Healthy Lunchbox Recipes

I am always on the look out for yummy, healthy lunchbox goodies that the kids will love.

I love the idea of preparing and cooking our own foods. From this, I have a little saying when choosing foods for my family.

“Farm, not factory.”

I feel that encouraging our children to consider where their food comes from before they eat it, is one of the factors that will contribute to them making healthy food choices even when they are older.

While I enjoy preparing tasty healthy lunchbox-friendly snacks and treats, apparently recipe development and food photography is NOT a strength of mine at all – not through lack of trying I can assure you!

This being said, I thought I would leave the recipe creating for the experts and I will just stick to baking and eating their yummy culinary designs.

This post is a round-up of delicious, nutritious lunchbox-friendly recipes that we have used and LOVED!

I am all for veg being out in the open in our lunchboxes however I am also a believer of there being nothing wrong with a bit of hidden veg snuck in here and there as well. *wink, wink*

As I discover and try new recipes, I will add them to the list. This being said, please save this post a keep an eye on it for easier to prepare veggie-filled lunchbox snack inspiration!

Sweet Lunchbox Recipes

• Teeny Teddies
• Carrot Cake Cookies
• Magic Bean Chocolate Cake
• Fruitless Muesli Bars
• Avocado Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Avocado Biscuits
• Orange and Honey Cookies
• Skinnymixers Choc Chip Oat Bars
• Banana Oat Mini Loaf
• Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins with Zucchini
• Soft Carrot Cookies
• Pear Blueberry and Ginger Muffins
• Zucchini Brownies
• Chocolate Chickpea Biscuits
• Chocolate Peppermint Bliss Balls
• Banana and Zucchini Muffins
• Homemade Crumpets
• Lunchbox Biccie
• Hot Cross Buns
• Chocolate Muffins with Sweet Potato

Savoury Lunchbox Recipes

• Impossible Quiche
• Hulk Meatballs
• Zucchini Bites
• Spinach Wraps
• Corn and Zucchini Fritters
• Carrot Stars
• Lemon and Fennel Seed Crackers
• Carrot Cheese and Chive Muffins
• Carrot, Cheddar and Poppyseed Crackers
• Cheesy Pumpkin Puffs

The Healthy Lunchbox Recipe Developers

I would also like to take this moment to say a huge “Thank you for all you do!” and “Well done!” to the lovely recipe masterminds who have spent hours trialing and playing with different recipe ideas for helpless wonders in the kitchen like me!

Kylie @ Kidgredients

Bernadette @ Goodie Goodie Lunchbox

Julicious @ Recipe Community

Peta @TRTLMT

Amy @ Healthy Little Foodies

Nikki @ Thermobsession

Your efforts are being celebrated with every bite! Thank you for taking the time and creativity to create easy, step-by-step recipes that help parents like me provide our children with healthy lunches and child-friendly snacks!

The Healthy Lunchbox Recipes

These are trusted recipes that we have tried ourselves and loved!

Cheesy Pumpkin Puffs

Pumpkin seems to be a common vegetable that kids avoid. These puffs will have them lining up for more! They are amazing! If you are broadening on their palette a little, a tiny sprinkle of chili adds a whole new dimension to these yummy treats!

Teeny Teddies (in Letter Shapes)

This cookie dough is amazing to use with cookie cutters! The dough is amazing to work with, super forgiving and cookies keep their shape well. This recipe is a great alternative to commercial teddy-shaped cookies, with a simple ingredient list and so much more affordable!

We made ours in the shape of letters of the alphabet to expand on our learning of phonics and CVCs. Learning to read has been tasty!

Carrot Cake Cookies

After my daughter choosing a 4kg bag of carrots, I took up the challenge to use them up within the week. Trusting Bernadette at GoodieGoodieLunchbox to inspire some baking, a quick search on her website lead me to this delicious recipe! Dairy free and full of fibre, carrot cake cookies have been perfect for that 2pm slump for me as well as for the kids.

I have kept them in the freezer and they thaw beautifully really quickly. Miss 4 even enjoys eating them straight from the freezer!

I did swap out the brown sugar for coconut sugar and we were short of oranges so I used Orange Sweet Drops to add that little splash of citrus. Coconut sugar is naturally low GI and still has loads of minerals. It makes an easy swap for brown sugar in many recipes we have tried.

Magic Bean Chocolate Cake

Gluten-free and packed full of protein! This delicious chocolate cake is primarily made of beans and eggs! It can easily be adapted to be dairy free by switching out the butter for oil too! It’s light and fluffy and fabulous! We used Naturally Sweet Coconut Sugar to make it refined sugar free. The kids loved having a sweet treat while this Mumma sat back happily knowing they were getting a bit of extra vegetable into their day.

Impossible Quiche

What is a lunchbox without a quiche every now and again. This recipe is super versatile! Add whatever veg you have on hand for extra yum and nutrition boost!

Fruitless Muesli Bars

This recipe was created by Peta @TRTLMT

We have made this recipe three times in as many weeks. It can be kept in the freezer however due to its popularity, ours has never made it there! I swapped out honey for rice malt syrup and used Naturally Sweet Coconut Sugar to keep them low GI. The coconut sugar gives a welcomed boost of minerals including zinc, iron and magnesium too!

Corn and Zucchini Fritters

This recipe was created by Kylie from @kidsgredients

Filled with veg and a sneaky hint of sweet chilli, these fritters are nutritious and seriously yum! Perfect for making lunchboxes on the fly from the freezer!

Avocado Banana Muffins

This recipe was created by Kylie @kidgredients

With an overripe banana hovering in the bowl, we just had to do some banana baking. Teamed up with some smooth, rich avocado, we turned ours into ‘chocolate doughnuts’ for some extra lunchbox fun! We switched the cocoa for cacao and used Naturally Sweet Coconut Sugar for extra nutrition and keeping our sweets low GI.

Chocolate Avocado Biscuits

This recipe was created by Peta @TRTLMT

This super simple biscuit is full of rich avocado goodness. Bring on those healthy fats! We supplemented the used Naturally Sweet Coconut Sugar to keep them low GI and to crank up the zinc, iron and magnesium! Miss 7 spooned these out to resemble rough-looking geodes – her latest crystal obcession!

Lemon and Fennel Seed Crackers

This recipe was created by Bernadette @goodiegoodielunchbox .

Filled with fibre-filled wholemeal flour, zesty lemon and distinctive fennel seeds, these are delish to have topped with hummus and fresh cherry tomato! The kids ate half the batch just off the cooling rack! Luckily it is a generous batch size!

We made ours into star shapes, to make lunchboxes look that bit more interesting.

Orange and Honey Cookies

This recipe was created by Peta from @TRTLMT.

With oranges in season and at a great price, I picked up a couple of extras this week. I’m so grateful I did too! After a quick search, I this recipe and they are soooo good! I replaced the sugar with a natural sugar replacement because that’s how I roll. The texture is and subtle flavour from the orange and honey works so well!

Skinnymixers Choc Chip Oat Bars

This recipe was created by Nikaline @skinnymixers.

This recipe is so versatile! Over the years we have swapped out the choc chips for all sorts of different things. Today we swapped them out for some pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, sweetened with Naturally Sweet Erythritol – yum! Check out the link for some more variations!

Carrot Stars

Amy from @healthylittlefoodie created this recipe.

With an abundance of carrots on hand, I searched the Healthy Little Foodie website searching for a recipe suitable for a lunchbox snack. I am so glad to have found this amazing recipe!

Half a tray down within minutes of them leaving the oven, the kids love them and they are so easy to make! I did sprinkle some extra sesame seeds on top just because!

Healthy Banana Oat Mini Loaf

Kylie from @Kidsgredients created this recipe.

With a few funky looking bananas sitting in our fruit bowl, using them up was a must when Miss 6 asked to do some baking this morning.

This recipe is sugar-free, fibre-filled and so easy that Miss 6 was able to follow the steps with very little interaction on my behalf (while still being supervised). We baked ours in doughnut shapes to make ‘Breakfast Donuts’ because, well – why not!

Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins with Zucchini

Bernadette @Goodiegoodielunchbox created this recipe.

We were kindly gifted a few lemons from one of the kids in Miss 5s class the same day we received this recipe in our inbox. It was meant to be!

I love that they are refined sugar free, full of wholemeal flour and yummy zucchini! The lemon kick and poppy seed after taste are perfect for an after school treat!

Carrot Cheese and Chive Muffins

Kylie @Kidsgredients created this recipe.

They are full of carrot goodness and would even make a yummy Mummy lunch filled with some fresh tomato and peppery rocket. Making these muffins I was a little concerned as the mixture is quite dry compare to what I am used to however they came out beautifully!

Carrot Cheddar and Poppy Seed Crackers

Bernadette @GoodieGoodieLunchbox created this recipe.

I love that they contain both wholemeal flour and oats along with some trusty carrot- extra fibre anyone? The dough comes together beautifully and is really easy to work with. They are going to be delish stacked with our favourite toppings or teamed up with a yummy dip.

Soft Carrot Cookie1s

Kylie @Kidgredients created this recipe.

I had not considered using a carrot in a cookie before. I am so glad to have come across this recipe! They are so easy to make (Mashing the carrots was something Miss 2 took charge of). Next time I will roll the batter for a smoother cookie other than that I would not change a thing! They are a lovely sweet treat and did I mention dairy-free?

Pear Blueberry and Ginger Muffins

Bernadette @GoodieGoodieLunchbox created this recipe.

There is certainly a lot of fruit packed into these tiny muffins! They are refined sugar and free and YUM! Please don’t be afraid of adding ginger. While the flavour is there, it is not overpowering. We have made these muffins with an apple instead of pear before and they still work beautifully!

Zucchini Brownies

This recipe is by Julicious @Recipe Community

This recipe has been a go-to for us for years. It’s super forgiving, egg and dairy-free and contains 500g of zucchini! I have swapped olive oil for coconut oil, cocoa for cacao and sugar for Naturally Sweet Erythritol and it still works well every time!

Chocolate Chickpea Biscuits

Peta @TRTLMT created this recipe.

These are again another recipe that we have used and loved for years now. They are a soft biscuit and full of chickpea goodness! Use coconut oil instead of butter to make them dairy-free! We swap out the sugar and have replaced it with both Naturally Sweet Erythritol and Coconut Sugar with success!

Zucchini Bites

Amy @ Healthy Little Foodiescreated this recipe.

We only recently discovered this recipe. On the first day of making them, one batch only lasted an hour between the three of us! They are YUM! Even Miss 23m who isn’t a fan of eggs ate them down and asked for more.

Zucchini Bites are regularly in Miss 5s healthy lunchbox – As in we have a fresh double batch baked every week!

Spinach Wraps

Peta @ TRTLMTcreated this recipe.

This is a great way to sneak in some veg and add some colour to your child’s healthy lunchbox. We have given them the nickname Hulk Wraps to appeal to Mr 10s interests and they never come home from school. I have also used red cabbage, beetroot and yellow capsicum instead of spinach to create different colour wraps.

I store them in a ziplock bag with a sheet of baking paper (which we reuse for the next batch) between each wrap flat in the freezer. They thaw and are ready to fill with your kid’s favs within 10 minutes.

Hulk Meatballs

Nikki at Thermobsession created this recipe.

These meatballs are jam-packed with spinach and zucchini.

Does your little one have an egg allergy? These are egg-free! They are great by themself with some salad or pop them into a mini-sub, wrap or a sandwich as a great way to boost your child’s veg intake – all sneaky like isn’t so bad every now and again is it?

Even Dad loves these! I packed some in his lunchbox just this morning.

Chocolate Peppermint Bliss Balls

Bernadette from Goodie Goodie Lunchbox created this recipe.

These gorgeous balls of yumminess may not be loaded with veg however they are packed with fibre, protein and NO refined sugar! We had a batch made in about 10 minutes and they are the perfect sweet something to overcome that 2pm slump.

Banana and Zucchini Muffins

Bernadette from @goodiegoodielunchbox created this recipe.

With a few overripe bananas on our hands, we headed over to Goodie Goodie Lunchbox and found this healthy lunchbox recipe. They are refined sugar-free and taste amazing!

Homemade Crumpets

Homemade crumpets are so easy to make! Yes, they aren’t something you can just throw together in ten minutes however they are worth the wait and free of any unnecessary additives like store bought ones.

Lunchbox Biccies

Peta from @TRTLMT created this recipe.

These biccies have been a go to for lunchboxes since the kids started school. They are egg and nut free so are handy for bake sales for our friends with food allergies! I swap the sugar out for Baking Natvia to keep them a yummy treat without the sugar high.

Hot Cross Buns

Thermomumma (correct next if I’m wrong, I think her name is Layla) created this recipe.

Be warned these Hot Cross Buns are so yummy! We half their weight to 40g to make them kiddy size. No veg but a much healthier alternative to store-bought. I swap the sugar out for Naturally Sweet Erythritol but still use real sugar in the glaze to give them that shine.

Choc Muffins with Sweet Potato

Bernadette from @Goodiegoodielunchbox created this recipe.

Refined sugar free and 250g of sweet potato made this recipe a must try for us and I’m so glad we did! I swapped the cocoa for cacao and they are a lovely treat that aren’t overly sweet – perfect for lunchboxes and toddler snacks!

In conclusion, as we discover new recipes, we will keep adding them to this blossoming list!

Stay tuned for more lunchbox inspiration!

Check out our favourite lunchboxes here!