Here are the best kids thermos options—chosen for durability, affordability, and ease of use. Having the option to pack warm lunches for your child when they’re at day care, preschool, big kid school, or out on the town can go a long way toward making the whole process a little easier.
Kids Thermos
I love having a thermos to send packed lunches to school and toddler lunch ideas for daycare because I have so many more options with hot foods in the mix. And it makes it easy to pack leftovers, too!
We love using a kids thermos to pack mac and cheese, pasta, soup, chili, scrambled eggs, and pizza and chicken recipes, too.
To help your family, I’m sharing the best thermos options for kids based on my real-life testing and market research. I’ve used these through three kids at varying ages over the course of nine years and hope it helps you choose one that will work for family for years to come.
In addition to my picks for the best kids lunch boxes and bento lunch boxes, these kids thermos options are great for sending leftovers, easy hot lunches, breakfast for lunch, and more.
(You may like my top picks for Sippy Cups for Toddlers, too.)
Table of Contents
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Best Kids Lunch Thermos
Here are our top four thermos options for kids. Each is easy to clean, dishwasher-safe, equipped with a lid that securely holds in liquids, and good at keeping food warm and cold. They’re also easy to clean and super durable.
LunchBots Thermos
This stainless-steel thermos keeps cold food cold for up to 12 hours and hot food hot for 6. We have the 8- and 12-ounce versions and use both regularly for the toddler and elementary-age kiddos. (Little kids may need help to open the lid.)
The 8-ounce size is good for toddlers, though you may want to size up to the 12-ounce if an elementary-age child will be using it. (And there’s even a 16-ounce for grown-ups.)
BUY IT: LunchBots Thermos, starting at about $22
OmieBox Leakproof Bento Box
We adore this lunch box for the ability to pack warm foods in the round insulated thermos compartment and cold or room temperature foods in the others. It makes it so much easier to pack kids lunches since it gives you so many options. It’s also easy to clean, durable, and available in a few colors.
(Little kids may need help opening the insulated compartment, though the handle makes it easier for smaller hands.)
The insulated compartment is removable so you can pack a sandwich or other cold food in that spot when you’d like to. This bento box is the perfect size for a toddler lunch or an elementary lunch. It can be a bit heavy in a backpack if there is other stuff in there, but otherwise, we have loved this option.
BUY IT: OmieBox, starting around $45
Skip Hop Insulated Baby Food Jar
This stainless-steel, BPA- and phthalate-free 7.8-ounce container keeps food warm for 7 hours and cold for 5. It comes with a spork (and a place to hold it), and the lid may be easier for little kids to open. It’s one of our favorite food containers for lunches (or meals) on the go.
This comes in all of the classic Skip Hop designs, so you or the kids can pick a favorite animal! It’s also priced affordably.
BUY IT: Skip Hop Food Jar (with spork), starting at about $16
Thermos Foogo Food Jar
This 10-ounce thermos food jar is durable, has a wide mouth (for easy access and cleaning), and is made with kids in mind. It stays cool to the touch and is sweat-proof, and the base of the jar is nonslip. It keeps cold food cold for up to 7 hours and warm food warm for up to 5.
They also have a Funtainer line with character designs like Paw Patrol and Minnie Mouse.
BUY IT: Foogo Thermos, starting around $16
On average, an insulated kids thermos will keep cold foods cold for at least 5 hours and warm food warm for at least 7. You may get a little longer depending on the product. I recommend warming the food until hot, add it to the thermos, and seal tightly.
If your thermos will be in a fridge, which I know happens at some daycares, you may want to test it out at home to see what the temperature of the food is after it’s been stored for a few hours that way so you know what to expect.
All of the ones here are BPA-free.
Try not to overfill the thermos, seal it tightly, and have the kids practice opening it at home a few times before they take it to school if they’ll be the ones opening it themselves. The key is to have them open it with the base on the counter or table so it’s upright once the lid comes off.
10 Easy Lunch Ideas to Pack in a Kids Thermos
Here are some of our hot lunch (and cold lunch!) ideas to send in a thermos.
- Pasta with marinara sauce or Broccoli Pesto or Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese
- Healthy Meatballs, Baked Chicken Meatballs, or Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini
- Rice and beans with cheese and salsa, Refried beans and tortillas, or Spinach Quesadillas
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup or Vegetarian Chili
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Chicken Nuggets
- Leftover pizza
- Pizza Rolls or Homemade Pizza Pockets
- Cheesy Meat Buns
- Cheesy Rice
- Scrambled Eggs or Egg Muffins
- Oatmeal Muffins
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes, Whole Wheat Waffles, or French Toast Sticks
- Yogurt with Granola, Overnight Oats, or yogurt with Sauteed Apples
- Oatmeal
TIP: You can find my top 50 recipes for kids lunches here.
Thermos Water Bottle for Packed Lunches
If you’re looking for an insulated water bottle to send with a packed lunch, I like this one from Kleen Kanteen. It’s 12 ounces, about $25, and super durable. It has a sport top or a screw top. We also love the Hydro Flask straw bottle, which is easy for even a 1-year-old to drink from.
More Lunch Gear Reviews
- Best Lunchboxes for Kids
- Favorite Sippy Cups
- Best Kids Plates
- Best Suction Bowls
- Best Baby Lunch Boxes
Related Recipes
Please comment below if you have a favorite thermos that didn’t make my list—I’d love to know!
This post was first posted July 2020.
I will like to buy and sell, please guide me .Am in Nigeria.
What about an easy to open container? My small 5 year old can only sometimes get the top of a thermos open on his own. When I send hot foods with him he often doesn’t even open it. He says he doesn’t have much time to flag someone down to help him before lunch is over.
I think the thermos in the Omiebox is probably the easiest one that I know of since it has a handle that helps to turn the top to open. The others require some hand strength and may need a teacher’s help. (I’ve had the same issue with sending drinks with screw tops…often my daughter just doesn’t drink it since it’s too hard to find help which is a shame!)