40+ Toddler Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters-Little Sprouts Learning (2024)

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How many times have I heard a parent or daycare provider say “My toddler won’t eat anything?” More times than I can count. Thesetoddler meal ideas for picky eaterscan help!

As a daycare provider for over twenty years, I’m familiar with all the questions parents have about young children and eating healthy meals.

How do I get my picky kids to eat?
What can I feed my picky 2-year-old for dinner?
Do kids outgrow picky eating?

If you’ve found yourself asking these questions, you’re in the right place! Over my years working with toddlers, I’ve learned a few tried and true tricks for nutritious meals that toddlers love and moms approve of.

Some of the meals my toddlers love include:

cheese and crackers
ham sandwiches
nachos
cheese quesadillas
taco soup
sausage biscuits
pasta
vegetable beef soup

What do you do when your child refuses to eat?

There are many seasons when a child’s appetite will go up or down. During the toddler years, it seems like kids don’t eat anything. But there are a few things to remember here.

First, remember that milk and juice are food and if a child is drinking a lot, they may be full from that and not feel hungry. But there are some more successful toddler meals for picky eaters, you just have to find the ones that work!

Second, think about what a child-sized portion is. It’s often just a tablespoon or two. We sometimes overthink the amounts a child should eat. Small portions are enough to fill a toddler-size belly. (Check outhow much your child should be eatinghere.)

Don’t Sweat It

The number one thing to NOT do when your child doesn’t want to eat is to make a big deal out of it. Asking, begging, cajoling, feeling emotional, and nagging a child to eat all cause the child to feel anxious about eating.

You can offer food, but if a child doesn’t want to eat, let it go. They will eat when they are hungry. Here are some ideas tohelp your child eat healthier.

Make sure you are not givingjunk foodsnacks between meals. You might offer some fresh fruit or a piece of cheese.

But if your fussy eater really likes crackers and knows you will give them some later if they don’t eat lunch, they may be waiting for that. Or chips or candy!

So, waiting until mealtime is important. You could make a snack bowl or drawer in the refrigerator with acceptable snacks like apples, oranges, or cheese sticks

Tips for Feeding Picky Toddlers

If you need to feed your entire family without making multiple meals for family dinner, here are a few more tips that work.

Have a Routine

Keeping a routine makes mealtimes more predictable and thus more comfortable for kids. Don’t make separate toddler meals for kids, cook one meal, and eat peacefully.

Make Mealtime Pleasant

If you want your kids to eat, keep the mealtime pleasant, not stressful. Have pleasant conversation at the dinner table. Smile, and enjoy your food.

Mealtime is the best time of the day to connect with your family.

Do Meal Prep Together

More great ways to help kids want to eat is to let themhelp prepare the meal.Kids can put food on a serving plate, set the table, choose side dishes, stir, measure, dump, and do all kinds of fun things.

Even more than cooking isgrowing food. If you have a garden, let kids get involved in tending it. You’ll be surprised at how much it affects what kids want to try.

Make Mealtimes Screen Free

At mealtime turn off the screens. TV, tablets, computers, and phones are huge distractions from eating. Let it be a time to disconnect from those things and connect with each other. Sit down together.

Don’t Stress

Don’t fear that kids will starve. It’s hard not to worry, but kids feel your fear and they will be less likely to loosen up.

They WILL eat when they are hungry. It’s okay. And don’t forget, some kids have sensory disorders or other medical issues that make certain things unappealing.

It’s all a process. If you notice your child hardly eats anything AND they haven’t gained any weight in over 6 months, you might want to ask their doctor. Otherwise, stay the course and it will probably even out.

Don’t Offer Sugar

Lastly, don’t offer sweets as a reward. You’ll get dessert if you eat your broccoli. That doesn’t help build healthy habits in the long run.

And don’t potato pay them, Ore-Ida. Blech. That commercial makes me so mad. Way to sell some future eating disorders. America’s most trusted potato, not anymore. It’s a horrible practice, just don’t.

Toddler Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters

Toddlers do go through times when they are less hungry. When they begin to hit a growth spurt, they will get a bigger appetite.

They will also go through periods where they don’t want certain things such as meat or beans. That’s okay too, just offer other sources of protein such as nuts, seeds, cheese, or yogurt, etc.

Any of those make great toddler meals for picky eaters. As a bonus–adults love them too!

Trying to force a child to eat will definitely backfire. Make sure you are calm and patient with this process.

If you’re worried about a child’s nutrition, there are ways tohide small amounts of healthy food in your meals. There are a fewpicky eater solutionsyou can try here too.

Check outzero to hero nutrition: how to actually get kids to eat healthy foodfor even more tips on getting picky toddlers to eat real food.

Foods for Picky Toddlers

Think about the simple tastes of a toddler when planning something they might eat. It doesn’t have to be complicated and kids usually prefer simpler tastes.

These ideas are perfect for snack time, or even a simple meal:

cheese and crackers
banana slices
grilled cheese sandwich
ham sandwich
cheese sticks
sweet potato chips
vegetables such as cucumbers or zucchini
pasta with butter and salt
cherry tomatoes (cut them in half so they’re not a choking hazard)

You can also addcanned tunaor chicken to pasta to give them some protein. Here are someshredded chicken recipes for picky eaters.

Young kids don’t like a lot of complicated flavors. They usually don’t prefer strong herbs or lots of complexity.

They would rather have plain mac and cheese than a big pasta casserole full of yummy goodness. You can feed them simple meals without just doing hot dogs and frozen fries. And remember there are a lot ofreasons for picky eating, so get to the source of the problem to make your plan.

Kid-Friendly Meals

When it comes to feeding your picky toddler, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. They may not be willing to try new foods. But you can sometimes disguise healthy foods in the middle of their favorite foods! These Healthy Dinner Ideas for Kids are great inspirations that most kids love.

Fries

If your kids only eat fries, try making oven fries. Cut the potatoes like fries and then roast them in the oven at 400 degrees with plenty of salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Sweet potato fries are also a great option for picky eaters.

Pizza

Pizzais a GREAT way to get kids to enjoy some veggies. I love to addgreen powderunder the pasta sauce and hide shredded squash under the cheese.

If you use yellow squash, it’s undetectable. And kids love anything that’s pizza-flavored, am I right?

Here are a few of my go-to pizza recipes:

Pasta

Who doesn’t love pasta? Pasta is a great way to sneak some veggies into your kids’ food.

It doesn’t change the taste, but if you have a child that eats no veggies ever, this can help soothe your momma heart about them getting a few.

Serve up some whole grain pasta with tomato sauce. Another great place to add veggies is to sneak them right into thespaghetti sauce.

What can I give my picky toddler to eat?

There are multiple different ways to get your picky toddler to try a variety of foods. The most important thing is to encourage them to try new foods.

Roasted Vegetables

Most vegetables taste better roasted. I love to roast a big sheet pan of veggies for my kids, especially if they are new to veggies. It helps them learn to like them early. We dobroccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash like butternut, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and so much more.

I’ve even seen people roast beets, radishes, and turnips this way. That’s a big no-thanks for me. But you might like it. These are the very few vegetables that I just do not like no matter how hard I try.

Thisbroccoli rice casserolefull of chicken and cheesy goodness is a great choice too. Kids seem to prefer rice when it’s cheesy.

Stir-Fry Vegetables

Another great way to make veggies taste good is stir-frying. You use super high heat, a little oil, and stir them fast. It gives them a nice crispness that many people prefer.

Remember that a lot of picky eating is related to textures and sensory sensations, so trying different textures can pay off. I have sensory issues myself and I can tell you texture makes a huge difference in what I can eat.

Don’t forget that kids are more likely to try something they are used to. And it takes 11 times of exposure to become a familiar food.

So, don’t give up. Just keep eating and enjoying and modeling good eating habits.

Salads

My kids LOVE mycucumber saladand beg for it. They eat it by the quart. It’s sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced onions, dill, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. It’s a fan favorite at Little Sprouts. I would never think a kid would eat that. But they do.

I love it and made it for myself. They kept begging for it until I had to make 4 large cucumbers at a time so they all got enough.

There is hardly anything that all the kids love, so remember to offer choices.

Add Fruit

We usually have 4-6 choices of fruits and veggies on our table every lunch. I just say you have to pick at least two and ask what they want.

They don’t have to eat two here, but food program rules dictate that two have to be on their plates, so I say pick two.

I usually have one fruit and the rest are freshly sliced cucumbers, carrots, sugar snap peas, cooked frozen corn, cucumber salad,roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower, cooked frozen mixed vegetables, or peas, or something like that.

If you have very young toddlers who don’t have many teeth or are just starting out eating, just microwave or steam those raw veggies for a few minutes. That will make them easier to bite and chew for their toddler meals.

We do this with carrot sticks and it works great. Or you can just serve them cooked from frozen or canned.

You’d be surprised at the volume of fresh fruits and vegetables my kids consume at a meal. These kids are lumberjacks.

But they all go through times and phases where they eat less or hardly eat. I know this happens, so I don’t worry about it.

There are more ideas in thispicky eater food listtoo.

Toddler food ideas

Now let’s get thosetoddler food ideasto make your life more pleasant and get your kids to finally eat. Remember that every child is different and different things will work.

So keep it relaxed and try different things until a few of them stick.

As I have said before, after keeping over 100 kids in my career at home daycare, every child learned to like at least a few more things than when they came. There is an art to it, and pressuring them never works. So remember that when you’re trying.

Don’t get upset if it doesn’t work quickly. It does take time. And when you’re upset, they feel upset and it makes the problem worse. You got this!

Breakfast Ideas for Picky Toddlers

Breakfast can be simple things like flavoredoatmealor cream of wheat with some fruit or fruit and nuts. It can also be a fruit andgranolayogurt parfait.

Finger foods that toddlers can pick up with their hands are always a good idea. Think bacon, sausage, dry cereal, fruit slices, pancakes, French toast sticks, waffles, or cheese cubes.

Thesehealthier blueberry muffins for toddlersare a great kid pleaser.

Eggs

Kids usually love scrambled eggs. Some of them even like boiled eggs, so that’s a great thing to try. I love to make breakfast casseroles, frittatas or quiches.

If your kids would go for something like that, go for it. My kid’s favorite way to eat eggs is scrambled eggs with some shredded cheddar cheese mixed in at the end. We call it cheesy eggs and it’s a winner here.

Boiled eggs are also a good option. I just put a dozen eggs in cold water and a generous sprinkling of salt on the burner.

I set the timer for 25 minutes and the burner on high and they turn out perfectly every time. If I do less than a dozen, they usually get overdone. You may have to adjust for your stove as well.

More Breakfast Options to Try

Cheesy eggs
Scrambled eggs
Egg casserole
Frittata
Quiche
Egg in a nest
Sausagebiscuits
Pancakes
Waffles
French toast sticks
Breakfast pizza-cook some crumbled sausage and some scrambled eggs. Find a crust, either pizza crust premade, make your own, use a tortilla, a bagel or an English muffin. You can spread it with pizza sauce if you like or make a hollandaise sauce. I go without sauce when I make it. Then sprinkle on cooked sausage and eggs, you could also add some cooked spinach or mushrooms, whatever your kids like to eat. Top with some shredded cheddar cheese and bake in a 350 oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Peanut butter and apples
Yogurt parfaits
Toast
Berries
Sliced fruit

Easy Toddler Lunch Ideas

Homemade chicken nuggets-simply take some boneless skinless chicken breast and cut it into chunks. Beat one egg with a splash of water and salt and pepper. In another bowl, add flour and salt and pepper. Roll the chicken chunks in the egg mixture and then in the flour. You can either bake these in the oven on 350 until done through or put a little olive oil in a skillet and brown them that way. They cook super-fast too.
ThisOne Pan Cheeseburger Pastais another favorite easy dinner idea that picky eaters love.
Cheese quesadillas
Chicken quesadillas
Steak quesadillas
Black Bean Quesadilla Recipe
Ham or turkey sandwich
Grilled cheese
Soups-Soups are always a favorite with my kids. They make thisvegetable beef soupall the time and love it, but I haven’t found much I can’t put in soup and they will love it. They love to slurp the juice.
Spaghetti
Sloppy joes using spaghetti sauce on buns
Nachos-pile up whatever toppings you like on your chips, cover in shredded cheddar or cheese of your choice, and then bake in the oven until cheese is bubbly.
Tacos
Bean burritos-This is a lifelong favorite toddler meal of so many of my daycare kids.
Theseham and cheese slidersare so easy and everyone loves them.

Easy Toddler Meals

You don’t need to get fancy when it comes to feeding your toddler. A simple recipe is often better, especially if you’re introducing new tastes.

Here are a few simple, healthy recipes you can whip up in a flash:

Cold plate-chunks of meats and cheeses on a plate with some raw fruits and veggies
Peanut butter and banana tortillas
Cucumber Cream Cheese Tuna Roll Ups

Toddler Dinner Ideas the Whole Family Will Love

You need to feed your picky toddler, but your older kids and the adults need to eat too! These easy dinner ideas are sure to please everyone at your table.

Fried rice-My fried rice recipe is so simple to make and easy to customize to your families’ tastes! Super quick easy meal.
Pulled porksandwiches-toss a pork roast in the crock pot before bed with some bbq rub or just salt and pepper. Cook all night and in the morning shred with two forks. Put back in the crock pot with some ranch seasoning mix or bbq sauce depending on what flavor you want. Serve on a bun
Meatballs
Meatloaf
Tuna Casserole
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Hot pockets
Empanadas
Pizza bagels, English muffin pizzas, tortilla pizzas or regular pizza-use your crust of choice, you can make homemade pizza dough or buy premade crusts. Check out this pizza recipe for ideas.
Pasta
Beef soup for toddlers
Chicken and rice
Chili
Hamburgers or cheeseburgers

Embrace The Picky Toddler Years

Most children aren’t born adventurous eaters. It takes a little time, patience, and practice. Picky eating is a common phase.

Embrace these years, continue to offer your kids good options for healthy foods, and eventually, you’ll see them start to enjoy new foods. Over time you’ll see an adventurous eater emerge and try many new foods!

For more picky eating help, check these out:

Healthy Snacks for Picky Eaters
Healthy Breakfast Recipes for Picky Eaters
Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters
15 Picky Toddler Dinner Ideas
Healthy Dinner Recipes for Picky Eaters
Top 10 Healthy Meals for Picky Eaters
Meatless Meals for Picky Eaters
Getting Picky Kids to Eat Healthy with Hidden Vegetables
Quick and easy dinner ideas that are healthy
4th of July Snacks for Daycare
Easy Dinner Ideas for Kids
12 Easy Toddler Dinner Ideas
11 Easy Tuna Recipes

For more meal ideas, check these out:

lunch ideas for daycare
breakfast ideas for daycare
snack ideas for daycare

And if you’re just looking for a quick dinner idea for kids, check this out. I love simple dinner ideas!

Knowing what to eat to save money is not as complicated as you might think.