Cooking with Kids
When you spend as much time cooking with kids as I have over the last two decades, you learn a lot about family-friendly recipes and important kitchen skills you want your children to learn before they are grown and flown.
I know that when it comes to family cooking, parents often need recipes that fall into two categories:
- Recipes Kids will Eat
- Recipes Kids can Cook
Maybe you're looking for a kid-friendly dinner idea that you will cook and your kids will enjoy.
Maybe you're looking for an easy recipe that will help teach your kid to cook on their own.
Either way, I've got everything your family needs to make amazing memories in the kitchen cooking with your kids.
Easy Recipes to Make FOR Kids
Family life is busy and the family meals can feel relentless. Get my very best kid-friendly recipes for every meal of the day:
Breakfast and Lunch:
Start your kids off with a delicious morning meal before school. My easy breakfast ideas for kids run the spectrum from easy breakfasts you can make in 5 minutes or less to make ahead recipes you can freeze and reheat in the microwave before running out the door. Unless it is test day, then you'll want these best breakfasts to eat before a test.
Don't miss the post that has gone viral year after year! My 30 easy school lunch ideas for kids is one of the internet's most popular lunch box ideas list EVER. Half a million fans can't be wrong.
After School and Dinnertime:
The kids walk in the door after school starving. While dinner gets prepped have one of these easy after school snack ideas to tide them over.
Is it a weeknight? Then I know for sure you're busy. My quick family dinners for busy nights will help you get food on the table even if you've got all the practices for all the things.
It must be Tuesday somewhere. When you need a dinner win, you just can't go wrong with Taco Tuesday recipes for kids. Who cares what the calendar actually says.
Planning a Kid-Friendly Meal
Maybe you're an exhausted parent looking for a new dinner idea, maybe you're about to host an event with a ton of kids but you've never cooked for them before.
If you're serving dinner to kids, you absolutely need this list of 70 dinner ideas for kids that will help you navigate the kid palette and picky eating challenges that comes with that territory:
Family Dinner Tips
Parenting is the toughest job you'll ever have, but friend, I promise you're doing the most important work there is.
Let me encourage you to make family dinner the most powerful moment of your family's day.
HINT: It has nothing to do with the food on the plate.
How to Teach Kids to Cook
When you're ready to hand over the reins and give your kids the gift of one of the most important life skills there is, you need the best tips for teaching kids to cook.
Even if you can't cook well yourself, you can ensure your kids have everything they need to grow into future adults who can feed themselves well and care for their own family down the road.
Start with my outline for the best DIY kids cooking classes you can run right in your very own kitchen.
Then arm yourself with the best kitchen tools for kids and these easy printable lesson plans for teaching kids to cook. You can hang them right on the fridge for motivation!
Easy Recipes for Kids to Cook Themselves
Not ready for a full blown cooking lesson? The easiest place to start when it comes to cooking with kids is to just teach them one simple recipe.
Pick something they love to eat. Or pick something that has a special family connection. Or choose an "emergency dinner" in case you are running late and they need to be the Dinner Hero for a night.
I have 30 easy recipes for kids to make for dinner that are guaranteed to be kid pleasers. But for the busy last-minute evenings, you could always try my easy dinner ideas for Yo-Yo night.
If you've got a truly reluctant kid who just doesn't want to learn how to cook despite your best intentions, it is totally time to whip out an easy dessert recipe for kids to bake.
How to Get Kids to Try New Foods
I am no stranger to picky eating challenges. I've been dealing with them since before we even had kids! Both my husband and I are recovered picky eaters ourselves, so this is something that hits very close to home.
The #1 challenge for most families trying to feed kids?? How to get kids to eat more veggies.
I've got so many tips and tricks that just might surprise you.
And as a Catholic family, learning to eat seafood was very important to us since we eat fish on Fridays throughout the season of Lent. Get my best easy fish recipes for kids along with tips for introducing this new texture to reluctant eaters.
Holiday Recipes for Kids
I believe that life is more joyful when you have a fun holiday to look forward to celebrating.
While you'll discover dozens upon dozens of easy holiday ideas for families on my site, here are a few kid-friendly recipes for some of the most popular holidays on the calendar:
The Best Cookbooks for Kids
As the author of The Totally Awesome Ultimate Kids' Cookbook and The Ultimate Kids' Baking Book, I know a lot about what makes an amazing cookbook for kids:
- Easy Recipes: They should be easy for kids to follow with clear instructions for new steps.
- Yummy Food: The recipes should be food that both the kids and the grown-ups actually want to eat.
- Fun to Make: Kids should enjoy their time in the kitchen and bring their dish proudly to the family table.
My cookbooks have everything your kids, ages 6 - 18, need to make a real breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the family and all the sweet baked treats for holidays and parties throughout the year.
For younger kids and older teens, I've also made a list of the best cookbooks for kids from the toddler years through teen years.
Gift Ideas for Kid Cooks
Once your kid is hooked and loves to spend time in the kitchen, these are the best cooking gifts to bundle up for a birthday or holiday gift:
More Family Recipes
You can find my complete family recipes index here.
Looking for something to make for a party or celebration? You can find my full holiday index here.
