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35 Easy School Lunchbox Ideas

35+ Easy School Lunchbox Ideas to help take away the stress of packing lunches!  Everything from sandwiches to soups, snacks and more.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…oops wrong season.  Or not.  😉  Actually I have very mixed feelings about back to school…I love having the kids home with me during the summer.  I really do.  I love our lazy mornings and days out enjoying the sun, plus I know that these summers together are fleeting because my babies are growing up.  So I try to soak in as much time with them as I can.  But we do reach a point where everyone is just ready for some routine.  The kids are ready to see their friends, they’re ready for regular bed times and quite frankly so is their momma.  So inevitably, school starts up again next week and we’re back at the grind.  I’m looking forward to the routine…but not making lunches.

35 Easy School Lunchbox Ideas {A Pretty Life}

I think school lunches are the worst meal ever to make.  Ever.  I hate making lunch.  But when it comes down to it the real reason I hate it so much is because it’s the only meal of the day I don’t plan well for.  I kind of just wing it for lunches, so this year I’m hoping to get more organized and plan ahead.

Truth be told my kids actually make their own lunches.  This is something we started doing last year and both the kids and I love it.  They like having control over what goes in their lunch every day and I like giving them the freedom to do it.  It’s just about making sure to have good food on hand for them to pack so I don’t worry about them packing unhealthy lunches.  So this year I’m going to focus on stocking up the fridge, freezer and pantry with healthy food that they can easily put into their lunch boxes.

So in this quest to get my act together and make lunch preparation a little easier on us all, I pulled together some family favourites that are great for lunches.  Sandwiches, salads, soups, cookies, muffins, snacks…you name it.  I just plan on making big batches and freezing what I can and using leftovers for lunch.

I hope this collection of 35 Easy School Lunchbox Ideas will provide some lunch inspiration for you too!  Just click on the titles of each dish for the recipe!

Whisk

Sandwiches

Sandwiches.  Even after all these years I still love sandwiches.  And 2 out of 3 of my kids do too.  For the one that doesn’t we use lettuce as wraps, or pack crackers or pitas instead.  This is a simple collection of delicious sandwiches.

Back-to-School-Sandwich-Ideas-{A-Pretty-Life}

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Soups

Soups are great for sending as lunch.  Just double a batch and you have soup for dinner and lunches for the week too.

Hamburger-Soup-2{A-Pretty-Life}

Whisk

Hearty Enough for Lunch Salads

Salads are a great alternative to sandwiches.  They can be very hearty and full of nutritious and filling ingredients.  These are some of our faves!

Mexican-Bean-&-Corn-Salad-{A-Pretty-Life}

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Snacks

These snacks are great for school.  They’re nut free, nutritious and hearty!

Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars {A Pretty Life}

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Cookies

No school lunch is complete without cookies!  A few of these recipes are ones my Mom made for my sister and I growing up, and now I’m making them for my kids.  The Forest Rangers are the best!

Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-{A-Pretty-Life}

Whisk

Muffins & Loaves

Muffins and loaves are great snacks for lunches!

ZucchiniBread1

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Well I’ve got my list together, now I just have to make it happen!  I see some big batch cooking and baking in my very near future and I’m looking forward to it…this is one of my most favourite things about fall.  I hope you found some deliciousness here too!

Have a delicious day!
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I'm Jo-Anna Rooney, the creator, director, baker, maker and home decorator here at A Pretty Life! Sharing a simple home life through uncomplicated home tips, home decor and fresh and easy recipes.

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8 Comments

  • Reply
    Dana
    August 29, 2014 at 8:20 PM

    This is perfect! I feel a little lost now that my oldest is starting school.

  • Reply
    Angie @ Friday Cake Night
    August 29, 2014 at 9:23 PM

    Great ideas! I’m going to try out some of the soups this year in the School lunches. Hamburger is our favorite!

  • Reply
    Kim Beaulieu
    August 29, 2014 at 11:09 PM

    I love all these ideas. It’s great to have resources like this for back to school.

  • Reply
    Cindy @ Hun What's for Dinner?
    August 30, 2014 at 5:25 AM

    I hate school lunches too. It’s hard with a picky 6 yr old, to make sure she doesn’t get bored with the same lunch over and over again. I love your ideas here and it’ll give me some new choices to offer my daughter!

  • Reply
    Teresa
    August 30, 2014 at 10:55 AM

    Lovely round up! I think a lot of parents are looking for lunchbox inspiration at this time of year. Those of us who work in offices, too. Eating out gets so expensive and the quick lunch places that pepper downtown are often serving food that’s not as good as what you can bring from home.

  • Reply
    vidya sudarsan
    August 31, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    Wow! just in time for school!! I love all the variety here! thank you!

  • Reply
    Michele @ Alwayzbakin
    September 2, 2014 at 2:40 AM

    Thanks for all the great ideas Jo-Anna! I agree with you. Making lunches can be tough. My son is SO picky. I hope your kids have great first days!

  • Reply
    Karren Haller
    August 29, 2015 at 10:28 AM

    Hi Ann, thanks for all these ideas, even though I dont have kids at home, there are dome new ideas and recipes I would like to try.

    Thanks for sharing on the Oh My Heartsie Girls WW this week. 🙂

    Now I would like to invite you to party again on Friday Feature-Linky-Party this week, hope you would like to stop by and add other links.
    Have a great weekend, Karren

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