30 Easy Summer Lunches for Kids
Easy summer lunches for kids includes a variety of make-ahead pasta salads, wraps, snack plates, smoothies, and easy recipes kids can assemble themselves. No matter the age of your kids, these easy lunch ideas help everyone stay fed this summer.
Summer lunches don't have to mean standing in the kitchen every afternoon making sandwiches. The kids get so many of those during the school year that I'm sure even they are ready for a little break.
The secret is keeping a few simple ingredients prepped and ready for kids to mix and match easy lunches on their own.
Whether you're feeding little kids who need a lot more help, hungry tweens who want to graze every few hours, or teenagers who could maybe cook something easy all by themselves, these easy summer lunch ideas help everyone stay fed without creating more work for you.
Summer Lunch Quick Tips
- Prep your fresh fruit and veggies once a week and keep them stored in individual containers for easy grabbing.
- Keep sandwich fillings at eye level in the fridge.
- Create a "Lunch Zone" that kids have full permission to grab what they want even without asking.
- Prepare frozen smoothie bags, burritos, and sandwich fillings ahead of time.
- Always have one protein option that is easy to grab.
Lunches that Kids Can Make Themselves
As the author of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook, I believe that kids of all ages are able to make food for themselves. Some just need a little help with the set up and a tour of your kitchen to get started.
Here's a breakdown of what age I believe kids are capable of cooking what:
Ages 5 - 7 (With Help)
- Snack Plates from prepared ingredients
- Finger Sandwiches from prepared ingredients
- Reheating prepared entrees in the microwave
Ages 8 - 12
- Wraps
- Quesadillas
- Flatbread Pizzas
- Air Fryer Snacks
- Reheating just about anything from the list below
Teens
- Absolutely everything on this list a teen should be able to assemble or reheat
- Most of this list they'd also be capable of making from scratch! Teens are your most capable helpers. They may even drive to the store to get the groceries if you're extra lucky.
Easy Sandwiches
If it's lunch, I'm automatically thinking of a sandwich. You could pile up your favorite deli meats and fillings on one of my favorite homemade breads for sandwiches or try one of these new combos:
BLTs: Make a batch of my peppered bacon, slice up some tomato, and have plenty of bread on hand for make-your-own classic BLT sandwiches.
Pesto Chicken: Creamy chicken pesto sandwiches start with a rotisserie chicken and a jar of prepared pesto. You can stir these together so quickly or prep the filling in advance for the kids to fill and heat their own sandwiches on their own.
Turkey Apple Cheddar: I like to griddle my turkey apple cheddar sandwiches on rye but they'd be good cold, too.
Baked Chicken Roll Ups: Use refrigerated crescent dough to make these warm cheesy chicken roll ups to serve with veggies or fruit.
Finger Sandwiches: Many of my best sandwich ideas are shared in this list of 30 finger sandwiches for tea parties. You could easily turn any one of them into a full-sized sandwich but little kids LOVE finger-shaped sandwiches for tiny bites.
Caprese Sandwiches: My youngest is obsessed with turning my caprese salad into a sandwich. I just make sure to have these on hand:
- ciabatta rolls from Costco
- pre-cut mozzarella from Costco
- sliced tomato in the fridge
- balsamic glaze from Trader Joe's
Cold Pasta Salads
A prepared pasta salad is easy to keep in one large container in the fridge. Everyone can just scoop out a portion for lunch when needed.
Classic Pasta Salad: My mom's chicken salad pasta salad is a creamy classic.
Italian Pasta Salad: My youngest begs for this chilled zesty Italian pasta salad, especially on really hot summer days. The marinated tomatoes make it so refreshing.
Mexican Street Corn: I made this Mexican street corn pasta salad for a potluck party once and my daughter begged me to make another batch just so she could enjoy it for lunches for a week.
Fill Your Own Wrap
Keep a few key ingredients prepped and ready in the fridge and the kids can mix and match their own inside a pita or tortilla.
Chicken Gyros: You can keep the prepared chicken, vegetables, and tzatziki sauce separate for the kids to make their own chicken gyros wrap in a pita.
Chicken Caesar Wraps: Keep a container of cubed chicken, romaine lettuce, and my easy Caesar dressing in a mason jar for the kids to roll up a wrap in a tortilla.
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Snack Plates
I think having lots of prepared produce and a few strategic dips make it really easy for kids to assemble snack plates for grazing rather than a big meal mid-day.
Veggie Dips: Keep baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, and bell pepper strips ready to grab. Then add containers of my creamy dill dip, tangy tzatziki sauce, or spicy boat dip ready for dipping.
Snack Boards: Keep some sliced hard cheese and deli meats ready to grab. The kids could make their own cheddar snack boards.
Summery Salsas: Prepare a big bowl of this fresh sweet and spicy peach salsa or my favorite homemade salsa, they're a great way to sneak in some fresh produce with tortilla chips.
Chicken Enchilada Dip: Offer up scoops of this protein-heavy chicken enchilada dip with some whole wheat crackers as fun mini bites.
Air Fryer Snacks
One of the best small kitchen appliances when you've got kids in the house, teach them how to use an air fryer and a whole world of hot, fresh food is waiting for them!
Chicken Nuggets: Keep a few fun dips for dunking and teach the kids how to bake frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer for a quick lunch or snack. My kids love this copycat Chick-Fil-A sauce and honey mustard dip but I love this spicier Raising Cane sauce.
Turkey Taquitos: Skip the overly processed frozen ones and make a homemade batch of my turkey taquitos for the kids to reheat as needed in the air fryer.
Quesadillas
Plain cheesy quesadillas were one of the first things I taught my girls how to cook on their own. You can find the recipe for it in my cookbook for kids, The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook.
Chicken Quesadillas: It's one more step away to make my easy jerk chicken quesadillas once you've nailed the habit!
Flatbread Pizzas
Stock up the kitchen with prepared flatbreads, individual pizza crusts, or packages of naan breads and the kids could top them with their favorite toppings for quick and easy flatbread pizzas.
Bruschetta Pizza: Prepare a container of my bruschetta topping and this easy bruschetta pizza is minutes away.
Sweet Corn Flatbread Pizza: I used some leftover bacon and fresh corn from the fridge to make these sweet corn pizzas one day and they were so good I know prepare those ingredients on purpose!
Crescent Roll Veggie Pizza: I can get my kids to eat so many raw veggies if I bake a batch of this crescent roll veggie pizza to use as lunchtime snacks during the week.
Protein Smoothie & Granola Bar
For a refreshingly cold lunch, prepare some freezer smoothie bags to make these easy protein smoothies for the kids.
Pair a smoothie with a peanut butter granola bar and they'll be ready to hop back into the pool in no time flat.
Frozen Breakfast Items
If you've got sleepyhead teens like I do, you'll know that they don't mind eating breakfast at noon. Especially when they slept until 11:30am. Ha!
But even when my girls were small, they loved a tasty breakfast item any time of day.
Breakfast Burritos: I keep these individually wrapped breakfast burritos in my freezer for easy grabbing and heating.
Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches: Once you make a pan of my baked egg patties, these frozen breakfast sandwiches come together quickly. I keep them a little lighter by using turkey breakfast sausage.
DIY Frozen Entrees
If you're looking for an easy summer lunch that does double duty and works for feeding the kids but is easy enough for you to grab and take to work, too, you might want to prepare some easy freezer meals in lunch-sized portions.
The kids can reheat these right in the microwave and they take just a few minutes to prepare.
Rotisserie Chicken Rice Bowls: Shred a rotisserie chicken, make a batch of jasmine rice, and you're ready to assemble these rotisserie chicken teriyaki rice bowls.
Seasoned Chicken and Vegetables: Bake a sheet pan of this easy seasoned chicken and vegetables recipe. Portion it out into meal prep containers for the week for the whole family.
More Recipes for Kids
Looking for more ways to keep your hungry kids fed this summer? Here are a few of my favorite recipes for kids:
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