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Sometimes the summer can get more expensive with food, especially if your kids are home more than they were during the school year. Here are 13 cheap summer lunch ideas. None of these are rocket science, but sometimes we need someone to state the obvious!
Cheap Summer Lunch Ideas at Home
Quesadillas
The classic easy lunch. Even younger kids can learn how to make their own quesadillas! Use beans, chicken, or leftover taco meat and add some cheese. You can even make non-traditional quesadillas: think ham and cheese, turkey and mozzarella.
Pasta Salad
You can make pasta salad with just about any toppings you want: cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpease, cheese cubes, and cured meat like pepperoni or salami. Then just add a drizzle of Italian dressing or oil and vinegar.
“Lunchable” Style Boxes
Lunchables may be appealing when you spot them at the store, but consider how you can make your own by including some of the following:
- crackers + turkey + cheese
- PB&J wedges + fruit
- pretzels + hummus
- yogurt + granola
Egg-Based Lunches
Hard boiled eggs and cooked eggs can be good lunch options — not just for breakfast. Make egg salad sandwiches or mini frittatas.
Cold Chicken Lunches
Use leftover chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken and make all kinds of wraps or chicken salad.
Rice Bowls
I always make too much rice! Repurpose that rice into rice bowls with frozen vegetables, soy sauce, eggs, and leftover protein.
Taquitos or Nachos
If you have tortillas or tortilla chips, you can make quick nachos with leftover ground beef or chicken and cheese, or you can roll the filling up in tortillas and bake them or stick them in the air fryer for 5 minutes.
Peanut Butter Options
There are so many ways to use peanut butter. You can make wraps with peanut butter and bananas; put peanut butter on toast and add fruit, or even make peanut noodles.
Homemade “Uncrustables”
You can make homemade uncrustables that are a lot cheaper per sandwich and potentially more nutritious! These are great if you need to pack lunch on the go.
Crescent Roll Pockets
Crescent roll pockets or biscuit pockets can be stuffed with all kinds of delicious fillings: pizza toppings, ham and cheese, taco meat, or chicken and cheese.
Summer Charcuterie Lunch
This is a great option when you have a little bit left of a lot of different things. Take those last few slices of salami; slice up a 1/4 block of cheese, slice a few cucumbers, and put out whatever fruit you have. This also travels well!
Smoothie + Simple Side
Smoothies don’t have to be just for breakfast. On a hot summer day, a cold smoothie makes a great lunch, especially if you pair it with something like toast, a homemade muffin, or some hard boiled eggs. Here are 10 healthy and frugal smoothie recipes.
Leftovers
This isn’t the most exciting option, but it’s cheap and easy. If you or your kids aren’t a big fan of leftovers, see if you can repurpose the leftovers into something else, such as using grilled chicken for wraps, or using leftover pasta to make a fresh pasta salad.
Do you have any ideas for cheap summer lunch ideas? Let us know in the comments!
