15 Super Easy Back to School Lunch Ideas

Let’s talk making back to school lunch ideas easy!

Have your kiddos already started school? Or maybe they are getting ready to go back to school soon. Either way, you are probably looking for a variety of lunch ideas. Here’s a look at 15 Back to School Lunch Ideas we have shared made and loved.

15 Back to School Lunch Ideas

These 15 ideas, plus a few thrown in, include dairy-free lunch ideas, gluten-free lunch ideas, healthy lunch ideas, lunch ideas for picky eaters and a lot more!

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Back to School Lunch Supplies

• We used these Bento box containers for all of these lunch ideas!
• Another huge time saver for us was using Amazon Fresh. You can try it for free with Amazon Prime! Click here for a FREE TRIAL!

Dairy-Free School Lunch Ideas Recipes

Lunch Box Idea #1 – Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado

This healthy dairy-free lunchbox idea has two hardboiled eggs and some favorite lunch box sides like grapes, orange and pretzels.

Shopping List

• Hard boiled eggs with avocados
• Pretzels
• Orange
• Red Grapes

Lunch Box Idea #2 – Turkey Rolls with Apples

This healthy dairy-free lunch has three turkey rolls, strawberries, blueberries, cucumber and apples with walnuts.

Shopping List

• Apples with walnuts
• Turkey rolls
• Sliced cucumbers
• Strawberries & Blueberries

Lunch Box Idea #3 – Chicken Strips and Hummus

This is one of my favorite dairy-free back to school lunch ideas pairing chicken strips with hummus and carrot sticks. Add a bunch of grapes as a side!

Shopping List

• Hummus with carrots
• Chicken strips
• Red grapes

Lunch Box Idea #4 – Pinwheels and Banana Chips

This dairy-free back to school lunch idea is healthy because it rolls ham and spinach inside a flour tortilla creating a cheese-free pinwheel. Add some orange slices, carrots and banana chips!

Shopping List

• Ham & Spinach Pinwheel (wrapped in flour tortilla)
• Carrots
• Banana chips
• Orange

Lunch Box Idea #5 – Celery, Turkey, Pepperoni and Salad

This dairy-free lunch for kids at school is a big meal which works great for kids who just need a little extra food at lunch time. Start with celery with almond butter and add pepperoni rolled into turkey slices. Then make a little cucumber and tomato salad with blueberries and blackberries on the side.

Shopping List

• Celery with almond butter 
• Turkey & Pepperoni rolls
• Cucumber & Tomato salad
• Blackberries & Blueberries

Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas for Kids Lunch at School

Lunch Box Idea #6 – Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps with Banana Chips

This gluten-free lunch is something you may want to make some extra for yourself! Make a double recipe (see below) and save some for your work or home lunch as well as your child’s lunchbox! Make the chicken salad lettuce wraps paired with applesauce and banana chips.

Shopping List

Banana Chips
Applesauce

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Ingredients

• Roast Chicken (cooked), cut into square pieces
• 3/4 cup Plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 tablespoons Chives, chopped
• 1 Granny smith apple, cut into square pieces
• 1/2 cup Celery, chopped
• 2 cups Red grapes, cut in half
• Juice of half of Lemon
• Salt & Pepper
• Lettuce

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, add the chicken, apple slices, celery, grapes and chives and combine
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, dijon mustard and lemon juice
3. Combine the two bowls and add salt & pepper to taste
4. Fill the lettuce slices with the chicken salad mixture

Lunch Box Idea #7 – Chicken & Cottage Cheese

This gluten-free lunchbox idea is one of the simplest on the list and can be created on those busy mornings when time just seems to run out! Start with left-over chicken pieces and a scoop of cottage cheese. Add blueberries and cucumber slices for fun!

Shopping List

• Cottage cheese with blueberries
• Cucumber slices
• Chicken slices

Lunch Box Idea #8 – Pepperoni Turkey Rolls and Pistachios

Another simple gluten-free option for kids school lunch! Start by rolling pepperoni into turkey slices and sprinkle a little cinnamon on some apple slices with a little lemon juice to keep them from browning. Add a handful of pistachios and a bunch of grapes.

Shopping List

• Pepperoni wrapped in Turkey
• Apples with cinnamon
• Pistachios
• Red Grapes

Lunch Box Idea #9 – Ham Roll Ups with Spinach Salad

This gluten-free lunch is full of surprises. Start with spinach and tomato salad, add rolled up ham slices and a bunch of grapes. Then cut some carrot sticks and serve with a little honey!

Shopping List

• Spinach & Tomato salad
• Ham roll ups
• Carrots with honey
• Red Grapes

Lunch Box Idea #10 – Wrapped Tomatoes with Walnuts

Take small slices of tomato and wrap them with turkey slices to make the entree of this gluten-free back to school lunch box recipe. Then add a hard-boiled egg, some walnuts and a bunch of grapes.

Shopping List

• Turkey wrapped tomatoes
• Hard boiled eggs
• Walnuts
• Red Grapes

Healthy Lunch Ideas for Back to School

Lunch Box Idea #11 – Zucchini Cupcakes & Pepper Boats

This healthy back to school lunch idea is packed with things that your child’s neighbor will not have in their lunchbox! Start with a pepper boat of cut green pepper filled with pimento cheese spread then add a cheese stick, pretzel goldfish, blackberries and strawberries plus a zucchini cupcake.

Shopping List:

• Zucchini Cupcakes,
• String cheese
• Pepper boat – green pepper filled with your favorite pimento cheese recipe
• Pretzel goldfish
• Strawberries & Blackberries.

Lunch Box Idea #12 – Salami Rolls and Broccoli

This healthy lunch box will keep your kids going all day long with salami slices rolled up, a hard-boiled egg, some cheese-it crackers, a few broccoli trees and some applesauce.

Shopping List

• Hard boiled egg
• Salami slices
• Apple sauce
• Broccoli
• Cheez Its

Lunch Box Idea #13 – Bologna & Kale Chips

This healthy lunchbox idea is packed with flavor. Start with a bologna and cheese stack and kale chips. Then add an orange, some blackberries and a baked granola bar.

Shopping List

• Bologna and cheese
• Orange
• Kale chips <– make homemade kale chips with this recipe
• Blackberries
• Cocoa Loco gluten free bar

 School Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters

For each of the lunches, we used these BPA free lunch containers.

Lunch Box Idea #14 – Pizza Rolls & Cheerios

OK, this just might be my favorite back to school lunch idea which must mean I am a picky eater too! Make a simple pizza roll with crescent rolls filled with sauce and shredded cheese. Add oranges and pineapples plus a handful of Cheerios.

Shopping List

• Pizza Rolls (crescent round, sauce and shredded cheese)
• Oranges
• Pineapples
• Cheerios

Lunch Box Idea #15 – Waffles with Peanut Butter & String Cheese

Another picky eater back to school lunch idea is to harness the power of breakfast with this simple waffle sandwich filled with peanut butter, nutella or almond butter. Add a yogurt, string cheese, cracker stack and a bunch of grapes.

Shopping List

• Waffles with Peanut Butter, Nutella or Almond Butter
• Go-gurt
• String Cheese
• Grapes
• Crackers

Lunch Box Idea #16 – Ham Wraps & Bananas

This picky eater lunch is simple and quick. Spread butter on a flour tortilla with a slice of ham (throw in some cheese if that makes your child happy) then add three fruits: bananas, strawberries and oranges.

Shopping List

• Ham Wraps (Butter spread on tortilla, with slice of ham and rolled up)
• Strawberries
• Banana
• Orange

Lunch Box Idea #17 – Turkey Rolls & Apple Slices

And last, but not least we have one more back to school lunch idea that has cheese and crackers, rolled turkey slices, apple slices and some applesauce.

Shopping List

• Cheese & Crackers
• Turkey rolls
• Apple slices
• Apple sauce or Chocolate Pudding

All of these recipes for back to school lunches appeared on the live stream, Family Food Live with Holly & Chris on the Quirky Momma Facebook page.

Back to School Breakfast Recipes

• Frozen Fruit Smoothie
• 5 Hot Breakfast Ideas
• One Pan Potato and Eggs
• 5 Back to School Easy Breakfast Ideas

Which back to school lunch recipe will you try on the first day of school?