Easy Bento Box Lunch Ideas for Work and School

The ancient Japanese tradition of packing lunch in a bento box, a decorative container with small compartments, has now become mainstream. We love bento box lunches because the compartments help control portion sizes and they're great for kids too. Try these easy bento box lunch ideas to shake up your lunch routine.
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Clean-Eating Bento Box Lunch

Start to finish: 10 mins
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Who says bento boxes are just for kids? This healthy bento-style lunch--loaded with clean, satisfying foods--is perfect to pack for work.

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Mediterranean Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 15 mins
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Travel to the Mediterranean over your lunch break with this healthy bento box idea that combines Greek salad, hummus, pita and more for a satisfying work lunch.

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Taco Salad Bento Lunch for Kids

Start to finish: 20 mins
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No more half-eaten lunches--this taco-inspired bento box lunch is a healthy and portable meal your kid will love.

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Deconstructed Sushi Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 15 mins
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This healthy bento box idea makes it easy, healthy and affordable to have sushi for lunch as often as you'd like! Skip the rolling and place sushi ingredients like rice, shrimp and avocado in a bento for a packable lunch for work.

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Rainbow Bento Lunch for Kids

Start to finish: 10 mins
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This bento box idea makes lunch fun. With its colorful carrots and swirled yogurt, this packable lunch is a healthy meal kids will actually want to eat--no more half-eaten lunches.

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Picnic Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 30 mins
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Get all the flavors of al fresco dining wherever you are. This easy and healthy packable lunch idea includes all your picnic favorites for a satisfying meal to take to work.

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Salmon Salad Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 15 mins
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Watercress acts as a tasty divider between the salmon salad and crackers. Multicolored peppers and grapes add color to this bento and boost your daily servings of fruits and veggies.

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Egg Salad Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 20 mins
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This egg salad bento box is a hearty lunch and snack all in one. Spoon the egg salad into a lettuce “bowl” to keep it looking pretty and enjoy with cocktail bread and veggies. Toss banana and blueberries with yogurt to keep the bananas from turning brown. Save the chocolate chips and pistachios for an afternoon pick-me-up.

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Pizza Roll-Up Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 15 mins
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This easy pizza-inspired roll-up is a kid-pleaser. Make crunchy vegetables more appealing by selecting colorful varieties like orange and purple cauliflower--and don't forget the dip! Keep 'em smiling with watermelon cut into fun shapes with cookie cutters.

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Breakfast-for-Lunch Bento for Kids

Start to finish: 15 mins
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This bento box idea is full of your kid's breakfast favorites, even waffles. This lunch is packed with healthy foods you will feel good about serving and kids will actually be excited to eat--no more half-eaten lunches!

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Soy-Lime Tofu & Rice Bento Lunch

Start to finish: 1 hr 50 mins
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Tofu, rice and vegetables are classic bento ingredients. Make extra rice for dinner and roll leftovers into balls for lunch. To keep green veggies vibrant and crisp, cook them briefly and immediately dunk them into a bowl of ice water. You can also use cubed store-bought baked tofu in place of the roasted tofu.

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Deconstructed Cobb Salad Bento Lunch for Kids

Start to finish: 15 mins
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This kid-friendly twist on classic Cobb salad gives children the choice to eat all the healthy ingredients--veggies, turkey, eggs, bacon and avocado--together or separately. Packing it all in a bento box makes it easy to tote to school and keeps all the ingredients from touching, a plus for picky eaters.

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Smoked Salmon Maki Rolls

Start to finish: 10 mins
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Skip the rice and just use seaweed to make these healthy sushi rolls filled with smoked salmon, avocado, carrot and cucumber. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

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Mini Mezze Bento Box

Start to finish: 10 mins
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Pita wedges and crudité with hummus make a satisfyingly simple lunch box. We round out this Mediterranean-inspired snack lunch with cheese and fruit. If your child likes olives, sprinkle some into the veggie dippers.

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Veggie Sushi Bento Box

Start to finish: 10 mins
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A sushi-like wrap of veggies and ranch dressing packaged in a tortilla makes an appealing lunch that kids will love. The choice of vegetables in the filling is flexible, depending on your child's preferences and what you have on hand.

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Meat & Cheese Cucumber Roll-Ups Bento Box Lunch

Start to finish: 15 mins
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Thinly sliced cucumber is used as a low-carb "wrap" in this satisfying lunch recipe. Pile sandwich fillings like lunch meat, cheese and veggies on top of the cucumber slices, roll up and cut into bites like sushi. Round out this easy packable lunch with fresh fruit and veggies for a fun meal to take to work or school.

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Egg & Waffle Bento Box

Start to finish: 10 mins
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Who doesn't love breakfast for lunch? Make it to-go with this easy bento box idea that combines waffles, eggs and fruit for a satisfying and fun meal that kids and adults alike will love.

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Tex-Mex Bento Box

Start to finish: 20 mins
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Quesadillas make a quick and easy sandwich alternative. Even though they are often served hot, quesadillas also taste good cold or at room temperature. That makes them an ideal addition to this flavor-packed bento box, a collection of foods that you can meal-prep on the weekend for easy lunches at work or school.

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Greek Yogurt Parfait Bento Box

Start to finish: 10 mins
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Greek yogurt provides the filling protein base for this colorful lunch box, but the remaining ingredients are very flexible to accommodate your child's tastes. You can replace the cereal or granola with dried fruit, and swap steamed vegetables for the cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

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Confetti Pasta Bento Box

Start to finish: 15 mins
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Cook extra pasta with dinner and set it aside to make an easy pasta salad you can pack for lunch the following day. Add beans, leftover chicken, deli turkey or tuna for extra protein.

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