The ultimate guide to easy substitutions for gluten free kids lunch ideas.
This post is all about super easy substitutions that you can use to make easy and quick gluten free kids lunches! Sending your kids to school with delicious gluten free lunch options has never been easier!
- Sandwiches
The go to classic sandwich is a prime candidate for a super easy substitution to make it gluten free for your kids lunch. By substituting gluten free bread you can easily convert sandwiches to a gluten free lunch. It does take a bit of trial and error to find a brand of bread that your kiddo’s like, but once you do, swapping out bread makes preparing kids lunches a breeze.
One thing that we have found when using gluten free bread to make a sandwich is that toasting the bread tends to make the gluten free bread taste less stale and helps the bread to hold together better preventing the sandwich fixing from escaping.
My favorite Gluten Free breads (after so much trial and error) are Schar Gluten Free Bread and Little Northern Bakehouse.
Now that you have swapped out the bread, just make sure the items between the bread are gluten free. Cheese and veggies always are. Just double check that any meat you bought is gluten free, read the sauce labels and voila! You have a perfect gluten free kids lunch idea!
Another option is to swap out the bread for rice cakes. We love these thin rice cakes for sandwiches. These make life super simple and add variety to your sandwich making options!
- Pasta
Leftover pasta is a classic lunch idea for kids lunches. You can easily make this gluten free kids lunch by substituting regular pasta with gluten free pasta. It is so easy to get gluten free pasta’s now and most are located in the same aisle as the regular pasta. We love Catelli and Barilla varieties. Thankfully there are so many options out there for you to try!
Read the labels on any store bought sauces to ensure they are gluten free. If you have made your own sauce, just use it on top of the gluten free pasta in your kids lunch. Just warm the pasta and sauce and throw it into a lunch sized thermos. This one is the perfect size, you can get it here
- Soup
Everyone loves a bowl of soup, especially kids. There are so many options now for quick soup options on the go. We found our family favorites by trying out different kinds in the gluten free section of our local grocery store. For convenience and cost savings, we typically order from Amazon to keep our pantry stocked. Our favorite brand that is healthy and also gluten free is Imagine. You can get it here!
- Mac and Cheese
Such a classic and kids love it! An easy swap to make this kids classic gluten free is to either swap gluten free pasta into your homemade recipe or to buy a gluten free version of mac and cheese. Annie’s is the go-to brand for gluten free mac and cheese in a box. They also have a white cheese version that is delicious. You can get it here!
These super easy swap gluten free kids lunch ideas will help you provide food your kids will love while still enjoying the foods everyone loves. A few simple swaps and you are able to enjoy these super easy ideas!
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