• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Add Salt & Serve
  • Our
    Recipes
  • Meal
    Plans
  • Busy Cook's
    Secrets
  • Your Recipe
    Collections

  • About
  • Member
    Login
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Your Collections
  • Secrets of a Busy Cook
  • Subscribe
  • Bulk Cooking
  • About
  • Contact
  • Your Purchases
  • Facebook Group
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home / Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack Ideas

    Lunch Ideas

    Lunch Ideas

    Here are some lunch ideas that have been contributed by moms in our various groups over the years. Items suitable for packing in an insulated lunchbox or thermos are noted with an asterisk.

    Lunch Ideas

    Lunch Ideas

    1. Leftovers
    2. Lunch meat with cheese and crackers*
    3. Quesadillas with nachos
    4. Sandwiches* (Cutting off the crust and cutting into triangles makes them more appealing,and changing breads - bagels, croissants, sandwich bread, French rolls)
      • PB&J
      • PB and banana
      • Nutella and marshmallow creme
      • Lunch meat and cheese
      • Grilled cheese
      • Tuna salad
      • Egg salad
      • Chicken salad
      • Cucumbers and cream cheese
      • Bacon and cheese (with lettuce, tomato, or onions if they like them)
      • Open-faced apple and cheddar
      • Tuna melts
    5. Tortilla roll ups or pita sandwiches*
      • PB&J
      • Lunch meat and cheese
      • Tuna salad
      • Egg salad
      • Veggies (julienned) with peanut sauce
      • Chicken salad
      • Stir fry leftovers
      • Cucumber (julienned) and cream cheese
      • Hummus with julienned veggies
    6. Crescent Rollups
      • Pepperoni and Mozzarella Cheese
      • Ham and American Cheese
      • Turkey and Swiss Cheese
      • Spinach and Mozzarella Cheese
    7. Homemade or canned soup*
    8. Pizza on English muffins or bagels
    9. Pizza or stromboli
    10. Mexican pizza on tortillas
    11. Relish tray of fruit or veggies with dip and cheese*
    12. Baguettes with cheese and grapes (makes an easy picnic, too)*
    13. Apples spread with peanut butter*
    14. Macaroni and cheese
    15. Impossible cheeseburger pie (easy when you have onions and beef already cooked in the freezer!)
    16. Fried rice
    17. Cubed anything with toothpicks*
    18. Baked potatoes (they cook in 6 minutes in the microwave) - coat them in olive oil and coarse salt and pepper and prick with a fork before cooking
    19. Pasta salad with meat and/or veggies added*
    20. Beanie weenies*
    21. Quesadillas
    22. Tacos
    23. Taco salad
    24. Nachos with chili & beans
    25. Individually frozen cooked hamburger patties
    26. Octopus hot dogs - cut the wiener lengthwise about ⅔ of the way down to make tentacles then boil or microwave then make eyes with dots of mustard or canned cheese* (put hot dog in boiling water in a Thermos and it will be cooked by lunch time)
    27. Sliders (make mini hamburger patties to freeze when you make hamburgers)
    28. Homemade soup of any kind (freeze extra in lunch serving size portions)*
    29. Reubens
    30. Pancakes or waffles with fruit
    31. Bacon, egg, and cheese English muffins (or sourdough bread sandwiches)
    32. Rice and beans (the little packets are good)*
    33. Pinto beans and cornbread (soak your pinto beans the day before and cook them overnight in the slow cooker)
    34. Ants on a log (celery with peanut butter spread on it and raisins on top)

    * Indicates a perishable item suitable for packing in an insulated lunchbox or thermos

    Lunch Ideas
    Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Email

    More Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack Ideas

    • Breakfast Ideas
    • Kids' Snack Ideas
    • Quick Pantry Lunch Ideas

    Posted by Mary Ann on June 7, 2012; Updated on September 12, 2020Filed Under: Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack Ideas

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    • Recipes
    • Meal Plans

    Member area →

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    As featured on

    As seen on PBSParents, SFGate, NYT Diner's Journal, How Stuff Works, BankRate, TheSpruceEats, The Wine Coach As seen on PBSParents, SFGate, NYT Diner's Journal, How Stuff Works, BankRate, TheSpruceEats, The Wine Coach Add Salt & Serve (formerly Menus4Moms) © 2000–2023 Kelley Media, Ltd. All rights reserved.
    Contact | About | Member Login | For the Media | Terms / Disclaimers | Privacy | Refund Policy | Sitemap | DMCA | Accessibility | Do Not Sell My Information
    As an Amazon Associate Add Salt & Serve earns from qualifying purchases.