A balanced and healthy diet is essential for growing kids. But kids usually are fussy about food and can have erratic eating habits. Kids can be opinionated and may have their strong likes and dislikes. In today’s modern time’s kids are mostly hung up on junk food and it can be quite a task to get your kid to eat vegetables and beneficial foods.
Vegetarian Recipes that your Child will Love
Here is a collection of some kid-friendly vegetable recipes that your child may love to eat. Let’s begin with a few vegetarian breakfast recipes for kids:
1. Banana French Toast
Serving this delicious and flavourful dish may be the perfect way to start your kid’s day!
Ingredients
- A banana preferably ripe
- 1 cup milk (unsweetened)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- 3-4 slices of wheat bread
- A splash of vanilla extract
- Maple syrup or honey for topping (optional)
How to Cook
- Mash the ripe banana in a large bowl.
- Add the milk, cinnamon powder, vanilla extract and mix it well.
- In case the batter appears to be lumpy add more milk till it thins out till it is flowing consistency.
- Keep the batter aside for some time while you heat a pan over medium heat.
- Coat the surface of the pan generously with butter and place the slices of bread on the pan after dipping them into the batter.
- Cook adequately on each side or until golden brown. Take care while flipping the bread slices as the banana batter can be quite sticky.
- Serve hot with desired toppings.
Cooking Time
20 minutes or less
Servings
Serves 2-3
2. Cheesy Spinach Sandwich
Packed with the goodness of cheese and spinach not only are these sandwiches healthy but will leave your kid asking for more.
Ingredients
- 6-8 slices of wheat bread
- 50 grams processed cheese
- 20-30 blanched spinach leaves finely chopped
- Butter
- 2 tbsp refined flour
- 2 tbsp milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Cook
- Take a nonstick pan and melt some butter in it.
- Add the refined flour and cook lightly
- Pour the milk and continuously stir to avoid lumps from forming.
- As the sauce thickens add the spinach, salt, pepper and mix well.
- Remove the pan from the heat and put the sauce in a bowl.
- Grate the cheese into the sauce and mix well.
- Spread the sauce on the bread slices evenly.
- You can toast the bread slices before serving them hot.
Cooking Time
25-30 minutes
Servings
Serves 4
3. Chickpea Flour Scramble
You can stir up this healthy and delicious dish in no time, which may soon become your family’s favourite breakfast meal too.
Ingredients
For the chickpea batter:
- ½ cup chickpea flour or ½ cup of besan
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1/8 salt
- A generous amount of black pepper
Veggies:
- A clove of garlic
- ¼ cup chopped onions
- 2 tbsp chopped tomatoes or red bell pepper
- 2 tbsp each of green bell pepper, asparagus, zucchini or any desired veggies
- ½ green chilli (optional)
- Olive oil
How to Cook
- Mix all the ingredients listed for the chickpea batter well and keep aside.
- Grab a pan and heat some oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and onions and cook for few minutes or till soft
- Throw in the veggies and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes or red bell pepper.
- Pour the chickpea batter and cook for another 2 minutes or till the edges start to leave the sides of the pan.
- Scramble up the assortment till the mixture is doughy and messy.
- Remove from heat and if required break the mixture into smaller chunks.
- Generously sprinkle black pepper and serve with multigrain toast.
- You can also serve this mixture stuffed in tacos.
Cooking Time
20 minutes
Servings
Serves 2
4. Chocolate Smoothies
Most kids may get tempted to eat a certain food if it’s laced with chocolate. This chocolate smoothie offers the right mix of good taste and healthy ingredients.
Ingredients
- A banana
- ¼ cup chocolate
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup milk
How to Cook
- Simply blend all the ingredients into a smooth, creamy mixture.
- Top it with chocolate chips or sprinkle some cocoa powder.
Cooking Time
5 minutes
Servings
Serves 1
5. Oven Sweet Potato Fries
Kids love fries and the combination of making them out of sweet potatoes and baking them in the oven makes fries yummy, extra nutritious and healthy at the same time. This high fibre and low-calorie treat is bound to be a success!
Ingredients
For baked tofu:
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
How to Cook
- Preheat oven to 230 degrees C.
- Toss sweet potato wedges with oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread the wedges out on a baking sheet.
- Bake until browned and tender, turning once or for about 20 minutes.
- Serve with ketchup or any other preferred dip.
Cooking Time
25 minutes
Servings
Serves 2
6. Tomato Butter Spaghetti
This easy to prepare healthy dish is sure to bring a smile to your kid’s face.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 4 tbsp butter
- 8 oz cooked spaghetti
- Fresh basil leaves
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper
- Finely grated cheese for topping (optional)
How to Cook
- Take a pan and heat oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and sauté till they turn soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes and continue to cook till the tomatoes break down.
- Season with pepper and salt.
- Pour in the butter and add the oregano.
- Let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Taste and adjust it as preferred.
- Serve over cooked spaghetti or pasta garnished with grated cheese.
Cooking Time
20 minutes
Servings
Serves 4
7. Mexican Tortilla Bake
Embrace this easy to make baked vegetarian lunch recipe for kids. You can hide all the healthy stuff under a delectable sauce which your kids are bound to love.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews (soaked and blended with water)
- ¾ cup yogurt
- 2 cups salsa
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 215 oz black bean (rinsed and drained)
- 2 cups sweet corn
- 8-9 small corn tortillas
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup water
How to Cook
- To prepare the sauce mix 1 cup salsa, yogurt, paprika, cumin, salt, water to the cashew paste and blend it well.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a casserole dish with oil.
- Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the dish’s bottom with a spoon.
- Place the cut tortillas over the sauce and add the black beans.
- Pour the other cup of salsa over the beans and smear them evenly.
- Layer the corn and spread another 1/3 of the sauce on the corn and spread it lightly.
- Cover the dish with a piece of foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes till the cheese starts to get firm.
- Garnish with fresh green onion before serving.
Cooking Time
45 minutes
Servings
Serves 6
8. Veggie Noodles
Try this noodle dish for a great vegetarian dinner recipes for kids!
Ingredients
- 8-ounce package noodles
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tsp chopped ginger
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ salt
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 16-ounce bag of stir-fried veggies
How to Cook
- Cook the noodles as per the directions on the package.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over high heat.
- Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute,
- Stir in the vegetables and cook till the vegetables for about 5 minutes.
- Mix the soy sauce and continue to cook.
- Add the cooked noodles and mix well.
- Taste and season as preferred.
- Remove the pan from fire and add the sesame oil and mix well.
- Transfer to a plate and serve hot.
Cooking Time
15 minutes
Servings
Serves 4
9. Lemon Doughnuts
Your kid may thank you for introducing him to this divine dish which tastes sweet and tangy.
Ingredients
For the doughnuts:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- Lemon zest
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
- ¾ tsp lemon juice
For the lemon glaze:
- 1 cup sugar (powdered)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Lemon zest (optional)
How to Cook
- Preheat the oven to 375*F and if required grease the doughnut mould.
- Whisk together water and ground flax seeds and let it rest for some time.
- In a bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon zest and mix well.
- In another bowl mix the melted coconut oil, milk, lemon juice and add the flax mixture.
- Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients to combine well. Avoid mixing too much.
- Pour the mixture into each doughnut mould and bake for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the doughnuts cool for some time.
- In the meantime, to make the glaze mix powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice together to form a liquid glaze.
- Pour this lemon glaze over the cooled doughnuts before serving.
Cooking Time
25 minutes
Servings
Serves 6
10. Sweet Carrots
This wonderful halwa is a great way to offer your kids the goodness of carrots.
Ingredients
- 9-10 carrots
- 4 cups milk
- 4 tbsp ghee
- 10-12 tbsp sugar
- 20-25 cashews
- 4-5 green cardamom (powdered)
- Handful of raisins
- Saffron strands
How to Cook
- Grate the rinsed and peeled carrots in a food processor.
- In a deep pan combine grated carrots and milk.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat and bring it to a boil.
- Let the mixture simmer and keep stirring it as the milk will start to reduce.
- When the milk considerably reduces add sugar, ghee, powdered cardamom.
- Continue to cook on low heat till all the milk evaporates.
- Garnish with cashews and raisins.
- You serve the carrot halwa hot or even cold.
Cooking Time
2 hours
Servings
Serves 6
The nutritional requirements of a child are generally more than an adult. Therefore, it’s very important to encourage your child to have a variety of green vegetables, fresh fruits, proteins and healthy beverages. In case your little ones are selective when it comes to eating, you may like to try cooking healthy dishes in a way that appeals to them so you are assured that they are getting their daily required nutritional intake.
