Kids Food Favorites: 60 Healthy Homemade Recipes

From chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, to cheese crackers, chicken tenders, and fish sticks, I rounded up the best homemade kids food to help you DIY some of their favorites! These recipes are all kid-tested for flavor and vetted for straight-forward recipe methods.

Kids Food

The term “kids food” can be loaded and I think sometimes it makes us feel like there is a whole separate category of food that we need to be feeding our kids…which I don’t think is very helpful. To me, this idea actually means any food that tastes good, has nutrition, and is easy for the kids to eat.

Which is broad and so much more inclusive!

And since I know that our unique kids have their favorites, I wanted to put together a list of homemade versions of classic kids food to help expand accepted foods and to make it a little easier to make foods that the whole family will enjoy eating.

I rounded up 50 of my very favorite recipes for nutritious, easy, and fun recipes for kids. I hope that these give you some new ideas for what to cook for your kids to keep them both well nourished and happy at the table!

Breakfast Ideas

Find favorite breakfast foods including breakfast bars, toaster pastries, egg sandwiches, flavored milks, and more.

Easy Breakfast Burritos

With just 4 simple ingredients, these easy Breakfast Burritos can be made ahead and reheated, or made in minutes and served right away. They're a protein-packed breakfast to share with the kids.

Easy Breakfast Burritos

Favorite Spinach Eggs (Green Eggs Recipe)

Packed with spinach (and iron!), these bright green eggs are fun and delicious. You can serve them as you would scrambled eggs, or use in a breakfast burrito or egg sandwich.

Favorite Spinach Eggs (Green Eggs Recipe)

Healthy Breakfast Bars with Jam

Use Sunbutter to make these nut-free. You can cut these into smaller bars if desired. If you want them a little softer, serve them at room temperature rather than chilled.

Healthy Breakfast Bars with Jam

Favorite Strawberry Milk

Creamy and delicious, Strawberry Milk is easy to make with fresh strawberries or freeze-dried ones. The version with freeze-dried berries tastes more similar to store-bought strawberry milk; the one with fresh berries tastes more like fresh strawberries!

Favorite Strawberry Milk

Baked Banana French Toast Sticks

You can use any sliced bread that you like. I typically use whole grain or sourdough. You can also bake full slices of bread, then cut into sticks with kitchen scissors. See Notes for allergy-substitutions.

Baked Banana French Toast Sticks

Best Homemade Chocolate Milk

You can make this right before serving or make it up to 24 hours ahead.

Best Homemade Chocolate Milk

Easy Instant Oatmeal

You can make a handful of containers ahead of time, then pull them out for easy breakfasts when you need them. Or, make and serve all at once.

Easy Instant Oatmeal

Strawberry Smoothie with Yogurt

You can use fresh or frozen berries in this simple Strawberry Smoothie and the results will have a texture that is similar to drinkable yogurt. To make it thicker and to try different flavor options, see the Notes at the end of the recipe.

Strawberry Smoothie with Yogurt

Favorite Blueberry Mini Muffins

Fluffy and perfectly moist, these little muffins have protein and calcium—plus bursts of delicious blueberries. (They're like Little Bites, but with more nutrients and for less $$.) See Notes for allergy variations.

Favorite Blueberry Mini Muffins

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins (Little Bites Copycat)

Moist tender Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins that taste as good as store bought, but have a little extra nutrition? Sign. Me. Up. These muffins are seriously delicious and are a must-make if you have fans of Little Bites in your house!

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins (Little Bites Copycat)

Lunch Ideas for Kids

Check out these homemade versions of lunch staples including quesadillas, Pizza Rolls, homemade Lunchables, Uncrustables, and more.

Banana Sushi (3-Ingredient Kids Lunch)

Banana Sushi is a seriously fun and fast lunch for kids—that's filling too! Plus: You only need three nutritious ingredients to make this lunch.

Banana Sushi (3-Ingredient Kids Lunch)

Homemade Hummus (Without Tahini)

With just 5 minutes and basic pantry ingredients, you can make the yummiest Homemade Hummus without tahini. This means that it's nut-free, so it's an option for school and allergy families, and it's just perfect for dunking crackers or spreading on bread.

Homemade Hummus (Without Tahini)

Favorite Pizza Recipes for Kids

The kids can help make these easy English Muffin Pizzas by spreading on the sauce and adding the cheese, or you can quickly do them too. Add any other toppings you like (precooked options are best since we’re basically just toasting these quickly.) The recipe of my go-to recipes are linked in the Notes.

Easy Turkey Wrap Recipe

Roll up a few simple ingredients to make this delicious Turkey Wrap recipe in minutes. It's a great lunch wrap for home or school, and you can easily adjust the ingredients to suit the preferences of your child. This makes one wrap, so scale up as desired.

Easy Turkey Wrap Recipe

Vegetarian Rice and Beans Burritos

You can make and serve these at the same time, or prep them ahead of time and warm up quickly for an easy meal. You can vary the beans in these simple burritos. Serve them with salsa and/or sour cream.

Vegetarian Rice and Beans Burritos

Quick Sandwich Roll Ups (2-Minute School Lunch)

Pair a soft sandwich bread with your filling of choice to make this easy toddler lunch or school lunch. You can even make them the night before.

Quick Sandwich Roll Ups (2-Minute School Lunch)

Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich (to Share with the Kids)

With just 4 ingredients, including a veggie that blends right in, this Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a yummy kids lunch to share. It packs extra nutrition in the filling, yet only takes a few minutes to make. Such a great easy meal!

Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich (to Share with the Kids)

DIY Pizza Lunchables

Have more fun with lunch with this super quick and easy Pizza Lunchable idea. It's one of our favorite copycat recipes that makes it less expensive to recreate Lunchables at home…that you can even customize!

DIY Pizza Lunchables

Favorite Pizza Rolls (with Veggies)

This Pizza Rolls recipe is packed with nutrition—and even greens!—but the cheese and silly spiral shape makes them much more appealing to toddlers and big kids. Be sure to grease your pan well and roll the dough up fairly tightly around the fillings for best results. (But it's okay if they don't look perfect when they go into the pan!) 

Favorite Pizza Rolls (with Veggies)

Easiest Homemade Uncrustables

You can make one sandwich at a time, or make a batch of a few to stash in the freezer. Adjust this as needed for your preference.

Easiest Homemade Uncrustables

Nuggets, Tenders, & Tots

These are some of our favorite easy homemade tots, tenders, and nuggets—made with both chicken and fish, and veggies. These are similar to freezer aisle favorites, only their often less expensive (and taste better!).

Easy Baked Chicken Tenders

These crispy Chicken Tenders are fast and versatile. To make these with panko breadcrumbs, use 1 cup and stir ¼ teaspoon salt into the flour before you dredge the chicken.

Easy Baked Chicken Tenders

Homemade Chicken Nuggets (with Sweet Potato)

Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, these Homemade Chicken Nuggets are both easy and delicious. You can prep the sweet potato up to 5 days ahead if that's easier for you, too. Try serving these with ketchup, ranch, or marinara sauce.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets (with Sweet Potato)

Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets

These baked chicken nuggets have simple ingredients and a pleasantly crispy exterior. Aim to cut the chicken into similarly sized pieces so they bake evenly.

Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets

Homemade Veggie Nuggets (with 3 Veggies!)

I like to prep the veggies and rice ahead of time so that the process of making the nuggets is a little quicker. You can of course do it all at once though!

Homemade Veggie Nuggets (with 3 Veggies!)

Homemade Cauliflower Tots

With quinoa, cauliflower, and cheese, these healthy little tots are a great finger food for kids. This recipe makes about 20 tots, which is 4-6 servings for toddlers—or 1-2 servings for adults.

Homemade Cauliflower Tots

Homemade Broccoli Tots (Better Than the Freezer Aisle!)

Crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, these tots are a seriously fun way to serve broccoli. You can cook the rice up to 5 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you're ready to bake the tots.

Homemade Broccoli Tots (Better Than the Freezer Aisle!)

Crispy Baked Fish Sticks (to Share with the Kids!)

We like to have these with simple sides such as Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, or Salad. They’re also great in tacos!

Crispy Baked Fish Sticks (to Share with the Kids!)

Pasta, Pizza, and Burgers

These are our favorite recipes for homemade pasta, pizza, and burgers. These recipes are all super easy and are so delicious to share with the kids.

Easy Mac and Cheese Bites (Mac and Cheese Cups)

Learn how to make quick and easy Mac and Cheese Bites for an easy kids lunch or dinner. These bites are fun and a nutritious kids meal that can easily double as an appetizer! You can even add in veggies like broccoli for the most delicious mac and cheese cups.

Easy Mac and Cheese Bites (Mac and Cheese Cups)

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (5-Ingredient)

With a simple cheese sauce—no standing and stirring over the stove here!—a solid dose of veggies, and a super creamy final result, this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese is a fast lunch or dinner option for toddlers. (And the rest of the family, too!)

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (5-Ingredient)

5-Ingredient Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Use your family’s favorite shape and type of pasta in this recipe. (We like elbows or mini shells!)

5-Ingredient Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Easy Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

Friends, meet my new favorite lightning fast dish. This Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese requires just 5 simple ingredients, zero prep work, and is just the yummiest pasta recipe! 

Easy Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

10-Minute Flatbread Pizza (Just 3 Ingredients!)

For delicious homemade pizza without the work and in a lot less time, Flatbread Pizza to the rescue. Adjust this for allergies as you need.

10-Minute Flatbread Pizza (Just 3 Ingredients!)

Favorite Pizza Bites

Fluffy pizza bites are a delicious lunch or dinner option—and you can customize the filling to please your kids! We like these with a little side of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Favorite Pizza Bites

Quick and Easy Pesto Pizza

With three simple ingredients, iron and vitamin C in the sauce, and a kid-friendly format, this super easy Pesto Pizza is a perfect kids lunch or dinner that parents will enjoy, too!

Quick and Easy Pesto Pizza

Favorite Pizza Pockets

Whether you're looking for a healthy make-ahead dinner for the whole family or a new way to serve up veggies, these Homemade Pizza Pockets are a delish option. (If using Homemade Pizza Dough, make it at least an hour before you plan to assemble the pockets. If using store-bought, let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so it's not too cold when you try to form the pockets.)

Favorite Pizza Pockets

Easy Zucchini Burgers

Stretch your ground beef and add a veggie right into moist burger patties with this simple family dinner recipe.

Easy Zucchini Burgers

Homemade Crackers, Granola Bars, Cookies, and More

These are some of the best homemade options for cheese crackers, granola bars, cookies, and more kids food favorites. All of these store well, so you can have them on hand for easy snacks throughout the week.

Easy Cheese Crackers Recipe

Mix up this easy-to-work-with cracker dough, then let the kids help roll and cut their way to the yummiest homemade cheese crackers recipe. These crackers have whole grains and a delightfully crisp texture. So good!

Easy Cheese Crackers Recipe

Easiest Animal Crackers Recipe

If you use larger cookie cutters, you may need to bake on the longer end of the baking time—and mini cookie cutters on the shorter end. This makes a relatively small batch, so double it if you want extras to last all week!

Easiest Animal Crackers Recipe

Sweet Potato Teething Biscuits (Easy Baby Rusks)

This recipe has just a few healthy ingredients and is perfect for teething babies to chew on. They’re also a great cracker for older kiddos! This recipe is adapted and excerpted from The Big Book of Plant-Based Baby Foods by Tamika L. Gardner. 

Sweet Potato Teething Biscuits (Easy Baby Rusks)

Easy Homemade Granola Bars

We like to have these granola bars as a snack or toddler breakfast with milk or a smoothie—and they're an excellent lunch box component too. You can make them plain or choose a flavor to add!

Easy Homemade Granola Bars

Quick and Easy No-Bake Granola Bars

You can make these ahead and store in the fridge or freezer and have grab and go snacks on hand for days/weeks!

Quick and Easy No-Bake Granola Bars

Granola Bites (No-Bake, 3-Ingredients)

A crispy dry granola, like this cinnamon flavor from Kind, works best in this recipe.

Granola Bites (No-Bake, 3-Ingredients)

Oven-Dried Strawberries

You can do two baking sheets at once to get a slightly larger batch—definitely do this if you’re making these for more than one kiddo! Just be sure to swap the positions of the pans halfway through baking to ensure that they bake evenly.

Oven-Dried Strawberries

Easy Sugar Cookies (Healthy and Delish!)

This makes a small batch of lightly sweet cookies. Double it to make more. If at any point the dough seems too sticky, pop it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up a bit. Or dust your parchment paper and cookie cutters with flour.

Easy Sugar Cookies (Healthy and Delish!)

Easy Coconut Chips

Salty-sweet coconut chips are a favorite snack to make and share with the kids. Feel free to double the recipe and use two sheet pans to make more at once.

Easy Coconut Chips

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies have lower sugar but all the flavor and texture you crave. Choose your add-ins based on the kinds your family enjoys most.

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Balls

These no-bake bites taste like a cross between oatmeal raisin and peanut butter cookie dough. I use natural creamy peanut butter (like the kind from Smuckers), and it works really well.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Balls

3-Ingredient Cereal Bars

Made with just 3 pantry staples, these bars make an excellent kids snack. They hold their shape best when stored in the fridge and served cold.

3-Ingredient Cereal Bars

Favorite Desserts for Kids

From popsicles to frozen yogurt and ice cream cake, these are fun desserts to share with the kids. (These are so much more than just “kids food”, that’s for sure!)

So Good Fudge Pops (with Avocado!)

Plan to make these in the morning of the day you want to serve them or the day before so they have time to freeze. See Notes for allergy-friendly substitutions. The amount of popsicles the recipe makes will vary according to the size of your mold.

So Good Fudge Pops (with Avocado!)

Chocolate Covered Bananas

These Chocolate Covered Bananas are frozen into popsicles that are so easy to make and so seriously fun. The chocolate pudding has a perfect texture once frozen, you can add sprinkles if you want, and use either paper lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks.

Chocolate Covered Bananas

Easiest Creamsicle Recipe (3-Ingredients!)

With simple ingredients and fresh flavors, this homemade Creamsicle recipe is so fresh and fun for warmer weather—and is packed with Vitamin C, probiotics, and protein to help nourish our kiddos!

Easiest Creamsicle Recipe (3-Ingredients!)

Favorite Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

This Strawberry Frozen Yogurt is so fresh and so creamy. It does freeze firm, so plan to let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Favorite Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

Using just three ingredients, you can customize a homemade Ice Cream Cake for any birthday or holiday in the flavors you (or the kids!) want. (Plan to start making this the day before you want to serve it so it has time to freeze.)

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

Healthy Chocolate Cake (Lower Sugar)

This Healthy Chocolate Cake is egg-free, dairy-free, and SO darn delicious. It's lower in sugar, but delivers on classic chocolate cake flavor you expect. (I use two 6-inch cake pans to make this cake, which is a perfect size for a small gathering or even to use as a smash cake. See the Notes for how to make this as a 9-inch cake and as cupcakes.)

Healthy Chocolate Cake (Lower Sugar)

Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes (So Easy!)

These Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes are light, fluffy, and moist. They’re also less sweet than most conventional cupcakes, both in the cake and in the pretty pink frosting, but they are still SO delicious! 

Healthy Vanilla Cupcakes (So Easy!)

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

With a simple stir-together method, these easy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are a perfect fall dessert to share with the kids! They have less sugar than similar cupcakes yet deliver big time on both texture and flavor.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Easy Sweet Potato Brownies

Plan to make the sweet potato ahead of time or use canned puree. Otherwise, this one-bowl recipe is super simple!

Easy Sweet Potato Brownies

So Good Chickpea Blondies

These blondies are packed with just-sweet-enough flavor and nutrition.They are delicious chilled right out of the fridge with a glass of cold milk.

So Good Chickpea Blondies

Black Bean Brownie Bites

You can add sprinkles to make these fun or leave them plain—either one works! Serving size is 2 brownie bites.

Black Bean Brownie Bites

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (with Oatmeal)

If you prefer, you can use mini chocolate chips and skip the step of chopping the chocolate.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake (with Oatmeal)

What did I miss? Chime in below in the comments with your kid’s favorite foods!

This post was first published April 2019.