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30 Best Kid Friendly Recipes

Our top 30 kid-friendly recipes will have everyone leaving the dinner table happy, healthy, and full-bellied. What more could you ask for?

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Swedish Meatballs in a pan with a serving spoon

Our Most Popular Family-Friendly Recipes, Under One Roof! You're Welcome.

We can all use a win in the kitchen every now and then, especially when it comes to being able to quickly prepare meals that our whole family will enjoy. With that in mind, we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up our top 30 kid-friendly recipes that will have everyone leaving the dinner table happy, healthy, and full-bellied. What more could you ask for?

Quick Easy Chicken Noodle Soup in a bowl with a spoon
Chicken Tortilla Soup in a bowl with avocado and tortilla strips

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Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup With Sausage And Kale in a pot with a ladle.
Easy Chicken Ramen Soup with soft boiled eggs

Soup For Everyone!

Slurpable and simmering, soups are the ultimate kid friendly dinners!

  • This comforting and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup uses our favorite rotisserie chicken hack and tastes like love in a bowl making it one of our favorite, easy family-friendly meals.
  • My kids love crushing chips and piling on all the cheese atop this Smoky Tortilla Soup, while I enjoy some bright cilantro and cubed avocado. This is one of our best kid friendly meals.
  • This Tortellini Soup with Italian Sausage and Kale practically broke the internet when it debuted and might just be one of the best quick and kid friendly dinner ideas out there. For more ideas on how to get dinner on the table fast, check out our Best Quick Dinner Ideas.
  • Our easy Chicken Ramen Soup is a favorite in my house. My kids love the long, slurpable noodles, and I love that I’m not loading them with sodium from those preservative-laden seasoning packets.
  • This Tomato Bisque with fried cheese is a fresh take on a classic pairing that makes for a dunkable, fun, and kid-friendly meal that is sure to end the day with smiles.
Chicken Terryaki Sushi Bowl with cucumber and avocado
Chicken Fajita Burrito Bowl
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajita with tortillas

The Best of The Bowls

These bowls get lots of really good (and good for you) stuff into one compact little package, and are one of our simple weeknight dinner staples. A lot of them can be prepped ahead making for some quick dinner ideas for kids!

  • We’re obsessed with this Chicken Teriyaki Sushi Bowl. Shredded seaweed, thinly sliced cucumber, creamy chunks of avocado, and of course that sriracha mayo all add up to one incredibly tasty take on dinner. We serve all the deconstructed parts to our kids and they love it!
  • Brown rice and black beans kick of this loaded Chicken Fajita Burrito Bowl that’s topped with our Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas and alllll the toppings for a completely customizable dish even picky eaters will chow.
Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders With Buttermilk Ranch
Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf With Sweet Glaze
Steak Bites And Sweet Potatoes with curry aioli whole 30 approved
Classic Cheeseburger With Secret Sauce

Kid Friendly Dinner Recipes: Updated Classics

These classic dishes may sound familiar, but we’ve upped their flavor, healthfulness, and kid-approvedness (thats a word right?) in a big way.

  • What’s crunchy and juicy and keto all over? These Baked Pecan Chicken Tenders, that’s what! Serve them with a side of homemade buttermilk ranch and your kids just might think they’ve died and gone to heaven.
  • This Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf is protein packed and full of lots of veggies. And the best part? Your kids will never know just how healthy it is….muhahahaha!
  • These Steak Bites with Sweet Potatoes are perfectly sized for little mouths and, as an added bonus, are paleo-friendly! Healthy and delicious is something we can all get behind.
  • Everyone loves a juicy cheeseburger and we think our Classic Cheeseburger with Secret Sauce is the best!
Perfect Roast Chicken With Lemon Herb Pan Sauce in a cast iron pan with a spoon
Chicken Tenders With Honey Mustard
Roasted Chicken With Cabbage
Mediterranean Meatball With Tzatziki with pita
Swedish Meatballs over mashed potatoes on a plate gravy
Baked Teriyaki Meatballs With Roasted Broccoli
Turkey Meatballs in a Red Curry Sauce

Who Doesn’t Love a Good Meatball?

They’re savory, flavor-packed, and so customizable. They also happen to be some of the most kid friendly food around.

white enamel pot filled with stovetop mac and cheese
Easy Stuffed Pasta Shells in a pan with tomato sauce and mozzarella

For The Pasta Lovers.

Kids and noodles were made for each other. We love making these dishes to our little ones and watching their mouths begin to drool with anticipation.

baked chicken quesadillas served with guacamole, fresh pico de Gallo, sour cream and guacamole on a plate
Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs

¡Olé!

Mexican-inspired meals are amongst the most family-friendly, kid-approved meals out there and these dishes are no exception.

  • Our Baked Chicken Quesadillas is at the top of our list for easy kids friendly dinners! They are a great way to make lots of cheesy and crispy quesadillas in a hurry—no standing over the stove required!
  • Marinated Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs make for the perfect prep-ahead meal for a dinner that's as quick as it is satisfying.
  • These Beef Empanadas make for a really fun (and tasty!) way to get kids involved in the kitchen.
  • In the mood for fajitas? We’ve got you! Whether you opt for these Easy Steak Fajitas, or keep it really simply with our Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas. Both are healthy kid friendly dinners that you just can’t go wrong with!

Did Your Picky Eater Love One of These Dinners?

If you decide to whip up any of these kid-approved meals we’d love to hear if they were a win! Be sure to post your dish to Instagram and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can admire your handiwork and do a happy dance along with you. Happy eating!

30 Best Kid Friendly Recipes

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • will

    looks good for the food that's there

  • August

    put pizza on the list

    haha! For sure

  • Bekah

    My two toddlers and husband gobbled up the Mediterranean meatballs but I hoarded the leftovers for myself! So delish!! Thanks for a great recipe we all loved.

    Thanks Bekah! We are so happy that the whole family loved them! Sometimes, you have to hoard the leftover, we get it!

  • Susie

    Nice recipes! Do you have more vegetable-based child-friendly ones? Trying our best to cut back on meat and dairy for the climate...

    If you search vegetarian on our site it will pull up our meat-free recipes. Some great ones kids would probably enjoy (depending on your kids' preferences) would be the vegetarian chili, vegetarian burrito bowl, vegetarian enchilada skillet (just omit the cheese), and the coconut curry zoodle ramen is a delicious fun one. Hope this helps!

  • hi

    you are amazing

    Awe thanks!

  • Kelley

    Amazing ideas! Pasta with tomato cream sauce is a constant in our house! We love it! So good for kids! I omit the crushed red pepper and add it later to my plate.

    Thanks Kelley, happy we could help!

  • April

    I made the turkey meatballs in the red curry sauce tonight. They were delicious! My kids loved them and so did I! I subbed in oyster sauce for the fish sauce since the store didn’t have fish sauce in stock. This one’s a winner for sure!

    Thank you April, we are so glad you and your family loved them!

  • August

    good

    Thanks August!

  • Maya

    These are most appealing and appetizing meals I have ever seen anywhere. All of them are something I want to make! You need to make a cookbook!!! Would love to this at my physical fingertips! Amazing!!! Feeling blessed to come across your site, I am so over cooking for my family of 5 but now I have new meals to try thanks to you!!!

  • Carol

    Thank you, I am a Nonna who is cooking kids meals two nights a week and really needed some suggestions to add to my own repertoire. I clicked through and save the ones I need.