Toddler Lunch Ideas
Whether you’re packing their lunchbox for daycare or preparing something to serve for the midday meal, here are some toddler lunch ideas to keep you and your little one happy! Toddlers are notoriously fussy eaters but hopefully, with these fun, delicious, and healthy toddler lunch ideas, they’ll be wolfing down their food. There is everything from pasta to quesadillas, and of course sandwiches (because you really can’t go wrong with a ham and cheese sandwich)! Lunch will become their favorite meal of the day!
Toddler Lunch Ideas: Key Components
Fruit: At least 1 portion
Vegetables: At least 1 portion
Protein: At least 1 serving in the form of meat or poultry, nuts, legumes, or dairy
Complex Carbohydrates: Whole grains are vital for slow-release energy and brain development
Fats: Toddlers need fats to grow properly so choose dairy products with fat and don’t hesitate to choose plant-based fats like avocado and nut or seeds. Go to our nutrition section in the menu to check out toddler nutrition needs
Toddler Lunch Ideas With Pasta
All these toddler lunch ideas with pasta are super easy to make! Top tip: when you make a pasta dish, always make too much so you can store some for the next day! These toddler lunch ideas can be served at home or packed away in a thermos or lunchbox for them to take to daycare or school. If you don’t have any leftover pasta and are in a rush, use small shapes of pasta, such as ABC’s, as these cook in about 5 minutes!
Here are some toddler lunch ideas with pasta:
Spinach Pesto Pasta with peas and a side of fruit.
Pesto Pasta Salad with sweet corn, cheese, whole grain cookies, and strawberries.
Broccoli Pesto Pasta with an apple and diced chicken or ham.
Pasta with Marinara Sauce, white beans, and diced ham or meatballs. Fruit and milk on the side.
Pasta with Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce, steamed green beans, and melon.
Mac and Cheese with steamed broccoli, peas, and/or diced ham, chicken, or sausage. Side of fruit.
Gnocchi with sauce of choice. Add peas, diced broccoli, or carrots, and fruit or snack of your choice.
Toddler Lunch Ideas With Quesadillas
These quesadillas are not only super tasty but are also super easy to make and are healthy too! All you need is some cheese and tortillas and a lightly greased cast iron skillet, or skillet of your choice, set over medium heat for 2-4 minutes on each side. Make sure to be careful when flipping, use a heat-proof spatula.
Alternatively, you can heat them for around 15 seconds in the microwave if you’re in a hurry!
Simple Cheese Quesadillas - Add diced fruit such as grapes and steamed or roasted carrots on the side; salsa for dipping is also a great shout too!
Broccoli and Cheese Quesadilla - Add steamed and dried chopped broccoli and shredded cheese (I recommend cheddar) to a tortilla. Prepare as a quesadilla and serve with a side of berries.
Chicken, Corn, and Cheese Quesadillas: Add shredded leftover chicken, thawed frozen corn, and shredded cheese.
Spinach Quesadillas: Complete with a side of steamed veggies and/or sliced fruit such as melon. Spinach is super healthy and often difficult to get kids to consume so this is a great option!
Quesadillas with White Beans and Kale: You will need to layer some shredded cheese of your choice, white navy beans, and a tiny serving of snipped kale between the tortillas. Enjoy!
Toddler Lunch Ideas With Sandwiches
Some kids at this age are not quite capable of handling the typical textures of a sandwich and that’s okay. You can still serve all the traditional components of a sandwich in a way they can enjoy either by cutting it into cubes, strips, or deconstructed.
Here are some fun toddler lunch ideas with sandwiches!
Peanut Butter and Jelly, with a side of easy-to-cook vegetables and fruit. You can’t really go wrong with this one!
Tuna or Salmon Salad with Bread Sticks for dipping, with cheese cubes and orange slices.
Mashed Roasted Sweet Potato on whole-grain bread, cut into sticks with turkey lunchmeat and apple.
Carrot Hummus spread onto whole-grain bread and cut into cubes served with berries and fried broccoli.
Grilled Cheese on whole-grain bread. Serve with a little snipped baby spinach or kale in the cheese. Add their favorite fruit on the side!
Their favorite lunch meat with whole-grain bread. Cut into small cubes or serve deconstructed with the elements alongside each other.
Toddler Lunch Ideas With Eggs
Eggs are a fantastic source of protein and healthy fats, making them the perfect toddler lunch component! The beauty of eggs is that they can be made in a variety of different ways so any of the below toddler lunch ideas can be switched up just by changing the way you prepare the egg.
Here are some toddler lunch ideas with eggs
Grain bowls with scrambled eggs and peanut sauce. In other words, scrambled eggs over cooked rice! Add peanut (or any) sauce or serve this plain.
Scrambled eggs with Toast and Jam, sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes.
Mini egg muffins with cheese and veg, coupled with dry cereal and fruit of your choice.
Mini omelet with cheese, snipped baby spinach, and/or sauteed mushrooms (depending on how fussy your toddler is). Serve with dry cereal or whole-grain toast and fruit.
Eggs baked in tomato sauce with chickpeas and a side of fruit on the side.
Hard-cooked egg plate with crackers, berries, snap peas, and yogurt-covered raisins. (Sometimes your toddler may only like the yellow or white part of the egg - this is a totally normal preference)
