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We all must eat. Every day, several times a day and someone needs to make that food. If you are a parent, and I assume you are since you clicked on this article, you will make thousands of meals for your children while they live in our home. However, they eventually move out and as a parent, our job is to prepare them for that day. One critical life skill they will need to have is the ability to feed themselves. This article will provide you with 12 ideas for meals kids can make as well as some of my favorite items and the best tips I could compile.
Kids cooking favorites
When your kids start to help you cook, no matter what age that is, they need to have tools and equipment that works well for them. It will be safer and having some unique items can also increase their interest and desire to learn. Here are some must-have or nice-to-have items to consider getting before you turn them loose with meals kids can make.
- Finger guards. As your child learns to handle a knife, you will want to keep their fingers safe. We have a guard that is similar to this one. It works great and has kept me calmer when they are dicing onions.
- Apron. This may seem unnecessary but cooking is messy even for an experienced cook. I wear an apron myself every time I cook to avoid getting oil splatters on my clothes. You can find cute and cheap ones easily online.
- Kitchen timer. It is great for the new cook to understand that timing matters when you are cooking. Although many of us use the timer on the stove or microwave, a small kitchen timer might be easier to use for young children. Here are two different options: a mechanical timer or a digital timer. PS: those make great stocking stuffer gift ideas.
- Kitchen tower or safe stool. For the little ones in your life, you need to ensure they are at the correct height while keeping them safe. There are many options out there, some more expensive than others. Do your research to see what is best for you.
- Food processor/food chopper. Although not necessary, food processors do wonder at cutting vegetables quickly and safely. Anytime I need to cook veggies for a soup or a saute where the shape and size aren’t critical, I love to use my food ninja. It is easy to use and my kids learned to operate it early on. I have had this one for many years and highly recommend it.
Kids cooking tips
The first tip I have is to start teaching them early. When children are little, not only are they sponges and retain tons of information but they also enjoy learning new things. Use this opportunity to involve them in the kitchen as much as you can. It is a great time to teach them all of the safety guidelines. Explain to them how to handle raw meat, what temperature should meat be cooked to, how long it is safe to leave meat outside the refrigerator, how to thaw things and dangers in the kitchen associated with oil and fire for example.
Once you’ve taught them some basics, have them help you as often as possible. Make them your cooking assistant. Giving them specific tasks they are responsible for by themselves will help boost their confidence.
Teach them to safely use all the kitchen appliances. This includes the stovetop, oven, microwave, instant pot, grill, etc. We have been using all of these for such a long time that we forget they don’t know even what we consider common sense.
As they get older and you want them to cook actual meals, my best advice is to let them choose the meal. They are so many meals kids can make on their own. There are a few things you can do to facilitate this process. You can give them a recipe book to choose from. You can create a binder of recipes that they like and can make mostly on their own and have them choose from there. Or, you can use a meal kit company and have them choose a meal on their website. It is a great option because everything is together and the instructions are very detailed. We have used hello fresh in the past which we found to have a wide variety of options that kids like.
As you are raising your children and helping them learn adult skills, I highly encourage to involve them in the planning process. Discuss with them what is planned for the week. Show them how you decide on the meals including doing an inventory of what you already have on hand versus what needs to be purchased. This may sound silly, but food doesn’t just appear in the pantry and refrigerator. There is a planning process that goes behind it and they need to understand that.
12 meals kids can make
The meal’s ideas below are in no particular order. I find that these meals kids can make can be adapted based on the age and skill level of your child. I will provide some adjustment ideas if your child is not ready to make the entire meal on his/her own.
- Fried Rice. We love fried rice because it is such an easy and versatile meal. You start with rice which is a good basic food to know how to cook. To save time or if the child doesn’t know how to cook rice yet, you could use already cooked rice. Next, dice meat to add to the rice. Again, you cook use pre-cook if you want. Lastly, add fresh or frozen vegetables. Season to taste and enjoy. This is an easy meal that can be on the table in about 30 minutes. It makes great leftovers which is a plus.
- Soup and sandwiches. This is a perfect meal for beginner cooks. You can use chicken noodle soup packs or canned soup that only needs to be reheated if you do not want to make a soup from scratch. Or you can go in between and use a chicken noodle soup packet as the base and add fresh vegetables and herbs to it. Pair the soup with your favorite sandwich and voila!
- Spaghetti or mac n’cheese. Pasta is arguably one of the most popular meals in many families. It’s pretty cheap, comes together quickly, and is filling. You can buy your favorite ready-to-eat pasta sauce and have a meal ready in 20 minutes or less. You can teach your child to modify this meal by adding meat and fresh veggies to it. There are hundreds of different ways to serve pasta, use your creativity.
- Quesadillas. This is often a kid’s favorite. However, to make it healthy and more filling, teach them to add meat and vegetables to the quesadillas. Serve it with some chips and a salad and you have a meal on the table in no time.
- Breakfast meals. Teach your kids early how to make pancakes, waffles (if you have a waffle maker), and french toast. It was the first meal our kids knew how to make and this is continuing to be a go-to for them during the summer for lunches.
- Baked chicken. Give your kids 1 or 2 of your favorite marinade recipes. Then show them how easy it is to throw together in the morning, add the chicken to it and later bake it for dinner. Marinating is easy and such a great way to add flavor and tenderness to your meat. Our favorite for chicken thighs is equal part dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar.
- Baked fish. We love to keep fish in the freezer. Most fish can go straight from the freezer to the oven making it a life-saver when you didn’t plan anything or are running out of time. Just yesterday we baked frozen cod for dinner. We added lemon juice, paprika, salt, and a bit of butter on top of each price. We served it with rice and steamed broccoli.
- Quiches. Another quick and versatile dinner is the quiche. All you need is a frozen pie crust and some eggs. Everything else is optional. There are countless food combination recipes you can find for quiches. Pair with a salad and you have another quick and filling meal that is likely to make you left-overs unless you have a large family.
- Tacos. Most kids and most families love taco nights. It is one of the easiest meals kids can make. Therefore, teach your child how and make them responsible for taco night!
- Sheet pan dinners. These have been on the rise over the past few years. We love them. Plus, they generate little dishes and everything is ready at the same time. I will link one of our new favorites here for you to try.
- Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I think it’s good for kids to understand how to make a meal that includes side dishes. There is a lot to learn in terms of how to organize your time so that everything is ready at the same time and nothing is cold. Meatloaf is a great traditional meal that is not extremely difficult to make but usually cooks for a little while. It is a great opportunity to teach your child how to make the side dishes such as mashed potatoes during that time.
- Instant pot meals. Last but not least, we love our instant pot and because of the rise in its popularity I find it important to teach my kids how to use it. You can get healthy meals on the table so quickly with an instant pot. A favorite is this chicken pot pit soup that we make over and over during the fall and winter months.
In conclusion
I hope this article makes you realize the importance of cooking as a life skill. This article gave you 12 ideas of meals kids can make on their own or with little help.
Let me know if this was helpful and if you would like more ideas like these.
Bon apetit!
Cat xx