The ultimate school lunch guide on how to pack Japanese-style Bento in 15 minutes every morning. I’ll show you every step of the way with useful tips and secrets I’ve learned throughout the years!
How are you handling your children’s back to school? This time of year I often receive questions from parents about their struggles on packing lunches for their children. But I love that you are all eager to learn how to pack kid’s lunch like a Japanese-style bento!
If you’re feeling:
- overwhelmed with the whole idea of packing lunch…
- at lost and don’t know where to start…
- discouraged because bento making looks time-consuming and difficult…
I hear you, and many JOC readers feel the same way. 🤗
I started packing my own lunch since junior high school (middle school) and continued throughout my high school and college in Japan. My mom prepared the majority of dishes and I was responsible to pack them into the bento box myself. After I came to the US, I sometimes packed my own bento for work and now I’ve been making kids’ bento since they were in elementary school.
It’s a long time of bento making, yet I still feel overwhelmed sometimes. Good news is I’ve learned to count on a formula that works, and I’m excited to share it with you. Once you get the hang of it, bento-making will become second nature to you.
My Bento-Making Fundamentals
- I never made time-consuming character bento (kyaraben キャラ弁) for my kids (sorry kids!).
- But I do make colorful, nutritious, and delicious lunch that my kids look forward to eating.
- I often use leftover Japanese food from previous dinner.
- I rely greatly on my frozen meal-prepped dishes.
- I use convenient frozen food such as frozen gyoza and shumai in a pinch.
- I spend only 15-20 minutes max in the morning for preparing bento boxes for kids.
What We’ll Talk About in This Post…
In this post, I’ll go through my bento planning, prepping, and actual packing process. As a bonus, I’ll show you 6 real-life bento boxes using Zojirushi Vacuum Insulated Lunch Jars that I use for my children.
Chapters:
- The Zojirushi Vacuum Insulated Lunch Jars (review)
- Plan Bento Menus
- Learn To “Bento” Meal Prep
- Food Safety
- Pack Bento (The Morning)
- Real Life Examples!
Ready to jump into the bento-making journey? Let’s begin!
Chapter 1: Zojirushi Vacuum Insulated Lunch Jars
Today I’ll be featuring two of the Zojirushi lunch jar series, which I’ve been using for my children this school year. These cylinder lunch jars are slightly different from the typical bento boxes, but they are designed for the classic Japanese meal format.
- Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-MEE07 (2 inner bowls)
- Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-NCE09 (3 inner bowls)
Features
The features of Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar include:
- Durable stainless steel construction with excellent heat retention
- Its vacuum insulation keeps foods hot or cold for hours.
- Microwaveable inner bowls
- Washable nonstick coated outer container
- Includes chopsticks/chopsticks holder (or forked spoon) and easy-to-carry tote bag
- Made of BPA-free plastic and stainless steel
The main difference between the two is one comes with 2 tiers and the other comes with 3 tiers which allows you to pack soup or hot food with gravy or sauce.
Our Honest Reviews (Me + The Kids)
I also asked my kids what they like and don’t like about these bento jars and here are our honest reviews:
Pros:
- Kids: It’s SO nice to eat warm food (especially warm rice)!
- Kids: I like that it’s packed nicely in one jar. Mom doesn’t have to pack in different size containers.
- Kids: My friends think my lunch is really cool.
- Mom: I don’t have to wait until the rice is cool before packing, so it saves time on prepping!
Cons:
- Kids: A bit heavier than other bento boxes but not a big deal.
- Mom: Hand wash only… but I don’t mind.
Chapter 2: Plan Bento Menus
Next, you have to plan what to put in the bento box (Lunch Jar). Since I mostly cook Japanese food at home and Just One Cookbook is a Japanese recipe site, I will be focusing on packing Japanese dishes.
If you cook non-Japanese dishes and that is what’s going to be in the bento box, I hope this will still give you general ideas and tips on how to pack your dishes.
📝 Important Tip: Prepare 5 Types of Foods
First, you will need a broad imagination of how your bento should look like. Let’s say this is just an ideal version. The worst scenario can be steamed rice and one main dish that’s probably leftover from dinner last night.
There are 5 types of foods you want to pack in your bento.
- Carbs – Fill up the tummy! (rice, yakisoba, yaki udon, takikomi gohan)
- Main – Protein such as meat, fish, and seafood (karaage, gyoza, teriyaki salmon)
- Side(s) – Vegetables, tofu, egg, or mushroom dishes (hijiki salad, potato salad, tamagoyaki, green bean gomaae, kinpira renkon)
- Fillers – Colorful add-on ingredients to brighten the bento (blanched broccoli, cherry tomatoes, boiled egg)
- Fruits – In the bento box or in a separate container (berries, grapes, apples)
Are you getting overwhelmed? Wait! Don’t leave yet. I haven’t shared how to make this work.
Remember, I only spend 15-20 minutes in the morning to pack this ideal bento with 5 types of foods. This is the general (and ideal) format on Japanese-style bento. If needed, you can cut it down to 3-4 types of food so long the bento is colorful, fun, and nutritious.
Maybe it’s time to share one of my bento-making secrets for encouragement!
💁🏻♀️ Secret 1: Count on leftovers from the fridge or freezer dishes. If needed, allow yourself to cook only one dish in the morning.
It’s the only way to pack bento in 15 minutes and stay stress-free.
For example…
- Cook a main dish: If the main dish tastes better when it’s hot, like yakiniku or tempura, I will cook the main dish in the morning and pack hot in the Zojirushi Lunch Jars.
- Cook a side dish: If I’m running out of Tamagoyaki, I would cook it in the morning and rely on the main dish from the freezer or refrigerator (leftover).
How do we prepare the rest of the dishes then? Let’s go to the next chapter.
Chapter 3: Learn To “Bento” Meal Prep
A lot of my friends in Japan did/do wake up at 5 or 6 am to make a typical Japanese bento for their husbands and children and I admire them SO much. I can barely wake up at 6:30 am. 🥴
So how do I do it?
💁🏻♀️ Secret 2: Stock up on bento-friendly foods in the freezer and fridge!
A nice-looking bento doesn’t magically appear without you putting in the effort. So it comes down to when and how to do this efficiently. For me, I don’t want to wake up early… so I make sure to use my effort strategically.
📝 Tip #1: Make extra portion (main or side dishes)
When I cook a freezer-friendly dish for dinner, I always make extra. The double portion can be reheated and packed in the bento the next day, OR freeze for later use. Trust me, making extra is a lot less work than starting a new dish from scratch. It’s energy-saving too!
Don’t forget to date the container when you pack the food. In general, food lasts 2-4 weeks in the freezer.
Here, I have a list of Freezer-Friendly Bento Dishes that you may want to bookmark. 🔖
📝 Tip #2: Blanch vegetables
I always buy vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, green beans, and corn and blanch them when I have 5 minutes to spare in the kitchen (usually while cooking dinner). Freeze the cooled, plain vegetables. We can pack the frozen vegetable in the bento directly, or you can thaw it overnight in the fridge and quickly pan-fry or dress them with sauce or dressing in the morning.
These blanched veggies are a great filler; they are colorful and give a fresh look. Since Japanese main dishes tend to be brown, these fillers pop up and make the lunch box more appealing.
📝 Tip #3: Use silicone cups
When I started bento meal prepping, I tried to save money by not using silicone cups, but I realized that these silicone cups are the easiest way to keep a bento portioned (not stuck to each other!), reheat (microwavable), and pack.
Plus, these silicone cups add a nice pop to your bento. So when you are short on colorful veggies, the cups make it a more appealing lunch!
You can purchase these silicone cups and mini ones, and I also use these meal-prep glass containers and love it!
Bento Foods Examples
Curious about what kind of dishes I keep in my freezer, fridge, and pantry? I will show you below how I built up some dishes over a few days and I’ll show you in the next chapter how I used these dishes to make 6 bentos!
💁🏻♀️ Secret 3: Utilize store-bought food and frozen food while building your freezer collections (or when your stock is low). Don’t overwhelm yourself. Start little and slow.
Freezer Items:
- Steamed rice (this is how I keep my rice)
- Blanced broccoli (meal prepped)
- Blanched asparagus (meal prepped)
- Boiled corn (meal prepped)
- Tamagoyaki (meal prepped)
- Carrot Namul (meal prepped)
- Green Bean Gomaae (meal prepped)
- Green Bell Pepper with Okaka (meal prepped)
- Kinpira Renkon (meal prepped)
- Hijiki Salad (leftover)
- Chicken Katsu (leftover)
- Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs (leftover)
- Teriyaki Pork Rolls (leftover)
- Gyudon (leftover)
- A bag of gyoza (store-bought when I don’t have homemade gyoza)
- A bag of chikuwa (to make Chikuwa Isobeage and Chikuwa Cucumber)
Refrigerator Items:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Shiso leaves
- Cucumber (to make Chikuwa Cucumber)
- Blanched broccoli and okra (meal prepped)
- Mapo Tofu (leftover from previous day)
- Miso Soup (leftover from previous day)
Pantry Items:
- Yukari rice seasoning (homemade)
- Furikake rice seasoning (or homamde)
- Umeboshi (homemade)
Chapter 4: Food Safety
But before we start packing, let’s talk quickly about food safety (or read more here).
Food Safety Tips:
- Wash your hands and make sure your lunch jars are clean and dry.
- Use clean utensils (chopsticks etc) or plastic gloves when you handle the food. Your hands have germs and it’s better to avoid touching with hands.
- Reheat pre-cooked/leftover food/frozen food to eliminate bacteria before packing. The longer the food has been lying around, the less fresh it gets, even when you keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. Use less power on the microwave and heat it thoroughly so it’s reheated properly inside and out.
- Let cool completely (fast!). Bacteria loves a warm and moist environment, so it’s important to cool the foods from hot to cold as soon as possible. You can use an ice pack underneath the plate or silicone cups so the hot food gets cool fast. If you have an insulated lunch container, pack the hot food immediately and close the lid.
- Pack ice packs in the lunch bag to keep food fresh and safe till lunch time.
It’s better to take extra safety precautions especially if you live in a humid or hot climate.
Chapter 5: Pack Bento (The Morning)
Now your freezer is packed with an assortment of bento dishes and you are aware of all the food safety tips. What do you do when you wake up? Your freezer is like a buffet or cafeteria. You can find what you want to pack in the bento and get started.
Morning Timeline
- Cook the one dish you decide to prepare (optional).
- Reheat frozen food including frozen steamed rice (if you’re not sure why we reheat, read Food Safety Tip section).
- Pack hot food immediately into a thermal container (if you are using any)
- Let the food cool completely before packing into a bento box.
- Pack the all the cooled bento dishes in the bento box and add “fillers” (frozen or defrosted) if there is any gap.
Now Let’s Pack!
If you are using Zojirushi Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-MEE07 (2 inner bowls), pack the rice in the bottom insulated bowl, and the rest in the upper un-insulated bowl.
For Zojirushi Ms. Bento® Stainless Lunch Jar SL-NCE09 (3 inners bowls), pack your soup/ hot dish in the bottom insulated bowl, followed by rice (or other carbs) in the middle insulated bowl, then the other cold dishes in the top non-insulated bowl.
📝 Tip #1: Pack from bulky and big dish.
The main dish tends to be the biggest item that goes into the bento box. So start with that, followed by the side dish(es) in a silicone cup. Any gap can be filled with vegetable “fillers” such as cherry tomato and blanched broccoli.
📝 Tip #2: Pack tightly!
I can’t trust my kids to keep the bento straight till lunchtime. Who knows, they might be swinging their lunch bag!
So… it’s very important to pack the foods tightly. Otherwise, the dishes would be shifting left and right or up and down!
📝 Tip #3: Remove liquid.
Following the previous tip, you should also remove any liquid that the dish may have. The liquid may go into another dish and mix up all the flavors. I’ve done it, and the kids came home with a complaint.
Also, the liquid could spoil the food faster, so it’s best for food safety as well.
Chapter 6: Real Life Examples (6 Bentos)!
I usually do Japanese-style bento on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and occasionally sandwiches on Tuesday and Thursday to mix things up. But I made 6 types of bento using the bento m-friendly dishes I stocked in my freezer!
Monday: Chicken Katsu Bento
- Carbs: Steamed rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with shiso leaf and umeboshi
- Main: Chicken Katsu (frozen → reheat in the toaster oven)
- Sides: Carrot Namul (frozen → thaw in bento box), green bell pepper with okaka (frozen → thaw in bento box)
- Fillers: Blanched broccoli (refrigerated), boiled corn (frozen → thaw in bento box), cherry tomato
- Fruits: In another container
Tuesday: Gyudon Bento
- Carbs: Steamed Rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with black sesame seeds
- Main: Gyudon (frozen → reheat in the microwave)
- Sides: Green Bean Gomaae (frozen → thaw in fridge overnight)
- Fillers: Boiled corn (frozen → thaw in bento box), cherry tomato
- Fruits: Cherries
Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Bento
- Carbs: Steamed Rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with furikake rice seasoning
- Main: Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs (frozen → reheat in the microwave)
- Sides: Hijiki Salad (frozen → thaw in fridge overnight)
- Fillers: Chikuwa Isobeage (fried in the morning), aspragus tempura (fried in the morning), cherry tomato
- Fruits: In another container
Thursday: Pork Roll Bento
- Carbs: Steamed Rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with shiso leaf and umeboshi
- Main: Teriyaki Pork Rolls (frozen → reheat in the microwave)
- Sides: Miso Soup (leftover → reheat in the microwave), Tamagoyaki (frozen → thaw in bento box), Hijiki Salad (frozen → thaw in fridge overnight),
- Fillers: Blanched broccoli (frozen → thaw in bento box), a cherry tomato
- Fruits: In another container
Friday: Gyoza Bento
- Carbs: Steamed Rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with yukari rice seasoning, shiso leaf, and umeboshi
- Main: Frozen store-bought gyoza (pan-fried in the morning)
- Sides: Kinpira Renkon (frozen → thaw in fridge overnight), green bell pepper with okaka (frozen → thaw in bento box)
- Fillers: Chikuwa Cucumber (freshly made in the morning), blanched okra (refrigerated), boiled corn (frozen → thaw in bento box), cherry tomato
- Fruits: In another container
Bonus/Saturday: Mapo Tofu Bento
- Carbs: Steamed Rice (frozen → reheat in the microwave) with black sesame seeds
- Main: Mapo Tofu (leftover → reheat in the microwave)
- Sides: Salad with store-bought sesame dressing (put together in the morning)
- Fillers: Blanched broccoli (frozen → thaw in bento box), cherry tomato
- Fruits: Berries
To Wrap Up…
I hope this tutorial will help to get you started. How about drawing a bento box diagram on a piece of paper and start brainstorming what can go inside? Don’t try to make a perfect bento. Start with 2 days a week (and make sandwiches on the other 3 days).
💁🏻♀️ Final Note: The key to the stress-free bento making is to stock up many containers of pre-made frozen dishes in your freezer.
① Always keep in mind to make extra food and freeze.
② Check and organize the inventory often and re-stock.
③ Don’t worry, the back-up plan is to make a sandwich!
Useful Bento Resources on JOC
Basics
- The Ultimate Guide to Bento Box Lunch
- Food Safety Tips For Bento
- Frequently Asked Questions About Bento – Check this post if your question hasn’t been answered.
Helpful Tips
- How to Pack Bento in 15 Minutes
- How To Freeze Food for Bento
- Meal Prep Freezer-Friendly Bento Dishes
- Meal Prep Bento Recipes Ideas: 3 Dollar Bento Challenge
Menu Ideas
- Bento Menus for Inspiration
- Back to School Easy Bento Box Ideas
- Back to School Easy Bento Ideas & Recipes
- How to Make Cute Bento (Video)
QUESTIONS? Leave them in the comments below.
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