I did some quick math: if your child attends full-time daycare or school, you’re packing over 250 meals each year per kid!

And let’s not even get started on the snacks—those can add up quickly too.

Coming up with daycare lunch ideas and snacks can feel like a daunting task, often more tedious than cooking at home. After all, you can’t simply open the fridge or pantry and grab whatever is on hand.

Packing lunches requires careful planning. You need to think ahead, shop for groceries, pack items that need to stay hot or cold, and ensure everything is easily accessible for both kids and daycare workers. It’s a lot to juggle!

Plus, the daycare age range presents its own challenges. You have to be mindful of choking hazards until children are at least 4 years old. That means some convenient options like chips, crackers, popcorn, and string cheese are off the table. This calls for a bit of extra creativity!

In this post, I aim to simplify the process of packing lunches and snacks for daycare by sharing some helpful tips and tricks. I’ll also provide a list of products that I rely on to create nutritious and easy-to-pack lunches.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Daycare Eating 101

First of all, I want to say this: please don’t stress if they’re eating “worse” at daycare than they are at home. That is actually a really common phenomenon, and I wrote a whole post about it here to help you understand why.

Why does my toddler eat better (or worse) at daycare?

The change of environment, the limitations on what you can pack (i.e. allergy friendly, etc), and the stimulation of being with peers are contributing factors. So it’s not surprising when they don’t eat as well as they do when they’re in your dining room.

Don’t stress! What happens at daycare isn’t their only eating experience, so they are still being shaped by what happens outside of that setting. 

What if I can’t make everything homemade and fresh?

It can be really hard to pack fresh food 5 days a week. It’s difficult to keep fresh fruit and vegetables on hand all week unless you have the ability to grocery shop multiple times a week. If you do, great! We love fresh fruits and veggies.

But if you don’t, that’s totally okay. There are ways to still pack in tons of nutrition without having fresh raspberries available when Friday rolls around! Dried fruit and freeze-dried fruit are great ways to still get in a serving of fruit when you don’t have fresh fruit in the refrigerator. (Just make sure to chop smaller any pieces that are bigger than bite sized.)

I just want you to keep in mind that there are SO many simple items that are every bit as nutritious as a meal you’d cook at home. Throwing them in your kids backpack for school is a great way to make your life easier while still meeting their nutritional needs! Pre-packaged foods are not the enemy.

Packing Supplies for Daycare Lunch

Regardless of what you are packing, you are going to need the gear to pack it in! I’ve tried a LOT of different options over the years, and these are some of my all-time favorites. Shop them here.

And one more tip related to packing!

Ask your child’s daycare if there is access to a refrigerator and/or microwave! I only discovered AFTER my daughter finished her 3 year old class that there was a microwave for their food. I could’ve packed a lot more variety if I had known that! 

How to Build a Lunch for Daycare

At this age, portions don’t need to be huge. They probably don’t need a full sandwich, two side items, crackers, and dessert. It’s okay to keep it simple! And for those of us who grew up bringing our PB&J to school every single day, I’m here to tell you that your child’s lunch doesn’t even have to feature a sandwich to be complete and nutritious! Check out this toddler lunch idea post and this preschool lunch idea post if you need some jumping-off ideas!

Here is a formula to follow to build a lunch for daycare:

Aim for one item from each macronutrient category-

1. Carbohydrates (like bread, pasta, rice)
2. Protein (like meat, dairy, eggs)
3. Fats (also can be dairy like milk and cheese)
4. And a fruit or a veggie (doesn’t have to be both!)

If you stick to the macronutrients plus a fruit/veg serving, you’ll likely cover all your bases in building a complete lunch. 

In this lunch, here is how it breaks down:

1. carbohydrate: sourdough bread
2. protein: mozzarella cheese
3. fat: avocado
4. fruit/veg: carrots, blueberries, plum

And here’s another example:

1. carbohydrate: pasta
2. protein: Greek yogurt and shredded cheese
3. fat: cream cheese, plus some in the Greek yogurt and shredded cheese too
4. fruit/veg: steamed peppers, freeze dried strawberries, pineapple

A packed lunch *can* be a good time to introduce something new, as sometimes I’ve found that kids are more receptive to new things earlier in the day. However, if you do introduce a new food in their lunch, I’d start with just a teeny tiny portion. Don’t expect it to be something they fill up on. 

Some Daycare Lunch Ideas

There are many things you can make ahead and serve cold in their lunchbox. Every kid is different – some love cold quesadillas, some don’t! So I recommend trying at home first before sending to daycare, if you can.

1. Egg salad with thin sliced raw veggies, and add a slice of sourdough bread on the side

2. A cheese and mashed bean quesadilla, plus strawberries and steamed cauliflower pieces

3. Zucchini pancakes with chickpeas and raspberries

Here are some other recent combinations I’ve thrown together that check my boxes on the nutrition side of things, and also take less than 5 minutes to assemble:

• A sunflower butter and jelly sandwich on thin sliced whole wheat bread, a Babybel cheese round, and a handful of whatever fruit we have on hand
• Sliced leftover pancakes, half a banana, and a container of milk
• Shredded rotisserie chicken thigh meat, sliced grape tomatoes, corn with some avocado oil, and freeze dried blueberries

I like to change it up day to day when possible because variety is good for their diet. Plus, it gives them choices if they’re not particularly keen on something you pack.

If they’re the type of kid who likes a little of this and a little of that, then the Bentgo lunch box is a great pick! If you prefer stainless steel, I love the lunchbots brand.

What to know for beginner eaters (12-18 months)

For this age group, we need to make sure we’re packing foods that are age-appropriate and safely prepared/offered.

Finger foods and soft foods are still best as they’re learning to manipulate more complex textures, self-feed, and use utensils.

Some finger foods I like to pack are:

• baked/steamed sweet potato wedges
• thinly sliced steamed (or raw if very thinly sliced) bell peppers
• avocado wedges
• banana spears
• baked tofu strips/pieces
• steamed apple wedges
• bowtie or rigatoni pasta
• braised/stewed shredded beef, pork, or chicken
• scrambled egg, or omelet cut into strips

Everything should be either mashable between two fingers, served in long, thin spears, or in tiny pieces that they can use their pincer grasp to pick up.

Pureed items are still in play here too! Pouches, yogurts, applesauce, guacamole, hummus- those are all great and safe textures too!

Experienced eaters 

For slightly older kids, you can start to add in some food items that require the use of utensils. They may not be perfect with their utensils yet, but they should be able to start successfully getting the food to their mouth with them! 

For example, you might be able to start packing yogurt and applesauce cups instead of pouches, stews, chilis, or even some thicker soups. 

What I Look for in a Snack

Moving onto the snack world! I don’t know about you, but I was usually packing 2, sometimes 3 snacks per day for this age group. Because they’re running around all day expending a ton of energy, I like to make sure that their snacks are more than what I call “crunchy air.”

AKA, I want their snacks to have some good nutrition to keep them full and energized!

My general rule of thumb for snacks is that I like to see AT LEAST 2 grams of protein OR 2 grams of fiber. Ideally both!

Those two things are going to go the longest way in keeping them full and satisfied. Snacks that are comprised only of carbohydrates tend to not keep them as satisfied for as long. We’re looking for protein or a mix of the macronutrients, plus some fiber to give them that feeling of satiety. 

Try to vary it up from fruit! I notice that I can easily grab 3 fruit-froward snacks (like- raisins, an applesauce pouch, and a fruit bar), but none of those snacks really give them a) many calories, b) much protein or fat, or c) much variety. 

Not every snack has to be a nutritional powerhouse, but I do like to still incorporate variety as much as possible!

20 Packaged Snacks for Daycare Lunches

Here are some of my favorite grab-and-go items for daycare lunches. You can toss them in your child’s lunchbox and feel great about it!

1. Homemade mini muffins, like these or these
2. Babybel cheese rounds (does need to be torn up for younger ages)
3. Tillamook cheese squares
4. Applesauce pouches (no sugar added)
5. Applesauce cups (better when they’re comfortable with utensils)
6. Kabrita goat cheese puffs
7. Hippeas puffs
8. Simple Mills Almond Flour crackers (better for older kids)
9. Single serving milk
10. Once Upon a Farm smoothie pouches
11. Cerebelly bars
12. Skout bars (code MAMAKNOWS for 20% off)
13. Dino Bars
14. Once Upon a Farm soft baked bars
15. Cottage cheese cups (I love Good Culture!)
16. Fruit cup packed in 100% juice
17. Lots of fruit is “prepacked” by nature- like bananas, oranges, apples, etc. 
18. Mini hummus cups with pita strips or thin carrot slices
19. Solely Mango fruit snacks (made with only fruit!)
20. Bear fruit snacks (made with only fruit!)

Dessert?

A common question I get is whether or not parents should be including dessert as part of the packed meal. I’m all about normalizing dessert! We definitely don’t want to be too restrictive and send the message that sweets are off limits. But for daycare aged kids, it’s not necessary to pack them in their lunch. For older kids- sure, but maybe not daily. It doesn’t need to be a staple, but it can feature sometimes alongside a nutritious lunch! All foods can fit in a healthy diet.

What should I pack to drink?

Water is perfectly fine! But if they need some extra calories, or don’t tend to drink milk at other meals, I would pack whole milk (you can grab them pre-packaged).

100% juice is also an option, just make sure you’re limiting them to about 1 serving of juice per day.

Lunch is covered…what about the 234893 other meals I have to make?

If you would love some extra help with meals and snacks at home too, check out my Meal and Snack Survival Guide! It has tons of ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks of all sorts!