Kids in the Kitchen
Find fun cooking ideas and more to do with kids of all ages.
Table of Contents
Creative Endeavors
Ask your kids to imagine what their dream meals—breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert—would look like. Have them decorate their own menus with these foods with art supplies, and older kids may be interested in trying their hand at graphic design. You can create menus with Adobe Express.
Play Time
Encourage kids to play restaurant or grocery store with all the food and kitchen toys they have. They can design the menu for what their restaurant serves and set up the restaurant however they want. Continue the creativity with table decorating. Kids can set the table, design place-mats and decorate with centerpieces, flowers, candles and whatever else they see fit. Since this is a special occasion, break out the fancy china and glasses! Food served can include toys, or have them make the items out of play dough. Shop the aisles at the grocery store and run the items up at the cash register.
Cooking Competition
Compete and star in your own family cooking challenge. Pair kids and adults together. Write down cuisines, such as Mexican, Italian or Greek, and different ingredients you have on hand. Put the categories in two different hats, and create a meal using your chosen cuisine and ingredient.
Science Experiment
Make ice cream in a plastic bag and explore the concept of freezing.
- Materials: ¼ cup sugar, ½ cup milk, ½ cup whipping cream, ¼ tsp. vanilla, 1 quart zipper-top bag, 1 gallon zipper-top bag, 2 cups ice, thermometer, ½-¾ cup sodium chloride (table or rock salt)
- Add sugar, milk, whipping cream and vanilla to the quart bag. Seal.
- Put ice in the gallon bag.
- Using a thermometer, measure and record the temperature of the ice.
- Add salt to the bag of ice.
- Place the quart bag in the gallon bag of ice and salt. Seal.
- Rock the gallon bag from side to side. Hold it by the top seal, or wear gloves to protect yourself from the coldness of the bag. Rock for 10-15 minutes until the contents of the bag have solidified into ice cream.
- Measure and record the temperature of the ice/salt mixture with the thermometer before digging in.
See full instructions and an explanation here.
Check out our other ideas for how to make homemade ice cream.
In the Kitchen
Check out kids’ cooking videos on YouTube. New Sky Kids make Oreo Cookie Balls, Nutella Emoji Cookies, French Bread Pizza and more. Combine pop culture favorites and recipes with Rosanna Pansino. WhatsUpMoms has delicious recipe ideas, including an Easter Egg Granola Bars to help you celebrate Easter at home.
Math Skills
Measurements and fractions in a recipe are scary as an adult! Work together to double or half a recipe, which will help you and your child with division and multiplication skills.
Dinner is Served
Have the kids help you make a delicious dinner.
Giada De Laurentiis’ Spaghetti Nests:
- Ingredients: butter, salt, 8 oz. spaghetti, 2 cups spinach, ¼ plus ⅓ cups
Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp. milk, 1 egg, 2 cups marinara sauce and 12 mozzarella balls - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of four 4″ spring-form pans.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the pasta, and add spinach, Parmesan, oil and ½ tsp. salt. Toss well until the spinach is wilted.
- To assemble: Beat the Parmesan, milk, salt and egg together until smooth. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti. Twirl the spaghetti mixture together and transfer to prepared pans. Make an indentation (like a nest) and drizzle with olive oil before baking for 15 minutes.
- Spoon marinara sauce onto 4 serving plates. Place spaghetti nests on the sauce and place mozzarella balls in each nest before serving.
Life in the Lofthouse’s Taco Pizza:
- Ingredients: 1 lb. lean ground beef, 1 envelope taco seasoning mix, 10 oz. can pizza dough, 16 oz. can refried beans, 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup chopped tomatoes, ¼ cup sliced black olives and 4 chopped green onions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning.
- Unroll pizza dough onto a cookie sheet, letting sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Press dough over the bottom and along all 4 sides of cookie sheet. Bake pizza dough for 8-10 minutes.
- Heat refried beans in microwave. Spread evenly over the pizza crust. Top with ground beef, sprinkle with cheese and add tomatoes, black olives and green onions.
- Return to oven, baking for 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Betsy Life’s Waffle Grilled Cheese Fried Chicken Sandwich:
- Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. salt, 8 tsp. baking powder, 4 tbsp. sugar, 4 eggs, 3 cups warm milk, ¾ cup melted butter, 4 pre-cooked chicken strips thinly sliced, ½ cup arugula and 1 cup fontina cheese (or make this recipe using frozen waffles)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl, whisk together milk, butter and eggs. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture until fully combined.
- Spoon batter into waffle iron and cook until done. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Heat a skillet. Butter the outside of two waffle halves.
- Place waffle butter side down in the skillet. Top with cheese, chicken and arugula before placing the other waffle half. Cook until waffle becomes crispy and cheese melts.
