Kids Lunch Box Ideas & Recipes

Kids Lunch Box Recipes & Ideas – Indian vegetarian kids-friendly recipes for tiffin box. In this post I’ll help you plan and cook some amazing dishes for your kids’ lunch boxes which are vegetarian. A lot of us find it challenging to find lunch ideas that are nutritious, wholesome and yet taste delicious & appeal to the kids.

About Kids’ Lunch Box Recipes

This collection has my family-favorite recipes that I hand-picked for kids-friendly lunches. Needless to say they are great even for the grown-ups & office-goers, meaning you can make a combined lunch for the entire family.

Kids have different choices & mine were very picky. They never finish rice dishes like veg fried rice or pulao and always preferred Kathi rolls, wraps or sandwiches. For many years, I did not pack pasta because they were never fast in eating & most of it would come back. So plan your kids’ lunch depending on their preferences and other things.

I’ve always kept our lunch boxes limited to vegetarian. Never gave them egg or meat because according to standard food safety guidelines they shouldn’t sit at room temperature beyond 2 hours. While a thermos keeps the food hot, I knew the kids’ won’t be able to check on the safety part.

For the simplest meal I make roti/ chapati with a vegetable stir fry + paneer stir fry or tempered chana (no onion, no tomato). I have hundreds of recipes on this blog, please feel free to select simple dishes from this vegetable recipes archive. I’ve recipes for almost every vegetable there.

For ease of access I’ve divided the Kids’ Lunch Ideas into sections. You may navigate easily using this table below.

Expert Tips

Here are some expert tips that come handy while planning your kids lunch.

• Protein: Always pack one main protein in the meal (even when you are packing a rice or pasta dish). Pan fried paneer, simple sautéed Kabuli chana, chana Sundal and this Sprouts stir fry are my top picks. You can also toss boiled chana with salt, black pepper & extra virgin olive oil, for the fastest side.
• Veggie: Make sure you include at least one veggie or mixed vegetables in every lunch. Carrots, green beans, peas, sweet corn, baby corn, cauliflower, broccoli are some of the veggies most common kids love. You may take a look at this Broccoli carrot corn stir fry for idea.
• Single dish: You can also make a single dish consisting of protein and veggie like sautéed veggies with paneer or kabuli chana with veggies etc. But I found keeping them separate helped with the flavors.
• If your kids are slow eaters, encourage them to finish the protein & the veggie completely, if they can’t finish the rice/ roti/ pasta/ bread. This way they will eat the most nutrient dense food from the meal & that keeps them slightly fueled longer.
• Adjustments: Reserve a portion of the prepared meal for yourself. This way you will know how to troubleshoot or adjust the spice levels for your kids, when you make it the next time.
• If you are making a low heat meal, then you can spice up the grown-ups meal with a spicy chutney. A lot of times I have Thecha, Andhra style Green Chili Chutney or a Pickle handy to spice-up the meals for the rest of us.

Parathas (stuffed & plain)

Rolls & Wraps

Sandwiches

Noodles & Pasta Dishes

Rice Dishes