Tired of the same old desk lunch day-after-day, yet you don’t want to have to buy a ton of expensive ingredients?
These Mixed Up Deli Bento Box Lunches incorporate the flavors of your favorite deli sandwiches re-imagined in their own unique way, yet each recipe incorporates many of the same budget-friendly ingredients, so less goes to waste. All three of the bento boxes used came from the Japanese household goods store Daiso. Get the recipes for my DIY Macaroni Salad Bento, Deli Stuffed Mini Peppers Bento Box, and Deli Cold Cut Tacos at The Silicone Kitchen.
DIY Macaroni Salad: Warm macaroni is tossed in the Scallion Ranch Cream Cheese Spread then packaged alongside chopped turkey, provolone, sweet peppers, olives, and pepperoncini – all in separate silicone banking cups, so the vegetables remain crisp. Kids (and adults) have the freedom to choose what and how much of each of the mix-ins goes into their final creation and parents can gauge what was and wasn’t eaten.
Deli Stuffed Mini Peppers Bento Box: The sweet mini peppers take center stage when stuffed with cold cuts and Scallion Ranch Cream Cheese Spread. The only new ingredient in this recipe is a single slice of salami!
Deli Cold Cut Tacos: slices of deli turkey and provolone are rolled and snuggled into street-taco sized tortillas then topped with the Scallion Ranch Cream Cheese Spread, lettuce, tomato, olives and pepperoncini.
This flavorful spread which is used in all three of the following bento box recipes, marries scallion cream cheese, ranch seasoning powder and a bit of vinegary brine from a jar of pepperoncini peppers.
Ingredients
- ½ cup 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup 2 ounces mayonnaise preferable Duke's
- 2 tablespoons Ranch seasoning powder preferably Burlap & Barrel
- 2 tablespoons brine from a jar of pickled pepperoncini peppers preferably Cento
- 1 scallion minced, about 1 tablespoon
Instructions
- Using a fork, whisk together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, ranch seasoning powder and pepperoncini brine until smooth and well combined, then stir in the minced scallion. Refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to use.
