It’s not even September, and you’re already feeling the back-to-school fatigue. I get it—that’s why I put together an epic list of low-maintenance lunch options to get you through an entire month of packed meals. Since all kids are different, you’ll find a range of recipes for every palate, from fun classics for pickier eaters (like lunch kebabs) to adventurous dishes for older kids (hi, sweet potato noodles). Without further ado, here are 31 days of back-to-school lunches.
31 Days of Back-to-School Lunches for Kids
Packed lunch has never sounded better
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Published Aug 5, 2024
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
Day 1: Colorful Peanut Noodle Jar
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, make ahead, gluten free
- Serves: 1
This beats a microwave cup of soup any day. The buckwheat noodles (which happen to be gluten free) are paired with spiralized vegetables like beets, carrot and cucumber for maximum nutrition. Swap in any veggie your kid likes.
Day 2: Chickpea Salad Bento Box
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: no cook, <30 minutes
- Serves: 4
Chickpeas are mild and creamy, so this bento box lunch idea is fair game for picky kids. Pair the salad with carrot sticks and mini pita or crackers for dipping.
Day 3: Rainbow Collard Wraps with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, make ahead, no cook
- Serves: 4
Speaking of chickpeas, you can’t go wrong with hummus in a back-to-school lunch, since it’s both supremely likable and packed with protein. Plus, you can make these veggie wraps ahead of time (up to two days in advance) and they won’t get soggy in the fridge.
Day 4: Sweet Potato, Bacon and Broccoli Egg Muffins
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, make ahead
- Serves: 12
These cuties—which come together with ease in a muffin tin—are bite-size and also basic, even for picky palates. Fill them with whatever you kid will enjoy, whether it’s sweet potato and broccoli or cheddar and chives.
Day 5: Lunch Kebabs
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: no cook, <10 ingredients
- Serves: makes 8 skewers
Your kids will go nuts for this deconstructed version of a lunchtime staple. The recipe calls for mortadella and artichokes, but you can switch up the meats and vegetables for less sophisticated palates. Ham and cheese? Sounds delish to me.
Day 6: Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 1
It’s ooey and gooey in all the right ways, with a crunchy crust that makes it more interesting than the classic—aka the upgrade to make you parent of the year. (Just let the sandwich cool before wrapping it up.)
Day 7: Buffalo Chicken Wraps with Blue Cheese and Celery
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 4
If you’re wondering how to make these wraps in 20 minutes flat, the secret is leftover rotisserie chicken. Somebody needs their sauce on the side? No worries, just reserve some chicken before you dress the rest.
Day 8: BLT Pasta Salad
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, make ahead
- Serves: 8
Skip the bread (it’ll be soggy by lunchtime) in favor of pasta with this deconstructed BLT. It’s loaded with bacon to win them over, and the mayo-based dressing might get them to poke at those green and red things, too.
Day 9: Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad Stuffed Peppers
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 6
For an inventive (and kid-friendly) spin on the traditional salad, serve it up in bell pepper boats instead of bread. The dressing is made with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, so you can feel good about packing this back-to-school lunch.
Day 10: Cucumber Cream Cheese Sandwiches
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, vegetarian
- Serves: makes 30 sandwiches
Packed lunch, or tea party? You don’t have to choose. These sammies are simple but guaranteed to please (and a refreshing change when PB&J for the millionth time just won’t cut it).
Day 11: Rainbow Veggie Pinwheels
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 4
Turkey sandwiches can get kind of boring, so send your kid to school with two or three of these colorful bites instead. They’re filled with red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, spinach and shredded purple cabbage, but you could swap out for other colorful veggies, too.
Day 12: Roasted Broccoli and Bacon Pasta Salad
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
You can’t go wrong with pasta and bacon, not to mention roasted broccoli, which takes on a magical kid-friendly quality when it spends a little time in the oven. The garlicky breadcrumbs don’t hurt the cause either.
Day 13: Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, high protein
- Serves: 3
Believe it or not, you can offer nutritious options in your back-to-school lunch repertoire. The key is to ensure they’re as delicious as they are good for you, and this high-protein salad hits all the right marks.
Day 14: English Muffin Broccoli Pizza
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes
- Serves: 2
Like a twist on a pizza bagel, these lunch-friendly bites are a great way to sneak in extra vegetables. They can be reheated for a few seconds in the microwave, but taste just as good served at room temperature or cold.
Day 15: Mini Chicken Shawarma
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein
- Serves: 8
For when your kid prefers something other than PB&J. To streamline the cooking process, use rotisserie chicken and toss it in lemon juice instead of making your own.
Day 16: Slow Cooker Meal-Prep Burrito Bowls
- Time Commitment: 7 hours, 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: make ahead, slow cooker recipe
- Serves: 4
These lunchbox-ready burrito bowls aren’t just easy to make in your slow cooker (hello, set and forget meal), they’re also ideal to make in advance, since they’ll keep for up to four days in the fridge.
Day 17: Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegetarian
- Serves: 1
The secret to making these colorful, filling sammies as tasty as they are visually appealing is to layer in a swipe of herby cream cheese spread. (And if you want to make them dairy free, you can swap in hummus.)
Day 18: BLT Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps
- Time Commitment: 5 minutes
- Why I Love It: <15 minutes, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 4
Salad wraps for a kid? Absolutely, if they feature bacon and a creamy dressing. Bonus points if you wrap ’em up with baker’s twine for a final touch.
Day 19: Buddha Bowls
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, high protein
- Serves: 4
Older kids will appreciate these nutritious bowls (and even if they don’t, at least they’re assembled with love).
Day 20: Vegetarian Sushi Cups
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 8
Once again, your muffin tin will come in handy when crafting this back-to-school lunch. Even better, you don’t have to deal with any of that raw fish business.
Day 21: Almond Butter Toast With Bananas And Toasted Coconut
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, no cook
- Serves: 2
Even the pickiest eater will love munching on this sweet toast. Swap the almond butter for another nut or seed butter if there are any allergies.
Day 22: Avocado Pasta
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegetarian
- Serves: 4
Your kids will love the creamy sauce of this green pasta, which is made with avocado and Greek yogurt. (You don’t have to tell them about all the other veggies in there if you don’t want to.)
Day 23: Sweet Potato Noodles with Almond Sauce
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, dairy free
- Serves: 4
For a pasta alternative, try dishing up these spiralized sweet potatoes—or as I like to call them, swoodles. The sauce is made with almond milk, so it’s surprisingly dairy free.
Day 24: The Easiest Chopped Chickpea Greek Salad
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, no cook
- Serves: 4
It’s all about the crunch with this no-cook salad, which miraculously tastes better the longer it sits. Ditch the olives if your kid doesn’t like them.
Day 25: Watermelon Poke Bowls
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, no cook
- Serves: 4
Cool and crunchy, these fruit-based bowls are refreshing for a hot September day when it still feels like summer. Skip the sriracha if it’s too spicy for your kid.
Day 26: Fajita Veggie and Halloumi Bowls
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, make ahead
- Serves:
Have you ever had griddled halloumi? It’s a salty, squeaky cheese that gets golden brown when pan fried (aka what I like to call lunch-box genius).
Day 27: One-Pot Mac and Cheese
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, one pot
- Serves: 6
The trick to making this one-pot is to boil the pasta in milk (the natural starches in the pasta help thicken the sauce), then stir in butter and cheese. Pack it up in a Thermos to keep it hot for lunchtime.
Day 28: Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 4
This version is just the right combo of creamy (oh hi, diced avocado) and tangy, thanks to Dijon mustard (leave out the capers for your kids). Pile it onto whole-grain bread or pack it on its own.
Day 29: Cilantro Orange Chicken with Rice and Beans
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, <30 minutes
- Serves: 2 to 3
These flavorful bowls taste equally delicious served hot or cold, so you should definitely make them ahead of time. If you don’t want to make the pineapple salsa from scratch, just buy your favorite jar and call it a day.
Day 30: Apple Sandwiches
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 3
If your kid doesn’t like bacon (which, while hard to imagine, is totally possible), feel free to swap in any lunchmeat or leave it out for a vegetarian meal.
Day 31: PB&J ‘Hot Dogs’
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: no cook, <15 minutes
- Serves: 1
Behold the anything-but-basic PB&J. All you need is a hot dog bun, a banana, peanut butter (or another nut or seed butter) and a drizzle of jelly to look like a summertime fave.
