Today I want to share with you 23 affordable back to school lunch ideas.
Ever since my daughter started school three years ago, I’ve put a lot of effort into what goes inside her lunch box. I never wanted her to rely on some of the questionable things the schools feed our kids.
I’ve had my share of challenges striking a balance between healthy and affordable. Since becoming a vegan (plant-based) household that challenge has become more overwhelming.
This year I decided to prepare ahead of time and create a list of back to school lunch ideas I could pull from at a moments notice.
I figured many of you are in the same boat, so I want to share my findings with you. Although I’m vegan, I will include non-vegan back to school lunch ideas (labeled as NV) as well.
When it comes to saving money, it’s important to create a meal plan that’s flexible, but also gives you an idea of what to expect every day. If you’re not caught off guard, you’re not spending money unnecessarily.
For those of you struggling to save money, I challenge you to try bringing your lunch from home to work. Also encourage your kids to eat lunches from home and most importantly, start eating at home for dinner. Your food budget can easily derail your financial plans and we don’t want that.
So, let’s discuss all the ways you can save money this school year by utilizing these back to school lunch ideas. But first, let’s make sure you’ll have the best tools to make back to school lunches easy. Here’s what I use and highly recommend:
Make Back to School Lunch Packing Easier With These…
Here are some items that will make packing these back to school lunch ideas much easier. Plus, get cash back on most or all of these purchases.
- For mobile shoppers, sign up and use Ibotta (get a free $10 welcome bonus with first purchase) to score back to school cashback.
- For online shoppers, sign up and use Ebates (get a free $10 bonus with first $25 purchase) to see if your purchase will qualify for cash back.
- Bentgo Kids Brights – Leak-Proof, 5-Compartment Bento-Style Kids Lunch Box
- Bentgo Ice Lunch Chillers Ultra-thin Ice Packs (4 Pack – Blue)
- Insulated Durable Lunch Bag – Reusable Meal Tote With Handle and Pockets (Llama)
- reduce WaterWeek Kids Reusable Water Bottle Set with Fridge Tray Organizer
- green sprouts by I play. Learning Cutlery Set, Green
- THERMOS FOOGO Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel 10-Ounce Food Jar, Blue/Green
- Cloth Sandwich Bags – Set of 3 – Yummi Pouch (Sweet)
- Affordable Sandwich Sealer n Decruster
- Bentgo Sauce Container (2 Pack)
- Bentgo Bowl (Blue) – Insulated, BPA-Free Lunch Container with Collapsible Utensils Set
20 Affordable Back to School Lunch Ideas
Back to School Lunch Idea #1
Entree: One-pot Vegan Mac & Cheese
Non-Vegan (NV) Entree: One-pot Mac & Cheese
Sides: Edamame (or peas if they like them), mandarin orange, applesauce
Lunch Idea #2
Entree: Vegan Ranch Pasta Salad
NV Entree: Ham and Cheese Ranch Pasta Salad
Sides: Cucumbers, strawberries, applesauce
Lunch Idea #3
Entree: Bagels w/ Peanut Butter and Agave Syrup
NV Entree: Bagels w/ cream cheese
Sides: Carrots (with dressing of choice), grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #4
Entree: Naan bread diy pizza lunchable (vegan cheese, marinara sauce, veggies)
NV Entree: Same (regular mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, pepperoni, veggies)
Sides: Cucumbers (dressing of choice), mandarin orange, applesauce
Lunch Idea #5
Entree: Red Pepper Hummus, Cucumber Sandwich
NV Entree: Turkey or Ham Sandwich with Lettuce
Sides: Carrots (dressing of choice), apple slices and mandarin orange
Lunch Idea #6
Entree: Refried Bean Taquito
NV Entree: Kid-Friendly Chicken Taquito
Sides: small salad (dressing of choice), strawberries, applesauce
Lunch Idea #7
Entree: Grilled cheese (vegan cheese slice)
NV Entree: Regular grilled cheese
Sides: Tomato soup, bananas, and grapes
Lunch Idea #8
Entree: Blueberry Banana Breakfast Cookie
NV Entree: Boiled egg and blueberry muffin
Sides: Strawberries, grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #9
Entree: Tortillas and guacamole for dipping
NV Entree: Tortilla and nacho cheese
Sides: Black bean soup, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, applesauce
*** You’re probably wondering why I made the black bean soup a side instead of the entree. It’s a compromise with a picky eater who would rather the focus of the meal be on something that she likes rather than something she will eat but doesn’t really want to…
Lunch Idea #10
Entree: Peanut Butter, crackers and vegan Cheese
NV Entree: Peanut Butter, crackers and regular cheese slices
Sides: Carrots, Celery (with dressing of choice), strawberries, grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #11
Entree: Veggies wrap with hummus
NV Entree: Ham and cheese roll-up
Sides: Mandarin orange and applesauce
Lunch Idea #12
Entree: Peanut Butter Granola Bar
NV Entree: Peanut Butter Granola Bar and boiled egg
Sides: Strawberries, blueberries, applesauce
Lunch Idea #13
Entree: Lentil Samosas
NV Entree: Beef Samosas
Sides: Carrots (dressing of choice), apple slices and mandarin orange
Lunch Idea #14
Entree: Lentil Pockets
NV Entree: Pepperoni Pockets
Sides: Cucumbers, strawberries, applesauce
Lunch Idea #15
Entree: Pizza Roll-ups (use vegan cheese and toppings)
NV Entree: Pizza Roll-ups (use regular cheese)
Sides: Carrots or other raw veggie (with dressing of choice), grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #16
Entree: Homemade Spaghetti-O’s
NV Entree: Same
Sides: small salad (green lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers) (dressing of choice) strawberries and applesauce
Lunch Idea #17
Entree: Carrots in a blanket
NV Entree: Pigs in a blanket
Sides: Carrots, Celery (with dressing of choice), strawberries, grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #18
Entree: PBJ crustable (using the sandwich sealer and decruster)
NV Entree: Same
Sides: Sweet potato chips, diced peaches, banana and applesauce
Lunch Idea #19
Entree: Pasta (any kind) and Marinara Bean Balls
NV Entree: Pasta with homemade meatballs and marinara
Sides: Cucumbers or other raw veggies (dressing of choice), grapes, and applesauce
Lunch Idea #20
Entree: Granola Crunch Apple Peanut Butter Wraps
NV Entree: Same
Sides: dairy free (or regular) yogurt, red bell pepper (dressing of choice), and grapes
Lunch Idea #21
Entree: Waffles with peanut butter and syrup
NV Entree: Waffles with boiled egg or other preferred protein
Sides: Strawberries, grapes, applesauce
Lunch Idea #22
Entree: Veggie noodle soup
NV Entree: Chicken noodle soup
Sides: crackers and (vegan) cheese, apple slices, mandarin orange
Lunch Idea #23
Entree: Chickpea Salad sandwich
NV Entree: Tuna salad sandwich
Sides: Pretzels, banana, grapes, and applesauce
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this gives you an idea of some affordable back to school lunch ideas you can pull together. This list provides for A LOT of flexibility.
If your school-aged kid is as picky as mine is, you know the struggle of trying to get your kids to try new things. The majority of things on this list are things I know she has tried and is at least willing to take a “thank-you” bite of.
If your kid doesn’t like something on this list, just swap it out with a friendly alternative. As far as drinks go, we do water only. I may on occasion send a juice box to school, but it is very rare. I also like to include a treat every couple of days. I typically go for these or these.
That wraps up our affordable back to school lunch ideas round-up. Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this post, please pin it to refer to later throughout the school year!
