It’s that time of year–school has started again! For those of you with kids, that means packing lunches every day. While you want your child to eat healthy foods in their school lunch, sometimes it’s challenging to come up with good options. So, I thought it would be nice to share some healthier, plant-based options for you to try. Here are 10 different plant-based lunchbox ideas. These meals are not only for kids – they are quick and easy lunches grown-ups can enjoy too!
I used a nifty two-layered Bento Cube for packing these lunches. It has several compartments to keep each food item separate. This one also came with a “yogurt pot” with a screw-on lid, which is great for hummus, sauces, fruit, etc.. The box is small enough to fit inside a lunch bag making it easy to transport. They are available in various sizes. And no, I’m not making any money plugging these boxes, I just think they are cool!
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #1
Pasta salad with corkscrew pasta, fresh tomatoes & cucumbers, edamame, black olives and fat-free Italian dressing. Plus fresh dill…mmmm!!! RECIPE
Top layer – orange sections and a dark chocolate square for dessert
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #2
Almond Butter Cracker Sandwiches
Any variety of nut butter with crackers or mini rice cakes or bagels
Top layer – edamame, cashews and dark chocolate bites for dessert
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #3
Tortilla Roll-Ups
Hummus, thin cucumber slices, carrot slivers, black olives, pre-washed spinach or lettuce rolled-up in a whole wheat tortilla
Top layer – raw almonds & dark chocolate and pretzels
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #4
Roasted Potato Fries
Air-fried or oven roasted russet potatoes or yams with ketchup and hummus
Top layer – raisins & pecans, cucumber slices, fresh green beans and yellow pear tomatoes
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #5
Garbanzo Salad for sandwiches or to dip
RECIPE
Top layer – grapes & cantaloupe, brown rice roller (dessert)
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #6
Baked Tofu and Veggie Kabobs
Baked, marinated tofu squares, cucumber chunks, grape tomatoes, sweet pepper slices on a skewer
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #7
PB Roll-Ups
Whole wheat flour tortilla spread with nut butter and thinly sliced strawberries or apples, rolled-up and sliced
Top layer – red & yellow tomatoes with edamame and a fruit/nut bar for dessert
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #8
Beany Farro Salad or Cowboy Caviar
Top layer – Trader Joe’s whole grain crisp bread & a crunchy rice roller for dessert
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #9
Make-your-own Pita Pizza
Mini-pita or sandwich buns – sauce, sliced zucchini, pepper strips, black olives, tomatoes, corn, vegan cheese (optional)
Top layer – Pizza toppings: corn, zucchini, sliced pepper, olives & tomatoes
PLANT-BASED LUNCHBOX IDEA #10
Taco salad
Lettuce, mini tomatoes, black beans, rice, corn and salsa with tortilla chips for dipping
Top layer – cantaloupe chunks, salad toppings: olives, tomatoes, corn, black beans
ON THE SIDE – mix and match:
- Fresh veggies & hummus or nut butter to dip
- Baked tofu cubes with sweet & sour dipping sauce
- Almonds, cashews, walnuts, seeds
- Raisins or other dried fruit
- Pretzels, pita chips, baked tortilla chips with regular salsa or Pineapple Strawberry Salsa to dip
- Air-fried or oven roasted sweet potato or russet potato cubes
- Air-fried crispy garbanzo beans
- Fingerling potatoes boiled ahead and refrigerated are yummy dipped in mustard
DESSERT:
- Fresh fruit (peeled and pre-cut for easy munching)
- Sliced apples to dip in chocolate hummus
- 100% applesauce or other fruit cups or fruit squeezer pouches
- Lara Bar (choose from the type that contains only fruit & nuts, be sure to read labels!)
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Brown rice rollers (organic puffed brown rice, brown rice syrup & cane sugar–low in sugar)
OLD STANDBYS:
- Peanut Butter (or any nut butter) and Jelly (100% fruit) sandwiches
- Send bread with nut butter in a little container, a banana, and plastic knife for a nut butter and banana sandwich
- Leftovers: pizza & pasta are favorites around here
- Soup: For cold days, a nice thermos of soup or chili is perfect – serve with some crackers, veggies & hummus and fruit
- Make-your-own salad (include lettuce, cut-up veggies, air-fried garbanzo beans or plain beans, corn, etc.) plus a small container of oil-free salad dressing or thinned-down hummus. Top with raw sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
BATCH COOKING: I love to make a big Pasta or Beany Farro Salad early in the week and eat it all week long. If you take a little time on a Sunday afternoon or evening to do lunch prep ahead of time, it saves you the stress of trying to figure out what to fix the rest of the week (more on that another day)!
What are some of your favorite lunchbox goodies?
Wow! I love these ideas. My daughter is going to kindergarten this year so we’ll have to think about her lunches now. My wife is Japanese and so bento boxes are very popular there. She has a book on how to prepare bento boxes but most contain meat or dairy or egg. Nice to see ones that are purely plant-based.
In fact I wouldn’t mind having some of these myself, especially the ones with chocolate!
Also love the photos presenting each box with it’s two layers. Great job!
Thanks Marc, I hope you find some lunch options your daughter enjoys!
And I’m all about a little dark chocolate now and then 🙂
All your lunch ideas look delicious. I love those bento boxes! Where can you find them?
Thanks Jodi! 🙂 I bought that bento box at Safeway, but I’ve seen them at grocery and other general merchandise stores (like Target). I also looked on Amazon, just to compare the prices and they have them there too.