Which cookbook you choose will also largely depend on your child’s tastes, preferences, and age. Nothing will get them more excited to cook with you than to cook the food they love most. We researched a variety of cookbooks, considering ingredients, recipes, safety plans, taste, and the author’s credibility. Here are the best cookbooks for kids, according to a dietitian. The book brings their scientific and exploratory approach to young chefs everywhere with over 100 kid-tested meals, snacks, drinks, and treats. With recipes tested over 750 times by kids, you know they aren’t joking around when they say their products are “kid-tested.” Recipes range from skillet green beans to pesto flatbread to fudgy mug cakes. They are accompanied by picture instructions to help guide visual learners. The book lists clear, detailed safety practices in the beginning as well as cooking tips and techniques that are reiterated in the recipes. Each recipe uses simple ingredients and is marked with the level of difficulty, so you can start with the easy recipes and work your way up to the more advanced ones with your child. Price at time of publication: $20 Shah helps parents immediately establish a plan for a safe kitchen setting and rules for cooking with a 4-year-old child. Both her writing and her recipes are thoughtful and focus heavily on the beautiful experience of an adult cooking with a child. Shah is thoughtful about including nutrient-dense foods in her recipes in fun, creative, and delicious ways. Her Tricolor Ice Pops have only six ingredients—mango, banana, kiwi, honeydew, spinach, and strawberries. Price at time of publication: $15 This book is very visually appealing. The lines and colors are clean and clear, making following along very easy. They don’t spend as much time on technique as other books, but they certainly have tips and tricks to help along the way. The recipes are sometimes simple—pineapple and toasted coconut skewers, sometimes simple with a twist—salad in a jar, and sometimes simple fancy—crustless quiche lorraine. The recipes are basic enough for your school-age kids to follow and delicious enough for you to eat. Price at time of publication: $20 The trusted NYC-based dietitian provides organic, tasty, simple, and safe ways to introduce new foods to your little eaters. She starts with single-ingredient purees and moves her way through chunky combination purees, up to smoothies, finger foods, and finally, family dinners. With over 230 selections to pick from, some of these recipes will have more than just your baby drooling. Price at time of publication: $17 Every so often, Duff will have a sidebar reviewing everything from the science of yeast to fun facts about unicorns. He’s funny, he’s smart, and he’s an excellent teacher. Recipes include delicious baked delicacies such as homemade Boston Creme Donuts and Duff’s famous stuffed-crust dessert pizza. Price at time of publication: $22 It may be appealing to hide nutrient-dense fruits and veggies in smoothies or other recipes where they are out of sight. However, when you hide these ingredients, your kids don’t have the opportunity to learn that the carrots and apples are actually making their drink sweet, that they actually enjoy these foods. Making sure kids see fruits and veggies included in recipes they enjoy will help them make the choice to include them in their meals in the future. That is where cooking with your children becomes so valuable and a book like Super Foods for Super Kids becomes brilliant. In her book, registered dietitian Noelle Martin creates delicious recipes filled with superfoods that your kids can enjoy making from start to finish. She integrates fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other superfoods into kid-friendly and kid-tested recipes. Don’t believe me? Check out her banana sushi. Price at time of publication: $15 In addition to the recipes, this book includes an introduction with nine lessons covering kitchen safety, kitchen tools, cooking basics, measurement conversions, and how to celebrate world flavors. Pick up a copy of this book for all of the family to enjoy and get ready to host a global dinner party! Price at time of publication: $19
Safety
You want to ensure that safety is prioritized and defined before you begin cooking with a child. Therefore, any cookbooks that don’t outline a safety plan should be avoided.
Taste
Look through the books with your children first and pick out a few recipes together that appeal to their taste buds. Make sure they like what they see before making any purchases.
What Experts Say
“Cooking with kids provides a foundation for lifelong health and nutrition exploration. Engaging children in any part of meal preparation can promote a stronger relationship with a variety of foods.”—Marlene Rafferty, RD, CSP, LDN
Why Trust Verywell Family?
As a pediatric Registered Dietitian, nothing brings Lauren Cohen more joy than getting to cook with her patients. In her hospital test kitchen, she has made everything from falafel to avocado brownies with her kids. She says they are some of her best memories as a provider. Working on a task, start to finish, can often be reward enough for a child. But it’s nothing compared to how proud they are to pull their homemade muffins out of the oven and take a bite of something they worked so hard to create. Lauren truly values cooking with her young patients and hopes you find these books helpful for your young chefs.
