51 vegetarian lunchbox ideas
September is nearly upon us! Which means the summer is coming to a close, and it’s time for a new school year. My husband works in schools, so despite not having stuck to an academic timetable myself for over 5 years, I still think of September as back-to-school time. And for a lot of people, that means new stationery (I have been known to write a diary purely so I have an excuse to buy new ones), new shoes (school shoe shopping was always the worst), and the need for new vegetarian lunchbox ideas!
If you’re sending your kids back to school this year and you need some new vegetarian lunchbox ideas, or you’re stuck in a rut with your own packed lunches, hopefully you’ll find some inspiration here. Simple sandwiches that can be whipped up in the morning, cold salads to cook in big batches and enjoy all week long, tarts and pastries that can be cooked in advance, and even a few sneaky sweet treats – there’s something for everyone here.
What are your favourite vegetarian lunchbox ideas?
Sandwiches, wraps, etc.
Greek salad sandwich with black olive hummus (pictured above)
Ultimate vegan sandwich with red lentil spread [vegan]
Epic avocado sandwich
Green goddess sandwiches
Cheese and pear ploughman’s from The Veg Space
Pesto white bean tortilla roll-ups (pictured above)
Tofu bacon BLTs [vegan]
Cheesy Tex Mex tortilla roll-ups
Black olive and Peppadew cheese rolls
Falafel, beetroot and goat’s cheese wraps from Tinned Tomatoes
Low-carb cauliflower tortillas (pictured above)
Creamy chickpea salad sandwiches
Nutty tofu lettuce wraps [vegan]
Tangy veggie wrap from Hurry The Food Up
Caprese pinwheel sandwiches from Tinned Tomatoes
Pastries and other savouries
Vegetarian Scotch eggs (pictured above)
Cheesy lentil slice
Mini mushroom picnic pies
Easy rainbow vegetable sushi from Eats Amazing [vegan]
Carrot stars from Healthy Little Foodies
Cheese and chive savoury flapjacks (pictured above)
Cajun spiced savoury trail mix [vegan]
5 ingredient pesto tomato tart
Gruyere and caramelised shallot nests from Fab Food 4 All
Rainbow vegetable savoury muffins from Eats Amazing
Cheese and onion lentil rolls (pictured above)
Smoked cheddar, walnut and broccoli tarts
Black olive and halloumi filo cigars
Cheesy sweetcorn muffins from Foodie Quine
Sweet potato crust veggie quiche from The Petite Cook
Mexican bean vegetarian pâté (pictured above) [vegan]
Easy tomato puff pastry tart from BakingQueen74 [vegan]
Cheese and chive Cornish pasty from The HedgeCombers
Carrot falafel with tahini sauce from Tin and Thyme [vegan]
Spicy 3 bean sausage rolls from Tinned Tomatoes [vegan]
Salads
Low-carb cauliflower tabbouleh (pictured above) [vegan]
Roasted black bean taco salad with avocado lime dressing [vegan]
Sweet potato and quinoa salad with tahini dressing [vegan]
Mint and pistachio pesto potato salad [vegan]
Three bean salad from Supper in the Suburbs [vegan]
Ultimate vegetarian Caesar salad (pictured above)
Fig and fennel salad with rice noodles and radishes [vegan]
Peppadew panzanella [vegan]
Pomegranate and pistachio tabbouleh from Supper in the Suburbs [vegan]
Vegan quinoa summer salad from The Petite Cook [vegan]
Sweets
Peanut butter millionaire’s shortbread (pictured above)
Pumpkin spice loaf cake
Honey and almond blondies
Banana and walnut pinwheel wraps from Fab Food 4 All
Funfetti shortbread bites from Annie’s Noms
Easy chocolate brownie cookies from Kerry Cooks
Awww, you should have published this amazing list earlier. Would have saved me a trip to the library looking for ideas! ;-)
Haha sorry! Hopefully you’re bursting with ideas now ;)
Lots of delicious lunch box inspiration here:-) Thanks for including my recipe:-)
SO MANY amazing ideas here. I must start making my own lunchboxes again so I have bookmarked for reference.
Thanks Kevin! It’s so easy to slip out of the habit of making your own lunch isn’t it.
OMG I could just eat my way through that list and be happy as Larry. Thanks for including some of my recipes. Shared!
One tip from my packed-lunch days – if you want to take a salad, take the lettuce in a separate box from the rest of it, as the undressed lettuce will keep crisp, and you can then add the “nice bits” on top when it’s lunchtime.
Good tip – and definitely add any dressing just before serving too!
Yum!!
What a great post to bookmark! I feel so guilty every time I go out to lunch at work. I need to save money and bring lunch from home!
Yeah it can definitely get expensive!
Lots of fab inspiration here which I shall be showing my newly veggie daughter! Thanks for including my pinwheel wraps:-)
Thanks Camilla, how exciting that your daughter’s gone veggie – how are you finding cooking for her?
It’s been a bit if a challenge lol☺️
Haha well feel free to shout if you would like any tips or easy ways to cook for meat eaters and veggies at the same time :)
hi, do you have any posts about cooking for both? My other half is veggie, but me and kids aren’t-although happy to eat half our meals veggie, but cooking for all seems the hard bit…any tips? Kid friendly veggie meals?
Just found you blog yesterday and some of your ideas look lovely!x
I don’t have any posts specifically about that I’m afraid, although maybe I’ll write one! My husband is a meat-eater so all my recipes are approved by him haha. I think most meals can easily have the meat added afterwards (as long as you make sure the vegetarian meals have some protein in them too) – stir fries, for example. Or, you can just have two separate pots on the go – if you’re making a spaghetti bolognese, for example, it’s not really any harder to chuck everything into two separate pans, and add vegetarian mince to one and meat to the other. Meat substitutes like Quorn are good for this kind of thing!
I cannot wait to try these recipes! They all look so tasty and delicious, thanks for the share!
Thanks Shirley! :)
Great post Becca! My OH and I are trying to be much better about taking lunch to work. Now we have TONNES of recipes to choose from!
It can be hard to find the time to prepare lunch in advance can’t it, but definitely worth trying!