Top Dinner Recipes for Picky Eaters

Find the all-time best dinner recipes for picky eaters with easy options ranging from pizza and mac and cheese to tacos and nuggets. Plus: Each is nutritious, affordable, and delish for any age.

While it is true that no two picky eaters are alike, it’s also true that there is usually a sweet spot across toddler recipes that most picky eaters will enjoy.

These dinner recipes for picky eaters are my best kid-friendly recipes for favorite meals including nuggets, pizza, mac and cheese, pasta, and more—but with the nutrition parents want.

With easy methods, versatile ingredient lists, and endless options to customize them for the very real preferences of the kid you have, this list is meant to help you feed your picky eater with a little more ease.

(You may also like my super simple 3-ingredient recipes, healthy toddler breakfasts, toddler lunch ideas, and my go-to healthy snacks to make at home.)

Cheeseburger Pasta

This is one of those easy weeknight dinners or healthy family meals that works as well for a toddler as it does for the rest of the family. The pieces can be picked up and eaten as finger foods, but the flavors are nuanced enough for adults to appreciate, too.

Rice Balls with Veggies

It can be challenging for toddlers to eat grains like rice and quinoa, but turning them into rice balls is such a win! This is a fun meal for any age, but it makes eating rice much easier for little kids, so it’s in my list of top easy toddler meals.

Quick Pastina Soup

With just vegetables, broth, and pasta, you can make this nutritious Pastina Soup in under 30 minutes. This is extra nourishing for anyone dealing with a cold or illness, too!

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

This is one of our favorite kids pasta recipes because it’s both yummy and easy. And it works with just about any shape of pasta your kids like, so you can let them pick a shape or use one you’re in the mood for.

Favorite Buttered Noodles

It will come as no shock, I am sure, to learn my kids love plain pasta. They, like most kids, often have changing preferences for pasta sauces, and while we do a lot of Extra-Veggie Pasta, Spinach Pesto, Kale Pesto, and Zucchini Pasta Sauce, we also regularly have buttered pasta in the mix, too.

Favorite Pizza Rolls (with Veggies)

I like to add a little fresh spinach to my Pizza Rolls recipe to amp up the nutrition—especially since I find that my kids don’t care as much about greens when they’re in a recipe that they otherwise love.

Favorite Pizza Pinwheels

The beauty of this kid-friendly recipe is that it’s easy to make and also easy to freeze so you can have your own stash of heat-and-eat freezer meals ready and waiting.

Easy Snack Dinner

I love this easy concept because it’s so easy to make one big platter for the whole family to share, or individual plates for each kiddo. And: You can use up so many items you already have in the house!

Easy Taco Roll-ups

This is a fun yet easy way to vary up how we serve the basic ingredients of a quesadilla and refried beans—or smashed pinto beans. Both options hold the tortilla together, which is nice here.

Quick Pasta with Peas

I keep frozen peas in the freezer and pasta in the pantry so I can make this whenever it’s on our menu. You can of course add chicken, diced steak, or shrimp—or another protein—on the side. It’s super versatile.

Easy Mac and Cheese Bites

To make this really easy, I start with a box of mac and cheese, then add stir in an egg and optional veggies with a spoon. (You don’t even need a separate bowl!) They bake up in about 10 minutes and are a fun food that the kids can eat with their hands.

Rice Noodle Soup

I love this recipe because there’s minimal chopping, and it’s incredibly versatile. You can change the type of noodles according to what you find at the store and alter the protein and veggies as you like. You can use chicken broth or my homemade Vegetable Broth.

Fish Stick Tacos

These rely on frozen fish sticks to take the work out of preparing the fish. Surround them with classic taco toppings according to how each person enjoys their plate.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets (with Sweet Potato)

I know many kids love chicken nuggets, and they are a great option for easy meals that are filled with nutrients, including protein. And this homemade version also has sweet potato, for more flavor and nutrition.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These pancakes are delicious right after making them, or you can let the pancakes cool and store in the fridge or freezer to warm for future easy meals.

Best Tips for Success

• Check my post on what to do when you have a toddler not eating to make sure you know what’s normal.
• Refresh your memory on how to help toddlers try new foods.
• Focus on connection, easy conversation, and being together when you serve these dinner ideas for picky eaters, not counting bites. (No one likes pressure at the table!)
• Remember that every human has eating preferences and it’s normal for our kids to have them, too.
• Try not to call the kids “picky eaters” to their faces as it has an overall negative connotation that probably won’t help the situation!

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