You can make packing lunches for your kids so much fun with these easy bento lunch box ideas. Bento boxes are a fantastic way to pack a healthy mix of foods in one container and these cute lunch ideas are a great way to get picky eaters to try new foods!
What is a Bento Box?
Originated in Japan, a bento lunch box is individual boxed lunch with neat compartments that make it easier to balance nutrition and convenience. Of course you can use those compartments to use sections for veggies, fruits and a sandwich, etc… However, bento boxes are also a fun way to create cute food ideas for your kids to have a surprise at lunch in school.
No more wasting baggies and you also don’t have to worry about fruit creating soggy sandwiches as every food item is stored in its own designated place.
You can find Bento Lunch Boxes on Amazon here. Our favorites are Easy Lunchboxes and PlanetBox.
Best Bento Lunch Box Ideas:
If you are a parent falling short of lunch ideas to make your child’s lunch interesting, this post with adorable lunches may be just the thing you need.
Puppy Dog Bento…
Back to School Bento…
Monkey Bento…
Fox Bento from Meet the Dubiens…
Cute fox lunch made from sandwich meat of choice with a fox face placed on top using cheeses, carrots, raisins and a grape. Add grapes and sliced cucumbers on the side. So adorable!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bento…
Place meat and cheese in between an English muffin and top it with a piece of lettuce and a strip of tomato. Use Pita crackers with cheese and mini pepperoni and microwave. Skateboard is made from Vienna cookie and mini M&M’s. Cut a piece of fruit roll up for the apple. Use candy eyes or cheese with edible marker.
Apple Bento…
Tuna Fish Bento
Cut bread into fish shape with kitchen scissors and make tuna sandwich. Place two carrots for a tail and cut another other carrot to look like a fin and lips. Pretzel rod to look like a fishing pole and a Twizzler string to look like the fishing line. Use a clementine and blue jello with heart sprinkle fish and Goldfish crackers.
Minions Bento…
Spread egg salad on one half of a hot dog bun. Place the other bun in your container and place egg salad on top. Top with a piece of lettuce. Decorate the face with a piece of cheese and raisins. Use a edible marker for the outside of the banana and googly eyes with raisins for hair. Minion crackers on the side and a Rice Krispie treat dressed in a fruit roll up strip and a mini marshmallow for the eye and raisins.
Penguin Bento…
Snowman Bento from Meet the Dubiens…
Snowman bento
Owl Bento…
Cut bread in the shape of an owl using kitchen scissors. Cut white cheese or Babybel for eyes with raisins for the pupils. Use pretzel spoons or mini pretzels twists for wing and attach with peanut butter. Use baby carrots beak and feet. Place a pretzel rod at the bottom. Yogurt with fall leaf sprinkles and a clementine complete this cute Bento.
Bear Bento…
Halloween Frankenstein Bento…
Cut off the crust from your bread from your sandwich of choice into a rectangle. Decorate face with olives or grapes. Make bats ans spiders from olives or grapes as well. Carrots and almond slivers make the fingers. Blue tortilla chips and Babybel cheese creates the owl with a side of yogurt and Halloween sprinkles.
Easter Lunch from Jill Dubien…
Leprechaun Bento…
Cut slices of bread into circles using a round cookie cutter or kitchen scissors. Make any sandwich you want. Shape cheese for beard and hair. Use green grapes for the hat and nose with edible eyes and a Twizzler string for the mouth. Homemade clover chips and an apple with a shamrock shape cut out complete this Bento.
Strawberry Shortcake Bento
Start out by cutting the 2 bread slices into a circle using a cookie cutter of kitchen scissors. Make any sandwich of your choice & place in your bento box. We cut our Driscoll strawberries in half & place them on top for the hat. Cut a slice of provolone cheese & place it on top to look like part of the hat. Cut a mini marshmallow in half & place on the front for eyes. Add 2 mini chocolate chips for the pupils. We cut pieces from a strawberry to make the nose & mouth. We also used sprinkles for the freckles & eye lashes.
Place strawberry yogurt in the other container & added sprinkles on top including a strawberry.
We included pretzel sticks & made a Babybel cheese look like a strawberry. Just take a knife & twist it around to make little circles. Use the top of a strawberry to place on the very top
Owl Bento…
Halloween Boo Bento…
Cut out a ghost from 2 pieces of bread using a ghost cookie cutter or kitchen scissors and make your sandwich of choice. Use raisins to make the eyes and mouth. Draw on a ghost face using an edible marker onto the cheese stick and peanuts. Make a ghost face with raisins on the vanilla yogurt.
Winnie The Pooh Bento…
Ladybug Bento from Hawaii’s Bento…
Cut bread from sandwich of you choice with kitchen scissors to look like a ladybug with cheese on top to look like wings. Use a frosting tip or similar to cut the holes. Use candy eyes. Surround with fruit! So Cute!
Sheep Bento
Use a flower cookie cutter to cut out your pieces of bread and make any sandwich you want. Cut 2 grapes to make the head & feet. Add lettuce on the bottom. Squeeze your Chobani yogurt tube into the lunch container. Top with a black grape for the head. Add raisins for the feet. Make the eyes and nose with the yogurt using a toothpick. Make ears by cutting pieces of a raisin. Add popcorn.
Monsters Inc. Mike Wazowski Bento…
Cut bread in a circle using a round cookie cutter or kitchen scissors. Spread peanut butter in between the slices. Add 1 drop of green food coloring to apple jelly and spread on top. Use cheese for the eye and teeth, green Twizzler or fruit Roll up for the arms, legs, & mouth. Raisins in the middle for the mouth and for the pupil. Monsters University crackers on the side and decorate applesauce container to look like Mike!
Halloween Pumpkin Bento…
Cut bread, cheese, and turkey with a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter. Placed the turkey in the middle of the 2 bread slices and the cheese on top. Use fruit leather to make the pumpkin face for the sandwich. Carrots cut to look like pumpkins, a clementine jack-o-lantern with pretzel stem and pumpkin shaped cookies complete this Bento.
Halloween Dracula Bento…
Cut out bread from sandwich of choice in shape of an oval and cut out a nose. Use fruit leather strip to make Dracula’s hair, two mini marshmallows cut in half to make the fangs and eyes and use raisins for pupils. Cut a piece from a Twizzler string to make the mouth. Add dark grapes and blue chips on the side. Use a Keebler Fudge Stripes cookie cut in half for the wings of the bat treat and a Hershey Kiss for the body.
Easter Bunny Bento…
Mouse Bento…
Easy Animal Bento Lunch Box Ideas from Marvelous Mommy…
Puppy Bento…
