If you’re looking for a lunch idea that’s easy to pack and eat, these ham, cheese, and tomato skewers are it!
The entire lunchbox is a balanced variety of fruit, protein, and veggies served in a way that’s appealing for your child to eat.
Ham & Cheese Lunchbox Kabobs
I’m convinced finger foods are the way to go for fresh and simple lunch ideas. These ham and cheese kabobs are made with lunch ingredients you have on hand already; all you just have to do is thread them onto a skewer and fill the rest of the bento with more snacks.
You can assemble these with appetizer picks or even plastic coffee stirrers, I’ve tried both, and they work.
Have growing teens and aren’t sure this is enough? Add a couple of hard-boiled eggs, or pack it with a homemade parfait. This bento lunchbox is easily bulked up.
If you love fun and healthy ideas like this one and want to pack more, I’ve got all the recipes you need right here:
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What is in a Ham, Cheese, and Tomato Skewer Bento Box
These skewers can be made with any sliced deli meat and cheese, but for this particular combination and bento lunchbox, I chose:
- ham: is a staple lunch ingredient that’s always in the fridge.
- tomato: grape or cherry works best.
- cheese: use cubed cheese or cut sliced cheese into smaller squares.
- fruit: a blend of pineapple, strawberry, and kiwi or your favorite fruit salad combo.
- snacks: additional sides like whole grain crackers and olives balance this lunch out.
Want to know the secret to packing wet (fruit) and dry (crackers and deli meat) together? A compartmentalized lunch container will help you do just that, and you can find my favorite options here.
How to Pack a Ham, Cheese, and Tomato Skewer for Lunch
Below, I’ll show you how to assemble these lunch skewers and keep them fresh in the lunch container.
- Prep
Roll the deli meat and slice it into 1-inch rounds. Wash and cut the fruit, and toss it into a little salad. - Skewer
Alternate threading a tomato, cheese cube, and ham round onto the appetizer picks or coffee stirrers. About two cubes of cheese, two ham rounds, and 1 tomato per skewer- but there is no wrong amount or order in which to thread the ingredients. - Keep wet ingredients separate
To keep the skewer ingredients fresh, pack them separately from any fruit or wet ingredients. A compartmentalized lunch container is perfect for this! - Send it off
Add the remaining snacks to the empty compartments, close the container, and pack it into a lunch bag with an ice pack. Bada-bing! Lunch is ready.
Watch this 2 minute video to see this school lunch idea come together:
More tips for packing this lunch like a pro
Separate
For packing a perfect lunch with crunchy and wet ingredients, my #1 tip is to use a compartmentalized lunch container. This way, you prevent the crackers from absorbing the humidity of the skewers, olives, and fruits, while keeping the fruits from tasting like olives!
Save time
You can double, triple, or more the recipe to make more skewers all at once. Place them in bento boxes to have many lunches ready to grab and go.
Meal prep
This bento box can be assembled the day before to save more time. Since the fruit salad doesn’t have apples or bananas, which brown quickly, it can be made a day ahead for ultimate freshness and texture.
Make it a perfect lunch for teens
These skewers are the base of this lunch you can totally bulk up for hungry teens (and even for you!). Adapt this bento box according to your kids’ appetite by adding more skewers, hard-boiled eggs, whole-grain crackers, and their favorite dip. These Pizza Mini Quiches are also a great addition, while these Energy Bites help the teens to make it through the day.
Easy Ham, Cheese, and Tomato Skewers
Ingredients
- 2 slices deli ham, rolled and cut into 1-inch rounds (about 6 total)
- 6 cubes cheese
- 3-6 grape tomatoes
- 3 appetizer picks or plastic coffee stirrers
- Pitted olives
- Whole grain crackers
- Sliced fruit or Fruit Salad
Instructions
- Thread one tomato, turkey round, and cheese cube onto each skewer, repeating if there’s enough room. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and skewers.
- Place the skewers into a compartmentalized lunch container. Fill the empty lunch compartments with fruit, olives, and crackers, making sure to pack the crackers in their own compartment, so they don’t get soggy.
- Close the lunch container and add it to a lunch bag with an ice pack.
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