Life just got easier with these 10 Make Ahead School Lunch Ideas. Just reheat them in the morning, and they are good to go.

Hey everyone. It’s a time of the year again when we all are getting ready for the new School Year. Getting school supplies to planning lunch boxes are on the to-do list.

To make things easier for you, I have you covered today in this post on 10 Make-Ahead School Lunches. You can make these ahead of time and freeze it or make them for dinner and can use the left-overs for the next day’s lunch.

So let’s dig in and check them out.

Coming up with the Lunch Box ideas.

Last year, I had shared 10 Quick School Lunch Ideas. These were mainly no-cook to minimum cooking needed. It was my first year of planning lunch boxes, I was new to it. As usual, my then five years old told me what she liked and what she didn’t in her lunch box. (Tell me about honest feedback)

Hence the result was the post. The ones she finished during her lunch break time.

Now a year later, I thought of improvising it and adding more elaborate meals. My daughter’s eating habits have changed, and she is far more receptive to spicy and flavourful foods.

Make-Ahead School Lunches

To make things less stressful for you and for me too, I came up with this list of 10 Make-Ahead School Lunches. You can refrigerate all of them while some you can make in bulk and freeze them.

In the morning, you can reheat these and pack it in the lunch box. Bonus, you can take these with you at work as well. Now, how convenient is that?

Enough said, let’s go through the ideas.

Spinach And Kale Tikkis:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- YES REFRIGERATE- COOKED SPINACH TIKKIS

Talk about a meal full of hidden vegetables. If you want to sneak in some veggies along with kale and spinach, then this is your to-go recipe.

I have mixed spinach- kale puree and mixed vegetable puree in potatoes as a base. Then flavored these with herbs like fennel seeds, basil, and thyme. Added some ginger and garlic to reduce the vegetable aroma.

Finally, I baked them for 20 mins, and they are done. These are great for any lunch and dinner. Just serve them with your child’s favorite dipping sauce.

You can make these in bulk and freeze them up to a week. Or you can cook them and refrigerate Spinach And Kale Tikkis in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 days.

In the morning for making the lunch box ready, reheat the already cooked tikkis and fill it up in the lunch box container. Make sure to give your child’s favorite dip with it.

Chicken Veggie Wraps: 

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

For these wraps, I have roasted Spinach tortillas and layered it with garlic hummus and ranch. Further, I topped this with cooked lunch meat, in this case- roasted chicken slices. Then added a layer of carrot slices, cucumber slices, and lettuce.

This wrap is flavored with salt, black pepper, and cajun seasoning. Finally rolled these into a parchment paper for ease of eating, packed them into a lunch box and they were good to go.

Cherry Stuffed Pancake Bites

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

In the following recipe, I have used store-bought organic pancake mix. I started by mixing the pancake mix according to package instructions.

Then added some vanilla extract to it. I filled each one with pancake mix halfway. Then topped this with one maraschino cherry and ladled the remaining batter and covered it.

Make sure to keep the temperature on low to medium. Cook this on one side till it’s golden brown and then turn it with a spoon to let the other half get cooked well. 

Once cooked, I let them sit for a while and then refrigerate them in an air-tight container for up to 1 to 2 days.

While packing these for lunch, I pour the maple syrup at the bottom and top it with these little bites. So by the time, it’s lunch break the syrup is all soaked up, and there is a less sticky mess.

Cucumber Pickel Pasta Salad:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER ASSEMBLY

Another addition to the list of 10 Make-Ahead School Lunches is Cucumber Dill Pasta Salad. I have mixed dill cucumber pickle with pasta and added some vegan mayonnaise. To give it a crunch and sweetness, I have added an apple to this salad.

This lunch idea is perfect for summer school days. For packing this one, make sure you add the dressing while packing the lunch or give it in a different container.

I usually keep the cooked pasta and dressing ready at night in the refrigerator and the moring, add apple slices to the pasta. I like to give the dressing in a different container with a cold pack inside the lunch box.

Chicken Quesadillas:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

In this recipe, I have cooked chicken with organic tomato salsa. Made some fajitas and filled the quesadilla with chicken, fajitas, and lots of cheese.

Since I made this recipe keeping kids in mind, I have used small size tortillas to make it kids friendly. But for grown-ups, you have used bigger ones too.

For the grown-up version, you can add some green chiles while cooking the chicken as well as some paprika while marinating the chicken. This gives a pleasant chili aroma and adds some heat.

It is a great dinner option which can turn into the next day’s lunch box menu.

I make these at night and store them in a silver foil in the refrigerator. In the morning while packing the lunch box- I heat them well and pack it with salsa or dipping sauce.

Stir Fry Noodles:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

In the following recipe, I have used basil as an aromatic and sesame seeds to flavor these stir-fry noodles. I have used Kashmiri chili, to add just an aroma of chilies, minus the heat.

They give the chili garlic sauce a beautiful red color and flavor but has no heat. You can also add meat to this recipe. 

Noodles are an all-time favorite at my house. So these turn up to be a dinner option many a time. The leftovers get packed for the next day’s lunch.

I reheat them before packing it into my daughter’s lunch box.

Vegetable Couscous Pilaf: 

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

I have cooked mixed vegetables and then added couscous to it. For aromatics, I have used a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, star anise, and peppercorns. This pilaf goes well as sides for any meal.

This pilaf can be another dinner option, which can later become a lunch box meal. Reheat before packing. You can add salad vegetables while packing lunch.

Potato Pancakes:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- YES
REFRIGERATE-AFTER COOKING

Potato Pancakes are a meal on its own. Filled with mashed potatoes and hash browns these can be a delicious lunch option.  For potato lovers, it’s best of both worlds. 

Make these and freeze the cooked ones, or you can refrigerate it. While packing for lunch, reheat and pack it with a delicious dipping sauce along with fruit and vegetables.

Quick Mushroom Fried Rice: 

FREEZER FRIENDLY- NO
REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

Another dinner recipe which can later turn into a lunch box option. You can store the leftover in the refrigerator and box it for next days lunch.

In the following recipe, I have used mushrooms as the main ingredient, along with peppers, onions, and carrots. I have flavored this with some ginger- garlic and my version of fried rice sauce.

Spinach Corn Tikkis:

FREEZER FRIENDLY- YES REFRIGERATE- AFTER COOKING

In this recipe, I have added spinach puree to boiled potatoes, added some herbs and spices to make it aromatic and flavorful.

You can make the tikkis and store them raw in the freezer. Or you can cook and refrigerate them and pack it for the next day’s lunch. Make sure to pack a dipping sauce with it.

While these can be the main lunch food ideas, I thought of going further and sharing with you all the sides that can go with these lunches.

Sides to go with these lunches

I admit I have more trouble picking up a ‘Side’ for the main food than the main food. So I make sure I have a list of side foods with me that my daughter prefers with her lunch. Here are some ideas.

• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Apple
• Cucumber
• Baby Carrots
• Crackers (any sort)
• Orange Slices
• Pretzels
• Cheese stick or shredded cheese
• Dried Fruits (figs, papaya, pineapple etc)

You can add more to this list, according to your preference.

There you have it a big list of 10 make-ahead school lunches for the upcoming school year.

This concludes my post today. I hope you find inspiration for your little one’s lunch box with these 10 Make-Ahead School Lunches.

What are you giving to your kids for their school lunch? What is their favorite? Let me know in the comments.

Till we talk again, take care and enjoy making simple recipes for your little ones.

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