Yesterday, I was reading a popular food publication’s post about back-to-school lunches. The article featured a gorgeous spread of school lunch ideas—all picture-perfect. There were sandwiches cut into various shapes, with expertly sliced vegetables and other ingredients used to create smiley faces and intricate designs. While the ideas were inspiring, they seemed to require a fair amount of time to prepare. So, I thought I would share some ideas that are more manageable yet still yield the same result: healthy, homemade school lunches that are exciting and packed with love.
I've been packing homemade school lunches for 18 years, and while it's never been my favorite task, I decided long ago to prioritize fresh, homemade food over pre-made options.
While packaged foods are convenient, even those made with organic and all-natural ingredients can contain mediocre ingredients, be high in sugar and unhealthy fats, and lack essential nutrients. Equally important, these options can train a child’s palate to prefer artificial flavors, salt, and sugar over genuinely delicious and fresh foods.
Let’s look at some ideas to spark your creativity.
When cooking, I like to think about how I can get the most out of my time in the kitchen. So, making dinner often inspires school lunches. I plan for extras to pack up for the kids that week and to freeze for later. It’s all part of the same process. “Leftovers” make fabulous and easy school lunches. Then, when it's time to pack a lunch, I put the portion in a pan or the oven to warm while I’m doing something else. When it’s piping hot, I pack it in a thermos so it stays warm until lunchtime.
I often pack pasta instead of sandwiches because pasta helps to stretch leftovers, and I can pack in a lot of nutrients. Plus, pasta is just a nice change from a sandwich.
Also, pasta made in Italy using flour that is processed without chemicals is often healthier than many bread options for sandwiches.
If cooking pasta for school lunch seems like too much effort, here are some tips to make pasta prep easy. It doesn’t take long to cook pasta, and you can cook it the evening before when you are in the kitchen making dinner anyway. Or it can be cooking in the morning when you are making coffee and having breakfast. The size of the pasta and how you cook it also saves time. Using small pasta and cooking your pasta al dente takes less time. Small pasta is also easier for kids to eat, and cooking pasta al dente is also healthier.
You can pack warm pasta mixed with leftovers, pesto, or herbed butter—which I always have in the freezer—or cold pasta salads, which are a favorite!
Butter and sage is a wonderful combination and all you need to make Burro e Salvia, a classic Italian dish.
Packing school lunch in a bento box is ideal for younger children. They don’t eat much, and it's so cute! You can pack a variety of things, such as mini sandwiches, fruit, cheese, crackers, olives, carrots, cucumbers, and, as I'll share soon, savory bread bites.
If your child likes salad, a great option is a hearty salad filled with their favorite ingredients. Add a little homemade dressing on the side. Make a batch of dressing for the week and use it for dinner, too. You can find small leak-proof, dishwasher safe containers on Amazon so clean-up is easy.
A hearty soup like Pasta e Fagioli or Roasted Tomato and Basil with homemade croutons has always been a go-to here- and usually in my freezer. There are endless options for satisfying soups like spinach and kale, Tuscan white bean, chili, and more! Serve a slice of good bread and some charcuterie for an impressive and easy lunch.
To make packing soup for school lunch easy, make extra to freeze. Then, thaw it the night before and warm it in a pan in the morning. It won’t require much effort, just a little thinking ahead.
I keep croissants, English muffins, bagels, and crêpes in the freezer to warm in the morning and make a “sandwich.” For example, a classic French Jambon beurre—ham and butter on a baguette—or smoked salmon and butter. I also put egg, bacon, and cheese on a muffin or bagel and pack them warm. Or roll ham, smoked salmon, and Boursin cheese or pesto in a crêpe. It’s just like a sandwich wrap made with a homemade crêpe. Crêpes freeze very well and snap apart easily when you are ready to use them. Just warm them in the oven for two minutes, and they are ready to go! The crêpes are best when they are hot off the pan, but this is good enough when you need something quick for a school lunch.
My favorite idea is savory breads. They are quick breads like Banana Bread, so there is no rise time, and they are fast to make. I like the idea of savory quick bread because I can add cheese, meats, and vegetables like zucchini, spinach, and herbs to create endless varieties and sneak in some nutrients.
When I make savory bread, I make two or three loaves, then slice and freeze them so I can take a slice as needed for lunch, picnics, and as a complement to soup for a quick dinner.
Alternating ideas like those mentioned above, with the addition of fruit, a cookie, or a piece of cake for dessert, will create an endless variety of school lunches—no two lunches will ever be the same!
As far as buying school lunches at school, even if the options are tasty and nutritious, a fresh lunch from home can afford children the time they need to eat lunch without rushing. In the U.S., lunchtime is often short. By the time schoolchildren make their way to the cafeteria and possibly wait in line to get lunch, they may be left with only ten or fifteen minutes to sit and eat, which is not a sufficient amount of time to slowly, enjoy, and properly digest their meal.
I hope these ideas help you make more homemade school lunches—they are great for work lunches too! Once you're in the routine of packing lunch, you will find many easy ideas that make it more manageable.
