Delish editors handpick every product we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.
Looking for healthy dinners your whole family can enjoy? Look no further than these kid-friendly meals. This list is chock-full of delicious favorites with tricks and hacks to make them healthier so you can feel good about serving them. Your kids won’t know what hit them!
Here at Delish we LOVE swapping cauliflower and zucchini into our favorite pasta dishes, and we’ve turned to them to make these kid-friendly meals healthier too. Favorites like mac & cheese, lasagna, grilled cheese, and pizza can be made low-carb and delicious. Even your pickiest eaters will want seconds.
We’ve snuck in other veggies too, like in our broccoli cheese pasta and sweet potato gnocchi. While we haven’t hidden them away too much, we have made what surrounds them so delicious your kids will forget they’d usually turn up their noses. Take our stuffed peppers or bell pepper nachos—adding a little novelty by using peppers as bowls or dippers gets kids excited to eat them. Kids flip over the concept of breakfast over dinner too, so we’ve included a breakfast strata and keto breakfast casserole full of good-for-them broccoli rabe, spinach, and mushrooms.
Sometimes all it takes for kids to get down with a new food is to get them involved in making it. Let them help with assembly on our vegan crunchwraps, or just pick their own toppings for our beef chili or black bean tostadas. Those in your family who want the works can have it, while your kid that hates everything can go plain. You never know, the option of more might entice them to try something new.
For more recipes for kids, check out our favorite school lunches or our all-time favorite kid-friendly recipes too.
Air Fryer Pork Chops
Due to the intense heat circulation that happens in the air fryer, the outside of these chops crisps slightly while the inside stays nice and juicy. 20 minutes later — most of it hands-off time — and it's basically instant dinner.
Get the Air Fryer Pork Chops recipe.
5-Ingredient Black Bean Tostadas
With only 5 ingredients these black bean tostadas are the easiest and fastest meal to throw together. You can always add on additional toppings like corn salsa, avocado ranch, or endless crunchy veggies like radishes or pickled red onions, but here we keep things simple.
Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps
In our attempt to copy the P.F. Chang's fan favorite, we flavored ground chicken with hoisin sauce (a fermented bean paste that gives the chicken the quintessential Chinese-American flavor), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, and sesame oil. Skip the Sriracha if your kids don't like spice.
Get the Copycat Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Crispy chicken tenders without the deep fryer? YES! These air fryer chicken strips only need 10 minutes to get golden and crispy. The honey mustard dipping sauce can be stirred together during that time to make this a fast, kid-friendly meal.
Get the Air Fryer Chicken Tenders recipe.
Keto Mac & Cheese
If you're trying to cut carbs, you know there are a lot of no-nos in classic mac & cheese. This version takes out all the trouble ingredients (ahem, PASTA) without sacrificing flavor. The pork rind topping is totally optional, but we think it adds a pleasant crunch.
Get the Keto Mac & Cheese recipe.
Roasted Vegetable Baked Falafel Sandwiches
Although these shortcut falafel aren’t as crispy as the classic fried variety, they develop a nice golden crust and contain all the key spices. A zippy roasted pepper salad is the perfect foil, and creamy tahini sauce (aka tarator sauce) ties it all together.
Garlicky Lemon Baked Tilapia
Tilapia has a very mild fish taste and is a great way to get your non-fish eaters to love it. We cooked ours in plenty of butter, lemon, and garlic to make it bright and fresh.
Get the Garlicky Lemon Baked Tilapia recipe.
Vegan Crunchwraps
Creamy vegan queso dip and meaty lentils make a satisfying filling while a quick trip in a hot skillet adds crunch to every bite. To make them a little faster, make the lentils up to 4 days ahead, the queso the day before, and prep your lettuce and tomatoes the morning of. When it's time to eat, grab an extra set of little hands to make assembly a snap.
Get the Vegan Crunchwraps recipe.
One-Pot Broccoli Cheese Pasta
This creamy pasta is kind of the grown-up version of mac & cheese, but even easier and better. The broccoli is in no way hidden, but it's still a great way to sneak in an extra serving of greens, and even the pickiest of eaters will eat their vegetables if they are coated in cheese.
Get the One-Pot Broccoli Cheese Pasta recipe.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Because these are made of slightly healthier sweet potatoes, you can go a little wilder with the sauce and toppings. Serve your gnocchi either boiled or seared, in a caramelized sauce of bacon fat, butter, maple syrup (skip the bourbon for kids) or in a simple cacio e pepe finish like in this potato gnocchi recipe.
Get the Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe.
Turkey Burger
Kids love burgers, no doubt about it, but us adults know that perhaps a burger isn't the best everyday choice. Enter the turkey burger. This easy recipe hits all of the key flavor points and satisfies even the most discerning of kids. Serve with oven-baked fries for a real fast-food-style treat.
Get the Turkey Burger recipe.
Cauliflower Baked Ziti
OK, fine. There's not actually any ziti in this recipe. But your kids honestly won't even notice. The roasted cauliflower does a solid job of replacing the pasta.
Get the Cauliflower Baked Ziti recipe.
Baked Tofu
Tofu gets a bad rap for being flavorless, boring, and at times undesirably rubbery—but the hate is SO undeserved. We tried a number of different methods to get the most crispy and flavorful tofu possible here—try them all to see which is your favorite.
Get the Baked Tofu recipe.
Turkey Meatloaf
Healthier ground turkey recipes have a bad rep for being bland and boring. But this meatloaf is LOADED with flavor. How? Worcestershire garlic, rosemary, and thyme. The herbs are our favorite part. We love rosemary and thyme but you can fee free to add any you and your family prefer.
Get the Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
Oven-Fried Chicken
This fried chicken has all the flavor of the original, without the mess of frying! Your family will freak over the Dijon, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, and honey sauce too.
Get the Oven-Fried Chicken recipe.
Burrito Zoodles
Kids LOVE zucchini noodles. These are one of our favorite iterations, topped with all our favorite burrito toppings. Your kids will slurp these down in no time.
Get the Burrito Zoodles recipe.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
This is possibly our favorite use of cauliflower as a culinary master of disguise. Top this with your kid's favorite pizza toppings!
Get the Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe.
Vegan Meatballs
These chickpea based meatballs pack tons of flavor, come together quickly, and even provide a good amount of protein and fiber. Once baked, these balls have a near-perfect texture—your kids won't know they're not meat!
Get the Vegan Meatballs recipe.
Homemade Beef Chili
Our chili takes only 40 minutes to make, and can be jazzed up with as many toppings as you like. Kids love being able to pick and choose what THEY like, so set up a DIY toppings bar for this chili. Bonus? It tastes even better next day!
Get the Homemade Beef Chili recipe.
Cheesy Ground Beef Tacos
Enjoy the perfect combination of cheesy and beefy goodness with these unreal tacos. We promise you'll be so obsessed with this zesty, flavorful filling, you'll want to eat it with a spoon. Use whatever ground beef you like best. We usually go with 80% lean 20% fat.
Get the Cheesy Ground Beef Tacos recipe.
Hot Fudge Sundae
Homemade Hot Fudge
20 Kid-Friendly Summer Snacks
7 Meals That Everyone In Your Family Will Love
