A huge collection of inspiring vegetarian lunchbox ideas, that will help you avoid getting into a rut with your vegetarian packed lunches!
With the back-to-school season comes the return of the dreaded packed lunch. A daily chore that can bring so many headaches!
Even if you don't have kids in school, this time of year is often a chance to refocus after a busy summer, and get back into the swing of packing a healthy lunchbox every day - not always an easy feat.
Luckily, vegetarian packed lunches don't need to rely on the exact same unimaginative cheese sandwich every single day - there are heaps of other things you can pack in your vegetarian lunchbox to ensure lunchtime is something you and your kids can look forward to all morning!
This post contains heaps of information about how to make the perfect vegetarian packed lunch, including 41 lunchbox recipes.
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🤔 What to pack in a vegetarian lunchbox?
I personally like there to be one 'main' element in the lunches I pack, plus a few smaller bits on the side. The main could be a sandwich or wrap, or something a bit different, like a pastry, or even a few spoonfuls of pasta salad.
This post contains heaps of different vegetarian lunchbox ideas that you can use as the main part of your packed lunch.
Then, in addition to the main event, I usually add a few of these extras (not all of them every day!):
- fresh fruit
- salad veggies (cucumber, tomatoes, raw pepper, carrot sticks, etc)
- a dollop of some sort of vegetarian dip or spread
- a few potato crisps or veggie straws
- a small block of cheese (unless the main event was cheese-based)
- dried fruit, like raisins or dried apricots
- a sweet treat
Some of the vegetarian packed lunch ideas in this list are super kid-friendly, whereas others might be a little more grown up - so just choose whatever you feel your intended consumer will enjoy!
⏰ Can you prepare a vegetarian lunchbox in advance?
If you don't have time to pack a lunchbox from scratch every day, batch cooking is your friend!
As well as simple sandwiches that can be whipped up quickly in the morning, this post also contains a few cold salads that can be cooked in big batches to enjoy throughout the week. There are also some pastries and other savouries that can be batch cooked in advance, so they're ready to pop into lunchboxes through the week.
Food safety advice usually recommends eating pre-cooked food within 3-4 days of cooking (source: USDA) - so for example, if you cooked a batch of something on Sunday afternoon, you could eat it on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and probably even on Thursday, as long as it still looks, smells and tastes okay.
You should probably try to make something fresh, like a quick sandwich, for your lunch on Friday.
🥜 Can you pack nuts in a lunchbox?
In the UK, and probably elsewhere, a lot of schools have a blanket ban on anything containing nuts in lunchboxes. This is because nut allergies can be so serious, and it's easier for them to just ban nuts altogether, than to chop and change the rules depending on each class' allergies.
Adult workplaces may not have the same ban on nuts, but it would be considerate to avoid nuts in your lunchbox anyway, unless you're certain that you won't be eating nearby somebody with a severe nut allergy.
Some of the recipes below (clearly marked) do contain nuts. If necessary, omit the nuts, or swap them for something else.
As well as obvious sources of nuts, like whole nuts or peanut butter, watch out for sneaky nuts hiding in things like pesto, which is usually made with pine nuts. It's easy to swap the pesto for an alternative nut-free spread, or use a nut-free version.
🍱 Vegetarian packed lunch ideas
BBQ tofu bacon BLT wraps [vegan]
Easy homemade flatbreads [vegan]
- stuff these with whatever fillings you like!
Pesto and white bean tortilla roll-ups
- pesto contains nuts
Spicy roasted chickpea wraps [vegan]
Very veggie oat bars
- pesto contains nuts
Smoked cheese and broccoli tarts
- contains nuts
Vegetarian mezze [vegan, depending on what you choose]
- just choose a few elements to pack in the lunchbox for a fun themed lunch
Spinach and goat's cheese self-crusting quiche
- contains nuts
Black bean and lentil vegetarian koftas [vegan]
- best served with a tasty dipping sauce, like salsa or tzatziki
Fried gnocchi [vegan]
- these would be really fun served with a tub of tomato sauce for dipping!
Sage and onion beetroot nuggets
- contains nuts
Cajun spiced savoury trail mix [vegan]
- contains nuts
Parmesan baked fava bean chips
- a brilliant nut-free snack for schools that don't allow nuts
Vegetarian Dips and Spreads
Sun-dried tomato hummus [vegan]
- topped with nuts
Mexican bean vegetarian pâté [vegan]
Nutty tofu lettuce wraps [vegan]
- contains nuts
Chickpea pasta salad with pesto
- pesto contains nuts
Mint and pistachio pesto potato salad [vegan]
- contains nuts
Traditional British pancakes
- a pancake folded up in a lunchbox with some fruit and chocolate spread would be a really fun change!
Have I inspired you to pack something a bit different in your vegetarian lunchbox this week? What will you cook first?
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
Awww, you should have published this amazing list earlier. Would have saved me a trip to the library looking for ideas! ;-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Haha sorry! Hopefully you're bursting with ideas now ;)
Camilla Hawkins says
Lots of delicious lunch box inspiration here:-) Thanks for including my recipe:-)
Kevin Chambers-Paston says
SO MANY amazing ideas here. I must start making my own lunchboxes again so I have bookmarked for reference.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Kevin! It's so easy to slip out of the habit of making your own lunch isn't it.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
OMG I could just eat my way through that list and be happy as Larry. Thanks for including some of my recipes. Shared!
Annabel says
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.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Good tip - and definitely add any dressing just before serving too!
Tarsha Steel says
Yum!!
Cookbook says
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!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yeah it can definitely get expensive!
Camilla Hawkins says
Lots of fab inspiration here which I shall be showing my newly veggie daughter! Thanks for including my pinwheel wraps:-)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Camilla, how exciting that your daughter's gone veggie - how are you finding cooking for her?
Camilla Hawkins says
It's been a bit if a challenge lol☺️
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
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 :)
Danielle says
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
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
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!
Shirley says
I cannot wait to try these recipes! They all look so tasty and delicious, thanks for the share!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Shirley! :)
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
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!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
It can be hard to find the time to prepare lunch in advance can't it, but definitely worth trying!