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The recipe prices will vary based on fluctuating grocery costs. Please use what is posted as a guide.
Here’s a list of 60 Lunch Ideas For Kids At Home. Use this list when kids are on spring or summer break for easy recipes to get lunch served quickly. There are even recipes easy enough that the kids can make themselves! Now, who doesn’t love that?!
Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Kids at home
Do you find yourself having a hard time knowing what to make for lunch when your kids are home? Tired of PB&J every day? Did you spend all your time planning for dinner, forgetting about lunch?
This happens to a lot of us. To help with this issue, we have the 60 BEST and easy lunch ideas for kids at home. These recipes range from healthy lunches, fun lunch ideas, quick recipes, and more.
Make a list and hang it up on your fridge to have easy ideas at your fingertips.
In most of these recipes, you will find that your older kiddos can make themselves, and the younger ones can help you. And the best thing is, these Lunch Ideas for Kids at Home are not just for kids! The whole family will love these easy lunch ideas.
How to get kids involved in their Lunch Foods
Ages 2-3: Using recipes to work on counting skills is a great idea! Most recipes have an aspect that can be turned into a counting game. A great example is something as easy as counting the number of pepperonis placed on top of a pizza. It is a fun way to be together in the kitchen and learn at the same time.
Ages 4-5: Look for opportunities to work with your child on math skills while making a recipe. You can introduce fractions to them while they measure out the ingredients. Or have them make a pattern out of apple slices, cucumber slices, and carrot sticks. This is an easy way to continue building on what they learned during the school year.
Ages 6-8: Reading a recipe is an excellent way to continue working on reading skills when school is not in session. They can help gather the ingredients and pre-measure them as they read the recipe.
Ages 9-11: Supervise them while they prepare the entire recipe. Remember to have them read it twice before beginning the recipe.
Ages 12+: Let them prepare the entire recipe, unsupervised, while you do the happy dance in the corner!
Budget tips for these Quick Lunch Ideas
Our goal with this roundup of easy at-home lunch ideas for kids was to gather kid-friendly, easy, and budget-friendly recipes. The recipes use easy-to-find ingredients that you most likely already have on hand, so they will not break the bank during the summertime.
Another great way to save on the grocery budget during the summer and help keep the kids from snacking all day is to make a filling lunch by using leftover meat from a previous dinner. For example, if we have leftover chicken, a great lunch idea the next day is chicken quesadillas.
Grilled Cheese Pizza
This Pizza Grilled Cheese is a super easy recipe that the kids can make themselves! This recipe serves 6 and costs $5.12 to make. That’s just 85¢ per serving!
Check out this recipe
English Muffin Pizza Recipe
These English Muffin Pizzas are a lunchtime favorite! They take 20 minutes to make, serve 6, and cost $4.33 to make. That’s just 72¢ per serving.
Check out this recipe
Copycat Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme Recipe
This Copycat Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme recipe is easy, delicious, and so much better than the original! Each is filled with taco meat, nacho cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and a tostada to give its signature crunch!
Check out this recipe
Best Sloppy Joes
Homemade Sloppy Joes is a classic dinner recipe that is easy to make and economical too! It takes less than 30 minutes to make and costs just $9.34 for six servings!
Check out this recipe
Chicken Parmesan Subs Recipe
These Chicken Parmesan Subs are a quick and easy weeknight dinner that the entire family loves. We just can’t wait to sink our teeth into one of these sandwiches come dinnertime!
Check out this recipe
Walking Tacos
These easy Walking Tacos or Walking Frito Pies are simple to make, and the entire family will love them. You’ll love that there are fewer dishes to clean up afterward!
Check out this recipe
Ham and Cheese Sliders
TheseHam and Cheese Slidersare covered in a buttery mustard and poppy seed mixture and baked to golden-brown perfection. They’re perfect for dinner or as an appetizer for parties.
Chicken & Waffle Sliders
These Chicken and Waffle Sliders are the easiest game day, Super Bowl, or party food recipe that you will make! They’re quick & easy to make and they’re always a crowd-pleaser.
Ultimate Nachos Recipe
ThisUltimate Nachos Recipeis made with a seasoned ground beef mixture that’s loaded with ranch beans, black beans, onions, garlic, sour cream, jalapenos, avocados, cilantro, lime slices, and lots of melted cheese!
Cranberry Chicken Salad with Pecans
ThisCranberry Chicken Salad with Pecans recipeis so creamy and filled with cranberries, celery, toasted pecans, orange zest, and poppy seeds. Serve it on croissants, rolls, as a wrap, or a bed of lettuce.
Tri-Color Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
This Tri-Color Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing is made with rotini, Italian dressing, mozzarellacheese, bell peppers, black olives, and cherry tomatoes. You’ll be eating this pasta salad all summer long because the variations are endless, plus it’s so easy to make!
Ditalini Pasta with Peas and Parmesan
6-IngredientDitaliniwith Peas and Parmesan is the perfect lazy-night dinner. All you need is a few ingredients and less than 20 minutes of time to make this yummyditalini pastarecipe.
Cream Cheese Pinwheels with Vegetables
These healthy Cream Cheese Pinwheels packed with fresh chopped vegetables, savory cream cheese, and ranch seasoning are a great quick and easy lunch for kids.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Rollups
These Peanut Butter And Jelly Rollups are a fun way to have your favorite flavors! Easy finger foods for kids of all ages!
Instant Microwave Macaroni and Cheese
Instant Microwave Macaroni and Cheese is a total game changer ~ this easy recipe makes a single serving ultra creamy mug of cheesy macaroni in just minutes, right in the microwave!
Healthy Pita Pizza
ThisHealthy Pita Pizza Recipeis so quick and easy, convenient, uses pantry items and ingredients you'd have on hand (such as canned mushrooms, canned olives, pizza sauce, onions and cheddar cheese), can be made in under 30 minutes.
Pasta e fa*gioli
Pasta e fa*gioli, or pasta and beans, is a quick and easy, inexpensive, nutritious and delicious meal that the entire family will enjoy. Children especially love it. Don’t let it’s simplicity fool you; this is an authentic Italian recipe for pasta and beans.
Keto BLT Low-Carb Cheese Wraps
If you're looking for a quick and easy low carb lunch idea, look no further than these keto BLT cheese wraps. You can easily prepare them in less than 5 minutes if your bacon is already cooked.
Cheese Ramen
Thischeese ramenis ready in just 5 minutes making it perfect for a quick and easy meal. It uses 4 simple ingredients and is hearty, filling, and delicious. Both adults and kids will enjoy this.
Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich: An Easy Air Fryer Recipe
Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches are a fun way to enjoy the flavors of both peanut butter and banana. This recipe is delicious, healthy, and easy. You can make this easy sandwich in air fryer as well as on the stove grill.
Easy Tomato Sandwich
This is the BEST damn tomato sandwich ever made! It’s a simple 10 minute simple sandwich that is perfect for lunch any day of the week. It’s a vegan and vegetarian friendly sandwich.
Air Fryer Taquitos
This air fryer recipe, whether homemade or frozen, is perfect for a summer lunch when the kids are home from school, a quick and easy meal.
Easy Cheese Quesadilla
This easyCheese Quesadillarecipe is the perfect base for making any type of quesadilla. The filling options are endless, so use this simple recipe as the starting point for making the quesadillas that you and your kids will love!
Super Easy Ham Roll Ups
These easy ham roll ups make the perfect quick lunch or a delicious appetizer that is sure to please everyone! Kid and adult approved!
Turkey Hummus Wrap
Lunchtime looks better with this tasty and filling turkey wrap filled with hummus, lettuce, avocado, provolone cheese, and Italian dressing.
Italian Quesadilla Sticks
Super Ooey Gooey Italian Quesadilla Sticks!! Everything that is awesome about pizza and quesadillas is IN THIS DISH.
Creamy 3 Ingredient Mac and Cheese
Super creamy, super delicious and super easy to make. Only three ingredients gets you this delicious side dish in about 20 minutes.
MEAL PREP LUNCHABLES
Lunchables are basically cheese boards for children. These lunchables are loved by kids and adults alike.
Turkey Roll Ups
Turkey Roll-Ups – Tortilla wraps filled with a layer of herbed cream cheese and slices of cooked turkey.
Protein Snack Pack
Protein Snack Packsfilled with hard-boiled eggs, almonds, hummus, and crunchy veggies. An easy and delicious lunchtime meal-prep solution perfect for any protein lover, these fantastic little protein snack packs are perfect for summer lunches.
Lady Bug Sandwich
Get creative with this fun and easy to make Lady bug Open Faced Sandwich tutorial that will be a hit with your little (and big) kids! It’s the perfect creative sandwich idea for kids.
10 Minute Air Fryer Frozen Pierogies
These Air Fryer frozen pierogies won’t disappoint you. It is easy and flavorful and takes only 10 minutes to cook.
Easy Pizza Buns
This is the Best Pizza Buns recipe ever… incredibly easy, delicious, and bursting with pepperoni pizza flavors that the whole family loves!
Easy Cucumber Sushi for Kids
Perfect lunch/after-school snack idea for little hands, this delicious combo will have your children gobbling “sushi” in no time!
Air Fryer Pizza Egg Rolls
Air Fryer Pizza Egg Rollsare a fun and easy way to enjoy the delicious taste of pepperoni pizza. With a crispy crust, gooey cheese and tasty pepperoni, it’s the perfect summer lunch.
Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Uncrustables Sandwich
Save time (and MONEY) by making your very own frozen Uncrustables sandwiches! Fun to whip up with the kids, these simple PB and J sandwiches are freezer friendly so you can just grab and go.
Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
These Air Fryer Grilled Cheese Sandwiches are a GAME CHANGER! With perfectly melted cheese, crunchy toasted bread every bite is pure bliss! Serve with soup for a meal or on its own any time!
Easy Air Fryer Hot Ham and Cheese Wraps
Make these delicious hot ham and cheese wraps in the air fryer for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. With just a few ingredients, you can make these tasty deli-style wraps at home!
Homemade Spaghetti O’s
Kick the can and make this healthy recipe for the kids instead! Homemade Spaghetti O's that are allergy-free, gluten-free, and vegan! A super easy lunch or dinner that's kid-friendly and mom-approved!
Hungry Hippos
This sandwich recipe has it all goin’ on! Use it as afun edible art project … or as aspecial little lunch box surprise! Choosebasic peanut butter and jelly … or venture into our other creative filling ideas (even lots of nut-free options).Best part of all? These hippos are just so stinkin’ cute! A total win all around! Trust us – your kiddos will love ’em!
“Veggie Faces”- No-Bake Vegetable Pizza and Wraps
Your kids will love this project –it’s so much funto create edible art!No-bake veggie pizzas are a fresh, exciting lunch or snack!
Dino Nuggets Air Fryer Recipe
How long to cook dino nuggets in an air fryer? You can make air fryer Dino Buddies dinosaur chicken nuggets in only 10 minutes!
Grilled Cheese Roll Ups
Cheese is rolled up into plain bread and then pan-fried in a little bit of butter! The cheese inside gets all melty and the bread on the outside gets all crispy…what’s not to love?
Air Fryer Frozen Fish Sticks
Crispy air fryer fish sticks is so easy to make using your favorite store-bought frozen brand. It is a family favorite in our house whether it is for an appetizer, snack, lunch, or dinner.
Air Fryer Frozen Popcorn Chicken
Crispy air fryer popcorn chicken is so easy to make using your favorite store-bought frozen popcorn chicken. There is no better way to cook up some crispy frozen popcorn chicken than by air frying it.
Easy Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Crispy, buttery slices of toasty bread on the outside, loads of melty cheese goodness on the inside is how I'd describe my Easy Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This is my version of the classic lunchtime cheesy sandwich.
Best Homemade Pizza Fries
Pizza Fries are loaded with creamy mozzarella and cheddar, not to forget the french fries, and to make this dish even more irresistible, pizza sauce is also present.
Pepperoni Pizza Pockets
Pepperoni Pizza Pockets are so easy to make. They are so much better than a frozen hot pocket. Our dough started with refrigerator biscuits. We then added pizza sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Then baked to perfection and absolutely delicious.
Spinach Omelette
Spinach omeletteis a tasty breakfast or brunch that can be whipped up in just 10 minutes. Full of the goodness of tender baby spinach, eggs, and cheese.
Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly
Who needs a grilled cheese when you can enjoy a warm and toasty Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich? It tastes just like dessert and is easily customizable!
Macro-Friendly Cheesy Quesadilla
Macro-Friendly Cheesy Quesadilla is packed with flavor and stupid easy to make! Crisp pita bread with melty cheese and a seasoning blend to top things off.
Pizza Sliders
Hawaiian rolls filled withmelty mozzarella cheese, sauce, and pepperoni make delicious pizza slidersthat everyone loves! These are great as an easy weeknight dinner, or an appetizer for a party.
Mild Chicken Fajitas for Kids
We love mild chicken fajitas for kids. We set all the prepped ingredients out and let the kids do the rest themselves.
Super Easy Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas
These Super Easy Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas are filled with pepperoni slices, pizza sauce and gooey cheese then fried until slightly crispy. A great kid-friendly meal or after school snack that is always hit and so much faster than making pizza!
Easy Crescent Sandwiches
These easy crescent sandwiches make a great appetizer or can switch up your lunch routine.
The Very Healthy Caterpillar
Ready for a super cute and fun snack that the kids will love to help make? They will get a kick out of The Very Healthy Caterpillar! These fruit and veggie snacks are the perfect hands-on after school snack or a fun lunchbox idea.
Banana Sushi Rolls
Kids will not be able to resist thisbanana sushi recipe! It’s simple – just roll up a wrap with peanut butter and abanana, slice, and top with slicedstrawberriesandkiwifor added flair.
Easy Tuna Salad Hummus Wraps
You should make this tuna salad hummus wrap for lunch. Why? Because it’s so easy to make. And the combination of easy tuna salad with hummus wrap is fantastic and it’s so filling.
What did we miss? What are some of your favorite lunches to serve your kids?
Easy Lunch Ideas FAQs
What can I fix my kids for lunch?
What’s for lunch? Every day during the summer, it is the dreaded question once the school year is over and the lunch boxes are put away for a couple of months. It is almost worse than being asked what is for dinner! There are no more school lunches to make, but we still need to make something for lunch. We are good at planning dinners every week but then not so great at planning lunches.
Short of having a sandwich or leftovers every day, we find we need more than one easy recipe on hand to make throughout the summer. So we created this monster list of easy lunch ideas to help make it a little easier. There is one less thing to think about with this recipe collection of easy lunch ideas throughout the week! Scroll through the list to find your favorites.
What do children like for lunch?
Kids get tired of the same old thing. So mix it up with some of the recipes found in our list. Our kids have their favorite foods like fresh fruit, hot dogs, cheese sandwiches, cheese quesadillas, homemade uncrustables, tuna salad, pizza rolls, bento boxes, a peanut butter sandwich, cheese roll-ups, mac, and mac cheese, chicken nuggets, and more for lunches. Our list has a delicious lunch idea for everyone, even those darn picky eaters.
More from Easy Budget Recipes
- Crunchwrap Supreme
- Chicken Tenders
- Slow Cooker Chili
- Jalapeno Dip
- Mexican Beef Stew
- Chick Fil A Sauce Recipe
- Velveeta Queso Recipe
- English Muffin Pizzas
- Ham and Cheese Hot Pockets
- Olive Garden Alfredo Recipe
- Peach Cobbler with Cake Mix
- Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch
- Ambrosia
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Comments
Emily says
I love this list! These are great ideas for easy meals to get food on the table quickly, and the kids can help! Everyone loved the Air Fryer Grilled Cheese!
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Kathleen says
All of these are fantastic ideas for lunches. The kids always want to help so your age appropriate list definitely comes in handy.
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Irena says
These are so great, especially given the food prices lately. My daughter is not quite 2 yet but I can see quite a few things that she will like and also lots of things that I WOULD LIKE! Thanks for sharing.
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Traci says
So many great recipes to choose from! I love you these for kids. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Dani says
The creamy mac and cheese sounds so convenient to make even with a picky sister that doesn’t eat anything but, dino chicken nuggets
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Jess Jankowski says
Absolutely!! Kids of all ages love it!
