Roundups
30 Easy Back to School Recipes That Reheat Well
Thirty of our easiest, most reheat-friendly recipes for back-to-school season – weeknight dinners that make great lunches the next day, plus a few breakfasts to get everyone out the door
Back to school season means less time and more chaos – this year especially for my family, as my husband is also heading back to school, to obtain his Masters in Divinity as he works towards hopefully becoming an ordained priest. This roundup is built around one simple rule: every recipe here is either genuinely easy to pull together on a weeknight, reheats well as next-day leftovers, or both. A lot of these double as great lunchbox or work-lunch options the next day – casseroles, soups, and skillet meals hold up in the fridge and microwave far better than anything delicate or freshly-fried.
I’ve grouped them into breakfasts, hearty mains and casseroles, soups (great in a thermos), and portable lunch-style recipes, so you can build out a rotation for the whole week.
This list is made up of tried-and-true Ajpal reader favorites – I will be making each of these for my family in the coming month, especially as we’re frantically packing for a move across the country to be alongside my husband as he heads into seminary.
Easy Breakfasts
Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
Sausage, peppers, eggs, and cheese under a crispy tater tot topping. Assemble the night before and bake in the morning — it reheats well in the microwave for a few days after.
Easy Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Built specifically to be made ahead and frozen, these are the ultimate grab-and-reheat breakfast for school mornings — just microwave straight from the freezer.
Ham and Cheese Croissant Strata
A make-ahead egg bake with ham, cheese, and croissant instead of bread. Bakes in one dish and reheats cleanly for several mornings.
Instant Pot Egg Bites
Individually portioned, protein-packed, and genuinely one of the easiest things to grab, reheat, and eat on the way out the door.
Blueberry Pancakes
Make a big batch on Sunday, then freeze or refrigerate individual pancakes and reheat in the toaster or microwave all week.
Shakshuka
The sauce reheats beautifully on the stovetop — a good option for a slower breakfast-for-dinner night, with leftover sauce ready to poach a fresh egg into the next morning.
Hearty Mains and Casseroles
Easy Baked Spaghetti Pie
A cheesy baked spaghetti casserole that tastes even better the next day and freezes well — a genuine make-ahead classic.
Cheesy Baked Rigatoni
A hearty baked pasta that reheats cleanly in the microwave or oven, perfect for a second dinner or a packed work lunch.
Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Another baked pasta that holds its texture well as leftovers, unlike a fresh-tossed pasta that can dry out.
Easy Homemade Meatballs
Make a big batch, then reheat portions all week over pasta, in a sub, or on their own — meatballs are one of the most reheat-friendly proteins there is.
Taco Pie
A layered taco casserole that slices and reheats cleanly, great for a school-night dinner with lunch leftovers built in.
Cheesy Ranch Chip Potato Casserole
A crowd-pleasing potato bake that reheats well, especially good for a side that pulls double duty as a next-day lunch add-on.
Easy Doritos Chicken Casserole
A kid-favorite casserole that’s simple to assemble ahead and reheats without losing its crunch on top if stored properly.
Easy Chicken Enchilada Pie Bake
Layered like a casserole instead of rolled, which makes it easier to portion and reheat cleanly for lunches.
Cheesy Ground Beef Hashbrown Casserole
A filling, one-dish dinner built on hashbrowns and ground beef that reheats well for days.
Chicken Dumpling Casserole
A baked take on chicken and dumplings that holds together better as leftovers than a soupier version would.
Baked Dirty Rice
A one-dish rice bake that reheats easily in the microwave, good for a weeknight dinner with lunch already covered.
Cheesy Vegetable Rice Casserole
A vegetarian option that’s easy to reheat and a good way to work more vegetables into the weekly rotation.
Cheesy Beef Taco Skillet
A one-pot dinner that’s ready fast on a weeknight and reheats well spooned over rice or into a tortilla the next day.
Marry Me Tortellini
A creamy, quick pasta dinner that reheats gently on the stovetop with a splash of milk or cream to loosen the sauce back up.
Soups for Lunchbox Thermoses
Beef and Cabbage Soup
A hearty, one-pot soup that’s arguably better the next day — ideal for packing in a thermos for a school or work lunch.
20 Minute Creamy Sausage Mushroom Soup
Quick enough for a weeknight, and creamy soups like this one generally reheat better than brothy ones since they don’t separate as easily.
Sausage Vegetable Soup
A vegetable-forward soup that’s easy to reheat and holds up well for several days in the fridge.
Authentic Hungarian Goulash
A rich and smoky bright red stew with tons of paprika and rich, tender chunks of beef to keep even the hungriest belly full!
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Classic comfort food that reheats well; if packing noodles for a next-day lunch, consider storing noodles separately so they don’t over-absorb the broth overnight.
Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Set it and forget it on a busy day, then reheat portions all week — potato soup holds its texture better than most.
Portable Lunches
Easy Cheeseburger Wraps
A handheld dinner that also travels well cold or reheated for a next-day lunch.
Steak Fingers
A kid-friendly, hand-held dinner that reheats well in the oven or air fryer to bring back some crispness.
Chicken Shawarma Pitas
Make the chicken ahead and reheat it separately from the pita and toppings for the best texture in a packed lunch.
Mini Chicken Quesadillas
Easy to make in a big batch and reheat in a toaster oven or air fryer for a lunch that doesn’t turn soggy in the microwave.
Old-Fashioned Brothy Ham and Beans With Caraway
A hearty, thermos-friendly lunch that only improves with a day or two in the fridge.
A Few Notes on Reheating
Casseroles and baked pastas generally reheat best in the oven or toaster oven if you have the time, since it helps restore texture that the microwave can flatten out. For a faster reheat, the microwave works fine for soups, casseroles, and most of the mains here – just cover loosely to keep moisture in. Anything with a crispy element (tater tots, breaded steak fingers, quesadillas) does better in an air fryer or toaster oven than a microwave, which tends to leave them soggy.
For school lunches specifically, a wide-mouth thermos is the easiest way to transport the soups on this list hot, and it keeps casseroles and pasta warm for several hours as well.
