Deciding what to feed your toddler for lunch at daycare can be a challenge! But, fortunately we’ve got 20+ toddler lunch ideas for daycare that will see you through every day of the month with some to spare!
Toddlers are hungry little people who turn HANGRY fast! Staving off the hunger with a good lunch at daycare is key to a happy toddler. Some toddlers like to snack all day long, others like to devour their meals in 2 seconds flat, while still others will take an hour to eat a bite of sandwich! But, no matter your toddler’s eating personality, providing a well-balanced daycare lunch for your child will set them on the right path for learning and fun!
With toddlers, a key to eating success is having lots of different flavors in small bites. We absolutely adore the toddler Bent-Go boxes! They’re leak-proof and provide great portions for little guys! They make packing daycare lunches a cinch!
We’ve gathered up 20 of our favorite daycare lunch ideas for your toddler! And we’ve kept food sensitivities in mind, as well as just general toddler preferences! We believe that challenging your toddler’s palate while they’re young will help prevent picky eaters in the future!
Most of our toddler daycare lunch ideas are geared for littles in the 2-3 year age, but meals can easily be adapted to littler or bigger guys!
So, let’s get started with our fabulous toddler lunch ideas for daycare!
Full Meal ideas:
- Tuna salad: Mix a can of tuna with mayo (or Greek yogurt), a little salt and pepper, and maybe some chopped up pickles or pickle relish, serve with crackers, veggie dippers, and apple chunks. Mixing up a can of tuna will serve 2-4 lunches, depending on your kiddo, so you can have lunch for a few days taken care of!)
- Chicken salad: Mix some leftover chicken (or a can of chicken) with a little mayo or greek yogurt. If your toddler likes variety, add in craisins, almonds, and celery! Serve with crackers, cut cucumbers, and cut berries.
- Pita Pizzas: Give your toddler all the fixings to make their own pizza. Put mini-pitas, pizza sauce, mozzarella shreds, and mini-pepperonis in their lunch box, add some berries and carrot sticks for a healthy side!
- PB and J Sandwich: The classic, and as long as there are no peanut allergies, you can’t go wrong! Slice in sticks or triangles for added fun! Serve with some cut veggies and a peeled orange, and you’ve hit the jackpot! If there are allergies, consider sunbutter, almond butter, or just plain jelly.
- Hard boiled eggs and yogurt: Peel and cut a hard boiled egg in half. Put a little salt or everything bagel seasoning on top. Serve with a ½ cup yogurt, granola, some berries, and cucumbers!
- Turkey slider: Use potato rolls for slider buns and make a yummy turkey slider. Place a slice of turkey and a slice of cheese on the bun. Serve with chopped steamed broccoli and a sliced pear!
- Pasta Pasta: Boil up some pasta and toss with a small amount of italian dressing. Toss with cut cherry tomatoes, steamed broccoli chunks, ham chunks, and cheese chunks. Serve with pita chips and hummus.
- Tortilla Sushi: Take a tortilla, spread cream cheese or mashed avocado on it, lay out two pieces of lunch meat and two slices of cheese, roll up and slice to make little sushi bites. Serve with cut pepper and sliced grapes.
- Quesadillas: Spread refried beans on a tortilla, add cheese, fold in half and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds. Slice into wedges or strips and place in a lunch box (they taste great cold!). Serve with apple slices and sliced peppers.
- Brunch #1: Pack a muffin, yogurt, granola, berries, and sweet peppers for a quick and easy brunch!
- Brunch #2: Breakfast is not just for breakfast! Pancakes with a side of ricotta cheese and berries makes for a beautiful breakfast or lunch! Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and little smokies for a delicious breakfast!
- Brunch #3: Of course, no brunch ideas would be complete without waffles! Make up some waffles and cut them into strips. Serve with yogurt or syrup for dipping, a side of bacon or sausage, berries and orange slices complete the meal!
- Taco salad: Most little guys aren’t too thrilled with lettuce, but anything else you’d put in a taco salad is fair game! Beans, chicken or beef, tomatoes, and shredded cheese: serve mixed together or in separate little compartments! Add in sour cream, avocado, corn, and chips and salsa for a spicy and satisfying toddler meal!
- Turkey patty: Fry up a little turkey patty (it’s really simple to make turkey patties: take a handful of ground turkey, mold it into a ptty, and cook with a little olive oil in the pan on each side for a few minutes), serve with a roll, cherry tomatoes, hummus with pita chips, and some sliced strawberries!
- Chicken breast: Slice up the leftover chicken into bite sized pieces, serve with cheese chunks, shredded carrot bits, and apple slices.
- Cheese sandwich: Slice a baguette into thin slices and layer with cheddar cheese for a fun sandwich. Serve with pear slices, yogurt, and berries.
Full meals (heating required):
17. Hamburger: Cook up a bunch of hamburger patties on the weekend and throw them in the freezer. Grab one out in the morning, slap it with a slice of cheese and put it in the lunch box. Re-heat for 40 seconds. Put it on a bun and serve with veggie sticks, ranch dip, and some sliced apples.
18. Chicken nuggets: Put some in the lunch box in the morning, and they’ll just need about 30 seconds in the microwave to heat up. Serve with bbq sauce or ketchup, sliced peppers, yogurt, and sliced grapes.
19. Soup: Leftover soup (or canned) makes an easy and toddler friendly meal! Reheat for 60 seconds, serve with crackers, cheese slices, steamed broccoli, and ½ banana.
20. Gerber Mealtime meals: For an on-the-go quick lunch, keep a stash of Gerber Mealtime for toddler meals. Depending on the variety, just microwave for 30-40 seconds and you’ve got a well-balanced delicious daycare lunch for your toddler!
Bento Box Lunches:
Charcuterie or Bento style lunches are a hit with toddlers, so the second half of our toddler daycare lunches includes a list of various proteins, grains, veggies, fruits, and fats for you to mix and match into a delicious meal for your toddler! And a great accessory for these bento lunches is a bento toothpick… toddlers really enjoy the sensory and motor skill challenge of spearing their food before they eat it!
Conclusion
Serving a daycare lunch to a toddler can be a bit of a challenge, but we know with a little prep and some inspiring ideas you can make the most of your picky toddler! Use lunch time as a way to introduce new flavors, and here’s a little tip: ask your child care provider to send home anything your child didn’t eat, that way you know how much to gauge for packing future lunches and things your toddler loved or didn’t love!
And don’t forget that your kiddo might need some delicious toddler snacks throughout the day, too! Check out our 7 quick and easy snacks ideas to send along!
