Five School Lunches in 1 Hour

Back to school means school lunches, and that means you need easy kids lunch recipes. Use this plan to prep for the whole week and make 5 school lunches in 1 hour!

School lunches. Dun dun dun…

They’re a plague on parents far and wide. Deciding what to pack, finding the time to pack, fighting with the kids over what you just packed, and potentially losing your pretty reusable containers to the school trash can.

The whole thing is a battle I’d rather not fight, but the kids have to eat, and it’ll be goldfish and gummies if I don’t step in and do something.

That means I need a stash of easy kids lunch recipes to pull from to make the process of packing school lunches run much more smoothly!

MAKING TIME FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES

Of all the hurdles involved with prepping school lunches, time seems to be the biggest. Since no one has invented ways to add hours to the day, creating a good plan to use time wisely seems to be the next best option.

Each month, I write a meal plan, and then each week, I modify the meal plan as needed to accommodate our schedules and the weekly CSA box. If this plan works so well for dinner, why not do the same thing for school lunches?

But I didn’t want to stop there. Anyone can come up with a meal plan for kid’s lunch box ideas. That’s not the hard part.

The hard part is finding the time involved to implement the plan. You know, amongst other important and time-draining parts of life like working, shopping, laundry, and sleeping.

EASY KIDS LUNCH RECIPES IN ONE HOUR!

So, I created a one-week meal plan that is not just for school lunches, but one that:

• Uses whole foods for healthy lunch ideas
• Is frugal
• Feeds two elementary-aged kids
• Can be prepared in advance AND in under an hour
• Has food that the picky eater kids will actually EAT

How’s THAT for a school lunch win?!

FIVE LUNCH IDEAS FOR KIDS IN LESS THAN AN HOUR

Now, the concept of cooking an entire week’s worth of lunches in an hour is speed cooking at its finest. Your goal is to get as much done as possible in this one-hour time frame. This means keeping cutting boards out, not washing dishes, and kicking the family out of the kitchen while you work.

(Need a TV babysitter for an hour? I won’t judge.)

As written, these lunch ideas for kids make enough for 2 elementary school children for 5 days.

HEALTHY LUNCH EASY RECIPES

Here are the healthy lunch easy recipes we’re making with this one-hour plan.

Main Dishes (choose two per day)

• Zucchini Muffins with Carrots and Apples (1 muffin x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings
• Homemade Spaghetti O’s (1 serving x 4 days x 2 kids) = 8 servings
• Chicken Salad (find this recipe in the FREE download!) (1 serving x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings

Side Dishes (choose two to three per day)

• Slices of cheese (1 oz x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings
• Carrot sticks (4 sticks x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings
• Celery sticks (4 sticks x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings
• Apple slices (4 slices x 3 days x 2 kids) = 6 servings

COOKING THE EASY HEALTHY LUNCH RECIPES

Follow these step-by-step instructions to prep 5 days’ worth of easy kids lunch recipes in 1 hour!

Step 1. Prepare the muffin batter (15 minutes) and bake the muffins (25 minutes).

Step 2. While the muffins bake:

• Peel and slice 7 carrots into 56 sticks (each carrot halved, then 4 sticks for each half)
• Slice 7 celery ribs into 56 sticks
• Slice 2 apples into 24 wedges total

Step 3. Slice 6 ounces of cheese into 1-oz portions. Take 8 carrot sticks and 8 celery ribs (that you have already sliced) and dice them into small pieces. Dice the raw chicken into small pieces.

Step 4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta. (10 minutes)

Step 5. While the pasta is cooking, remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool.

Step 6. Cook the chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat. Prepare the pasta sauce in a small saucepan.

Step 7. Remove the chicken from the heat. Combine the cooked pasta with the sauce.

Step 8. In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the diced celery, diced carrots, and desired condiments (mayo/mustard/relish) to finish the chicken salad.

PORTION AND PACKAGE THE EASY LUNCH RECIPES

• 6 muffins in a container with a lid, in the fridge. 12 muffins in a freezer-safe bag, in the freezer. (This meal plan makes extra muffins – perfect for future kids lunches! Once you’ve used the first 6 muffins, you can pull more out to thaw or place them in the lunchbox frozen – they’ll thaw by lunchtime!)
• Place the chicken salad in an airtight container with a lid.
• Place the spaghetti-os in a container with a lid.
• Place the cheese, fruits, and vegetables in a container with a lid.

Chances are, you won’t have enough containers to portion out individually for every single day. No worries – keep like items together and let the kids pick and choose from the menu for the day.

ASSEMBLING KIDS SCHOOL LUNCHES

Each morning (or the night before), allow the kids to choose what they want from the menu and help them portion it into appropriate lunch containers. Mark off the items on the included printable inventory sheet so it’s easy to see what’s left. This make packing lunches much easier!

Need some lunchbox recommendations? Here are our favorite kids’ lunch boxes.

MORE IDEAS FOR LUNCHBOXES

What if you don’t like these ideas for lunchboxes? Or what if you need more food to feed older children or big eaters?

These easy kids lunch recipes still work!

While the cooking plan above is specific to the dishes I chose, it can easily be tailored to your own menu.

• Swap out the recipes. Choose one baking item, one stove-top item, and one no-cook item, and prepare them in that order.
• It’s helpful if some ingredients overlap, like the carrots and celery that are in the chicken salad AND sliced up for sides, but it’s not necessary. Just make sure you have everything you need before you start.
• Increase the amounts for older children, or if you’re making school lunches for more than 2 kids. (Just figure out how much you need for one portion and do the math!)
• If you can include lunch preparation into your already scheduled dinner plans, you’ll be done even faster!

MORE EASY KIDS LUNCH RECIPES

Here are some ideas beyond a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chips:

• Ham and cheese sandwich
• Turkey and swiss wrap
• Hummus and crackers
• Mini pizza on a pita (pack pizza sauce separately so the ‘crust’ doesn’t get soggy)
• Tuna salad
• Pasta salad
• Eggs salad
• PB&J on a tortilla
• Pinwheels
• Bagels
• Pancakes, waffles, and scones are good for lunch too!

The sides are super easy to swap out:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Grapes
• Bell pepper
• Mandarin oranges
• Grape tomatoes
• Cucumbers

For more snacky lunch ideas check out Homemade Lunchables!

EASY AND HEALTHY LUNCH RECIPES

Talk with your kids about what makes a healthy lunch. As kids get older, they may end up making their lunches themselves rather than you doing it. So, it’s helpful to set a good basis for them so they know the types of foods to include. Here are a few basic questions and answers to get you started.

• Where’s the protein? Protein is going to help you feel satisfied and full after meals and keep your blood sugar stable as you digest your food.
• Where’s the produce? As an adult, I aim for half of my plate to be produce, and I want my kids to get plenty of it too. Aim to always include the fruits and veggies.
• What else makes this a complete meal? Make sure they know how much food is “enough” for their growing bodies and talk about the other options they have for completing the meal. Focus on real food items over processed ones, and know how to tell the difference.

These are conversations that are going to happen over time, but as we are raising our kids to be independent, it’s valuable for them to know why we’ve been feeding them what we’re feeding them so they can continue to eat well into adulthood.

What tips do you have for packing school lunches quickly?