The Best Lunch Boxes for Back To School

Published Aug 9, 2024 8:11 pm ET


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Back-to-school shopping is officially here! While you’re going through your checklist of buying backpacks, school supplies, laptops, and more, don’t forget to add lunchboxes to your list. Whether you’re the parent who likes to cook homemade meals and pack it in your kids lunch, or if you’re going for a simple sandwich, drink, and chips lunch, the type of lunchbox you buy matters.

Maybe you need a bento lunch box for packing rice, sushi, and soup, or an insulated lunch box to keep the Capri Suns cold. Whether you’re looking for a character design lunchbox, something with animals, or a basic solid color lunchbox, we’ve got you covered. Eat lunch in style with the best lunch boxes for back-to-school.

Trending Lunch Boxes for 2024

Super Mario Bros. Square Double Compartment Insulated Lunch Box

For kids who are Super Mario fans, this is the perfect lunch box to take to school. It provides ample space for sandwiches, fruit, chips, yogurt, and drinks, and it even has a bottom compartment for storage. It’s insulated, so it keeps food fresh and cool all day.

Yumuk Bento Box Lunchbox for Kids

Whether you’re packing rice, sushi, a salad, kimbap, fruit, or a sandwich with snacks, this bento box works as a great lunch box and is the perfect divider for your food. Priced at only $9.99 on Amazon, this lunchbox is affordable, and easily carries your entire meal. It’s also leakproof, so it’s perfect for carrying salad dressing, sauces, yogurt, applesauce, and more.

Hello Kitty Kids’ Lunch Bag

This Hello Kitty lunch box from Target is both adorable and functional! It includes a side pocket for your drink or water bottle, and it can fit a sandwich, fruit, and multiple snacks. It also includes a mesh pocket on the inside for storing utensils and napkins. The insulated interior keeps food and drinks cold during the day.

mibasies Kids Insulated Lunch Box

For the girlies who love glitter and unicorns, this is one of the best lunch boxes for going back to school. With internal insulation, it keeps your food and drinks fresh during the day. It has a convenient side pocket for a water bottle or drink and a shoulder strap for easy carrying. The back zipper pouch makes it easy to carry utensils and napkins.

Bluey Kids’ Lunch Bag

Explore the world of Bluey with this insulated lunch bag for kids. With a side compartment and a large main compartment, all of your drinks, sandwiches, fruits, snacks, and more can fit with ease. It has an insulated interior, so it’s easy to clean and will keep food fresh for your little one.

Simple Modern Marvel Kids Lunch Box for School – Spidey Kid

Sling into action with this Simple Modern Marvel Spidey Kids lunch box from Amazon. It has a convenient exterior pocket for napkins and utensils, and an insulated interior. It’s also water-resistant, so this lunch box can hold up in the rain. This is the perfect lunchbox for Marvel fans, but they also have designs for other characters like Bluey, the Minions, Disney princesses, and more.

Bagseri Kids Lunch Bag

The dinosaur enthusiasts and future archeologists will love this dinosaur pattern Bagseri kids lunch bag. The side pocket is perfect for a water bottle or drink, while the inside is spacious enough to fit your entire lunch and an ice pack. It’s also insulated, so it’ll keep your food warm or cool, so it’s definitely ideal for homemade meals like soup, pasta, and more. If you prefer other animals or colors, there are different variations of this lunch box with butterflies, cats, mermaids, and more.

Bentgo Kids Lunch Bag – Sharks

Make a splash with this Bentgo Kids shark pattern lunch bag. Despite its shark and ocean pattern, this lunch bag is waterproof, so it’ll keep your food safe from the rain and water. This lunch bag is made to last a while, has plenty of room for your entire lunch, and has a padded handle and strap for easy carrying.

JIRAIKEI Insulated Game Lunch Box

When it comes to the versatility of lunch box designs, there’s something for every kid, and we have something for the gamers too. This gaming lunchbox resembles your favorite game console and is one of the best lunchboxes for back to school. Not only is it insulated, but it’s also sturdy and easy to carry. Right now, it’s on sale for 9% off on Amazon, so get it while you can.

Disney Princesses Easy Zip Insulated Lunch Box

If your child dreams of being and hanging around the Disney Princesses, now they can take them to lunch too. This insulated Disney princess lunch box is easy to carry, keeps food fresh, and is the perfect size for a full lunch and snacks. It’s on sale for 7% off on Amazon, and also available at Target.

L.L Bean Printed Lunch Box – Regatta Blue Geo Shark

With a cool shark design, this L.L. Bean lunch box is stylish and built to last. It has a mesh pouch on the inside for utensils and napkins, and there’s plenty of room inside to fit a sandwich, chips, fruit, a drink, and snacks. This lunch box is also compact enough to fit inside of any L.L Bean backpack, and also comes in different prints and patterns like camo, tie dye, flowers, and more.

L.L. Bean Lunch Box – Bright Neon Pink

For the kids who prefer something simple with a solid color, this L.L Bean neon pink lunch box is great for back to school. This lunch box is durable and lasts a long time, and holds everything you need for lunch. It has a front pocket for storage and a mesh pocket on the inside. It’s the perfect lunchbox for any grade, from elementary school to college to grad school. If you prefer a different color from pink, there are eight colors to choose from, including mint, lilac, camp green, and more.

L.L Bean Expandable Lunch Box – Surf Blue

This expandable L.L. Bean lunch box is two inches larger than their other lunch boxes, so it’s great for holding large lunches and extra food. It also has a zippered front pouch and a mesh pouch on the inside for additional storage. Along with surf blue, there are seven different colors to choose from, including mint, lavender, navy, and more.

Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Metallic Ombre Lunch Boxes

For a personalized and colorful lunch box, we recommend this Pottery Barn Kids lunch box. You can choose to add your name to it, so it’ll always be easy to find. With its side pocket, It can hold your drink or water bottle, and it also has an additional front pocket and a mesh pocket on the inside. This lunch box also includes a divider, so it’s easy to separate your food, snacks, drinks, or ice pack.

THERMOS Store FUNTAINER Stainless Steel Insulated Kids Food Jar

If you’re the parent that likes to cook homemade meals the night before for your kids to take to lunch, they’ll thank you after having this Thermos lunch container. Whether it’s soup, pasta, or chili, this food jar will keep your food warm. On the opposite, it can also keep food cool. It works for 5-7 hours, so you can just pack the food into the container in the morning and it’s still warm or cool by lunchtime. It has storage for a spoon, is leak-proof, durable, and kid-friendly. It’s on sale on Amazon for 6% off, so get it while you can.

If you didn’t find what you’re looking for here, we have other kids’ lunch boxes for you to check out.

Lauryn Jiles

Lauryn Jiles

Author McClatchy Commerce

Lauryn Jiles is a Content Commerce Assistant at McClatchy. She is based in South Carolina and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Lauryn has written for numerous brands and is well-versed in the fashion, beauty, health, and lifestyle verticals. She enjoys yoga, coffee, fashion museums, sushi, and traveling.

Kayleigh Drake

Kayleigh Drake

Editor McClatchy Commerce

Kayleigh Drake is a Commerce Content Editor at McClatchy. She’s based in Birmingham, Alabama, and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Kayleigh has written and edited content for numerous publications, with a particular focus on the food, kitchen, home and lifestyle verticals. When she’s not fulfilling her editorial duties, she loves record shopping, playing guitar, baking and buying entirely too many plants.