Cheap Bento Box Lunch Ideas Your Kids Will Love (5 Days of Lunches = $9.05 Total!)

School is back in session, and I was tasked with coming up with a week’s worth of bento box lunch ideas while sticking to a budget of $20.

I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t sure I could do it. But I shopped for cheaper store brands, bought fridge and pantry staples that I could spread out throughout the upcoming week(s), and calculated the cost per ounce of produce. And with that, I was able to stick to my budget and create five bento box lunch ideas at a total cost of just $9.05. That means I spent less than $10 for lunch everyday Monday-Friday (and best part: my kid will actually eat these things!). Here’s how I did it!

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I shopped for groceries at Walmart, where I mostly stuck to purchasing store-brand staples.

I specifically sought out Great Value products (Walmart’s cheaper store brand) to save some change. For example, the Great Value Oats & Honey granola cost me $2.48 for an 11-oz bag. Compare that to a $4.62 Nature Valley granola bag for the same size and flavor. That’s a savings of 46%!

The grocery haul came out to $20.64. But keep in mind that some of these ingredients can last up to a month or more, like granola, applesauce, and pretzels. In fact, I only used half a cup of applesauce, two cups of yogurt, and a couple of handfuls of pretzels for the whole week.

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Here are easy bento lunch box ideas you can make at home for $2 a day.

After completing one week of coming up with bento box lunch ideas, I broke down the cost of each meal. I used up ingredients that cost me about $2 per day, at a grand total of $9.05 for the week. I was still left with some ingredients to go into the next week.

Of course, you can use other fridge or pantry staples you might already have. For example, Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning is a must at our house. You could also add sprinkles to yogurt to make lunch more colorful and appetizing.

Monday

Turkey and Cheese Puzzle Sandwich

For Monday’s menu, I made one turkey and cheese puzzle sandwich with two slices of bread, two slices of turkey, and one slice of cheese. The loaf of bread came with 24 slices, the turkey came with 16, and the cheese came with 16. Here I’ll divide the total cost by the number of slices to calculate Monday’s lunch cost.

I also washed and peeled one carrot (my bag came with six pieces) and added some ranch I had in my fridge. For the grapes and pretzels, we’ll have to calculate the cost per ounce. The 1-lb bag of grapes gets you a cost per ounce of $0.06 per grape. Finally, the 1-lb bag of pretzels gets you a cost per ounce of $0.14.

Let’s break down the cost:

• 2 slices of bread: $0.11
• 2 slices of turkey: $0.46
• 1 slice of cheese: $0.09
• 1 carrot: $0.16
• 2 oz grapes: $0.12
• 4 oz pretzel sticks: $0.56

Total for the day: $1.50

TIP: Take note that I calculate ounces based on the product specifications listed on the Bentgo website. The left compartment holds 8 oz, the back and right compartments hold 4 oz, the front compartment holds 2 oz, and the dip compartment holds 1 oz.

 

Tuesday

Grilled Cheese Roll-Ups

Grilled cheese roll-ups were the star of Tuesday’s lunch. You take one slice of bread and cut off the crust. Roll it flat, and add one-half to one slice of cheese. Roll it up and throw it in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes.

Then I washed and cut up an apple, which came out to $0.20 per ounce. I could only fit three slices into the little Bento compartment (that’s about 4 oz) — but don’t worry. I’ll never let the rest of the product go to waste. I’ll either save scraps for another lunch or eat them myself. I also cut up a carrot into small coins.

Finally, for sweets, I included about an ounce of granola ($0.23 per ounce) and one cup of yogurt ($0.56 per ounce). I added sliced grapes and a dash of cinnamon for an extra kick.

Let’s break down the cost:

• 2 slices of bread: $0.11
• 2 slices of cheese: $0.18
• 4oz apple slices: $0.80
• 1 oz granola: $0.23
• 1 carrot: $0.16
• 8 oz yogurt: $0.56
• 3 sliced grapes (0.5 oz): $0.03

Total for the day: $2.07

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Wednesday

Turkey and Cheese Lunchables

Lunchables at Walmart can cost up to $3 for one pack. But you can make your own (healthier) version for nearly half the price.

Take a flower cookie cutter and cut shapes out of the cheese and turkey slices. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can just use the mouth of a drinking glass. I also cut my cucumber slices ($0.08 per ounce) the same way to keep the theme cohesive.

For something salty, I threw in a handful of pretzel sticks. And for dessert, I added 2 ounces of grapes and a dollop of apple sauce.

Let’s break down the cost:

• 2 slices of turkey: $0.46
• 2 slices of cheese: $0.18
• 4 oz pretzel sticks: $0.56
• 4 oz cucumber: $0.32
• 1 oz applesauce: $0.07
• 2 oz grapes: $0.12

Total for the day: $1.71

 

Thursday

Yogurt Parfait and Turkey Roll-Ups

For this lunch, I dug into my pantry for some seasoning and sprinkles. However, the lunch works perfectly fine without either.

I cut out some apple slices with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and washed and cut some grapes. I also added some granola on the side to complete the parfait.

For a side, I washed and sliced up some cucumber and sprinkled my kids’ favorite Everything But the Bagel food seasoning. Lastly, I sliced some turkey slices in half, rolled them up, and secured each one with a pretzel stick. (I used three sticks, so I’m not taking these into account for the cost).

Let’s break down the cost:

• 8 oz yogurt: $0.56
• 2 oz apple slices: $0.40
• 4 oz cucumber: $0.32
• 1 oz sliced grapes: $0.06
• 2 slices of turkey: $0.46
• 2 oz granola: $0.23

Total cost for the day: $2.03

 

Friday

Cucumber Tea Sandwich

When prepping Friday’s lunch, my kid asked me, “Why do things taste better in shapes?” And when I got the lunchbox back, everything was gone.

For the sandwiches, I cut up turkey, cucumber, and bread into various shapes. I then sprayed the bread with a little olive oil and sprinkled it with seasoning, then threw it in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes.

I wanted to use up as much of the fruit leftover as possible, so I tossed some apple chunks, sliced grapes, and yogurt into a fruit salad.

And for the sides, I cut up some carrot rounds and added some pretzel sticks and applesauce.

Let’s break down the cost:

• 1 slice of bread: $0.06
• 4 oz cucumber: $0.32
• 1 slice of turkey: $0.23
• 1 oz grapes: $0.06
• 2 oz apples: $0.40
• 1 oz yogurt: $0.07
• 1 oz carrot rounds: $0.04
• 2 oz pretzel sticks: $0.28
• 4 oz applesauce: $0.28

Total cost for the day: $1.74

 

 

Use fun accessories like cookie cutters and sandwich sealers to appeal to picky eaters.

Got some picky eaters on hand? Same here. I found out that cookie cutters and sandwich shape cutters are an easy way to get my kids to finish their lunch. Little food picks are also a great add-on to make cut-up produce a little more inviting. I just didn’t have any on hand. Here are our favorite lunchbox accessories to shop now:

This story was researched and visually captured by Angela Dome, as told to Shanon Maglente.