One of the benefits of booking a vacation rental is having a full kitchen so that you can provide meals for your family. We’re sharing the best vacation lunch ideas that won’t have you spending your entire vacation in the kitchen. This lunch guide is great for big families or families with children. We will tell you exactly what to serve for lunch on family vacation so that you can relax.
Key to Success #1 – Provide Plenty of Options for Lunch
Variety is the spice of life and it’s imperative when you are planning meals for a large family.
Planning a week’s worth of meals for a family does not have to be intimidating.
It all comes down to choosing meals where people can customize their own plate, serving several options, and having plenty of leftovers.
We have quite a lot of experience cooking for large families and one of our best tips is to serve small rolls, breads, etc., so that guests can grab a little bit of several things.
And also serve plenty of sides to go along with the main meal.
If you’re having sub sandwiches, you can serve a fruit plate, veggie tray, or a side salad along with them.
If you are serving tacos, try adding a nice selection of toppings so that everyone can make the meal their own.
Key to Success #2 – Minimal Cooking So That You Can Get On With Your Day
Most of the ideas on our list are zero cooking, but we included a few things that need to be heated up in the oven or the microwave.
A vacation lunch should not be a long, drawn out meal.
You want something you can eat in a relatively short amount of time and then get back to vacationing.
And little clean-up is an absolute must! Nobody wants to sit around scrubbing dishes when they should be relaxing.
We like to drag a good selection of items out of the fridge and pantry and then let each person construct their own lunch.
And I can’t stress enough the importance of designing dinner meals that make great leftovers.
You can make fried chicken tenders for dinner one night and then people can have chicken sandwiches or fried chicken on their salad or a chicken taco with very little additional work.
Key to Success #3 – Schedule a Grocery Pick Up To Save Time
Before you depart for your trip, make a list of all the meals that you will have on your trip.
If you already have certain restaurant dinners planned or other plans that will keep you away from your vacation rental at meal times, mark those meals on your list.
Make a note of all the other meals that you will need to provide at your vacation rental and fill in any meals that you already know you want to prepare.
If you need some breakfast ideas, check out our list of 22 vacation breakfast ideas for families.
As you are planning your list, start adding things to your grocery pickup list.
If you will be on vacation for more than a few days, consider splitting up your shopping into two or more different trips.
You can add things for the first few days into your cart and save the other items for later.
About 1-2 days before your trip, go ahead and schedule your grocery pickup or delivery for a convenient time.
In areas with heavy vacation rental traffic, the grocery pick up time slots may be in short supply on the days that the vacation rentals typically have their check-ins and check-outs.
Let Us Help You Plan Your Vacation Menu
Having trouble coming up with a menu for your family vacation?
We can help!
Our blog posts about vacation meal planning are a great place to start.
- Vacation Breakfast Ideas for Families
- Vacation Lunch Ideas for Families
- Vacation Dinner Ideas for Families
- Vacation Dessert Ideas for Families
If you have more questions, leave us a comment and we will help you out!
Save this Vacation Lunch Roundup to your Family Vacation board or your Easy Lunch Ideas board.
Vacation Lunch Ideas for Families
Lunch is a great meal to serve in your vacation rental if you can choose options that are quick, require little cooking/heating, and are easy to clean up.
We're sharing lunch ideas that check all the boxes and get you back to enjoying your vacation in no time.
Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches are a fun detour from the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
We had these sandwiches quite often when I was growing up and I still make them for my kids.
Since they are not an every day occurrence around here, these would be a great special surprise for vacation lunch.
Deli-sliced turkey is a great option for lunch while you are on vacation.
You can serve it on sandwich bread, rolls, croissants, or even on salads.
For those of us on low-carb diets, it's great rolled up with a slice of cheese or a veggie.
Cheeseburger Sliders are mini cheeseburgers that are made the easy way in the oven.
No flipping tiny burger patties with this recipe.
These are great for vacation lunches because they cook quickly and you can make a bunch of them if you are serving a crowd.
Deli-sliced ham would be great for a charcuterie board lunch where you lay out various meats, cheeses, veggies, and crackers for people to graze on during the day.
You can also serve it on sweet Hawaiian rolls, croissants, or other mini sandwich breads for an easy lunch.
I highly recommend the fresh deli-sliced ham instead of the prepackaged ham.
It is much fresher tasting than the prepackaged stuff.
Mini Sub Rolls are a great option for lunches at the beach or other vacation destinations.
You don't have to commit to eating a whole large sandwich.
You can just grab a mini sandwich along with another side, such as raw vegetables or even a fruit plate.
I really prefer mini sandwich breads and rolls when you are feeding a large group of people.
Many people may not have the appetite to eat a full sandwich or they may want a few nibbles of the other offerings at that particular meal.
Mini sandwich rolls are a great option for kids, too.
Turkey and Swiss Sliders are a great way to elevate your lunch game.
Just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time in the oven can transorm a regular turkey sandwich into something special.
You will love the topping on the top. They're almost like Monte Cristo sandwiches.
Pimento Cheese sandwiches are a fun addition to your vacation lunch spread.
For me, this is a throwback straight to my childhood where we used to enjoy these bad boys.
Smear a little on some crackers or make a full sandwich.
Either way, your family will love this nostalgic option.
A veggie tray is a great double-duty vacation option.
You can serve it as a side for lunches, but it can also make a great snack.
And you can chop up the veggies for a nice salad addition, too.
Look for the veggie trays that have the vegetable dip with it for extra flavor and fun.
A multi-pack bag of individual-sized chips is a great option for lunches or snacks on vacation.
You can manage to get plenty of options so that your guests are more likely to find something that they will enjoy.
If you have leftover chips at the end of your vacation, they will make great snacks on your trip home so that nothing goes to waste.
Leftovers
Leftovers can be a great option for lunches the next day.
When planning your menu, think through the dinner options that would be good for leftovers the following day and schedule those dinners earlier in your vacation.
On our vacations, we tend to eat a lot of the leftovers for lunch.
We made fried chicken tenders one night and some people had the leftovers the following day.
Pulled pork and spaghetti were two other dinners that made great leftovers.
Chicken Salad Sandwiches are a great finger sandwich option for your family lunch while on vacation.
You can customize the sandwiches with lots of different mix-ins like grapes, diced apples, or pecans.
Serve it on white bread, 7-grain bread, croissants, crackers, or even on a bed of lettuce for the carb-watchers.
Kid-friendly ingredients too! You can reserve a bit of the basic chicken salad for the kids without any mix-ins.
Deli-sliced cheese is a great staple for each lunches.
Many deli counters have trays with several different types of cheese slices.
This may be a great optionf or your family if they like a little variety in their meals.
You can also cut the cheese slices smaller and sprinkle them on a salad.
If you're buying an item for vacation meals, try to think of multiple ways to use the same item so that you can reduce the number of items you need to buy.
Salad mixes are great for vacation lunches because it allows you to eat a lighter lunch so that you can indulge a bit at dinner.
Salads can be served beyond the lunch table too.
A side salad serves particularly well with certain dinners, too. If you are serving spaghetti and meatballs, a side salad is the perfect accompaniment.
Again, the more ingredients you can reuse, the better your menu will flow - and easier on your budget too!
Open Face Tacos is a family-favorite Mexican lunch recipe that allows each person to customize their taco salad with the toppings that they enjoy.
Since each person can customize their own plate, this makes it a great option for lunch while you are on vacation.
Start with a bed of tortilla chips then layer your favorite toppings.
We like chili, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, cheese sauce, salsa, and sour cream.
But you don't have to stop there! Add anythings else that you like, such as olives, guacamole, peppers, and the list goes on!
Tortillas are another great utility item on our list.
You can stuff them with ham or turkey, some cheese, a little lettuce and tomato, and you'll have a great tortilla roll-up.
Or you can fill them with taco toppings or leftover bbq chicken for a totally different meal.