25+ Lunch Ideas for Homeschool When You Don’t Have Time
Lunch is probably my least favorite part of the homeschooling day!!
My son is currently eating me out of house and home! He is 11 and will soon be taller than me (although as I am 5′ 9 and a half” luckily there is still a way to go!!).
So I thought I would create a list of easy lunch ideas for homeschool, for when we don’t have time to plan!!
We have to be super careful in this house, as at the age of 10 my son was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy.
The only reason I can assume we hadn’t already discovered it, is because we lived in England until he was 9, and we really don’t eat peanut butter!
Everything in this house now has to be completely FREE from peanuts and tree nuts.
We also don’t trust cross-contamination (which is nearly all chocolate, cookies, cakes, in fact, most nice things!!).
So these lunch ideas for homeschool are COMPLETELY PEANUT AND TREE NUT FREE.
But, if you do have a child with a nut allergy of course, please don’t take my word for it. Check the labels (as I know all too well that they change from time to time!)
**There may be affiliate links in this post. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.**
Easy Homeschool Lunches
I will start with what we normally eat, which is super easy, and then I will start adding things that take more than 2 minutes!! But honestly, this really is for homeschool moms who have ZERO time at lunchtime.
I would love to be able to plan and prepare, and when we first started homeschooling I had lovely images of myself cooking all day.
But reality has set in and there is only so much I can do! I mean I cook a healthy dinner at night! I really don’t need to spend too much time on lunch as well.
- Jam Sandwich – see I told you I was starting easy!
- Hot Dogs – we get the Weiners so they microwave in 30 seconds!
- Ravioli with tomato sauce – of course, we have to be really careful with this, but the Costco chicken one is really good
- Leftover dinner from the night before. (This is one of my favorites, I nearly always cook too many vegetables or cook too much pasta, so we can have it for lunch the following day.)
- Pizza – we eat pizza far too much. But when we do there are always pieces left over, so I freeze them in separate bags and bring them out if I am feeling particularly lazy! (which is far too regularly!!)
- Cheese and basil panini **
- Classic grilled cheese sandwich **
- Ham and cheese sliders **
- Pasta with either tomato or cheese sauce **
You don’t need to spend a fortune either these cheap family meal plan ideas will save you hundreds.
** If you are wondering what the stars are, these are all recipes from the BEST KIDS COOKBOOK EVER!!! If you don’t own a copy of this amazing cookbook, you need to get it now!
I really love Mary Berry, however, most meals I now cook come from this kid’s cookbook!!! The crispy oven-fried chicken and the apple cider glazed pork chops are just amazing.
What’s even better is, that it actually encourages my son to cook too. Now don’t get me wrong, when it comes to lunchtime unless he is in the mood (rarely) I still make his lunch.
We have enough homeschool battles to deal with than fighting about food as well! But maybe every other week he will ask to make dinner from this cookbook!
Or more often than not, he will prefer to make the chocolate sheet cake, or the cookies (we have to slightly adapt the recipe for his allergies).
We have recently purchased the complete baking book from them too, and it is equally awesome!
Homeschool Lunch Ideas
These are the best (and easiest) homeschool lunches for kids that they’re going to love.
Crispy baked chicken nuggets made with Panko breadcrumbs, served with a 2-ingredient homemade honey mustard for dipping. The best healthy chicken nuggets and perfect as a homeschool lunch option!
Crunchy Air Fryer Grilled Cheese is a new take on the comfort food classic you grew up with. Made only with pantry staples, you will love how crunchy the bread is and how you get perfectly melted cheese straight out of the air fryer.
Make it even healthier and use whole wheat bread instead of white.
Macaroni and cheese in the microwave is so easy to make even older kids can do it. No draining or boiling noodles beforehand, absolutely perfect for a homeschool lunch.
This crispy pan fried gnocchi is a simple and quick recipe to make in only 20 minutes for an easy homeschool lunch. Crispy gnocchi coated in a light sauce made with garlic, herbs, butter, and parmesan.
This light and crispy spinach and tomato white pizza is a quick and healthy lunch idea! It is a great way to get kids to eat their vegetables too!
Hawaiian Pasta Salad is sooooo quick, easy and inexpensive to make. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a taste of the tropics all year long.
These Chicken Rolled Tacos are made with only 3 ingredients, healthier baked instead of fried. You can have a Tex Mex meal any time of day, but especially perfect as a lunch idea for homeschool.
This Classic Chicken Salad Recipe is made with juicy diced chicken breast, crunchy celery, and a simple mix of creamy mayonnaise and spicy brown mustard. Perfect for homeschool lunches, enjoy this creamy chicken salad recipe sandwiched between a buttery croissant or scooped onto your favorite crackers and pita bread. The perfect cold lunch on those summer days.
This quick, easy, no cook and healthy Rainbow Vegetable Tortilla Wrap is packed full of colorful veggies and that kiddoes, big and small, will love. It is perfect for homeschool lunches, brunches, and when you are out and about.
Kids will love helping make dinner with this simple recipe for easy pepperoni pizza muffins! They take less than five minutes to put together, and are a quick lunch or meal for a busy day on a tight schedule.
This is the best egg salad recipe! It’s creamy, flavorful and easy to make with only 6 ingredients. Use it to make delicious egg salad sandwiches or serve with crackers, over lettuce, and wraps, etc.!
This Chicken Salad Recipe is easy to make with only a handful of simple ingredients. Serve as chicken salad sandwiches or on top of a bed of greens for a delicious, flavorful and light summertime meal!
This tuna salad is one of the best recipes out there! Not only can it be made in minutes but you can make a batch and eat it for a few days!
Crispy Air Fryer Rice paper Spring Rolls (Vegan, Vegetarian) I easyflavorful
This easy rice paper spring rolls are easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. They are filled with vermicelli noodles and vegetables and when cooked I air fryer, they are super crunchy from outside and tender from inside.
Snack Ideas
I always make sure we have the following snacks in the house, as he is ALWAYS HUNGRY!
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Strawberries
- Kiwi
- Or any fruit they like
- Cookies (normally homemade due to the peanut allergy, but Publix sells peanut and tree nut-free cookies now.)
- Carrot sticks
- Cheerios (yes I know this is for breakfast. But if he needs a quick snack he has a dry bowl of these!)
- Vanilla ice cream (again we have to be very careful about the brand)
- Yogurt
Homeschool Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and yet if I am completely honest, we sometimes skip it! We are always in a rush to start the day so we are always wanting something quick and easy. These are our top five favorite homeschool breakfast ideas:
- Yogurt with blueberries
- Jam on toast (of course peanut butter would be an option if you don’t have peanut allergies!)
- Cereal – this is eaten without milk in our house! But of course, you can be more traditional and add milk!
- Monkey bread (check out the recipe in the complete cookbook for young chefs – even better if you can get the kids to make it the day before!)
- Fruit salad, or if you are lazy like me a banana with some berries!
I hope you find these super easy and quick lunch ideas for your homeschool helpful.
Last Updated on 10 April 2023 by homeschoolof1