Need some school lunch packing inspiration? I’ve got your back! Here are our favorite bento box lunch ideas for kids!
We’ve officially entered another school year!
AKA another 180 lunches to pack ’til next Summer.
WOOF.
Since most of us are already throwing our hands up in the air and hoping some sort of magical fairy godmother will come bail us out of this predicament, I’m here to offer a little lunch box inspo!
Just don’t expect me to carry a wand, I’ll surely lose it.
Bento Box Lunch Ideas for Kids
- Cheese and Crackers
- Watermelon
- Crinkle Cut Carrots
- Strawberries + Honeydew Melon
- Mini Pretzels
I often use the LunchBots Cinco bento box, which is large enough for my growing gal and has the perfect sized openings for our favorite lunches!
When it comes to packing my kiddo’s lunch, I try to offer a manageable portion of each food.
I’ve found if I load up her plate too much, or add too much of one food group, she will focus on one particular food and fill up on it first, sabotaging the rest of the meal.
Bento boxes help me offer a little of each food and also keep things separate for little miss NO-FOODS-SHALL-TOUCH-EVAHHH.
- Mac and Cheese (in a mini thermos)
- Cantaloupe
- Strawberries
- Graps
- Gluten-Free Almond Crackers
- Organic Gummy Bears
- Hummus + Veggie Tortilla Roll Ups
- Cheese and Crackers
- Carrot Sticks
- Strawberries
- Pretzels
- Black Beans
- Corn Bread
- Peach
- Cucumber
- Cheese Stick
- Crackers
- Chocolate Chips
- Onion Bagel + Cream Cheese (someone is a wee bit obsessed with them)
- Veggie Chips
- Cucumber and Carrot Slices
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Croissant PB + J
- Cheese and Crackrs
- Honey Dew and Cantaloupe
- Cucumber Slices
- Apple
- Cream Cheese + Vegetable Tortilla Roll Ups
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Mandarin Orange Segments
Snack Pack: hummus with pita, carrot chips, tomatoes, and goldfish crackers
- Bagel with Cream Cheese
- Black Beans
- Pretzels
- Strawberries and Cantaloupe
- Cucumber Slices
- Onion Bagel + Cream Cheese
- Goldfish Crackers
- Carrot and Cucumber Slices
- Strawberries
- Cotton Candy Grapes
- Chocolate
For the Older Kids… (more lunch ideas)
- Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats (no soggy sandwiches here!)
- Pretzel Sticks or Celery Sticks + Dip
- Strawberries and Grapes
- Black Bean Quinoa Salad
- Tortilla Chips
- Dippers: Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole
We’re also a big fan of healthy Chickpea Salad Sandwiches and, for my T-Rex friends, Chicken Shawarma Bowls which are totally make-ahead and meal prep friendly!
I’ll be back regularly throughout the school year to add new lunch ideas to this post, so be sure to bookmark this page or pin it for later!
In the meantime, if you’re feeding kiddos, check out my easy lunch ideas for kids post from last year in kindergarten and my toddler + pre-k lunch ideas from the years prior!
What brand are those mini containers with lids? They are the prefect size for our bento box and I can’t find them anywhere!
Hi Jessica! The little ones that go in the bento? They have 3-4 different sizes and are made by lunchbots. I found a bunch on here: LunchBots Dip Containers with Lids