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School Lunch Ideas for Kids
If your kiddos are tired of PB&J's, here are some fun lunch ideas for kids! A lot of these you can whip up in advance too. They're also great ideas for quick dinners through the week too or for Summer lunches so you don't have to wonder what's for lunch each day 🙂
GET YOUR LUNCH IDEAS FREE GROCERY LIST & RECIPES RIGHT HERE!
I'm always looking for time-saving ways to get them out the door with a healthy (-ish) lunch that doesn't require daily prep.
Something that was a game changer for me when all the kids were in school is doing these make-ahead lunches for school.
I'm telling you . . . game. changer.
I made the whole week's worth of school lunches ahead on Sunday night and my kids would just grab their favorites out of the fridge each morning. Then I added in some sides like fruits and cheeses so everyone can pick a main entree and a couple of sides. It means our mornings were less stressful and they were eating well too!
(You can check out this video and join me as I get to work in my kitchen!)
Get my Ultimate Lunchbox List Here with my very best lunchbox ideas + the grocery list to go with it!
My friend, Laura, just whipped up a batch of the Ham & Cheese Sliders from this list for her kids for the week. 12 sandwiches ready to go! She made half ham (per the recipe) and half turkey. You can individually wrap these sandwiches in foil and freeze. Just grab one in the morning and throw it in your kids' lunchboxes and it will be thawed by lunch time!
Laura said her mom pro-tip to avoid soggy sandwiches is to put condiments in between the meat and cheese layer so they're not touching the bread!
Want to jazz up your ham & sliders a little bit? Try the topping from our Crescent Sliders – so good!
Easy Lunch Ideas for Work Too!
This list can help with packing easy make ahead lunches for work too. Making lunch ahead of time doesn't only benefit the kids – it really helps me to have some grab and go options as well. Whether I'm working at home or in my shared office space for the day – I love having lunch just waiting for me in the fridge.
(And seriously. You need the list alone for my friend Cheree's banana peanut butter rollups. She adds cinnamon sugar and they are amazing. They're now my favorite lunch-snack-happy-middle-of-the-day-dessert of all time!).
This morning I spent about 25 minutes in the kitchen and prepped the following lunches.
- Cheesy Pizza Crescents
- Hawaiian Ham & Cheese Sliders
- Peanut Butter Banana Rollups
- English Muffin Pizzas
- Turkey & Cheese Bagel Thins (this one is a great lunch idea for adults and one of my faves – YUM!)
- Get these lunch recipes and more here!
Just 25 minutes? And now we are totally SET for this week! Woohoo!!
We also have our Lunch Menu Planning Made Easy PDF available for other lunch ideas. So many yummy meals and it includes your grocery list too!
Easy Meal Prep Ideas for Lunches
Even better? My time spent prepping these easy meals won't only help with lunchtime…
I made enough extra “lunches” that we can use some of these for on-the-go dinners as well (when we have soccer or gymnastics). I know for me, the temptation to eat out a lot always hits when we are in our super-busy seasons….. And the fast food bill can add up so quickly!
Making a variety of meals ahead means that while we aren't always eating the MOST healthy foods (hello cheesy pizza crescents – I'm looking at you! 😂) – we are eating better than we would otherwise.
Tip: I recommend getting a nice set of storage containers so you have all sorts of sizes on hand.
- I have this Rubbermaid Set (which comes with all those little containers for sauces)
- But my family fights over who gets THESE containers – they're the best!
- This Rubbermaid Lunchblox Kit is actually a great deal because it comes with all you need for one kiddo – including the ice pack!
- My friend, Laura, swears by her Bentgo lunch boxes for her kiddos! Perfect especially if you have pickier kids who don't want their foods to touch 😉 BUT wait for these to go on sale on Prime Day or Black Friday as they can be pricey normally.
So let me just ask…..
How much less stressful would your life be if you didn't have to come up with last minute meals while you live in your car?
How much money would you be able to SAVE if you don't have to hit up a drive-thru a couple times a week?
I'd LOVE to hear some of your favorite lunchbox ideas! Please share them in the comment section and you may inspire someone else!
More Make-Head Lunch Ideas:
And when it gets colder my kids love to take HOT lunches like these:
Looking for even more easy meals? Try our menu planning made easy Lunch PDF! Not only do you get a ton of SUPER YUMMY recipes, but you'll get weekly grocery lists too.
Save these ideas for later!
How long can the food last in the fridge without going bad? I’ve tried this in the past and packaged food lasts as long as it states but I am referring specifically to the sandwiches and other “main entree” items. Ideally, I’d like to prep all the food on Sunday, so it’s grab n go for the rest of the week. Is this realistic? Or will I have to meal prep again mid-week? Thank you!
I think it depends on what kind of bread you use and what you are putting on the sandwich. I would definitely hold off on putting condiments on it until the morning of if you can wait. Or maybe send containers with the condiments in it. Regular white bread may get soggy but maybe using bagels or even toasting the bread should help with that. If you are making PB&J you could throw them in the freezer like the uncrustables. It may be a little trial and error with what your family likes. Hope this helps! Here’s a link for our homemade uncrustables. 🙂 https://passionatepennypincher.com/homemade-uncrustables/
I requested the lunch box to help me out with school starting back and now lunches my kids will have to pay to eat at school or i can pack lunches. However I am not receiving the email
So sorry you’re having trouble getting the email Megan ~ it may have gone to your spam folder, but if you don’t see it, please send us an email at contact@passionatepennypincher.com and we can try again to get that over to you! 🙂
I have tried several times to get the 26 School Lunch Ideas for Kids + FREE Printable (Great for Summer Meals Too and it’s not receiving the email. Is there something I’m doing wrong or can you send it to me.
Hmmm Robyn, I’m not sure why it’s not sending. Please send us an email to contact@passionatepennypincher.com and we’ll see if we can get it send that way. 🙂
I have tried to get the 26 School Lunch Ideas for kids several times with multiple email addresses and have received nothing. I have checked spam, promotions, junk and also whitelisted the email address. Please let me know another way I can receive this.
Hi Katie ~ if you could please send us a quick email at contact@passionatepennypincher.com, we’d be happy to help you with that! 🙂
Hi PPP
I’m not receiving any email link after signing up for this. Can you help?
Jodi Juhl
Hi Jodi! I just had a friend try it and it worked for her – can you maybe see if it landed in your spam? The title you’re looking for is “Your FREE Ultimate Lunch Box List Is HERE!” If you still don’t find it I’ll resend it 🙂
I’m not receiving the free lunchbox list either 🙁 signed you for it twice. Checked junk folder and searched and nothing.
Would definitely Love Adult Lunch meal plans, hint hint 🙂
I ordered the freezer meals for gifts could you please let me just buy 2 boxes now that you have them. How can I do this?
Hi Cyndia! Sadly at this time we don’t have the boxes available for separate purchase, but we’ll keep that in mind as a possible option for the future! Thanks so much for supporting PPP ~ hugs! 🙂
https://shop.passionatepennypincher.com/collections/menu-planning
They have empty tins for sale now for the sets 🙂