It’s the time of year where my parenting-adjacent Facebook groups are full of questions about what to put in kid’s lunch boxes that they’ll actually eat. My kids are usually happy with the school-provided lunch; in my household I’m the one that’s struggles with deciding what to bring to school to eat. My ideal lunch to bring to work makes multiple servings that I can portion over several days and is easy to put together alongside everything else I’m trying to juggle. In an effort to help myself and all of you, I’ve put together a collection of recipes I’ve made over the past several years to bring to school as my lunch.
The ideas below are presented in no particular order. Some are recipes, others are more general ideas. I hope this collection makes your work lunches something to look forward to.
VEGETARIAN
Buffalo White Bean Dip (The Wannabe Chef)
Sweet potatoes topped with shredded cheddar, black beans, hot sauce and/or sour cream
“Who Needs Meat” Slow Cooker Chili and cornbread (Basics with Babish)
Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella (Smitten Kitchen)
Pasta with sauce (tomato, alfredo, vodka, pesto, etc)
Farmers’ Market Cold Noodle Salad – with Instant Noodles – pictured above
Pasta Puttanesca with White Beans
Tempeh Crumbles with Rice (Bon Appetit) – I just follow the tempeh part of this recipe and serve with white or brown rice and vegetables
rice and beans
One Pot Spicy Pesto Cheese Baked Rigatoni (Half Baked Harvest)
tabbouleh
Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas (Pinch of Yum)
Baked Chili Brown Rice and Vegetables
Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad (Bon Appetit)
CHICKEN/TURKEY
Southwest Chicken Skillet (Budget Bytes)
Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo Casserole (Naptime Kitchen)
turkey or chicken salad with crackers
Slow Cooker Chicken Posole (The Kitchn)
Weeknight Maple Turkey Chili (How Sweet Eats)
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken (Naptime Kitchen) with pasta
Healthy Chicken Salad – pictured
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala (Budget Bytes) with rice
Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka (Smitten Kitchen) with rice or noodles
One Skillet Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice (Half Baked Harvest)
The Best Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe (Ambitious Kitchen)
One-Pot Chicken Piccata Orzo (The Kitchn)
BEEF & PORK
Stir-Fry Beef Noodles (Budget Bytes) – pictured above
Mom’s Award Winning Chili (The Car Mom)
Gouda, Prosciutto & Fig Jam Sandwiches with Tomato & Arugula (Hello Fresh)
Slow Cooker Meatballs with Spaghetti (Parade)
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants (Joy the Baker) – pictured below
FLEXIBLE & ASSORTED
frittata
deli meat sandwiches
cheese and crackers (with or without lunch meat)
Enchiladas – this recipe is vegetarian, but you could definitely substitute the beans with beef or chicken
green salads (with or without chicken or deli meat)
Jambalaya – I usually make a family sized box of Zatarain’s with sausage and/or chicken
pizza
Unstuffed Bell Peppers (Budget Bytes) – I alternate between using beef, sausage and white beans as the protein in this recipe
loaded sweet or baked potatoes: top baked, steamed or roasted potatoes with cheese, vegetables, chili, ground meat or whatever else you need to use up! Vegetarian Loaded Baked Potatoes are pictured below.
