Say goodbye to boring lunches! Read on for our roundup of a week’s worth of fun, delicious lunch box recipes, including a grocery list.
Packing school lunches every day can get old FAST, so over the years we’ve found a simple system that makes it so much easier. Instead of trying to come up with something new every morning, we pick a handful of lunch box ideas the kids actually like in rotation for a few weeks at a time, then swap them out when I notice items coming back home untouched.
This year, I made a little “school lunch menu” for our fridge with whatever lunches are currently in rotation. Not only does it make packing lunches so much easier, it also makes a very mundane part of the school week feel a little more fun. Our menu changes every few weeks, so the lunches pictured here are just one example of what a week might look like!
And now that my kids are older, Caroline has officially taken over packing her own lunch! My favorite mom hack? We are paying her to also pack Thomas’s lunch. Regardless of who is doing the packing, having a go-to list of lunches makes the whole process easier, and makes grocery ordering much simpler too.
PS — if you love this lunch system, you should check out How I Made Dinner Easier: My Ultimate Meal Planning Guide for Busy Families!
Our Favorite School Lunch Items
Before we dive into the lunch ideas I wanted to share our favorite school lunch items and the bento box that we’ve been using for a few years.
- Bento Box: THE HOLY GRAIL OF ALL BENTO BOXES. I have shared this lunchbox more times than I can count but I can promise you this is the ONLY lunchbox you need. It’s so much better than any others we’ve used. It comes with multiple removable and stackable compartments, locks into place, and is dishwasher-safe!
- Slim Ice Packs: The perfect size ice pack to keep the lunches chilled.
- Lunch Box Notes + Joke Cards + Scripture Cards: I love all of these sets for lunch box notes!!! The kids always get a kick out of these.
- Many more school lunch faves HERE!
Lunch Box Recipes for School
Brunchable Lunch Box Recipe
I love breakfast for lunch and so do my kids. And the best part is there are SO many breakfast items you can play with to customize this lunch. Some other options include a yogurt parfait, cooked sausage links or patties, a few mini pancakes, french toast sticks or waffles with syrup, mini muffins, croissant, etc.! Don’t forget to pack a utensil for the bagel spread.
Grocery list
- Bagel
- Peanut butter (can also use sun butter, cream cheese, or any other favorite spread)
- Hardboiled eggs
- Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, and grapes)
Sushi Lunch Box Recipe
Both of my kids’ favorite lunch, I try to make this once a week. You can roll your own sushi or you can grab a roll from the grocery store. I split a veggie sushi roll between both kids and it’s the perfect amount for lunch.
Grocery list
- Veggie sushi roll
- Roasted seaweed chips
- Edamame
- Cherries
Charcuterie Lunch Box Recipe
Perfect for a “snacker,” this lunch is the ultimate collection of meats, cheese, fruits and veggies!
Grocery list
- Prosciutto
- Pepperoni
- Hummus
- Cucumbers
- Carrot sticks
- Red pepper
- String cheese
- Crackers
- Blueberries, strawberries & grapes
Sandwich Kabobs Recipe
I started putting my sandwiches on kabobs when I got tired of throwing away sandwiches every day when I emptied their lunch boxes. I decided to experiment with different ways to serve a sandwich and the kabobs are like magic — both kids LOVE a sandwich kabob.
Grocery list
- Sandwich kabob: sourdough bread, sliced cheddar, cucumber, turkey, grape tomato
- Chips
- Guacamole
- Grapes and blueberries
Homemade Lunchable Recipe
A fun box for Fridays, this make-your-own-pizza “lunchable” is always a hit!
Grocery list
- Flatbread (I divide larger flatbreads into quarters to fit into the lunchbox)
- Pizza sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni
- Pineapple
- Oreo dippers
Don’t forget to check out my REEL ON INSTAGRAM with all these lunch box ideas!
