360+ Healthy School Lunch Ideas

473 Comments / By Lisa Leake / October 5, 2022 / School Lunches

4 Reviews / 5 Average

If you need school lunch ideas, you've come to the right place! I've got you covered with three different ways to find healthy school lunch ideas your kids will love. Try my School Lunch Ideas "Recipe", my School Lunch Packing Chart, or my searchable collection of over 360 real food lunches with photos, descriptions, and recipes.

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After years of sharing the school lunches I pack for my kids on Facebook, I decided to combine all the pictures together below in one easy-to-reference place for inspiration.

I know some readers love to sit down and look at these pics with their kids so they can point out what they want (and, more importantly, what they’ll actually eat!), which I think is a great idea.

If you find it helpful as well, please consider bookmarking this page, sharing it using the social buttons, or leaving a comment with star rating (at the bottom of the page) to help others find this guide. 🙂

Check out these Easy Lunch Ideas and these High Protein Lunch Ideas too!

360+ Healthy School Lunch Ideas
School Lunch Ideas Packing Chart
School Lunch Ideas “Recipe”
School Lunch Meal Plans
More School Lunch Resources
School Lunch Ideas FAQ
What Do Packed Lunches Look Like by Lunchtime?

360+ Healthy School Lunch Ideas

Narrow results with the drop down filter or search box. Note some of these lunch ideas incorporate real food leftovers, which can be a real time saver. Most recipes can be found here on the blog via the included links, but a few are from my best-selling cookbooks.

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School lunch grilled cheese and peas on 100 Days of Real Food

Grilled cheese on whole-wheat
Frozen peas
An orange

School lunch chicken nuggets on 100 Days of Real Food

Homemade chicken nuggets
Fruit (kiwi, strawberries, & oranges)
Popcorn

School Lunch lasagna and soup on 100 Days of Real Food

Homemade Tomato Bisque with whole-wheat noodles in it
Spinach Lasagna
An apple/PB sandwich

School Lunch white bean chili on 100 Days of Real Food

Homemade White Bean Dip (from #100dayscookbook ) with blue tortilla chips
Apple sandwiches
Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites (from #100daysonabudget cookbook)

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School Lunch Ideas Packing Chart

See my School Lunch Packing Chart post for more details and how to get your free printable copy (a reusable version is also included in my Meal Planner Workbook). Basically you have your kids fill out the chart with all the ingredients they’d like in their lunches for the week, and then take the chart with you on your grocery run so you know what to buy. You’ll have all the fixings on hand, plus buy-in from your kids!

School Lunch Ideas “Recipe”

This is similar to the packing chart in that you can get inspiration and buy-in from kids for new lunch combinations.

School Lunch Meal Plans

sneak peek of Real Lunches, Real Easy on 100 Days of Real Food — Sample lunch meal plan, menu, and recipe.

Get our uber-popular packed lunch meal plans! Our Real Lunches, Real Easy ebooks are each a complete system that tells you what to buy, what to prep, and what to pack (including colorful pictures) so you’re not stressing out at the last minute. Grab one version, or all four, and even have your kiddos help pack their new wholesome, hearty, real food lunches. See samples of each week and learn more here.

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More School Lunch Resources

To learn more about the lunches I pack, here are some helpful links…

Our favorite school lunch supplies including the commonly pictured plastic Ziploc divided containers (each compartment is leak-proof).
Everything you could ever want to know about those colorful smoothie pop molds used in some lunches.
Why we don’t track protein or worry about getting “enough.”
My cookbooks all contain more lunch box ideas as well.
You can also find more school lunch resources (among others) in our free member’s area.

School Lunch Ideas FAQ

I’ve get a lot of comments/questions/etc. when I share my kids’ lunches on Facebook, so I’d like to address a few of the more common questions below. Read more in the full FAQ.

What are those silicone freezie pop molds I see in some lunches?

I’ve written a post that includes everything you could ever want to know about the colorful “freezie pop molds” that I use frequently to add smoothies to their lunches.

Where do you get your lunch supplies?

Many of the school lunch supplies we use, including the divided lunchbox containers, thermos cups, and freezie pop molds, are detailed in the My Favorite School Lunch Supplies post and my Amazon Favorites page. The lunchbox containers fit nicely (with a drink cup) in both Lands End and Old Navy cloth rectangular lunch boxes.

Is that enough food??

Some readers ask if these lunches provide enough food for my children, and while I am probably not spot-on with portion size 100% of the time, the short answer is “yes.” First of all, “real food” is a lot more filling than highly processed food (especially the refined grain stuff like white flour). Secondly, portion sizes are getting out of control in America and have unfortunately skewed the public’s view of what is appropriate. Thirdly, my children were 7 and almost 5 when I started photographing their lunches. Lastly, both my children eat after-school snacks. Okay, got that off my chest. :)

Do these lunches provide enough protein?

A few occasionally ask if these lunches have enough protein. First of all, part of eating a “real food” diet means you no longer have to count calories, fat grams, protein, carbs, etc. You simply eat a variety of whole foods (including lots of veggies) without “overeating” and the rest will just fall into place. It’s kind of nice not to have to worry about that stuff anymore. But, if you aren’t quite ready to forget about your daily protein intake please know there are MANY sources high in protein aside from just meat products such as yogurt, eggs, cheese, cream cheese, nuts (including peanut butter), seeds (including sunflower butter), and beans. When we switched to a “real food” diet we purposely reduced our meat consumption.

What about nut-free lunches?

My daughters used to go to a peanut/tree nut-free school, so I often used sunflower butter and cream cheese as an alternative to peanut butter. You can filter the lunches above or visit my Nut-Free Lunch Ideas post for more ideas.

What Do Packed Lunches Look Like by Lunchtime?

I’ve gotten quite a few questions asking what these carefully prepared lunches actually look like come lunchtime—especially after they’ve been tossed all around while in my kids’ backpacks and since “liquidy” foods like yogurt or applesauce are involved. Let’s face it, no child keeps their lunch bag or box in one perfect position all day, and that is certainly something I would never expect of my own children.

So when I was having lunch with my daughter at school (and risking looking like a lunatic), I took a bunch of pictures for you! :)

How the lunch looked like right after I packed it. — 1. How my kindergartner’s lunch looked like right after I packed it.

carrying lunchbox — 1. How my kindergartner’s lunch looked like right after I packed it.

So that’s all there is to it! And since I know some will be wondering :) ….

Those are Ziploc brand divided lunch containers – super cheap, lightweight, BPA-free, and available online. I have no relationship with Ziploc whatsoever. We just really like these lunch boxes.
I got the muffin cups here. Here are the Thermos cup, the flexible ice blanket, and the fun character ice pack.
I bought the fun toothpicks at Party City, although I’ve found cute ones at several different places including Martha Stewart Crafts, and cute Meri Meri Toot Sweet Cupcake Picks.
The lunch bag is by Lands End and we have the matching backpack that goes with it. This is the brand my older daughter has been using for almost 3 years now and it is still holding up great.

I hope these lunch ideas have been helpful. Please feel free to share your “real food” school lunch ideas in the comments below…

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About The Author

Lisa Leake

Lisa is a wife, mother, foodie, blogger, and #1 New York Times Best-selling author who is on a mission to cut out processed food.

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