Healthy School Lunch Recipes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wheat germ and carrots add to the fiber for these diabetic-friendly muffins. Serve them for breakfast or brunch.

These mini tangerine muffins are just the right size for snacking. Each one has less than 50 calories and only 1 gram of fat.

Inspired by Starbucks' bistro boxes, this peanut butter and jelly lunch will be loved by kids and adults alike. Accompanied by sandwich sides including a yogurt parfait, fruit, veggies and popcorn, this healthy packable lunch will keep you full until dinner.

The cinnamon-flavored toast cubes provide a nice alternative to granola in this fruity breakfast parfait recipe.

This crunchy snack mix has just the right blend of sweet and savory spices to make it completely addictive.

This colorful picnic dinner idea features tasty munchies you don't need utensils for and mild flavors that kids prefer, like deli meat, cheese and crunchy raw veggies. It's easy to assemble this complete menu, and adults will enjoy it as much as the kids. The menu calls for store-bought hummus and cookies, but you can easily make them yourself (see Tips, below).

You can have lunch or dinner ready in 15 minutes thanks to convenience products, like precooked chicken that needs only a quick minute or two in the microwave.

These one-bowl, no-bake energy squares ensure a quick way to refuel during long meetings, tough workouts or that mid-afternoon energy slump. Feel free to swap the blueberries for your favorite dried fruit and the pistachios for your favorite nut--but keep the maple syrup as is; we found using less than 1/2 cup resulted in crumbly bars.

Crisp and crunchy lettuce rolls keep this delicious meal diabetic-friendly.

Perfect for an on-the-go breakfast or snack, these energy bites will keep you fueled.

Pack these yummy wrap sandwiches for an easy meal on the go.

Classic pork tenderloin is repurposed into a juicy sandwich in this quick & easy recipe. The meal is rounded out with a side of fresh broccoli slaw salad.

You can make these bars ahead of time and freeze them, tightly wrapped in foil, for up to 3 months.

This quick-and-easy snack is a hearty treat that is packed with protein and has heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.

Subtly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, each Apple-Spice Cupcake is chock-full of chopped apple.