4 Easy Peasy Quick Lunch box Recipes

Inside: Out of ideas for quick lunch box recipes? Shazia, our guest writer for today talks about her family’s favourite dishes. These lunch box ideas are perfect for Back to School season when we are all stumped in the morning. She whips them up from scratch and from left overs too. These are sure to make your morning rush easier.

4 Easy Peasy Quick Lunch Box Recipes

I know… I had you at the ‘quick’ part! 😉 What a struggle it is to think up of variety for lunch boxes! Here are 4 of my favourite all time kid-pleasers- tried and tested numerous times!

Quick fix pizza

First, switch on the oven and preheat to a good 200’C.

While that’s heating up, grab a bowl and throw in the flour. Add salt, oil, instant yeast and warm water directly to the flour. Knead to a soft dough. Cover and set aside for 10-15 mins.

In a pan, heat a little water ,add tomato purée, red chilli flakes, garlic paste , ketchup and oregano. Cook for 3-4 mins, toss in chopped capsicum and tinned mushrooms, or leftover chicken shredded (all toppings are optional). Set aside.

On a cookie sheet, put a ball of dough and spread it using a bit of oil or roll the dough to a thin base (1/4 inch thick) and place on sheet. Spread the topping and cover with mozzarella cheese (or cheddar).

Bake for 15 mins till the cheese is lightly browned and the base is light brown underneath as well. Cool for 2-3 mins before you cut and pack!

Soft Roti/Chapati Rolls

Here is a tip: Make the Chapati/Roti dough with a bit of instant yeast thrown in and the Rotis will remain soft in the lunch box till lunch time!

Stuff your cooked roti with whatever leftover sabzi (cooked veggies) that you may have in the fridge (sneaky!) 😉

To make the lunches more nutritive add a layer of egg when cooking the roti.

Note: Roti/chapati is the Indian equivalent of Tortilla. You can replace with Tortillas or Pita bread too.

Leftover Sandwiches

As the name suggests, it’s sandwich made of leftover dinner!

Chicken pieces of any gravy can be shredded and added in, mixed with mayo and a dash of cheese! Sprinkle with pepper and you have it gourmet style, ready in minutes!

Pasta salad

(… also known as the ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ salad) 😉

Just boil the pasta and drain it. You can even do this the night before. Then throw in a can of whatever can you have, it could be chickpeas, kidney beans and mushrooms or even peas! Whatever you have in your cupboard at the time!

Add in seasoning (whatever your preference or nothing at all), salt, pepper and a few drops of the Soya sauce. Add a tablespoon or two of Mayonnaise, chopped cucumber, lettuce shreds (optional), and shredded cheddar(again optional).

Takes just as long as the pasta needs to be boiled! The quickest and most filling lunch box option ever!