A Huge List of Lunch Ideas for Kids’ Packed Lunches

The dreaded task of coming up with lunch ideas for kids… all parents go ahead and give the collective sigh. But, I’m here to help! I’ve come up with a huge list of lunch ideas for you to pull from any time you need inspiration!

Be sure to also check out my lunch packing tips for ways to save time and stress when it comes to the job of packing (and unpacking) lunch!

I am going to add photos of my kids’ lunches to this blog post periodically, so check back for more ideas!

Elements of a Kid’s Lunch

First, let’s break down the “categories” of what to pack:

Kid’s Cold Lunch Packing:

Most days my kids do cold lunch and I use these bentgo boxes. Here’s how I pack my kids’ lunches (in general) if they are getting cold lunch:

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• Main: I put their “main course” (for lack of a better word) in the big section
• Veggie: I try to do a veggie in one of the smaller sections
• Fruit: I always put a fruit in one of the smaller sections
• Crunchy/Snack: I try to think about texture and give them something crunchy in one of the smaller sections
• Dip and/or treat: In the small little circle in the middle, I either do a dip if it goes with the meal or I drop in a small treat like a few chocolate chips (more ideas below)

Kid’s Hot Lunch Packing:

If my kids are getting hot lunch, the main focus is on what’s going in the thermos, and then what may need to go with it.

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For example, when my daughter does nachos/tacos, she gets taco meat in the thermos and then I use a bento box for sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips.

If she is getting something like pasta, I just add an apple, small tupperware or bag of fruit, and a crunchy snack to the lunchbox and skip a bento box. Don’t forget the spoon or fork!

Ideas for What to Pack in Your Kids Lunchbox

Now let’s get into the ideas of what to pack. I broke this up into “main course” (cold and hot lists), sides including veggies, fruits, dairy, other side ideas, and treats:

Main Course – Cold Lunches:

• Ham and cheese or turkey and cheese on mini Hawaiian Buns or your preferred bread
• Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Caprese Salad (sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil and balsamic glaze)
• Charcuterie – prosciutto, crackers, cheese
• Cream cheese and cucumber sandwich
• Tortellini Salad
• Pizza (even leftover) – lots of people love cold pizza!
• Macaroni Salad
• Other cold pasta salads
• Tuna Salad (with crackers or on a sandwich)
• Egg Salad (with crackers or on a sandwich)
• Bagel & Cream Cheese (maybe flavored cream cheese like veggie or blueberry)
• Smoked Salmon with a bagel and cream cheese
• Popcorn chicken (if you’re a Floridian, Publix popcorn chicken is good cold according to my kids)
• Homemade lunchables (little cuts of meat, cheese and crackers)
• Chicken salad (with crackers or on a sandwich)

• High-protein waffles
• Mini pancakes
• Pepperoni & Cheese (with or without crackers)
• Pinwheels (veggie and cream cheese, or turkey/ham and cheese)
• Sliced pitas, bell peppers, and tzatziki dip
• Breakfast for lunch – (cold sausage links are actually yummy) with a muffin and fruit or hard-boiled egg
• Cottage cheese and fruit
• Veggie Egg Bites (warm or cold)
• Broccoli and blueberry salad
• Cut up hot dogs with ketchup for dipping
• Banana sushi (tortilla with peanut butter spread on it, then a banana wrapped in it and sliced like sushi)
• Tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa
• Salami with cheese and crackers
• Jerky (as the protein) with any sides below
• Chia pudding
• Bell peppers and crackers with ricotta to dip
• Pimento cheese sandwich

Main Course – Hot Lunches:

Here are hot lunch ideas for kids that you can keep warm in a thermos:

• Mac & Cheese
• Pasta with butter & parmesan
• Nachos
• Fried rice
• Spaghetti
• Walking Tacos (just like tacos but you send a small bag of fritos or tortilla chips and they dump the meat, sour cream, cheese, etc inside of the bag and eat it with a spoon or fork out of the bag)
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chili and crackers or cornbread
• Rice and Beans
• Sloppy Joe Mix (pack a bun separate with a spoon so they can make a sandwich)
• Mini Meatballs with Marinara Sauce
• Tomato soup
• French onion soup
• Broccoli cheddar soup
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup
• Clam Chowder with oyster crackers
• Ravioli or Tortellini with Sauce
• Bolognese with pasta
• Roasted sweet potatoes (my daughter loves these sweet potatoes)
• Breakfast for lunch – keep sausage links warm in a thermos, add a side of hard-boiled egg and fruit in the cold part of the lunchbox (learn how to make and peel perfect hard-boiled eggs here)
• Veggie Egg Bites (warm or cold)

Sides – Fruits:

• Pear
• Fruit salad (this is a favorite of my kids)
• Apples & Peanut Butter
• Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon
• Cherries (fresh, pitted)
• Kiwi
• Mandarin Oranges
• Raspberries
• Raspberries stuffed with a chocolate chip
• Blueberries
• Freeze-dried fruits (strawberries, mangos, pineapple)
• Melon Balls (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew)
• Watermelon with mint and feta
• Mango
• Dried apricots  
• Dried cranberries  
• Dried cherries
• Grapes

Sides – Veggies:

• Carrots & Ranch
• Cherry or grape tomatoes (Listen, I know this is technically a fruit but nutritionists count it as a veggie so don’t come at me, k? This goes for anything else that may be categorized as fruit or veggie that could be either, who even knows.)
• Celery
• Sliced red, orange, or yellow peppers
• Snap peas
• Cucumbers
• Mixed Green Salad with a side of their favorite dressing
• Sliced Radishes with Salt
• Raw cauliflower and/or broccoli with veggie dip

Sides – Dairy:

• Yogurt tube
• String cheese
• Baby bell cheese
• Cheese cubes
• Cheese slices

Sides – More Ideas:

• Pickles
• Pretzels
• Zucchini bread
• Banana bread
• Goldfish
• Black olives
• Deviled Eggs
• Roasted pumpkin seeds
• Pistachios
• Pita chips
• Capers
• Popcorn
• Trail mix
• Protein Balls
• Veggie Straws
• Pirate Booty
• Pitted dates
• Ants on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins)
• Potato Chips
• Granola bars
• Mini Muffins
• Hummus & crackers
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Raisins
• Applesauce
• Pineapple

Treats:

• Chocolate chips
• Chocolate covered coconut
• Chocolate covered almonds
• Dark chocolate nibs
• Mini cookies
• Gummies (we don’t normally buy gummies because we don’t like giving all of our money to the dentist, but if we get some from a party or something, I try to ration them out this way)
• Yogurt-Covered Raisins
• Chocolate-Covered Pretzels
• Mini Marshmallows

I hope these lunch ideas for kids have helped you jazz up your lunches and taken some decision-making off your list! Have an idea that’s not on the list? I would love to hear it in the comments below!