Finding easy sourdough recipes that your kids will enjoy for lunch can be a challenge.
Whether you are packing a lunch or making one at home, you need recipes that won’t take you too much time, taste delicious, and hopefully are healthier than things you’d find at the store!
In this post, you’ll find over 30 kid-friendly sourdough recipes to inspire you and some of my hacks for lunch sanity for this school year! 
Benefits of Sourdough
You probably know that foods made with whole ingredients, especially homemade are healthier for us.
But the process used to make our food makes a huge impact on our gut health.
Grains like flour and oats are harder to digest unless they have been soaked, sprouted or fermented.
Sourdough breaks down the hard to digest gluten proteins and phytic acid found in grains.
An added bonus is that bread made with sourdough does not spoil as quickly since the sourdough acts as a natural preservative.
Kid-Friendly Lunches
Who wants to see their kid’s lunch uneaten or worse thrown away?
And there’s no guarantee, but having foods that are more generally appealing to our kids at least gives your lovingly packed lunch a sporting chance!
Jokes aside, food waste, nutritional deficits, and gut disorders are major problems. But I believe sourdough helps address these issues in a delicious way.
Why Sourdough for School Lunches?
When it comes to packing school lunches, we all want something that our kids will actually eat, not bring back home untouched. Sourdough offers a tasty and healthy option that kids love and parents can feel good about.
But beyond taste, sourdough has some hidden benefits. It’s easier on the gut, packs a nutritional punch, and even helps reduce food waste. Plus, the fermentation process breaks down gluten and phytic acid, making the nutrients more accessible.
By incorporating sourdough into your kid’s lunch, you’re not just offering a delicious meal—you’re contributing to their overall health in a meaningful way.
Kid-Approved Sourdough Recipes
Here are some amazing sourdough bread recipes and sourdough discard recipes that have been tested and approved by kids!
Use these kid-friendly sourdough recipes to fill those lunch boxes with something healthy and delicious or make these with your kids!
If you’re getting started with baking with kids, sourdough crackers are a great place to start for little bakers.
Sourdough Breads and Meals
Sourdough Portable Meal Recipes
These recipes are so fun because they combine sourdough with ingredients for a complete meal that’s easy to transport and enjoy!
- Basic Sourdough Crepes with Pistachio Cinnamon Sugar by With Spice
- Sourdough Pizza Pockets by Wagon Wheel Homestead
- Easy Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza made with Sourdough Discard by Sumptuous Spoonfuls
- Quick & Easy Salmon Cakes (use sourdough bread crumbs) by Our Gabled Home
- Easy Sourdough Pigs in a Blanket Recipe (Mini Hot Dog Bites)
- Soft Savory Sourdough Cheese Twist Rolls
Sourdough Sandwich Bread/Flatbread Recipes
Here are some sandwich breads and flatbreads that are perfect for peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, quesadillas, wraps, and more!
- Sweet Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls by Lynn’s Way of Life
- Soft Sourdough English Muffins by Home Grown Happiness
- Sourdough Pretzel Buns Recipe by The Herbeevore
- Soft Sourdough Flour Tortillas (Active Starter or Discard) by Garden of Mirth
- Sourdough Honey Oat Whole Wheat Flour Sandwich Bread
- Whole Wheat Sourdough Japanese Milk Bread, (Hokkaido)
- Easy No Knead Sourdough Bagels
- Sourdough Flour Tortillas using a Tortilla Press
Sourdough Sandwich Hacks: Keep Your Bread in Top Shape
Getting stale or breaking down too soon are the hazards of making sandwiches and wraps ahead of time. Here are some tips to avoid this:
- For a cold sandwich, spread some butter or mayo on both interior sides of the bread, this keeps the bread softer but creates a barrier against damp ingredients (i.e. deli meats, pickles).
- Make it a quesadilla or grilled sandwich. Take some meat and/or cheese and grill it in your tortilla or slices of bread. Let it cool to room temperature before packing. This is a great way to amplify flavor and preserve texture.
- Don’t pack food while it’s hot! The warmth and steam will create too much moisture in the lunch while it is stored.
- If your crust is tough (like it often is for a basic sourdough bread or other lean bread recipe), cut off the crust after the sandwich is made.
Sourdough Breakfasts
Because breakfast food can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner… anytime!
- Sourdough Discard Pancakes by Little Chef Within
- Fluffy Sourdough Banana Pancakes with Discard from Stretch and Folds
- Easy Overnight Sourdough Waffles (Discard Sponge Method)
- Overnight Sheetpan Sourdough Pancakes (Discard Sponge method)
Snackable Sourdough
Sourdough Discard Snacks and Cracker Recipes
Kids of any age will love these snacks and cracker recipes.
Snack recipes and crackers pair well with cheese, spreads, yogurts, and other proteins to make a more complete meal as well.
Grab a cookie cutter or a pizza cutter and make some delicious crackers with these recipes!
- Sourdough Cheddar Cracker by Foragers of Happiness
- Sourdough Animal Crackers by Two Pink Peonies
- Easy Sourdough Discard Granola Recipe by Sourdough Brandon
- Dill and Ranch Sourdough Discard Crackers from An Expression of Food
- Best Sourdough Discard Graham Crackers
- Easy Savory Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Gingersnap Sourdough Discard Crackers
- Sourdough Flour Tortilla “Chips”
- Seeded Raisin Gourmet Twice Baked Sourdough Discard Crackers
Sourdough Lunch Box Treats
Who doesn’t love a small something sweet in their lunch? Here are some healthy and delicious items that the whole family will enjoy.
- Sourdough Banana Muffins by The Feathered Nester
- Easy Overnight Sourdough Muffins Master Recipe
- Overnight Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Sourdough Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Sourdough Discard Zucchini Muffins
- Sourdough Discard Plain Sweet Scone (Shortcake)
Tips for Making Easy Sourdough Lunches for Kids
Below are some tips for making lunch prep simpler and more successful from planning and prep to storage and picky appetites.
Planning Tips for Kid-Friendly Sourdough Meals
- Menu plan: Each week have a menu plan that includes lunches and snacks so that you can have the right groceries on hand and plan in your sourdough prep. Get a free editable menu planning template here.
- Plan your prep: In your menu or meal plan or schedule, be sure to include the prep you need to complete each week to have bread, muffins, crackers, etc. ready.
- Batch your sourdough: The weekends are a popular time to do sourdough batch baking. Sourdough crackers keep extremely well, so make a big batch and store in airtight containers. Sourdough sandwich loaves are perfect for baking on a prep day. See my post about batch baking and freezing to see an example of one of my batch bakes.
- Keep a set sourdough schedule: For simplicity, I have found that having a set sourdough prep schedule where I do the same steps weekly really helps fight my parental decision fatigue and mental load.
- 1 loaf per 1 kid per 1 week: Your kids might eat more or less, but I’ve found I need to plan out making about 1 loaf of sourdough bread for each kid. Not that I’m making them individual loaves! I have 5 kids (2 are still very small), and I make 2 loaves on Monday, 2 loaves midweek and occasionally 1-2 loaves on the weekend (depending on the schedule).
Preparation Tips for Kid-Friendly Sourdough Lunches
- Cold grilled sandwiches: To keep bread from drying out or becoming soggy, grill or melt the ingredients on a skillet and cool completely before packing. This works great for quesadillas or burritos too.
- On the side: To keep your bread fresh or to pair a protein with sourdough crackers, pack the protein on the side. Chicken salad, tuna, slices of cheese (cheddar cheese is my favorite for kid lunches), tzatziki sauce (made with Greek yogurt), hummus, guacamole all are great options to add more protein.
Storage Tips for Kid-Friendly Sourdough Lunches
- Lunch containers: Bento boxes make packing lunches so easy! We have these lunch boxes for each member of the family. Just open and you can enjoy different foods from the various compartments. Stainless steel containers work well but have a habit of getting lost.
- The right storage: A bread box, large ziplock bags, and airtight storage containers like glass mason jars or pyrex containers are helpful to have on hand. Read more in FAQs below.
Homeschool or Lunch at Home
If you homeschool or it’s a time of year when your kids are home, pack all the lunches for a low stress lunch together.
We homeschool and a new rhythm we’ve developed is packing all the lunches while breakfast is being prepped.
This creates more time together and less time working in the kitchen during the day.
Help for Picky Eaters
Every parent has at least one child who tends to be picky about food. It could be the taste, texture, appearance.
I’ve struggled with this in my household and had to walk through health issues with various kids by following a specialized diet, which taught me a few skills for how to handle this sensitive issue.
Food Preparation Tips for Picky Eaters
- Some fun ideas for encouraging picky eaters to eat healthy food are sandwiches cut up into mini sandwiches, sandwiches made with crackers (cashew or peanut butter on graham crackers, yum!), toothpicks holding small bites together (for kids old enough), try to incorporate color and variety.
- Separate containers or compartments keep food from mixing and becoming unappealing.
Home and Kitchen Tips for Picky Eaters
- Get kids in the kitchen to help prepare snacks or meals when you can, but choose calm times when you have time. A rushed environment when everyone is getting ready to leave isn’t ideal.
- Take your kids to the grocery store or farmers market to see the variety of foods. Have them choose a new food to try.
- Play with herbs. Herbs are a fun way to begin adding some greens to our kids’ diets. Chop or rip them up onto toast, sourdough crackers, a sandwich, pizza, eggs, and more.
Build Relationship
- Take the pressure off. Don’t use pressure or guilt. Encouragement is great, but if they refuse after your offer then let their decision stand.
- Offer, offer, offer. I heard it said that mom/dad decides what’s on the plate, the child gets to decide what they eat. With that in mind, I always offer one vegetable or other item that is being served and its okay if the child doesn’t eat it.
- No thank you bite. Something my kids’ preschool teacher did was offer a fruit and vegetable with their crackers or snack every day and she encouraged the kids to at least try each item, even if it was a tiny “no thank you bite”. That takes the pressure off of kids and has become a way to expose our kids to new foods.
- Develop and communicate household food rules or expectations. Have a relaxed and open conversation about household food rules, have your kids help you develop them when they are old enough (especially in high school to prepare for a healthier adult life style). Two of our rules regarding food are to pair protein or fat with your bread or crackers (helps keep blood sugar stable) and the “no thank you bite rule”.
Note: I worked with students with autism and sensory disorders so I know this can be a very serious struggle.
Guilt, force, or punishment are ineffective when there is a behavioral or mental barrier. (And even in more mild aversion situations)
If you have a child chronically struggling with foods, please seek advice and help from a doctor, occupational therapist, or other professional.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I store sourdough bread to keep it fresh for lunch?
- Use a ziplock sandwich bag, sealed container, or bento box to keep bread or sandwiches fresh until lunchtime.
- Can I freeze sourdough bread or pizza rolls?
- Yes! Sourdough bread freezes well. I recommend freezing individual slices with a small slip of parchment paper between each slice. Any sourdough recipe made with a batter (i.e. muffins, pancakes) should be frozen after baking and cooling. Sourdough recipes for cookies and scones can be frozen unbaked. See this post on how to freeze and store sourdough bread and other baked items.
- Yes! Sourdough bread freezes well. I recommend freezing individual slices with a small slip of parchment paper between each slice. Any sourdough recipe made with a batter (i.e. muffins, pancakes) should be frozen after baking and cooling. Sourdough recipes for cookies and scones can be frozen unbaked. See this post on how to freeze and store sourdough bread and other baked items.
- How do I store my baked sourdough items for the week?
- Bread: Store sourdough bread at room temperature in a bread box for limited airflow. Lack of airflow can make the crust chewy. So, you can use a ziplock bag or airtight container, make sure bread is completely cool before storing.
- Tortillas and Flatbreads: Let cool completely and store in a large ziplock bag with paper towels lining the sides. Reasons described in this sourdough tortilla post.
- For crackers and most kinds of cookies, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Muffins and scones should be left in an airtight container, if fresh fruit was used in the recipe, store in the fridge.
- What are some healthy spreads and fillings that go well with sourdough?
- For healthier alternatives that are kid-friendly and go well with sourdough, a strong dijon mustard will keep the bread from becoming dry and add great flavor. A light spread of grassfed salted butter or cream cheese keeps the bread fresh and adds flavor. Add some salt and pepper to your sandwich to enhance flavors. Mashed avocado seasoned with salt and pepper is incredible, add even more flavor to the avocado with everything but the bagel seasoning or Homemade Mexican Seasoning.
Time Planning Help for Sourdough Baking
The #1 need for sourdough bakers is help with time planning, so I created a resource for you.
Sourdough Time Planning Workbook: Perfect for new or experienced bakers, this workbook includes 8 templates ready to fill in and a baking journal. The templates cover 4 different ways to make classic sourdough country breads, 3 time planning worksheets for enriched sourdough bread depending on serving time target, and a blank template. The baking journal goes over baker’s percentages and how to take notes on your sourdough bakes.
Get a free sample of the workbook: Use this sourdough time planning worksheet sample to simplify your baking.
Get my free menu planning template: I use this template to plan my groceries, all our meals, and cooking and sourdough baking prep.
What’s Your Lunch Story?
We’d love to know if any of these tips or recipes were helpful to you and would like to feature your story or testimonial here.
Or maybe you have a bonus tip!
Please share in the comments.
Living Bread Baker posts mentioned
How to Store Sourdough Discard for Starter Discard Recipes
The Best Sourdough Pancakes Recipe (Discard Sponge Method)
Right Away Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Spice Waffles
Overnight Sourdough Sheetpan Pancakes
Sourdough Apple Fritter Bread Fall Sourdough Recipe
Plain Sweet Scones with sourdough discard
Summer Berry Scones (Sourdough & regular version)
Pumpkin Spice Scones (Sourdough Discard)
Gingerbread Scones with Eggnog Icing (Sourdough Discard)
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