High-Protein Lunch Recipes for Back-to-School

Make-ahead burritos, easy chickpea salad, baked chicken meatballs and more tasty lunch ideas for little bodies with long days.

Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton.

Published Aug. 12, 2025Updated Aug. 12, 2025

When my two girls are grown, I’ll probably find myself weeping in the lunchbox aisle, reminiscing about how fun it was, packing school lunches for all those years, but currently, it’s one of my least favorite tasks. Trying to come up with packable, nutritious meals that they’ll actually eat makes me feel like Oedipus trying to solve the Riddle of the Sphinx.

Because their days are long and activity-filled, they need food with staying power. Most days, I try to pack a lunch that’s fairly balanced in terms of protein, carbs and fiber. (And some days, they get buttered fusilli and an apple.) They love bread, pasta, fruits and vegetables, so carbs and fiber are easy. But I often struggle with working a little protein into their bento boxes, as I know many parents do. The other day, I scrolled through New York Times Cooking looking for higher-protein, lunchbox-friendly ideas that my kids might eat, and I’m sharing them with you here. Good luck.

An image of two halves of a burrito stacked on top of one another so you can see the filling, which is facing the camera: a mixture of brown-red ground meat, beans and melty white cheese.

These excellent burritos from Ali Slagle are always a winner. Make them ahead, wrap in foil and freeze, then heat up and pop into a Thermos. I make ours with ground turkey or chicken.

Recipe: Easy Burritos

An overhead image of a white plate filled with brown meatballs atop white rice, with a side of green broccolini and a squeezed lemon wedge.

These simple chicken meatballs from Lidey Heuck can be piled into a container or tucked into a squishy hoagie. I toss in a few packets of ketchup left over from takeout.

Recipe: Baked Chicken Meatballs

A large white handled pot with a deep golden soup inside drizzled with a brown spice mixture.

Cozy and soul warming, this 10-minute, 5-ingredient red lentil dal from Priya Krishna gets better over time, so it’s the perfect thing to make on a Sunday to have for lunches all week.

Recipe: Everyday Dal

An overhead image of a teal green bowl filled with white beans, white mozzarella balls, cut red cherry tomatoes and torn green basil leaves.

My big kid loves to take a Caprese salad in her school lunch. This one from Colu Henry adds white beans for extra oomph, so my oldest can make it through a school day and two hours of dance class.

Recipe: White Bean Caprese Salad

An overhead image of a beige bowl filled with dumplings, cucumber chunks and cilantro. Everything is drizzled with a light brown peanut sauce, a red sauce with chile flakes and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

My 13-year-old kept stealing bites when I made myself this clever salad from Hetty Lui McKinnon, so I’m taking the hint and packing it in her lunch. Hetty calls for vegetarian dumplings, but I make it with chicken.

Recipe: Dumpling and Smashed Cucumber Salad With Peanut Sauce

Several brown rectangles studded with oats and nuts are stacked and scattered around a white surface.

Salty, sweet and crunchy, these homemade energy bars from Genevieve Ko happily straddle the line between a dessert and snack.

Recipe: Homemade Protein Bars

Three yellow muffin-shaped egg bites are on a peach colored plate. One egg bite is sliced in half, revealing red, brown and green vegetables.

If you’re a perimenopausal mom, you probably have cottage cheese in the fridge. So use it in these surprisingly light egg muffins from Naz Deravian for you and your kiddos.

Recipe: Cottage Egg Cheese Bites

An overhead image of three tortilla triangles stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese. Sour cream, salsa and guacamole top one of the triangles.

I love making cheese quesadillas for breakfast, but these chicken quesadillas from Ali Slagle are a great heartier option for lunch. Ali smartly suggests mixing together the chicken and cheese for even melting and distribution. It’s the little things.

Recipe: Chicken Quesadillas

An overhead image of several cubes of tofu with browned bits and crispy edges.

My kids are dubious about tofu, but these crunchy cubes might change their minds. Kristina Felix coats tofu in a savory mixture of tamari, garlic and onion powders, and cornstarch, then bakes them until crispy.

Recipe: Baked Tofu

An overhead image of a white oval serving bowl filled with round tortellini pasta, red peppers, salami chunks and arugula leaves.

Cheese tortellini and salami give this reader-favorite pasta salad from Ali Slagle a bit more staying power. Because delicate arugula will become soggy in a lunchbox, I’ll sub in roughly chopped broccoli that will soften as it sits.

Recipe: Tortellini Pasta Salad

An overhead image of a white round serving platter topped with sliced tomatoes, green lettuce leaves, red onion slices and a bowl of shredded chicken dressed in a creamy yellow sauce.

Afghan murgh kebab, grilled spiced chicken kebabs that are served with a garlicky white sauce, inspired this not-boring, creamy-spicy chicken salad from Zaynab Issa. A mix of Greek yogurt and mayo keeps it out of gloopy territory.

Recipe: Lemon Turmeric Chicken Salad

A close-up image of the side of two sandwich halves stacked on top of one another filled with chunks of egg white and creamy yellow yolks and frilly lettuce leaves.

A well-made egg salad is sublime, and this one from Lidey Heuck does not disappoint. To guard against sogginess if you’re making a sandwich: Toast the bread a bit first, lightly butter it, then put a piece of lettuce on each slice before adding the egg salad.

Recipe: Egg Salad

An overhead image of a beige bowl filled with chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion and herbs.

You’ll almost always find chickpeas in my cabinet because they’re great in so many things. In a pinch, I add a small container of plain chickpeas to my kids’ lunches, but this recipe from Kristina Felix is something special.

Recipe: Easy Chickpea Salad

An overhead image of a white bowl filled with creamy orange pimento cheese dip, with round golden brown crackers on the side.

As a pseudo-Southerner, I am thrilled to announce that one of my kids loves pimento cheese, so this is already a lunchbox go-to in our house. She likes this one from Matt and Ted Lee with Ritz crackers and cucumbers.

Recipe: Pimento Cheese

An overhead image of a white bowl filled with creamy beige hummus drizzled with olive oil and chopped green parsley. Pita wedges topped with dried herbs and flaky sea salt are on the side.

This superfast hummus from Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook of the Philadelphia restaurant Zahav calls for an entire 16-ounce jar of tahini so it’s incredibly flavorful (and also packed with good fats that will keep my girl going through soccer practice).

Recipe: 5-Minute Hummus

An overhead image of a white bowl filled with creamy red-orange soup with lentils and tomatoes and specks of black pepper. A slice of crusty bread is on the side.

Carolina Gelen adds browned butter and protein-rich lentils to classic tomato soup resulting in a stick-to-your-ribs version that will keep beautifully in a Thermos.

Recipe: Lentil Tomato Soup

J. Kenji Lopéz-Alt’s technique for steaming eggs in a little bit of water — not a whole potful — is the best way I know of to get truly perfect hard-boiled eggs. (No weird gray rim.) My kid eats only the whites. Fine. I scoop out the yellows and make myself a batch of Eli Zabar’s egg salad.

Recipe: Perfect Boiled Eggs

An overhead image of a white bowl filled with chopped red tomatoes and red onion, corn kernels, black beans and black-eyed peas, jalapeño and sliced scallions. Corn tortilla chips are on the side.

Another household favorite is cowboy caviar, also known as Texas caviar, which I adapted from Helen Corbitt, a dietitian from New York, who came up with it in the 1930s after moving to Texas. Black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper and scallions are dressed in a lightly sweet dressing. I pile it into a bento box and send them with a resealable bag of Fritos Scoops.

Recipe: Cowboy Caviar

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