Recipes for fussy eaters: 14 delicious easy meal ideas for toddlers

Dinner tables shouldn’t be battlegrounds — but often are for parents of fussy eaters. Here’s a list of quick and delicious recipes to save you time, save your sanity and even make family mealtimes enjoyable.

AS A working mum of a baby and a toddler, I am constantly looking for easy recipes I cannot only pull together in literally minutes, but that my kids will actually eat.

So, to help all you other time-poor parents out there I’ve compiled a list of some of the easiest and quickest recipes my whole family loves. Everything listed below my children eat — even lick their bowls clean (we’re not worrying about table manners right now.)

RETURNING TO WORK AS A NEW MUM

WANT TO LIVE DANGEROUSLY? CATCH A TRAIN WHILE YOU’RE PREGNANT

From baby-led weaning to main meals and a few sneaky treats for mum and dad — there’s a good chance at least some of these will please the fussiest palate.

And, if you’re anything like me and try to take a slice along to your mum’s group catch ups or bake your kid’s birthday cakes, there’s a few in here to help you out.

BABY-LED WEANING / LUNCHBOXES

Banana pancakes

young happy childrens kids family preparing funny cookies in kitchen at home

These are great as an alternative breakfast option, or to pack for snacks. Both my kids smashed these and they are SO easy.

Ingredients

1 banana, mashed

1 egg, whisked

Margarine for the frying pan

Method

Mash the banana, add the whisked egg and mix.

Spoon small amounts onto a lightly buttered frying pan, flip when starting to bubble. That’s it folks, it’s seriously that easy.

Cheese & Spinach mini muffins

Mini muffins

Easy, tick. Quick, tick. Tasty, tick. My hubby has been known to cram a few of these in his gob when he thinks I’m not looking. Also, you can add whatever you want to them, I often thrown in leftover corn kernels or capsicum — delish.

Ingredients

1 cup spinach leaves, chopped

3 eggs, lightly whisked

1/2 cup cheese, grated

1/4 cup self-raising flour

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and spoon mixture into mini muffin tray.

Bake for 12 minutes or until golden.

Sweet corn fritters

Little boy covered in baking ingredients after a baking session

Who doesn’t love a fritter?! You can dress these bad boys up any way you like — bacon, avocado, and sour cream or just jam them in a snap lock for snacks on the go.

Ingredients

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 egg, beaten

440 g can cream-style corn

2 tablespoons oil

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a bowl.

Add the beaten egg, mixing to combine and stir in the sweet corn.

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

Drop spoonful’s of fritter mixture into the pan and cook until golden then turn and cook the other side.

Zucchini slice

Table with ingredients for cooking zucchini fritters

If you haven’t made zucchini slice are you even a parent? Seriously, this is a favourite in our house and for good reason — easy and super tasty.

Ingredients

5 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

2 zucchinis, grated

1 onion, finely chopped

200 g rindless bacon, chopped

1 cup cheese, grated

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Method

Preheat oven to 170C.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl until combined. Add the flour and beat until smooth, then add zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese and oil and stir to combine.

Grease and line a 30 x 20cm lamington pan. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Sausage rolls

isolated sausage rolls

These shrolls, as we dub them in our house, are so good to have in the old freezer. I use beef mince but you can use whatever meat you want, chicken, pork or a combo of beef and pork. Also — these are the vegetables I throw in but again, use whatever you have. Mushrooms and broccoli also work well, and your kids will never know, mwahaha.

Ingredients

500 g beef mince

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 carrot, grated

1 zucchini, grated

Handful of spinach

Salt and pepper

4 sheets frozen puff pastry, semi thawed

Egg and sesame seeds, optional

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Line baking trays with baking paper.

Throw everything into the food processor and mix.

Cut pastry sheets in half and place mixture down the centre of pastry.

Roll up to enclose filling, and cut into pieces. Place on trays, seam side down.

If you want to be fancy brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes, reduce heat to 150°C, and cook for 10 minutes until golden.

Banana bread

Young mother preparing healthy and tasty lunch box for child

Everyone’s favourite. If you want it sweeter then add a bit more sugar, but be warned — you will get crucified by uptight health conscious nutritional know-it-alls.

Ingredients

2 to 3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth then stir the melted butter.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

MAINS

Creamy chickpea and vegetable curry (slow cooker)

Variety of fresh organic vegetables in the garden.

You can really use any vegetable you like in this — that’s the beauty of it — it’s a great one to use up left over vegetables, which we all have because we’re all too lazy to clear out the wilted ones before throwing the freshies on top.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons Madras curry paste

1 cup vegetable liquid stock

400ml can light coconut cream

1 red capsicum, diced

1kg pumpkin, cut into 2cm pieces

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets

3 tomatoes, chopped

200 g green beans, trimmed, halved

400 g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed

Plain Greek-style yoghurt and naan bread, optional

Method

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add curry paste and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add stock and bring to a simmer.

Transfer to slow cooker.

Add coconut cream, capsicum, cauliflower and pumpkin to slow cooker. Season, cover and cook on high for 1 hour 30 minutes (or low for 3 hours).

Add tomato, beans and chickpeas and cook for a further hour.

If you want to reduce the spice or simply just make it look cool, serve with yoghurt and naan bread.

Meatballs

meatballs in tomato-wine sauce in a pan on a wooden background for Cairns Sun with recipe and article by Julia Wedding, March 21, 2017

Once again people, I’m a stickler for beef mince but this one also works well with a veal and pork combo if you’re into that. Also, I always add grated vegetables or peas into the sauce just to get one up on my kids.

Ingredients

500 g beef mince

1 onion, grated

1 lemon, rind finely grated, juiced

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped

2 x 400 g cans diced Italian tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

1 zucchini, grated

1 cup peas

Cooked pasta, to serve

Method

Combine beef mince, onion, lemon rind, half the lemon juice, breadcrumbs, basil and salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Roll tablespoonfuls of mince mixture into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or until firm.

Combine tomatoes and stock in a deep frying pan and bring slowly to the boil over medium heat.

Drop meatballs into tomato mixture. Add any additional vegetable, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with spaghetti. These usually last us two nights so on the second night we serve with rice — just to change it up.

Mexican chicken (slow cooker)

Parenting stock photos for use in Gold Coast Eye

One of those ones where you chuck everything in the slow cooker and come home, pat yourself on the back and hope the neighbours can smell your success.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts

1 400 g can corn kernels

1 400 g can kidney beans

1 jar salsa

Pinch of cumin

Salt and pepper

Cheese, avocado and sour cream, optional (But actually essential, you’re living a lie otherwise)

Method

Pop the chicken breasts into the slow cooker and cover with the corn, kidney beans and salsa. Fill half the salsa jar with water and add to the slow cooker.

Add cumin, salt and pepper and place on low for three and a half hours. Once cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes.

Serve with whatever you want — salad, rice, nachos — the choice is yours.

Chicken wraps

TASTE: PRESTON COLUMN .. generic photo of turkey wraps. Christmas turkey leftovers

This is one of those ones you can legitimately put what you like in, but also the kids will love it because they get to choose what goes inside and “make it themselves”.

Ingredients

1 cooked chicken

Cheese, avocado, lettuce, or spinach

Beetroot

Carrot

Tomato

Wraps — whatever ones tickle your fancy

Sauces/mayonnaise

Method

Are you serious. Jam it all in and away you go.

Spaghetti bolognese

Need to completely hide vegies in food? Spag bol can easily be pureed to a red-brown, but delicious mush, which you can then serve with whatever shape of pasta your kids are agreeing to eat that day.

Ingredients

500 g beef mince

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

A handful of broccoli, chopped

A handful of mushrooms, chopped

1 zucchini, grated

1 carrot, grated

A bottle of tomato passata

1 400 g can diced tomatoes

A big slug of red wine

Method

Sautee the onions, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil, then add the mince and brown.

Add the grated vegetables, then the tomatoes.

Simmer on very low heat or slow cook for as long as you can — it will get better the longer it cooks!

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

SWEETS

Best Ever Chocolate Cake

Whole sliced Chocolate cake with slice slightly removed. Photographed in window light with Nikon D800+50mm Zeiss Lens at ISO 100. Image Processed from raw file with VSCO Film Kodak Portra film simulation with film grain for a slightly more lo-fi look.

The best part about this cake is you can decorate it however your heart, or your sassy three-year-old, desires. I’ve done Malteasers all over, rolled out some fondant and cut shapes, jammed some smarties on it — the confectionary isle is your limit.

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½1/2 cups skinny milk

100 g butter, melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Icing

100 g butter

250 g icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

Milk to mix

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease 20cm loose bottom cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper. Put all the main ingredients into a food processor and mix (OR put them all in a bowl and use an electric beater to mix them).

Pour into prepared tin and bake for at least 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Icing — Place butter and dry ingredients into food processor, pulse to combine (OR put them all in a bowl and use an electric beater to mix them). Add a dash of milk and pulse again. Add tiny amounts of milk until you achieve a thickish soft spreadable icing. Add vanilla.

Now you can choose to either slice the cake in half horizontally or spread the icing on top. If you choose to put it in the middle replace the top cake and refrigerate.

Lisa’s Square

Fussy kid toddler eating food, istock.

I get nothing but praise when I make this, stole it from the mother-in-law and it’s yet to let me down.

Ingredients

170 g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

2 tablespoons cocoa

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup coconut (shredded or desiccated)

Coconut for dusting

Icing

100 g butter

250 g icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

Milk to mix

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

Melt butter, golden syrup, cocoa and sugar together in a microwave or pot.

Then add flour, baking powder and coconut and mix well.

Press into a slice tine and cook for 10 — 12 minutes at 180.

Ice with chocolate icing and sprinkle with coconut.

Cut into slices and tore in an airtight container.

Lemon & Coconut Slice

freshly squeezed lemon juice in small bowl. Picture: iStock

No baking required, I repeat NO BAKING REQUIRED. This is hands down the easiest slice I’ve ever made and it’s delish. Perfect for those last minute get-togethers where you don’t want to be judged for bringing store-bought biscuits.

Ingredients

80 g butter, melted

3/4 cup condensed milk

250 g Marie biscuits

1 cup desiccated coconut

Grated lemon zest from one lemon

Juice from half a lemon

Icing

1/2 cups icing sugar

90 g butter, softened

Juice from half a lemon

Desiccated coconut for dusting

Method

Grease and line a 22cm x 32cm rectangular slice tin with baking paper.

Crush biscuits and place into a bowl then add coconut and grated lemon rind and mix to combine.

Add melted butter, condensed milk and lemon juice to the biscuit mixture and mix thoroughly until well combined.

Press into the prepared tin and place into the fridge.

In a bowl, whisk the icing sugar, butter and lemon juice until creamy — if the frosting is too thick to spread add a little more lemon juice.

Spread the icing over the slice, sprinkle with the extra coconut and place back into the fridge to set completely.

Cut into slices and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.