look at their “Clean Fifteen” list while you’re at it.

So what are good foods to take to school for lunch?

Below is a list of 45 healthy school lunch ideas that kids will love!

In short, there are 8 hot thermos lunch ideas and 7 non-sandwich ideas so you potentially already have 15 days of fun lunch options for your kiddos. Combine that with some bento box lunches and you have a month’s worth of healthy school lunches at your disposal.

Hot Lunch Ideas

Non-Sandwich Lunch Ideas

Image courtesy of The Nourishing Home.

Let’s face it… sandwiches are so yesterday.

Thankfully, between Pinterest and Google, we can find myriad of ways to feed our children nourishing foods. And no need to compromise when it comes to school lunches!

Muffins don’t have to be for breakfast only.

In fact, savory muffins are a great option for easy lunch box meal for your kiddo. They make a terrific lunch that kids will love.

How could you go wrong with corndog muffin or veggie bites? Packed with protein, nutrition, and fun for the kids!

These are also great to shake things up a bit and skip the thermos. Variety for you as you prepare these foods and variety for your kids as they open their lunchbox!

Quick And Easy Lunches

Image courtesy of Don’t Waste The Crumbs.

The ideas below are mostly for bento-style lunches. They are convenient for kid’s lunchboxes because they are usually very quick and easy to put together.

Bento is a single portion, home-packed meal (or take-out) with roots in Japanese cuisine. The trend quickly picked up because it’s so easy to pack a variety of foods in one container.

My favorite containers for bento boxes are from PlanetBox. They have three different sizes and tons of accessories to go with them.

Kids love bento boxes because it gives them control over what is packed. It is especially helpful for children with sensory issues or those who are bothered when their “food touches each other.”

Some of these does require a little bit more prep time but typically all these are quick to put together during busy mornings. These bento boxes are fun for even the kids to put together the night before.

Additional foods that can be added to bento boxes that are not on this list include a variety of fresh fruits and veggies: grapes, strawberries, apple wedges, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, carrot sticks, etc. Be sure to add in a small container of healthy dip or hummus if your kids love to dip their veggies in.

I’ve also added raw cheddar and nitrate-free salami or pepperoni to my kid’s bento boxes.

Good Stuff

This is the category for sweets. Of course, you can always throw in a handful of grapes and call it good. But for inspiration, this section has some really fun yet healthy sweets for your kids’ lunch boxes. These can easily be thrown into the bento box as well.

Remember to follow EWG’s recommendation for Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen fruits and vegetables.

The good thing about most of these recipes are that even though they are considered a dessert in your school lunchbox, they are still packed with nutrition. For example, the gummies and gelatin-type desserts require grass-fed gelatin, which is a great source of amino acids!

The last four items will need a small container to hold them. I love 4-ounce jelly jars but if you have to avoid glass, there are many options available online!

Do you pack your child’s lunch or have them buy it? If packing, what do you pack in your child’s lunchbox?

Main images courtesy of Natural Detailsand Common Sense Home.

This post was originally published and written by Andrea Sabean on 8/7/17. It has since been updated and republished.

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