Healthy Cold School Lunch Ideas

Are you looking for healthy cold lunch ideas? Well, you’ve come to the right place! I know it can be a hassle to pack your child’s lunch and send them off to school. I’ve been doing this for many years and making lunch does get old.

You are probably looking for an easy lunch recipe or how to pack a healthy lunch. Whatever the case may be, you’re in luck because I have some healthy cold school lunch ideas for you.

Healthy Cold School Lunch Ideas

When it’s time for the kids to get back to school and summer or winter break, I have mixed emotions. In many ways, I love having them home during the summer and breaks. But I also long for the controlled chaos and hint of structure that comes with the kids being back in school! 🙂 Last year during registration, I heard a woman who works in the cafeteria tell someone else that hot lunch comes to about $50.00 per month per child. YIKES! For my family, that’d be $250 per month just for LUNCH! My boys LOVE to have “hot lunch” at school. My older kids… not so much.

So whether you will be having cold lunch for school, online learning, or home-school, here are some great ideas for making lunch time easy and healthy for everyone.

My Plan of Attack

#1 Get the Kids Involved

Over the past two years, my kids have been in charge of making their own lunches for school. It’s an easy thing for them to do if I’m prepared and have all the tools ready for them.

I think it’s also important for kids to have responsibilities at home (more than just keeping their room clean). With 5 in school this year, ranging from 12th grade to 1st grade, mornings will be CRAZY! So my kids MUST be a huge part of the lunch making process.

#2 Menu Plan

There’s no reason I can’t come up with a weekly lunchtime menu! Make a list of 5-10 cold lunch ideas and then rotate through it every 1 or 2 weeks. (HINT: I’ve got a free printable of lunch ideas below!)

I love using this app to do my menu planning and shopping. This will make shopping for kids’ cold lunches so much easier!

Below you’ll find a long list of lunch ideas and a free printable (see below) for you to keep in a handy place! Feel free to share your own ideas in the comments! Hang the list inside a cupboard drawer, in your pantry, or on your fridge for quick and easy inspiration.

#3 Be Organized

We have a “lunch cupboard” at our house. Inside you’ll find the bags, baggies, containers, peanut butter, honey, and other lunchtime snacks. It’s all in one place kept together, easy to find! Don’t have the extra space? Place items in a tote in your pantry!

I know some people (namely my sister) that will make up sandwiches for the entire week on Sunday evening and then throw them in the freezer. This is great for busy mornings! Just pull the sandwich out of the freezer, grab your fruit, snack and drink and lunch is ready!

Another family I know would make the lunches the night before. Each night someone is assigned to make lunch for everyone the next day. Bags/totes are packed and placed in the fridge. This definitely helps with the morning rush!

We thought this was pretty brilliant…

The Bin Method

You fill bins with the items for lunch, with a number of how many to take, and then the kids grab whatever they choose from each of the bins! Each bin has its own category of food. For example,

Bin 1: fruit to-go and veggie source bars
Bin 2: fruits cups and applesauce
Bin 3: cheeses and yogurts
Bin 4: Meats & veggies
Bin 5: granola bars or muffins
Bin 6: “junk food”, popcorn, or veggie straws

The options are really endless here and it is so fun to mix and match. You and the kids and prepare different things at the beginning of the month and they can enjoy it all month long.

Sandwiches/Main Dish:

1. Tortilla Pinwheel Recipe

Tortilla pinwheels are super cute and super delicious with ranch spread! You can also turn it into a “Sandwich Sushi” – tortillas with a layer of cream cheese, ham, cheese, and spinach leaves.

2. Pizza Puffs Recipe

These are so easy to make and I bet you have all the ingredients already. Its a fun way for kids to eat pizza with their cold lunch! See the recipe here.

3. PB&J

This is a staple in our home and we absolutely love our  fast easy homemade strawberry freezer jam recipe! Or you can try this version of a PB&J Roll-up for a new cold lunch idea.

4. Healthy PB&J Muffins

Peanut butter and jelly muffins are so easy and healthy. But they taste so good that really they should be a dessert!

5. Lunch Box Smoothies

My kids love smoothies and I love that it is so simple to add into my kids’ cold lunch boxes.

6. Angry Birds Lunch

Your picky eaters will have so much fun with this cold lunch idea that they will eat it all up!

7. Healthy Zucchini Muffins

I love zucchini and since it is still zucchini season, these zucchini muffins are perfect to have for your kid’s school lunch.

8. Salad

If you have kids or teenagers that love greens, try a salad for a healthy school lunch idea. We love to prepare all the parts separately at the beginning of the week, so that the kids can easily grab what they want and throw it all together at school (or at home).

9. Wraps

Wraps are such a fun idea for kids school lunches because just like a salad you can prepare all the ingredients beforehand and the kids can grab the ones they love the best and make it into a healthy wrap super quick. Check out these kids-proof wrap ideas here.

10. Mac & Cheese

We love making mac & cheese in our Instant Pot! You can whip this one up fairly quickly and serve it as a cold lunch idea the next day. (See how to keep it hot in the tools section below). Check out our favorite recipe here.

EASY COLD LUNCH IDEAS

This list of cold lunch ideas includes everything from homemade lunchables to chicken wraps and filling salads.

They’re easy to make and some can be made in just 5 minutes using leftovers and fresh produce.

Whether you’re low-carb, looking for something to indulge in, or just looking for unique lunch ideas, this list has something for you – even ideas that work great for the working man in your life, whether that’s your husband or you!

This list of cold lunch ideas includes everything from homemade lunchables to chicken wraps and filling salads.

They’re easy to make and some can be made in just 5 minutes using leftovers and fresh produce.

Whether you’re low-carb, looking for something to indulge in, or just looking for unique lunch ideas, this list has something for you – even ideas that work great for the working man in your life, whether that’s your husband or you!

simple cold lunch ideas