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Home » Cooking With Kids » 15+ Easy Dinner Recipes For Kids To Make

March 30, 2020 / Updated June 16, 2020 / By Jade

15+ Easy Dinner Recipes For Kids To Make

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collage of various easy dinners kids can make

Get the kids involved in making food for the family with one of these easy low or no cook dinner recipes for kids to make!

collage of various easy dinners kids can make

There’s so many reasons why kids should be involved with cooking! They can gain confidence as they learn a valuable skill, they become a valuable help in the kitchen, and they will be able to feed themselves when they go off on their own.

If you are just starting teaching your children to cook, check out my guide for tips for cooking with kids. Also, make sure you are choosing age appropriate cooking skills for your young chefs!

Salads of all kinds, whether pasta, couscous, green, or chicken are a great starting point for dinners that kids can make. Wraps, sushi, or boats (see examples below) are also fun ideas they can make.

Oh, and don’t forget the dessert! Have them choose one of these easy no bake pies to make and have one amazing meal made all by the kiddos!

Grilled chicken on a cutting board

Top Tips

For beginning chefs, precook any grains or meats and allow them to assemble dinner themselves.

For intermediate chefs, have kids help you with any pre-cooking needs before having them put it all together.

For advanced kid chefs, be there to help if they need but allow them to do all of the steps on their own.

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15+ Easy No Cook Dinners Kids Can Make

Whether kids are just starting out cooking, or its just too hot to be cooking, here are some easy dinner ideas that kids can make on their own (or with a little help).

Keep it simple with sandwiches, salads, and pastas and using easy shortcuts like rotisserie chicken paired with fresh fruits and veggies.

Tropical Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Packed with tart cherries, pineapple tidbits and macadamia nuts these tropical chicken salad sandwiches are a simple and refreshing dinner option.

Using a rotisserie chicken speeds up the prep time but you could always use precooked chicken you make yourself. Hawaiian Sweet Rolls are a favorite pairing and always popular with the kids.

Greek Quinoa Salad

Chopping all of the vegetables for this salad gives kids a chance to practice their cutting skills. You can keep it meatless or easily add some cooked chicken to it.

Apple Bacon and Goat Cheese Salad #AppleWeek

Keep this no cook by using pre-cooked bacon bits and allow the kids to slice the apples and crumble the goat cheese. You can always serve the salad and dressing separate so kids can customize their salads.

Allow the kids to pick which fruit they want to use for the salad- they could choose pears, nectarines, or peaches if they would like.

Mango and Mandarin Orange Duck Salad #CookoutWeek

The salad dressing for this salad is my kids favorite! Although we used duck you could easily swap it for chicken.

Add fried wontons for extra kid friendly crunch. You can often find the fried wontons in the same section as the salad dressings.

BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad

The easiest way to make this is to use leftover BBQ chicken or a rotisserie chicken tossed with BBQ sauce. The rainbow of veggies include kid favorite broccoli and there's yummy chunks of mozzarella too!

Simple Sourdough Pizzas

Using sourdough bread is an easy shortcut for these easy pizzas. I like to toast them in the toaster oven but you can just as easily bake them on cookie sheet.

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Apples

This chicken salad is chock full of kid favorite fruits like crunchy apples, juicy oranges and mandarin oranges, along with cashews for extra crunch.

Photo Credit: whatagirleats.com

Fresh Tomato Summer Pasta Sauce

This fresh tomato summer pasta sauce is perfect for kids to make since it requires no cooking! If you happen to have a small garden you might be able to find most of the ingredients already growing which just enhances the whole experience.

Photo Credit: conservamome.com

Fast & Easy Pizza Pasta Salad

If you're kids love pizza (and let's be honest whose kid doesn't) they will love helping to make this pizza pasta salad.

This would be really easy to customize with whatever your favorite pizza toppings are- you could even make it a pasta salad bar with lots of various toppings and everyone can make their own.

Photo Credit: www.frieddandelions.com

Balsamic Bean Salad

Beans may not be your first thought for kids, but many kids are happier with beans than meat (including my son). They are also a great source of protein and fiber!

Photo Credit: anitalianinmykitchen.com

Mediterranean Rice Salad Bowl

This rice salad is a great way to use leftover rice and means it's a super quick dinner kids can make. Add tomatoes and cucumbers to add a little more color to the dish.

Photo Credit: www.therisingspoon.com

Chicken Hummus Naan Wraps

You can find naan at most grocery stores now and they are a great basis for these delicious wraps. Have the kids set up an assembly line for adding ingredients as they make this.

Photo Credit: recipesfromapantry.com

Rainbow Vegetable Tortilla Wrap

Bright and gorgeous colors are so enticing for these tortilla wraps. Kids can help cut the veggies if they are old enough and if not they will still have fun making sure they got all of the colors of the rainbow in each one.

Photo Credit: www.platingpixels.com

Paleo Tuna Salad Nori Wraps

These are a very kid-friendly introduction to sushi! By keeping the ingredients simple and the sushi wrapped in a cone shaped that make it easier for little hands and mouths to eat.

Photo Credit: wholenewmom.com

Easy Grain-free Sushi Recipe you can make for a crowd.

This sushi has a few more ingredients than the last and are made with cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. They are a good next step for kids learning to like additional flavors and textures.

Photo Credit: www.thepetitecook.com

Greek Salad Cucumber Boats

Who knew that cucumbers would be such a tasty vehicle for yummy toppings! Give kids a spoon at let them hollow out each half before they fill them in with yummy tomatoes and olives.

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Filed Under: Cooking With Kids, roundups Tagged With: cooking with kids

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Comments

  1. Carlee says

    April 8, 2020 at 11:00 am

    What a great collection. I’ll have to have Little Dude help me pick a couple to try!

    Reply

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About Me

I’m a mom to 4 very busy world explorers and budding chefs. My blog is inspired by my mixed heritage and the many places my family has lived so far (4 states and 2 countries).

I help families learn about new people and places from around the world through food, travel, and education. I empower families to look beyond their comfort zone and embrace the diverse world around them. Read More…

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