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3 Easy School Lunch Ideas with Leftovers

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If you are looking for healthy and easy school lunch ideas with leftovers you are going to love today’s post! These ideas, are quick to prepare with ingredients that are already in your pantry and fridge.

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!

Forget the sandwich. These recipes are the perfect way to revamp leftovers and give them a new purpose so they don’t go to waste. The bonus is that they each add a few extra veggies to the lunchbox!

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!

Most of us have pasta once a week, or every other week, and it often leaves a nice portion of plain pasta perfect for a lunchbox meal. Another item we have leftover is beans from Taco night. They are a terrific option to revamp into a delicious lunch! And last but not least, when we have a little bit of broth leftover from a recipe that we aren’t quite sure how to use into something else.

In this video, you’ll see how I take on those three leftover ingredients and revamp them into a new fresh lunch with Libby’s Vegetable Cups.

The veggie pasta salad goes great with other leftovers, like cooked chicken, and the ability to use your favorite dressing makes this the ultimate kid-friendly meal.

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!

The black bean and corn salad has a terrific texture that goes great with plantain chips or traditional chips and fruit. Want a more substantial option? Pack it over a bed or rice, heated, inside a thermos.

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!

For a warm meal, the quick veggie soup option is a great option to have for cold fall and winter days. Sometimes, there is nothing more comforting that a warm bowl of soup for lunch, school lunch included.

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!

What’s great is that the lunches come together quickly, and the Vegetable Cups also make a great standalone snack or side dish at dinner – just lift a corner off the lid and pop in the microwave.

As you can see, a terrific lunch can be put together rather quickly with leftovers that are in most of our refrigerators. These recipes are an excellent way to reduce leftover waste.

How would you use Libby’s Vegetable Cups in your lunchbox?

Print

Lunch 1: Veggie Pasta Salad

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!
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★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked pasta (spirals)
  • 1 (4 oz.) Libby’s Diced Carrots Vegetable Cup, drained
  • ½ coarsely grated yellow cheddar cheese
  • 8oz can sliced black olives, drained
  • 2–3 tablespoons Italian dressing (or just olive oil and Italian seasoning, salt, pepper)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Divide into lunchboxes and pack along with a little fruit and half of a boiled egg.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

Print

Lunch 2: Black Bean & Corn Salad

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (4 oz.) Libby’s Whole Kernel Sweet Corn Vegetable Cup, drained
  • ½ cup pico de gallo (fresh, chunky salsa)
  • Plantain chips (inka chips) for serving
  • Fruit

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Divide into lunchboxes and pack along with a plantain chips and fruit.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

Print

Lunch 3: Quick Veggie Noodle Soup

Easy lunches made with leftovers! Perfect for back to school and the office!
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

★★★★★

4.8 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chicken or veggie stock
  • 1 cup cooked pasta
  • 1 (4 oz.) Libby’s Peas & Carrots Vegetable Cup, drained

Instructions

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat up stock, pasta, and veggies. Once thoroughly heated, pack inside a thermos.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @MOMables on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Avon S.

    October 02, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    So many possibilities, but knowing my little guy and with cooler weather, I would definitely throw these veggie cups in his fave soups (chicken noodle, beef stew, etc).

    Reply
  2. Katie

    September 16, 2016 at 9:04 am

    So much healthier than your typical sandwich, easy, and less waste! I love the pasta salad idea 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Meaghan

    September 15, 2016 at 6:09 am

    I have 3 kids I make lunch for. I did not even think about using Libby cups. They would make it fast and easy to get some more veggies packed in my kids lunch box. I want to try the chicken noodle soup with the peas and carrots soon!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Kim

    September 14, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    These are great ideas for me and my kids! I will have to find those Libby cups! We would eat them plain or mixed in salads/soups or along with chicken and rice.

    Reply
  5. Marci Powers

    September 14, 2016 at 1:40 pm

    I would love to try some of these recipes with my children. I didn’t even know there was individual serving containers of the veggies.

    Reply
  6. Krista

    September 14, 2016 at 9:59 am

    My son would just eat them as is 🙂 mixing them with pasta is always good though.

    Reply
  7. Becky Boden

    September 13, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    My kids love soups for lunch. What better way to fill their tummies, load their soup with veggies!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. Samantha

    September 13, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    I love these ideas not just for my kids but for me too.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Kristina

    September 13, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    Pasta or rice salad, or also in chicken noodle soup. All school lunch favs.

    Reply
  10. Jackie

    September 13, 2016 at 8:44 am

    Would love to use the lunch containers for my daughter! We are always looking to try new recipes and I can’t wait to try the ones here to incorporate more veggies!

    Reply
  11. Nancy B

    September 12, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    I could certainly make that black bean and corn salad for my girl. I could use the green beans in a bean salad my kids would gobble up too.

    Reply
  12. Sara Bunnell

    September 12, 2016 at 2:03 pm

    my kids would eat them just like they are! But I like the idea of being able to customize their lunches & things with individual veggies!

    ★★★★

    Reply
  13. Jenn C.

    September 12, 2016 at 12:18 am

    Veggies mixed in soup or sautéed in a stir fry for quick and easy lunches.

    Reply
  14. Dawn Tomsik

    September 11, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    My preschoolers love it when we have our cooking class 2 times a week. I’m always looking for recipes that we can all do together and yet prepare the foods safely. Recently we made homemade vegetable soup. I don’t like using canned veggies and thought this time we would use Libby’s veggies in the individual cups. It worked out fantastic because I have 6 preschoolers and was able to divide the ingredients equally and safely. Most Importantly, these cups were terrific for the use of small motor skills. Pulling the tabs (covers) up, draining, pulling the covers off and pouring. We had a blast and was also able to through in a math lesson and vocabulary lesson with colors, and the words in our recipes. Thanks Libby for allowing us to have a fun and safe cooking experience.

    Reply
    • Dawn Tomsik

      September 11, 2016 at 9:42 pm

      Sorry typo above
      Throw! Not through.

      Reply
  15. Amy

    September 11, 2016 at 8:49 pm

    My kids love leftovers and soup for lunch! There are so many possibilities for the veggie cups, for added veggies in burritos, quesadillas, soups or dips like your veggie salsa! Yum!

    Reply
  16. Melissa

    September 11, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    Awesome ideas! I would use the Libby Veggie Cups for quick fresh veggies for my kiddos lunches. Love the portioned size to add to and spruce up leftovers to make glamorous lunches!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  17. Destiny Stonehouse

    September 10, 2016 at 11:05 am

    My kids would love all the recipes! The veggie cups would be perfect to put in their lunchbox just as a healthy side!

    Reply
  18. Carolsue

    September 10, 2016 at 12:54 am

    The pasta salad would go over bigtime! Only instead of the carrots, I would use corn.

    Reply
  19. Greg Carbone

    September 09, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    In our house we can always use a supply of back-up lunch containers! How do so many of these things get lost?

    As for the foods that we pack, leftovers are a great place to start. We do this one or two times a week when the kids tell us that they love a particular dinner.

    The corn and black bean salad sounds very interesting. I would pair this with some of their favorite crackers for dipping or maybe even some lightly toasted whole wheat pita triangles.

    Reply
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