Easy and cheesy: three savoury bakes for school lunchboxes – recipes | Australian food and drink

Vegetarian frittata bake

Get creative with whatever veggies you like in this recipe. These frittata slices are perfect for batch cooking.

They will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for five days or can be frozen for up to one month. To defrost, place the frozen portions in the fridge the night before use.

10 eggs
250ml thickened cream (1 cup)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
125g cheddar (1 cup), grated
150g feta (1 cup), crumbled
1 large mushroom, finely sliced
1 zucchini, finely sliced
½ red capsicum, finely sliced
½ green capsicum, finely sliced
½ yellow capsicum, finely sliced
150g tiny tom tomatoes (¾ cup)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Serves 8 to 10

You can cook the frittata in an air fryer or the oven. If cooking in the oven, preheat to 180C fan. Line a large rectangular baking dish (roughly 30cm x 22cm) with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk the egg, cream, salt and oregano until it just becomes creamy (not over-the-top souffle creamy).

Pour three-quarters of the egg mixture into the baking dish, then add half the cheddar and half the feta. Decorate the dish with the veggies – be as creative as you want. Then slowly pour over the remaining egg mixture, scatter over the remaining cheeses, and drizzle the olive oil on top (especially over the mushroom).

Turn your oven down to 165C and pop the dish in. Bake for around 35 minutes – it should be light and spongey like focaccia when it’s done. If using an air fryer, cook at 160C for 20 to 22 minutes.

Allow the frittata to cool in the dish before slicing into eight or ten lunchbox portions.

Pizza bagels

If you don’t have frozen puff pastry in your freezer, are we even friends? Seriously though, I have a pack of 10 in the freezer ready to go at all times. Add whatever veg your kids are into – very thinly sliced zucchini, mushrooms, tomato or chopped spinach would work well. A sweet version with jam and berries totally rocks.

You can prepare these the night before – just pop them in the fridge overnight and then bake in the morning. Once baked, they’ll keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. The unbaked bagels can also be frozen for up to three months. Allow to thaw before baking.

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, just thawed
90g salt-free tomato paste (⅓ cup)
80g ham (½ cup), shredded
40g pitted kalamata olives (¼ cup), sliced
10 basil leaves
150g grated mozzarella (1 cup)

Makes 4 bagels

You can cook these in an air fryer or the oven. If cooking in the oven, preheat to 180C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Slice the pastry sheet in half and then half again lengthways to get four long rectangles of pastry.

Smear the tomato paste evenly along the strips, leaving a one-centimetre border around the edge. Scatter over the ham, olives and basil leaves, then sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

Fold each rectangle in half lengthways to create a long strip. Wrap one strip around your fingers to create a loose bagel shape. Press the end of the pastry in with your fingers to seal it. Repeat to make four bagels.

Pop the pizza bagels in the oven for 25 minutes. When done, they should be golden brown and puffed up. If using an air fryer, cook at 180C for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool and place in the lunchbox.

Simple veggie muffins

When it comes to these muffins, my girls love the melted cheese and veggies and always come back for more. This is a great little recipe that helps clean out your fridge of veggies that are past their prime. Batch baking these muffins makes life easier in the mornings. Store the muffins in an airtight container in the pantry for two to three days or freeze for up to one month.

1 egg
180ml milk (¾ cup)
1 tsp salt
150g self-raising flour (1 cup)
45g mushrooms (½ cup), chopped
80g red capsicum (½ cup), chopped
30g spring onions (¼ cup), finely chopped
65g cheddar, cut into 6 cubes
3 cherry tomatoes, halved

Makes 6 muffins

You can cook these muffins in an air fryer or the oven. If cooking in the oven, preheat to 180C fan. Line six holes of a nonstick muffin tray with paper cases.

Use a protein shaker or handheld blender to mix the egg, milk, salt and self-raising flour until the mixture is a thickshake consistency and all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour the mixture to a depth of one centimetre into the paper cases. Distribute the mushroom, capsicum and spring onion evenly among the muffins, top each with a cube of cheese, then pour in the remaining mixture, stopping one centimetre from the top. Place half a cherry tomato on top of each muffin.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes in the oven until golden brown. Insert a skewer into the centre of a muffin to check – if it comes out clean they are good to go. If using an air fryer, cook at 180C for 15 minutes.

Let the muffins cool down a little before you attempt to take them out of the tray.

• This is an edited extract from Lunchbox Boss by George Georgievski, photography by Mark Roper, available now through Plum (RRP $26.99).