These 5- minute homemade lunchables are a much better option than store bought and have been given two enthusiastic thumbs up by my boys! Plus, they are so easy for YOU to make.
Why homemade lunchables?
It is so much fun to create these homemade lunchables if only to see the smile on my kids faces. While this isn’t something I can feasibly do everyday, I love how excited my kids gets when I surprise them with a little lunch surprise like this.
While I love making gluten-free sandwiches as much as the next GF person, they can get old. Even if they are as delicious and the ones we make. So…
I was inspired to create a homemade lunchable after many, many pleadings to buy the store bought version while grocery shopping. While they are super cheap and my kids don’t have to eat gluten-free like mama does.
I can rarely bring myself to buying them for them. The ingredient list is a mile long and full of things I can barely pronounce.
What you need
While I kept with the classic cheese, turkey and crackers here, I chose brands that I trust. I used one of our favorite cheeses from Tillamook and organic turkey slices. For the crackers and cookies I went with Simple Mills crackers, which are one of my favorite.
I did add in two gluten-free Oreos, because they are kids after all and let’s face it, they are yummy! Put a water bottle or 100% juice on the side and they will be so happy.
How to make them
Using a mini circle cookie cutter, you can make rounds from the cheese and turkey if you are using round crackers. OR, you can use a knife like I did here and cut out squares of cheese and turkey to match our square crackers.
For the fruit flower, simply shape the orange segments into petals and add a raspberry (or blueberry or whatever you have) in the center. So easy!
Place it all in the bento box along with the remaining items and there you have it, a super easy, homemade lunchable!
What else can you add to this homemade lunchable?
As you can see below, I have also cut cucumbers and carrots into little flowers with a mini cookie cutter. It makes eating veggies more fun for sure! Some other things you can add…
- Applesauce packet
- Different varieties of cheeses
- Salami
- Pepperoni
- Little packets of mayo and mustard
We have also made sandwiches and added micro greens to the bottom for “grass” that is edible and put little cheese raindrops below edible cheese umbrellas.
We used Baybel and cut them them in half then umbrellas. Finally we cut tiny pieces of straw at the bendy part for umbrella holders. That was a fun lunch!
Other bento box lunch ideas…
This pizza grilled cheese monster is so cute and a fun one to do at Halloween especially!
Our spider sandwich with pretzel stick legs was another fun and spooky sandwich to serve. And if you need more Halloween sandwiches, we’ve got so many cute ideas including a ghost, hotdog worm sandwich and even witches fingers!
This mango strawberry salsa with breaded chicken tacos is a delicious lunch but also a bit more refined.
So what do you think? Will you be making homemade lunchables at least once this year now? I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
*This post was originally published on September 6, 2017. It has been updated with new photos, helpful instructions and step by step photos. Here is the original photo…
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5-Minute Homemade Lunchables
Ingredients
- 2 slices deli turkey
- 8 gluten-free crackers
- 1 slice sliced cheese
- 1 cutie orange or clementine
- 1 raspberry or blueberry
- 2 gluten-free Oreos
Instructions
- Using a mini circle cookie cutter, you can make rounds from the cheese and turkey if you are using round crackers. OR, you can use a knife like I did here and cut out squares of cheese and turkey to match our square crackers
- Place turkey, cheese and crackers in the bento box
- For the fruit flower, simply shape the orange segments into petals and add a raspberry (or blueberry or whatever you have) in the center. So easy!
- Place the fruit flower and cookies in the bento box and there you have it, a super easy, homemade lunchable!
Video
Notes
- Applesauce packet
- Different varieties of cheeses
- Salami
- Pepperoni
- Little packets of mayo and mustard
Lyn says
These are so cute and easy! Love that they’re GF for my kids. Thanks for the ideas!
Chandice says
Aww thanks! So glad that your kiddos loved them too. 🙂
Keeley McGuire says
So adorable Chandice! Love this! 🙂
Elle @ Only Taste Matters says
This is the cutest! It would definitely brighten my rainy day!
Kristina says
I need to look into the bento boxes! I pack my lunch almost everyday so they would help me too! How adorable are those umbrella sandwiches!?! Great idea!
xo, Kristina
Chandice says
Aww thanks so much Kristina! I seriously can’t say enough for reusable lunchboxes. They are SO worth the investment!! There are so many great varieties depending on your needs/style preference. 🙂