Easy Recipes Kids Can Help Make

Get Kids Started in the Kitchen

Counting down the days to when your kids can make you dinner instead of the other way around? Perhaps the daily dinner grind (and subsequent complaints) have also worn you down. If you’ve grown tired of acting as a short-order cook for the entire family, consider enlisting your kids to help with these recipes that go beyond frozen pizza and bagels with cream cheese. You never know. Sometimes when they help make the meal, they complain less and have more appreciation (and less suspicion) of the results.

Pesto Pasta: This simple recipe remains one of our family favorites. Best of all, once kids can boil water, they can help make it, too. Simply follow the instructions on the packages of pasta, frozen peas, and pesto sauce. Combine all ingredients for a tasty meal everyone will love that can be served warm or cold. Want extra credit? Put out items like Parmesan cheese, bacon bits, or cherry tomatoes so each diner can customize their plate.

Fix It and Forget It Kids’ Cookbook: Cooking healthy meals takes time. But instead of slaving over the stove, try letting the CrockPot do all the heavy lifting. This cookbook comes with a variety of recipes in various categories like appetizers, breakfast, dinner, and more. Aimed specifically at kids, each one includes recognizable ingredients paired with easy-to-follow instructions. The appetizing pictures of each recipe don’t hurt, either.

Banana Split With a Twist: When you don’t have time to whip up a hot meal but still want to get nutritious food in your kids, try this spin on a classic dessert. Substitute their favorite flavor of yogurt for the ice cream and let them loose with any toppings on hand. Kids will love this treat and parents love how easy it makes snack or meal time.

Easy Alfredo Sauce: Much like the pesto pasta above, this simple recipe always pleases the entire family. Sneak in some quality protein with the cottage cheese, and enjoy adding this sauce to pasta or chicken for more scrumptious meal possibilities. Kids can help measure the ingredients, blend them together, and cook it on the stove.

Easy Snack Mix: If you want something good on the go, get kids involved in the preparation of this snack mix. Combine whatever ingredients you have on hand, or go shopping together to select their favorites. Mix a batch of dry cereal, chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit, or whatever else their heart desires. Store it all in an airtight container in kids’ reach so they can serve themselves whenever the need arises.