Super Simple School Lunch Ideas

As a student, I often find myself neglecting everything because ‘I have homework’ or ‘I’m too tired’. Although the school year has just started, my lunch quality has plummeted dramatically because it seems like I don’t have time to make my lunch (mostly because I wake up fifteen minutes before my bus arrives). Yes, many people do buy food from the cafeteria or nearby fast-food restaurants but, in my opinion, spending $5-$10 dollars a day for food does not sound ideal. So to help everyone out there with lunch issues, myself included, I compiled a list of quick and easy lunch ideas!

1. QUESADILLA

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The first recipe is a quesadilla-like recipe which sounds fancy but honestly, it takes maximum five minutes to make. There is no set ingredient list but no worries, you can personalize it however you like.

Ingredients:

1. Tortilla
2. Cheese (grated or sliced)
3. Any other ingredients you have in your fridge (I like to put spinach, cream cheese, chicken, and/or ham)

Directions: 

1. Place your ingredients on the tortilla with the cheese as the base layer.
2. Bake the tortilla at around 375°F for ~7 minutes (this is based on personal experience so feel free to use your own judgment) or microwave it if you don’t have time. Fold the tortilla in half and you’re done!

This can also be altered to make a wrap by adding lettuce/other vegetables and wrapping it up.

2. LASAGNA

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Lasagna is a little harder to make but I like to freeze a tray of lasagna and defrost it whenever I don’t have a lunch or I’m too lazy to cook. The ingredients should cost you no more than $15 and one tray usually lasts one to two weeks.

Ingredients:

1. Lasagna noodles
2. Ground beef or ground pork (optional, you can just use pasta sauce if you’d like)
3. Pasta sauce (one jar)
4. Cottage cheese/ ricotta cheese
5. Parmesan cheese (grated)
6. Mozzarella cheese (shredded is ideal)
7. Baking tray, make sure to grease it!

Directions:

1. Cook the beef or pork in a large skillet until it’s golden brown. Then add the pasta sauce and cook it until everything has been warmed. (If you’d like to add in extra ingredients, make sure you do it before adding in the pasta sauce. I always like to include onions, celery, and corn.)
2. In another pot, bring water to boil and cook the lasagna noodles until they are edible but still a little hard. Make sure to drain your lasagna noodles before layering.
3. In your baking tray, pour a thin layer of pasta sauce.
4. Now it’s time to layer! Lasagna noodle → cottage/ricotta cheese → mozzarella cheese → pasta sauce → repeat → sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese
5. Cover the tray with foil paper (optional) and bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
6. Cut the lasagna to your liking and freeze it or eat it! If you’re freezing it, make sure to take out a slice the night before and put it in your fridge (so it can defrost).

3. TUNA AND CRACKERS

Now onto the very last minute ideas! Tuna and crackers is a super quick, nutritious, and delicious lunch idea. I usually store up on tuna and saltine crackers so I end up bringing a can of tuna and a Ziploc bag full of crackers. This idea is also very cheap since a can of tuna is ~$1 and an entire box of crackers is ~$4.

4. BAGUETTE/CROISSANT

I used to live on sandwiches when I was in elementary and I was okay with it but now, sandwiches just seem extremely bland. A simple alternative that my family uses is baguettes or croissants (which come in huge boxes= extra convenient). Basically, cut the croissant/slice of baguette in half so it resembles a sandwich. Then add whatever you’d like and you’re done! I like to put sliced cheese, cream cheese, ham, garlic butter, or salted butter and I switch it up so it never gets too repetitive.

5. SALAD AND FRUIT

This is an extremely healthy lunch idea and it’s really just a compilation of everything you have at home. Toss together lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables to make a salad. For the salad dressing, it’s a good idea to put it in a small container first and pour it onto your salad when you eat.

6. FRIED RICE

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For our last recipe, I’m going to include one of my most common lunches. Fried rice is ideal if you have leftover rice from dinner and you still have a bit of time before you have to leave for school (around fifteen minutes).

Ingredients (per one serving):

1. Rice
2. 2 eggs, beaten (make sure to add a pinch of salt into the eggs!)
3. Green onions/corn/peas/ham or sausage
4. Salt and/or soy sauce

Directions:

1. Chop the green onions, ham, and/or sausage into cubes. These ingredients are optional but based on my experience, the fried rice tastes way better with them.
2. In a medium-sized skillet, add two(ish) tablespoons of oil and scramble the eggs. Add in the green onion/corn/peas/ham/sausage and stir it so that everything is equally distributed.
3. Add in the rice and make sure that all the ingredients are equally dispersed (as above).
4. Sprinkle in the salt and/or soy sauce for taste.

Try something new: if you like roe (fish eggs) or if you want to try it, it’s a nice addition to fried rice. Just add a spoonful of roe before you stir in the rice (or after, it doesn’t really matter)!

This post ended up way longer and way cheesier than I expected (cheese is in almost every recipe whoops). Good luck to everyone with the new school year and I hope these six recipes help you out as the school year progresses!