Easy Nutritious and Cheap Lunch Ideas for Kids

With this year being dubbed the year of the squeeze we are all looking to make savings where we can. This round-up of cheap lunch ideas for kids can certainly help parents save a substantial amount of money each and every week this school year.

As soon as your children reach Year 3 in the UK, they are no longer eligible for free universal school dinners. The cost of continuing to pay for school dinners every day of the week seriously adds up, therefore many parents choose to make the switch to packed lunches. Swapping from school dinners to budget-friendly school packed lunches not only provides your kids with a healthy, delicious meal, but it also saves you money. 

Free school meals

Before you make the switch to making your own packed lunches for your children, do check out whether they are still entitled to free school meals. These are available to children from low-income families in receipt of certain benefits which includes universal credit and income-based job seekers credit. If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in.

There are lots of budget-friendly school packed lunch ideas in this blog post to inspire you, as well as cheaper alternative options to some of the most popular school lunch snacks that will even appeal to those picky eaters!

The best Bento lunchboxes and pots

Supermarkets have played us with some of their pre-packaged foods for years. There are various foods including fresh fruit already sliced up (apples and melons in bags and pots) but this works out so expensive. Or you can buy prepared pasta pots but again the mark up is huge on these kid favorite meals. You are much better off getting prepared by buying some little pots and chopping up the apple slices yourself. If you are going to start investigating cheap lunch ideas for kids then start off with these essential bento lunchboxes or this Sistema bento box.

I’d also recommend the sistema dressing pots as they are ideal for sauces, dips and yoghurts. Finally, we use the breakfast to go container for leftover pasta or noodles that the kids might want to take to school for lunch.

Once you have these essentials pots in your cupboards you are able and ready to start making savings by ditching the shop-bought lunches and making your own great lunches for a fraction of the cost. It might take a few minutes prep but it is worth it for the savings in your pocket and also the environmental savings should not be ignored. Investing in some good containers is much better than using single-use plastic such as clingfilm and bags. I know that it initially costs more in the outlay but this is soon recuperated. You can always check out the supermarkets and charity shops for these types of containers as they are often on offer.

Budget-friendly school packed lunch ideas.

To make the most out of your food shop, save money, and create delicious home-cooked lunches for school, start cooking meals and snacks at home instead of buying them and you will quickly notice the difference in your food budget.

I have years of practice with easy school lunch ideas as I have two kids still at school and a husband and daughter who are both teachers working in secondary schools!

The following easy lunch ideas are perfect for school packed lunches; just be sure to check with your school’s food safety policy to ensure all the ingredients you want to use will be suitable and that there are no food restrictions due to allergies in the class pupils.

• Lunch box pasta salad: cold pasta with pesto, tomato sauce, or any other sauce of your choosing is a great budget-friendly school packed lunch idea. Add in any ingredients you want, such as cucumber, tuna, or olives. This is always popular with my kids and if I have made evening meals of tuna pasta I always make enough to fill their lunchboxes the next day too. This is a great way to save money and time as it offers an easy lunch box prep!
• Cheese muffins: Cook up some savoury muffins using cheese and herbs, then include them in your child’s packed lunch as a tasty snack for breaktime.
• Carrot sticks/ celery sticks / bell peppers, cucumber sticks & dip add to healthy lunches: let your child pick their favourite crunchy veggies and cut them into sticks for dunking. You can use shop-bought dips such as hummus, or make your own. 
• Savoury scones: Scones are cheap and easy to make at home and make a good alternative to sandwiches. Add some cheese and herbs into your scone mixture and either leave them plain or add some fillers such as a soft cheese triangle.
• Leftover chicken nuggets are another alternative to sandwiches and again if I have cooked up some breaded chicken for dinner it’s a great addition to the lunchbox too.
• Alternate the sandwiches to stop your kids from getting bored and provide some variety, consider salad wraps or pita bread for variety. If you cut pita bread in half you can stuff it with favorite toppings.
• A salad is often popular with older kids, an egg salad or chicken salad is cheap and ideal on a summer day. Add lots of colour to appeal to kids, cherry tomatoes or baby carrots add some colour along with red pepper. I always encourage my kids to eat the rainbow and include lots of colours in the lunches!

Leftovers make great school packed lunches.

Adding leftovers to your child’s school packed lunch is an almost entirely free way to feed your children. If you’ve made too much food the night before, you can use this to feed your children at school and save yourself some money, as well as cut down on food wastage. Using leftovers like this is an easy way to make a quick meal for school. This also saves time in the mornings which is always a winner for me!

My children enjoy a cold sausage in a sandwich or wrap so I always cook a whole packet with school dinners in mind. I love a yellow sticker food shop and again I make the most of this for school lunches. I just cook up anything that can be used for a delicious lunch and pop it in the fridge ready for the lunch box.

You can also use leftover ingredients to create additional meals specifically for packed lunches. Leftover meat, such as chicken, is good to add to pasta and salad, as well as tasty sandwich fillers, for example, homemade coronation chicken. Leftover vegetables are good for use in mini quiches and leftover sweet potatoes can be used to create healthy homemade crisps.

Make your own cheaper alternatives to popular snacks.

Packed lunches often get expensive because we tend to add branded snacks and treats, such as crips and prepackaged chocolate bars. A good way to save money on these treats is to buy the supermarket’s own brand or shop in budget supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl. Another way is to, of course, make your own versions of these foods! 

A few DIY cheap lunch ideas for kids and snack ideas for school packed lunches are:

• Popcorn instead of crisps: popping corn is cheap to buy in the whole food section of supermarkets. A popcorn maker isn’t necessary, so don’t worry! You can make your own popcorn in a pan on the hob – just make sure you use a pan with a lid to stop the popcorn flying everywhere! Homemade popcorn is a cheaper and healthier alternative to crisps.
• If you have an air fryer you can also make vegetable crisps or snacks. We love air fryer crispy kale which is super healthy and really tasty.
• Ditch the cardboard raisin packs & make your own snack pots using sultanas and other small snacks. Sultanas are cheap to buy in the bakery section of the supermarket and can be added to a small container with other cheap snacks such as pretzels or Cheerios. 
• Save money on cheese strings by using the cheese you already have at home. Buying a large amount of mild cheddar cheese from the supermarket costs around £5, this can be cut into sticks as a string cheese replacement. 
• Let your children build their own homemade Lunchables. Crackers are so cheap to buy, especially if you get a supermarket own brand. Add some crackers, cut up cheese and ham or lunch meat to your child’s school packed lunch and let them build their own cracker sandwiches. 

School packed lunches don’t have to break the bank.

With a few swaps and alternatives, you can save a huge amount of money when putting together your children’s school packed lunches. Creating a meal plan at the beginning of the week is a good way to rotate your children’s favourite lunches and keep them from getting bored. You can also plan ahead and meal prep your children’s school lunches to take all the hassle out of busy school day mornings! I’d love to know your own ideas for packing lunch boxes on a budget.

We hope these cheap fun lunch ideas for kids have given you some new ideas to mix up the school lunches. If you are looking for more ways to save money on food make sure you read 10 Free Food Apps That Really Do Give You Free Food (Updated for 2022)