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Cooking and baking with kids is about more than just a yummy treat. It provides you with a great opportunity to develop their language as well as understanding of broader concepts.
To get the most out of these easy recipes for kids to make, try to narrate and discuss all that is happening in rich language whenever you can. And try to relax – sure it’s going to be messy, but you know the drill when you work in early years..
Depending on the little ones’ age range, it’s often a good idea to pre-measure ingredients and only leave the dumping in part to your eager chefs.
Source: Kidspot
In a nutshell: Believe it or not – artful Instagram shots are not the only reason these delicious treats exist. They also make an easy and nutritious snack! Even better, it’s one of these easy recipes for kids to make basically on their own.
Toast some muesli and present your little ones with bowls full of different kinds of fresh berries and nuts. They will definitely enjoy being able to match and mix their favourite choices and create beautiful layers.
What you need:
Source: Eats Amazing
In a nutshell: This recipe is not only a healthy alternative to sweets, it also works great with some early years skills.
Wait, kebabs supporting EYFS? That’s right! Here it goes: print cards with fruits in different orders for kids to recreate in real life (identifying patterns) while threading the fruits on the skewers (fine motor skills). Tada!
Once all the kebabs are done, place them on a lined tray, drizzle them with a mix of honey and yoghurt and pop them in the freezer for approximately half an hour. Waiting for them adds to the little ones’ excitement. Even better, this delicious dessert is a fun contribution to your 5-a-day.
What you need:
Source: My Bored Toddler
In a nutshell: It’s one of these amazing, one-bowl recipes for kids to make that are a great introduction to baking. After all, who needs to mash the bananas with a fork in a separate bowl when you have so many eager, tiny hands around?
Ultimately, you just mix a bunch of ingredients together, leave it in an oven for 40 mins and you’ve got yourself a cake! Magic. And even though it’s that simple, you can still use a lot of new words to describe the process, like stir, mix, fold, half, full, preheat, add, and bake.
What you need:
Source: Super Healthy Kids
In a nutshell: Take a look at these mouthwatering, healthy and easy recipes for kids to make, featuring all kinds of dips for veggies, fruits and snacks.
We might be cheating a bit here – kids probably shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the food processor or blender which most of these delish dips require. But what they can do is cut fruits and veggies (especially the ones that they are not the biggest fans of – dips make everything tastier) and arrange them on plates.
Otherwise, let the little ones mash the dips’ ingredients with their fingers or forks and hope that no one minds a bit of chunkiness here and there.
What you need:
Source: Kidspot
In a nutshell: This is a healthier alternative to the classic cookie balls. Yes, it involves a food processor or a blender again but only for a little bit.
After all, once you mix all the ingredients and freeze the dough for an hour, someone still has to use their motor skills and roll it into cute, little balls and then stick them on some ice cream sticks to create the choc pops!
What you need:
Source: Amy's Healthy Baking
In a nutshell: While whisking all the ingredients together can be a lot of fun on its own, the best part of making cut-out cookies is, well…the cutting out part.
Encourage kids to use different objects around them to create unique cookie shapes, like LEGO blocks (check out our piece on how else you can use these timeless toys in your nursery) or bottle lids. What’s more, rolling the dough engages a lot of those important little muscles making it a great gross motor skill exercise too.
What you need:
Source: Raising Whasians
In a nutshell: This fish and seaweed free ‘sushi’ makes a perfect, nutritious snack for pickier taste buds. Slice up the cucumbers and let the little chefs hollow out the centre with a melon baller (if you have one laying around) or a spoon. Next, show the kids how to stuff the cucumber with rolls of cheese, meat, and carrots. Enjoy!
What you need:
Source: Recipe Runner
In a nutshell: This recipe creates a particularly playful experience as you get to set up a whole station with three stands – one for cutting bananas in half and sticking them on ice lolly sticks, one for rolling them in yoghurt and one for dipping the bananas in all kinds of nuts and berries (or sprinkles if the kids are in for a sweet treat).
As it turns out, it’s not just one of those easy recipes for kids to make completely by themselves but also, the whole process becomes a great turn-taking activity.
What you need:
Source: Super Healthy Kids
In a nutshell: This is a sweet and innocent way of sneaking in some spinach to your little ones’ diet. While you may want to use the recipe author’s suggestion of using alternative names for the treat (Hulk Muffins, Green Goblins, Monster Muffins or Frog Muffins), do not worry about the taste – these muffins are absolutely delicious and do not require much effort.
Spooning the batter into the cupcake liners is a good opportunity to introduce children to how different ingredients (e.g. baking powder and soda) affect the baking results.
What you need:
Source: Eats Amazing
In a nutshell:This might be our favourite one of these easy recipes for kids to make. It’s simple, colourful, healthy and involves a whole buffet of different ingredients which kids can choose from.
Plus, your little ones’ future lunches will be so bright and joyful if they learn how to properly fold tortillas at such a young age. You’d be surprised how few people around the Famly office lunch table can perform this very simple task.
What you need:
Guidance from the Danish Health Ministry, translated in full to English.
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The full recommendations from a working group of over 70 nursery chains in the UK.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
