Best Bento Boxes for Kids School Lunch – an expert review of our favorite tried-and-true lunchboxes! I tested out the top 9 bento boxes to help you find the perfect lunch box for your toddler, preschooler, or big kids that can go anywhere they go – school, preschool, a school pod, lunch at home, a playdate, or a fun outing. Plus, there are great options at all price points!

Graphic for Post - best bento boxes for kids school lunch. full review of top brands. With images of packed bento and a spread of the top brands.

Kids Lunch Boxes

I’ve spent the last 7 years packing school lunches, as well as buying and trying almost every bento box on the market.

I had quite the bento box storage situation happening in my house for a while 🙈, but I was determined to find the perfect lunch box for my kids.

My determination (and messy cabinets) is your gain!

I narrowed the field down to my favorite 9 bento boxes 🍱 and then came up with 6 different categories to test them against each other. I packed my 5 and 7-year-old lunches in each of the bento boxes, and, like all kids, they gave me their very honest thoughts and opinions on each box.

I’ll share everything you need to know about the best bento boxes for kids in this review! Starting from how to find the best lunch box, to the top 9 bento boxes on the market, as well as what boxes are my all-time favorite winners, and so much more! This guide is great for kids 2 – 12 years old. You can also check out my best-selling school lunch cookbook for even more information and recipes!

In this review, you will find:

  • Spread of the best bento boxes in a grid for kids.
  • Spread of the best bento boxes in a grid for kids.

How to Find the Best Lunch Box

  • Leakproof: Will the lunch actually get to school without everything spilling everwhere? I go into way more detail about this below.
  • Easy to Clean: Maybe the most important topic – how easy is it to clean, because none of us busy parents want to spend hours cleaning our kids’ lunchboxes.
  • Kid-Friendly: is the bento box easy to open, is it too heavy, are the containers sharp, this guide goes into all the details.
  • Materials: I talk about what type of materials are used for each bento. If you are looking for a plastic bento, plastic-free lunchbox or one made with only stainless steel – we’ve got you covered.
  • Fit in Lunch Bag: to me it’s important to know which lunch bag the bento box will actually fit into.
  • Capacity: You don’t want a bento box that’s too big or too small, you want one that will hold just the right amount of food for your child.

Things to Note

  • Honest Review: Below you will find a very in-depth and honest review of all of the bento boxes for kids. This isn’t a paid sponcership from any of these brands and I purchased every box below with my own money so that I could personally give you the best review possible. Bento boxes are not cheap, I wanted to make sure your money was well spent.
  • Tried-and-True: We have had most of these bentos for years and I have tried each bento box and brand multiple times before I wrote this review.
  • Capacity: I started with the same amount of food and tried to show what it would look like in each bento box – 9 small flower pb&j sandwiches, 1/2 cup peaches and blueberries, 8 cucumber spears, a container of ranch, 1/4 cup carrot coins, 1/4 cup bunny crackers and 4 bunny gummies. If I couldn’t fit that much food into a container, I noted it in my review.

Looking for School Lunch Inspiration? Then check out my best-selling cookbook Little Bento: 32 Irresistible Bento Box Lunches for Kids!

Bento Boxes Reviewed

A grid of the best bento boxes for kids winners.

Best Bento Boxes for Kids

If you just want to cut straight to the chase – these are our absolute favorite lunch boxes for kids.

Best Overall Bento Box: OmieBox

We love the OmieBox because it has a built-in thermos that can be inserted into the lunch box for warm or cold foods that can be removed if needed. How brilliant is that? Plus, you can insert dividers in the 2 smaller sections to separate the food, and each section is leakproof.

Best Eco-Friendly Bento Box: PlanetBox Rover

We have been using the Planetbox Rover for years, and we all absolutely love it! The Rover holds a good amount of food for both my 5 and 7-year-olds, and I know I can pack it with even more food as they grow. My girls love the fun magnets, the carrying case, and the small colorful pods you can add into the bento for small amounts of food. This lunchbox is made completely without plastic – it is made with only stainless steel and food-grade silicone.

Best Value Bento Box: Easy Lunch Boxes

A very basic bento that comes in a 4-pack with different colored lids. This set of Bentos comes with the smallest price tag, and you can get all 4 boxes for under $20. This bento is a great size for both kids and grown-ups which means you can use them for the entire family. They aren’t made with the highest quality of materials (BPA-Free Plastic), but we have had our bento boxes for over 6 years, and they are still going strong. I think every family should have a set of these. They are also a great option if your kid tends to misplace everything in their life;).

Best for Younger Kids: Bentgo (close runner up – Innobaby Bus Bento)

This is a great little lunch box for younger kids or kids who don’t eat very much. I loved that it is a compact, lightweight, and completely leakproof lunchbox. My kids loved the fun designs on the front. Plus, this lunchbox is super easy to open and shut for younger kids.

Best Bento Boxes for Each Age

Great for 2-5 Year-Olds

Great for 5-10 Year-Olds

Great for 10+

The Full Review of the Best Bento Boxes

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