What to Eat on an Airplane

We travel with 6 people and on a budget, so we are always looking for ways to save money while exploring what to eat on an airplane with kids. Regardless of the length of flights, kids will usually need a meal sometime during travels. As a family of 6, we try to save money by not eating the expensive airport food; Not to mention the costly, in-flight options. Plus, my kids are pretty picky and they won’t even eat the food provided by the airline.

Pack for success through security

We fly standby so our food choices have to be ‘TSA approved‘ to get through security and on the airplane with us. I usually bring a fabric reusable grocery sack full of food

. I throw any snacks or meals in the sack as I’m packing and cleaning up my kitchen (for our Airbnb guests- read that story here). Then all of our food is in one easy to access location for airport security to look through and test if needed. Any liquid-like food has to be under 4 ounces (including peanut butter). So make sure you don’t have any larger containers of food. The exception is milk or baby food for a child under 2. This will have to have special screening, but you get a pass if you have a child that needs to be fed.

I bring some gummy vitamins to help compensate for any food group that may be missing as we travel. Gummys help when we are flying with ear pain, too. Store daily vitamins in a container like this as you travel

Food Options

Most every mom’s go-to option is a Peanut butter and honey {or jam} sandwich. But my kids have decided they don’t like PB sandwiches [eyeroll}, so we’ve had to get creative with what to eat on an airplane.

I’ll share with you our favorite foods on-the-go. We try to have foods high in protein to help the kids feel full longer.

What to Eat on an Airplane: Meals

Quesadillas: cheese melted on corn tortillas, cut into edible sized pieces

Peanut butter (travel-sized packs) Dip pretzels, apples, and crackers in the peanut butter

Chicken salad in a can with crackers

Instant oatmeal (can be made with hot water in the hotel or on the plane)

Pasta: My kids actually love ziplock bags of plain pasta with parmesan cheese sprinkled on. It sounds disgusting to me, but they devour it.

Nutella and PB sandwiches

Homemade Lunchables: freeze deli meat and cheese cut into slices. Add some Ritz crackers and make some little sandwiches. (You can buy these as well, my kids just won’t eat them! {eyeroll})

Slices of pizza

Flavored tuna packs {These can be smelly! Best to eat them in a space away from other travelers in the airport or maybe in the car ride.}

Hard-boiled eggs {smelly? see above}

Bagel with Cream Cheese

Leftovers. Kind of an odd one, I know! But, I clean out my fridge for our guests using our home so I’ll bring food items we have left. We’ve been known to eat pancakes, corn and bean salad, chicken and rice and other meals left in our fridge. You can throw out the disposable container, but I usually find the container comes in handy later in our trip.

What to Eat on an Airplane: Snacks

(if they eat enough can it count as a meal?)

beef jerky
trail mix
dried fruits
crackers: Wheat Thins, Triscuits, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, Goldfish… the possibilities are endless
pretzels
peanuts
Sturdy fruit that won’t be smashed in transit: Apples, oranges, pineapple
carrot sticks
hummus
pepperoni
cans of fruits of veggies with a pop top; sealed cans of food are TSA approved (usually with a little scrutiny so pull it out of your bag)
granola bars
Applesauce packets or squeezable fruit (under 4 oz)
fruit snacks
Gogurt (Freeze them and they’ll still be cold on the airplane a few hours later)
frozen Drinks or milk -Did you know anything frozen is considered solid and can get a pass at security? I was able to bring a couple days worth of milk for my baby in disposable drink bottles. It lasts several hours frozen which is enough time to get it to the hotel fridge.
Pringle or lays chips in a tube
veggie straws
cookies? It’s always nice to have dessert to sweeten the deal if their eat all their other food. While I may not bribe my kids to eat at home, having them full and satisfied while traveling is a high priority, so bribing happens.
Don’t forget to bring empty sippy cups or these cups to ensure no spills when the airplane passes out drinks!

Did you get lots of ideas for what to eat on an airplane? What else do you feed your kids on an airplane? I would love to add to my list!

Need more ideas? What to Make for Breakfast in a Hotel Room

Find all our family’s travel essentials here.

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