Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
Everything about this lunch box is easy to use for parents and littles—from how much it holds to the size of the compartments and its utensils. Read More
The Bentgo Chill makes keeping lunch cold a breeze with its freezable layer, and the variety of compartment sizes make it fun to pack. Read More
The OmieBox is spacious and durable, and comes with a removable insulated container for hot foods. Read More
A bento with personality that's easy to pack and easy to use makes this 5-compartment box a go-to for elementary kids. Read More
The whole bag is basically one big ice pack. Read More
Kids' lunch boxes are a necessity in every parent's life. Packing lunch day-in and day-out for at least 180 school days is no small feat. Add in summer camps and sports clinics, and you’ve got year-round lunch-packing duties that never seem to take a break.
While getting your kid to eat the lunch you pack may never be smooth sailing, we can help you find the right vessel to pack it in and make lunch prep easier. That’s one less worry on your plate.
We tested an array of kids lunch boxes and insulated lunch carriers over the course of a school year, so we’ve got the ins and outs of what works for everyone—from the littlest preschoolers to more independent, older elementary kids.
The Munchkin Lunch Bento (available at Amazon for $17.84) is a great overall lunch box. If your kiddo needs a box that’s easy to open, or one with lots of compartments for variety, the Munchkin Lunch Bento is exceptional. You can fit a full sandwich in the center compartment, and it’s as close to truly leak-proof as we saw in all of our testing.
For kids who want their cheese sticks to say cold until lunchtime, we like the Bentgo Kids Chill Lunch Box (available at Amazon). It won’t keep all the contents at fridge temperature indefinitely, but it’ll stay cool enough to make it to the cafeteria.
The Munchkin Lunch Bento Box for Kids is easy to pack, easy to open, and easy for little ones to carry.
The Bentgo Chill has a built-in ice pack and holds up to rigorous use.
The OmiBox is sturdy and comes with a removable Thermos for packing hot lunches.
The Bentgo 5-compartment lunch box comes in stylish prints that kids will love.
The PackIt Freezable Classic lunch box makes it easy to keep lunch cold for hours.
The LunchBots Bento keeps lunches fresh and tasty.
Keeps food warm
Dishwasher safe
Rubber ring needs to be hand washed
Pricey
Hi, I’m Danielle, the Managing Editor of Home & Appliances, and a mom of two littles. Packing lunch has become an inescapable ritual in my household over the past couple of years so I've been on a mission to find the best lunch boxes that suit the needs of both kids and parents. Packing lunches day-in and day-out means we handle these boxes on the daily. If they're frustrating to use or lack features my kids need, it adds struggle to our morning routine. Nobody needs that! Keeping everyone sane, from the kitchen outward, makes all our lives better.
When it comes to lunch boxes for kids, it’s important to us that all the boxes we test be BPA-free, made of quality materials, and are tough enough to pass our real-life kid tests. You won’t find flimsy lunch boxes on this list. Once we selected an array of boxes that fit this criteria, we put them through our testing.
First, we tested each of the lunch boxes in the Reviewed lab to see how long they could maintain hot or cold temperatures. We filled each lunch box with the same material we use to test refrigerators, with a temperature sensor embedded inside. We let them sit for four hours at room temperature and then looked at how long it took for the temperatures to rise above 40 degrees, which is the lower end of the bacteria danger-zone. The warm containers were tested with hot tomato sauce and meatballs, and temperatures were measured to see how long the lunchboxes maintained a safe, above 90-degree temperature.
We checked for leaks by pouring water inside one compartment of each lunch box, then closed it and shook it around to mimic the jostling a lunch box would get in a busy grade schooler's backpack. We especially wanted to see if compartments maintained separation, or if juicy foods would seep over and turn sandwiches soggy.
Once the lab testing was finished, we tested each of the lunch boxes in the real world, with real kids. We packed a variety of foods into each lunch box, packed them into insulated lunch carriers with an ice pack, and sent them to school. We noted durability, wear and tear, and surveyed the kids about how they liked using each box.
While parents may not think about the food safety aspect when purchasing a lunch box, it’s vital for lunch containers to have enough insulation to be able to maintain cold temperatures for a few hours, especially when lunch involves some sort of meat, dairy, or other food item that spoils quickly.
Insulated lunch boxes can only do so much to keep food at whatever temperature they started at. An ice pack is needed to keep the ambient temperature from rising too quickly. An insulated bag does not act like refrigeration, nor does it bring the air temperature inside to the food-safe level, even with an ice pack.
Reusable lunch boxes, especially if they're metal, can be really heavy for little kids to carry. Preschoolers have smaller appetites and don't need to be weighed down by a giant, unwieldy lunch box, but older children may need one of the larger options that can hold more food.
An insulated soft bag does not protect the lunch’s heat. If you want your child to be able to enjoy warm foods for lunch, you'll need to invest in an insulated lunch container that's better equipped to keep foods hot.
Kids who commute by bus, or on subway trains or city buses need to be able to have their hands free to scan Metro cards and hold on to rails. Choosing a lunch box or lunch bag that fits inside their backpack will help keep their hands free—and reduce the risk that they'll leave their lunch sitting on a bus seat or subway turnstile.
Real talk: kids are prone to losing things. If you have a child who consistently misplaces their lunch box and you find yourself buying replacements on a bi-monthly basis, it probably doesn't make sense for you to spend a lot of money on a lunch box. Opt for a more affordable choice that you're comfortable (possibly) having to replace a few times.
Lisa Lawrence
Contributor / Photographer
Passionate about art and anything hand-made, Lisa Lawrence is a mother, photographer, & writer in Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA with a Bachelor’s in English she worked at a middle school for two years helping kids to find their voice.
Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
Shoot us an email
