Small Plates

27 Kid-Friendly Cooking Projects Your Kids Will Actually Be Into

These easy and exciting recipes get everyone involved.

July 13, 2017

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
1/26
Edible Cookie Dough with Variations
This raw cookie dough is every kid's dream. Once the base is mixed, they can add any toppings they want and mix it all up—and for once, they're allowed to lick the bowl.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks.
2/26
French Bread Pizzas with Mozzarella and Pepperoni
Pizza. French bread. We wish we were kids again just saying that.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
3/26
Sheet-Pan Grilled Cheese
The scene: your child is having a lot of friends over. Feed a crowd and even have a little fun with these grilled cheese sandwiches, which cook in sheet pans and have a secret ingredient (hint: it's usually paired with bagels).
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Dan Forbes
4/26
Chocolate-Dipped Ice Cream Sandwiches
The only thing more fun than slapping these ice cream sandwiches together is dipping them in chocolate and then rolling them in the toppings of your choice.
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Michael Graydon + Nicole Herriott
5/26
Grandma-Style Pizza
Once you have this fresh tomato sauce, the sky's the limit for use. Spoon some onto pizza crusts, or if you're short on time, onto an English muffin and top with a little mozzarella.
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Stephen Danelian
6/26
Fruit Salad with Herb, Citrus, Mint-Maple, or Basic Syrup
Fruit salad's great for the family. While you make the syrup, have the kids toss in the berries, making sure there's one of everything in each bowl!
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Jarren Vink
7/26
Hogs in a Pretzel Blanket
You've met pigs in a blanket, now meet its grown-up older brother.
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Linda Pugliese, food styling by Anna Hampton
8/26
Crunchy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
The best-tasting cookies are the ones you make yourself. You can use chocolate pearls in this dough, but for extra crunch, try adding malted milk balls instead. The kids can use an ice cream scoop to portion out the cookie dough onto a sheet.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Simon Andrews
9/26
Classic Smashed Cheeseburger
While the grown-ups smash the burger patties (and make sound effects, please), the kids can tear the lettuce, stir up the "secret sauce," or toast the burger buns.
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Tatsuro Nishimura, food styling by Rhoda Boone
10/26
Peanut Butter and Grape Smoothie
Forgo the frozen waffles and make these peanut butter–and–grape smoothies for the kids' breakfast. They're filled to the brim with all of the flavors of the classic sandwich, but with extra nutrients.
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Photo by Romulo Yanes
11/26
Black-Bean Quesadillas
Quesadillas are great for that build-your-own kind of evening. Have the kids sprinkle in their favorite ingredients and let the grown-ups do the toasting. There's no age limit for loving the gooey cheese in the middle.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
12/26
Sheet-Pan Eggs
If your little ones get amped about cracking eggs, this is the recipe for them—there are a dozen and a half eggs in here, and they all get whizzed in the blender.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
13/26
Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Squash Boats With Salami, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Spinach
Scraping spaghetti squash "noodles" out of the roasted vegetable is an oddly satisfying task, for kids and adults alike.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
14/26
No-Bake Energy Bites with Oats and Dried Cherries
This mixture is easy enough for kids to handle on their own, aside from mixing in the hot water. They can knead the nut butter into the warm mixture with their hands, then roll the dough into balls.
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