Here are 25 vegan school lunches that your kids are guaranteed to love. They are tasty, easy to transport in lunchboxes and for little hands to hold, and best of all, they are healthy. Many are soy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free, and labeled accordingly.
School's on, and if you're a mom, you are feeling exactly as I do right now: relieved.
Whoever it was that said school was invented to keep moms sane knew what they were talking about, right? I mean, as much as you love their little souls, kids can eat into your day and your brain with incredible efficiency.
Jay loves his school, as much as I love sending him to it, but there's one aspect of school that always causes me some concern: what he'll eat once he's out there.
Every parent knows that when you send your kid to school, there are no guarantees about what will go into their tummies in the hours that they are there. You might pack the healthiest, most delicious lunch -- according to you -- and chances are it will end up in the trash or traded with someone else for a PBJ sandwich.
As a vegan, I have other things to think about too. Jay's school has a diverse group of students, including many who are vegetarian. But the county still does not offer vegetarian options in the lunch lines every day, leave alone healthy vegan school lunches. When there is a vegetarian dish on the menu, it's either something unhealthy, like pizza, or it is smothered in an inordinate amount of cheese.
Over years of trial and error, I have learned -- the hard way -- about foods Jay will and will not eat.
Kids, obviously, do not worry about what's good for them, and when it comes to the lunchbox, the primary deciding factor, for them, is taste. So rule number one, when I made up this list of lunches that my nine-year-old loves and that I think might help those of you with your own picky eaters, is that the food had to be absolutely, unequivocally, delicious.
For me, as mom, there are other factors just as, if not more, important. The food has to be --
-Healthy
-Easy
-Filling
-Make-ahead
-Non-messy
-Adult-friendly
My 25 Vegan School Lunches Your Kids Will Love meet all of these criteria, and they are not very likely to end up in the cafeteria trash. This is an updated version of a post I shared last year, and I've added new recipes I've tried in his lunchbox over the last year. All meals are easy to put together, because on a weeknight I will not be bothered with cooking elaborate meals for lunch the next day. When possible, I do take help, like store-bought vegan meatballs for the Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe or puff pastry. All of the recipes are adult-friendly, because they do a great job balancing healthy with tasty. They are easy to eat by hand, like the hand pies and pita packets, or can be scooped up easily by little hands using spoons and forks. And for those with kids who have food sensitivities, I have indicated if the recipe is nut-free, soy-free, and/or gluten-free.
25 Vegan School Lunches Your Kids Will Love
- Vegan Pizza Rolls
- Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs (nut-free, soy-free, sauce is gluten-free)
- Lentil Marinara (soy-free, nut-free, can be made with gluten-free pasta
- Vegan Irish Hand Pies (nut-free and soy-free except tamari)
- Vegan Curried Lentil Hand Pies (nut free and soy free)
- Masala Khichdi (wholegrain, gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free)
- Chipotle Vegan Burritos with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Vegan Tandoori Naan Burger (burger and naan bread are soy-free)
- Garlicky Zucchini Quinoa Cakes (gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free)
- Baked Keema Samosas (nut-free)
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- Pita Packets (nut-free)
- Chickpea Mushroom Turnovers (nut-free and soy-free)
- Vegetable Frankie
- Baked Chimichangas with Filo
- Vegan Tater Tot Casserole
- Bhel, Savory Brown Rice Crispies With Veggies (gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free)
- Tawa Pulao (gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free)
- Quinoa Lentil Salad (gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free)
- Aloo Paratha
- Chickpea and Kale Stuffed Empanadas (soy-free and nut-free)
- Sprouted Mung Bean Burgers (gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free)
- Vegetable Cutlets (soy-free)
- Keema-Stuffed Naan Calzones (nut-free)
- Instant Pot Spaghetti with "Meaty" Marinara
Also check out these 66 Kid Friendly Vegan Recipes: A vegan mom's guide to stress-free, fun and healthy meals for the family.
Vaishali, these recipes are amazing! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to post them! There is so much to build on. My mostly vegan 5 year old is quite picky, and besides that, her school doesn't have a dedicated cafeteria, the kids just sit on benches to eat their lunch. (Go figure!) Your abundant lunch ideas are not messy, won't go soggy, and will survive being transported by a young child. They are just what I've been searching for!
Hi Olga, hope you try! I just updated the list with new recipes.
I love your site. BUT the advertisment they are putting on your page is Ozpig bbq. With two great big slabs of meat on the bbw. ? obviously the media dont care its a vegan page. But its very of putting and distasteful.
I understand you need funds to keep up your great work.
I love your page. But maybe give the marketing manager a hint. No one from a vegan page is going to be clicking that link on purpose.
Thanks for pointing it out, Jacinda. I will mention this to my ad folks. Appreciate the heads up.
Having recently embraced a vegetarian diet, one of my biggest challenges has been lunch...no fast and easy sandwiches! PB & J gets old. And I don't want to have to heat up a lunch everyday...that is the same as the dinner I'll be eating. Can't wait to try these recipies!
This is a great list, Vaishali! My only remaining problem is that the school does not offer a microwave so I don't know how some of these would be at room temp?
Hi Sneha, the rice dishes taste fine at room temperature, if that's what you're thinking about. Or you can always pack them in a thermos container if you absolutely want hot.
Great! Thankyou very much you made my day!
Thanks! 🙂
Wow !! This is the most amazing post ever! I'm child-free but pack my own lunches, so these recipes are going to be my saviors. Thanks a lot for putting together this very useful list. You rock Vaishali 🙂
Thanks Namrata!
Thank you for such a well thought out and helpful article (and plan).
Thanks, Jason. 🙂
Thank you Vaishali! I love that these are make ahead. How do you pack these lunches? Are they good at room temperature? ( I am looking at the burger and pita pocket recipes)
Hi Ambica, yes, they are all fine at room temperature, including the burger and pita packets. I just pack them in his regular lunchbox.
Vaishali, will you be my mom forever? 😀 These all look sooooo good!
I'll bet some magazine somewhere would be excited to get this post and the recipes with it.
Catherine, I'll adopt you any day. 🙂
Adopt me too 😉
Yes! 🙂 The more people to feed the merrier.
Thank you, Vaishali! My hubby and I take our lunch to work every day in order to ensure that we have a healthy vegan meal. I'm excited to try these recipes for "us big kids". The pictures look amazing.....
Thanks, Christina. These are loved by the big kids in our home as well. 🙂