It’s been just about a month since the teens have gotten out of school and they’ve been eating us out of house and home. They are constantly hungry and looking for things to shove into their bottomless tummies, so I’m always on the look out for quick and easy lunch ideas. If you’re in my boat too, here are 15 Teen Summer Lunch Ideas that your teen(s) can make to satisfy their hunger pains.
15 Teen Summer Lunch Ideas
If there’s one thing I know, hungry teens will make their meals if the recipe takes little effort. So these 10 teen summer lunch ideas all fit the ‘quick-n-easy’ bill and can be made by any teen or mom/dad in a pinch.
Quick Meal Prep Tips
To make meal prep easier for teenagers ~
- Pre-cook ground hamburger, chicken (store-bought rotisserie chicken works too), bacon, and ground sausage for quick pizzas, quesadillas, dips, quiches, and more.
- Stock up on sausages for quick rice and sausage meals. My kids love Portuguese sausage and I always have it stocked in the fridge for quick egg, rice, and Portuguese sausage meals.
- Have various cold cuts (canned meats work too) and cheeses for quick sandwiches or sliders.
- Stock up on ramen noodles and thin-cut beef/pork (usually found in Asian stores) for quick and hearty noodle meals. Another great addition to ramen noodles is gyoza. I make them in bulk and freeze, but to save time, buy store-bought.
- Keep boiled eggs in the fridge for snacking, sandwiches, and to add to ramen.
- Buy bagels, thick slice bread, tortillas, pre-made pizza dough for quick pizzas and open face sandwiches.
15 Summer Teen Lunch Ideas
Broiled Ham, Bacon and Swiss Sandwiches
This broiled open-faced ham and bacon sandwich takes a cold lunch sandwich up a notch. Just throw on some butter, bacon, ham, and Swiss cheese for a delicious warm lunch.
Caprese Tortilla Pizzas Recipe - Easy Dinner Idea
This recipe uses flour tortillas as the base and fresh tomatoes and basil. It's not only easy to make, it's a great way to use up tortillas.
Easy Pan Pizza
Making pizza at home is easier than ever. Many grocery stores carry pizza dough and all that's needed is to roll it out, add the toppings, and bake. It's economical, easy to customize flavors, and a breeze to make.
Italian Style Tuna Salad No Mayo Recipe
Have a teen that doesn't like mayo? Then, this is the tuna salad for them! This tuna salad skips the mayo and uses tomatoes, parsley, scallions, pimentos, green onions, and olive oil to create a flavorful tuna salad mix.
My Fav Seafood Salad Recipe Publix Copycat
If your teen loves seafood, they'll love this copycat Publix seafood salad sandwich. Made with imitation crab and super simple to make. Eat on a roll or on crackers for a mid-day snack.
Turkey Egg Avocado Toast
Not going to lie, eating toast with avocados and eggs is one of my favorite things. I like to sprinkle some homemade Everything Bagels seasonings...it's so delicious!
Waffle Pizzas
Waffle pizzas?! It's genius! Use store-bought waffles for breakfast and use leftovers to make pizza for lunch.
Ham & Spinach Quiche
Love omelets? Think of this ham and spinach quiche like a giant omelet pie. It's simple to make, light, and easy to customize by changing out the meat and vegetables.
Easy Pizza Sliders Recipe
Pizza sliders in 15-minutes?! Yes, these pizza sliders can be made in 15-minutes! And since most teens love pizza, I don't know many teens that would say no to these yummy sliders.
Triscuit Pizza Nachos - Ultimate Summer Snack
Nachos make for a great quick meal or snack. This one is made with Triscuit crackers, but you can always change it out for the traditional tortilla chips.
Homemade Crunch Wrap Supreme Recipe
My kids love Taco Bells Crunch Wrap and this copycat version is simple enough for teens to make at home. Simply fill a tortilla with the ingredients, fold, and pan fry till crispy.
Asian-Inspired Chili Garlic Noodles
My kids will eat anything with chili garlic sauce or garlic chili oil. If you haven't tried noodles seasoned with chili garlic sauce, what are you waiting for?! It's delicious!
Keto Zucchini Pizza Bites
Have a teen watching their carb intake? These keto-friendly zucchini pizza bites are simple to make and super tasty!
Hummus Pita Pizzas Recipe
If you have a teen vegetarian, this hummus pita pizza is a delicious lunch option. Top a pita with their favorite hummus and sprinkle on their favorite toppings.
Italian Macaroni and Cheese
Mac-n-cheese is a kid's favorite meal. If you have an adventurous teen, this Italian Macaroni and Cheese elevates the kid version by using Rocchetta Cheese.
Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad
Instead of a full-blown meal, sometimes kids like to just snack throughout the day. This bacon ranch chicken salad is perfect for eating with crackers, but it's also great on bread or rolled in tortillas.
Asiago Parmesan Cheese Spread Recipe
My kids can devour this large batch of Asiago Parmesan Cheese Spread in 3-4 days . They love to eat this with soda crackers throughout the day when they get the munchies.
Instant Foods My Teens Enjoy…
Indomie Mi Goreng Instant noodles is an Indonesian spicy noodle with so much flavor. It’s meant to be served without soup and comes with a soy sauce base, oil/garlic, and chili sauce to flavor the noodles. Serve with a side of over easy egg and some veggies for a complete meal.
Miso is another item my kids enjoy eating. I usually have miso paste, dashi, firm tofu, and wakame to make fresh miso, but if you want a quicker way use instant.
Since we usually have leftover rice, I always have Ochazuke packets in the panty. Just add rice to a bowl, top with an Ochazuke packet, and hot water for instant rice soup.
Gyoza or potstickers are another great item to keep handy. These can be added to ramen, soups, or eaten fried. Makes a great side dish or snack.
If you have more tips for quick teen meals, leave them in the comments below!
Those pizza sliders are calling my name! Great roundup lady! Sharing #MM
Kim
Looking at the salad recipes, thanks for mentioning the tuna recipe. I am pinning a few. We are having a heat wave here and reach 114! Southern Cali is crispy hot this week!
Thank you for hosting! My offerings this week include a Summer Snack Mix, Chicken Jerk Salad, and a Tuna Salad in a Cantaloupe Bowl. Enjoy your week!
Loving all the great summer lunch ideas! Thank you so much for hosting!
Thanks so much for hosting!!
Hugs,
Deb
Thanks for hosting Erlene! I hope you have a fabulous 4th and enjoy my travel tips and cucumber melon salad <3
Thank you for hosting! Hope you’re having a lovely holiday weekend!