101 Vegan Sandwiches - Back to School Kids Lunch Boxes

A list of 101 simple vegan sandwiches for kids (even fussy eaters) that can be added to school lunch boxes with helpful lunch box tips.

Going back to school can strike dread into any parent's heart and it's mostly dread about what to feed them for lunch.

School lunches often have an option or two for vegans, but there's never much choice and if your children aren't keen or prefer homemade lunches, it can be hard to come up with enough ideas, especially if they are fussy eaters.

So with school season approaching (they're already back in Scotland) I've pulled together a list of simple sandwich fillers and needless to say there are some great vegan sandwich ideas for adult packed lunches too!

Of course, you can refer to this list throughout the whole school year!

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Jump to:

• 🍱 Back to school lunches for vegan kids
• 🥪 Small portions
• 🥪 Easy sandwich ideas
• 👪 Fussy eaters
• 📋 Grab a notepad
• 🍞 Types of bread
• 🍴 Spread it on!
• 🌯 Wrap them up
• ⏲️ Make them ahead
• 🍉 On the side
• 🧀 Vegan Cheese
• ⭐ 101 vegan sandwiches list ⭐
• 🥪 Vegan Cheese Sandwiches
• 🥪 Beans, Peas & Pulses Sandwiches
• 🥪 Nut butters & chocolate spread sandwiches
• ⭐ pin it for later ⭐
• 🥪 Tofu Sandwiches
• 🥪 Vegetable & Salad Sandwiches
• 🥪 Deli slices on sandwiches
• 🥪 Savoury bites on sandwiches
• 🥪 Fruit in sandwiches
• 💭 Back to school ideas
• 💬 Comments

🍱 Back to school lunches for vegan kids

Let's get this out of the way first. You're doing a great job!

The fact you are looking for lunch time ideas means you care.

Kids don't always appreciate our efforts when we try to feed them a healthy diet and sometimes their packed lunch bag comes home hardly touched.

Just remember kids won't starve themselves and you have opportunities at breakfast and dinner to get some good stuff into them.

The sandwiches themselves don't even have to be a healthy option all the time.

If all they want is a butter and jam sandwich then let them have that.

At least they're eating and might be in the mood for something different the next day.

🥪 Easy sandwich ideas

I've compiled a list of 101 plant-based sandwich fillings so you won't get stuck for school lunchbox ideas again.

Lots of ideas and flavours, but I kept each sandwich simple, so feel free to add extra salad or veg, depending on your child's likes and dislikes.

👪 Fussy eaters

Most kids are fussy about food to a certain degree, they won't appreciate many of the things we like until they are older.

So keep those sandwiches quite basic.

I've split the list of sandwiches into categories:

• Vegan cheese sandwiches
• Peas, beans & pulses sandwiches
• Nut butters & chocolate spread sandwiches
• Tofu sandwiches
• Vegetable & salad sandwiches
• Deli slices in sandwiches
• Savoury bites in sandwiches
• Fruit in sandwiches

At the top of this post you'll see a list of categories (sections of the page), you can click on those to jump to the section you want.

You won't want to read the whole thing every time, so when you return for easy plant-based lunch ideas, just click on 101 vegan sandwich list to jump straight to the sandwiches.

🍞 Types of bread

Change up the type of bread and you will end up with a very different sandwich.

Here are some ideas:

• Wholemeal bread - some children don't like seeds in bread so be led by their likes
• Soft white bread - wholemeal bread is healthier, but sometimes only white bread will do
• Gluten-free bread - wraps, bagels or rolls for a gluten-free diet
• Toast - you can make a good sandwich with toast for a bit of crunch
• Tortilla Wraps - try these instead of bread, they come in a variety of flavours
• Rolls - baps, barm cakes, stotty, rowie or morning rolls, whatever you call them
• Baguette - or petit pain for a hearty sandwich
• Bagel - plain or seeded bagels are good
• Hot dog rolls - also called subs
• Pitta bread - white or wholemeal

And then there are all the fancy breads in the in-store bakeries at your supermarket (grocery store) or your local bakery.

🍴 Spread it on!

Using a spread on a sandwich, not only adds flavour, it also acts as a type of barrier for the other ingredients, helping to prevent soggy sandwiches.

Here are a few options (dairy-free versions of course):

• Butter
• Mayo
• Salad cream
• Cream cheese

⏲️ Make them ahead

Most sandwiches can be made the night before.

Avoid adding salad leaves as they can go soggy, but most simple fillings are fine when made ahead and left in the fridge overnight.

🍉 On the side

Fruit or crunchy fresh vegetables with a dip make a great lunch box snack.

Hummus is good for dunking veg in and yoghurt makes a good dip for fruit.

It's nice to give them something sweet too, dried fruit, a mini muffin, a flapack or even just a couple of squares of dark chocolate (check out some of my sweet treat recipes).

And don't forget to pop in a paper napkin or kitchen paper for wiping their hands and any spills!

⭐ 101 vegan sandwiches list ⭐

You made it, it's time to share the 101 vegan sandwich filling list. I hope it inspires you.

🥪 Vegan Cheese Sandwiches

Use your favourite vegan cheese and keep the other flavours simple.

1. Cheddar & tomato (cut the tomato slices thinly)
2. Cheddar & pickle (Branston's Small Chunk Pickle is a good option or a tomato chutney)
3. Cheddar & apple (thinly sliced apple tossed in a little lemon juice to prevent browning)
4. Cheddar & beetroot (pickled or vacuum-packed plain beetroot)
5. Cheddar & coleslaw
6. Grated cheddar & spaghetti hoops (don't knock it until you try it!)
7. Cheese savoury
8. Cheese & onion spread
9. Smoked cheese & salsa
10. Smoked cheese & cucumber
11. Smoked cheese & sweet chilli sauce
12. Smoked cheese, lettuce and tomato chutney
13. Cream cheese & strawberry jam (or raspberry jam)
14. Cream cheese & cucumber
15. Cream cheese & quick pickled onions (pink pickled onions only take 10 minutes to make and they are lush)
16. Cream cheese, rocket (arugula) & sweet chilli sauce
17. Garlic & herb cream cheese & tomato slices
18. Vegetable cream cheese (good on toasted bagels too)
19. Whipped feta & cucumber
20. Feta & cranberry sauce
21. Feta & tomato slices (you could add fresh basil)
22. Feta, grated carrot & pickle
23. Grilled halloumi, tomato slices and pesto
24. Halloumi & roasted red pepper (spread the bread with pesto)
25. Mozzarella, tomato slices, dried herbs & tomato puree (tomato paste)

🥪 Beans, Peas & Pulses Sandwiches

Tinned beans, lentils and chickpeas are a good option when making sandwiches. Convenient but nutritious.

26. Baked beans & grated cheddar (mix together for a tasty sandwich filling)

27. Black bean & cheese burrito

28. Chickpea smash (mash chickpeas with finely chopped red onion, red pepper, and sweetcorn, you can add some herbs or spices (try this chickpea & carrot smash) & salad leaves

29. Chickpea smash & sweet chilli sauce

30. White bean spread & tomato slices

31. Refried beans & mashed avocado (or guacamole)

32. Refried beans & salsa

33. Refried beans, grated cheddar, lettuce & salsa

34. Black bean pate & grated cheddar

35. Black bean pate & salsa

🥪 Nut butters & chocolate spread sandwiches

Nut butters like peanut butter are a good option for children's sandwiches, but if your child has a nut allergy or the school enforces a nut-free zone, then skip these.

Replace them with sun butter (Asda sell it as Crave Crunchy P'not Butter) made from seeds instead of nuts or try Biscoff spread, which has a caramel flavour.

36. Peanut butter & strawberry jam (known as peanut butter & jelly in the States, you can use another flavour)

37. Peanut butter & banana slices (try making peanut butter, it's super easy to make)

38. Peanut butter, raisins & apple slices (toss the apple slices in a little lemon juice to prevent browning)

39. Peanut butter & chocolate spread (banana or strawberry slices optional)

40. Almond butter & apple slices

41. Almond butter & fresh raspberries

42. Chocolate spread & fresh raspberries (or strawberry slices)

43. Chocolate spread & mashed banana

44. Chocolate peanut butter & banana

⭐ pin it for later ⭐

🥪 Tofu Sandwiches

Add ready-to-use marinated tofu to sandwiches, or try some of my easy tofu recipes.

45. Vegan egg mayo (spread the bread with vegan butter)

46. Vegan egg mayo & cress (lettuce, cucumber or slices of tomato)

47. Scrambled tofu & lettuce

48. Scramble tofu, sliced sausage & tomato slices (cook your favourite vegan sausages & slice them when cool)

49. Breaded tofu fingers & tomato slices (or ketchup)

50. Popcorn tofu, lettuce and mayo

51. Tofu nuggets & ketchup (tomato sauce)

🥪 Vegetable & Salad Sandwiches

Get that veg in!

52. Tomato slices & mayo (seasoned with a little salt & pepper)

53. Rainbow sandwiches (spread the bread with mayo, cream cheese or hummus, then add layers of grated carrot, cucumber and beetroot)

54. Mashed avocado & roasted red pepper (just the jarred kind)

55. Mashed avocado & salsa (you can season mashed avocado and add a little lemon or lime juice, chilli flakes too if your child is brave)

56. Hummus & grated carrot

57. Hummus & pickled beetroot

58. Hummus & roast vegetables with pesto

59. Hummus, roasted red pepper & sundried tomato paste

60. Hummus, grated carrot & baby spinach (or watercress)

62. Butter, iceberg lettuce, cucumber slices & tomato

63. Shredded iceberg lettuce coated in a little thousand island dressing & tomato slices

64. Cream cheese & grilled courgette slices

65. Cream cheese, roasted red pepper & pesto

66. Butter & mushroom pate

67. Mushroom pate & cucumber slices

68. Vegetable salad spread & lettuce

69. Quick pickled vegetables & cream cheese

70. Baby spinach, tomato slices & cream cheese

71. Carrot sandwich spread & cress (lettuce or cucumber)

🥪 Deli slices on sandwiches

Shop-bought or homemade, there are lots of choices.

🥪 Savoury bites on sandwiches

This is quite a varied list with homemade and store-bought (chilled aisle or freezer section) bites for hearty sandwiches.

You can cook some of these the night before in the oven or air fryer, but some will be ready to eat.

80. Falafel & hummus

81. Falafel, grated carrot & hummus

82. Falafel, iceberg lettuce & sweet chilli sauce

83. Falafel & apple slices (toss the apple in a little lemon juice to prevent browning)

84. Vegan 'meatballs', tomato slices & ketchup

85. 'Meatballs', lettuce & red pesto

86. 'Meatballs' & salsa

87. Vegan Sausages & caramelised onion chutney

88. Sausages & tomato ketchup (spread bread with butter)

89. Sausages, hummus & Branston pickle

90. Sausages, shredded iceberg lettuce & mustard mayo (mix mustard with mayo for a milder sauce)

91. Bean burger, lettuce & salsa

92. Bean burger, tomato, cheese slices (spread bread with tomato puree)

93. Onion bhajis, cream cheese & cucumber

94. Onion bhajis, shredded iceberg lettuce & mango chutney (or sweet chilli sauce)

95. Vegetable bhajis, hummus & grated carrot

96. Vegetable fingers, iceberg lettuce & salad cream

97. Vegetable fingers, mashed peas & ketchup

🥪 Fruit in sandwiches

Let's finish the list with a few fresh fruit sandwiches.

98. Banana (spread bread with butter)

99. Apple slices, cream cheese & raisins (toss the apple slices in lemon juice to prevent browning

100. Pear & cream cheese (chocolate spread is good on this one too)

101. Apple sauce & cream cheese with cinnamon