5 Tips on How to Teach Your Kids to Cook

How do I teach my child cooking skills? That’s a good question, as learning how to cook early on is a very important gift you can give your child. Learn my top 5 tips on how to teach your kids to cook, including practical steps and kid-friendly recipes.

Teaching your kids to cook can have so many benefits. First of all, it can help reduce picky eating in your home. And learning basic cooking skills for kids can help them eat more healthfully, because when kids help cook they are more willing to try new foods. And finally, getting kids cooking can introduce them to a lifelong appreciation of foods, and you can pass down your own favorite food traditions and culture to the next generation.

That’s a picture of my own two sons, Nicholas and Christian, cooking with me when they were small. Oh, how they loved it! And it was so good for them, as now they both have adventurous, healthful palates as young adults. Cooking with kids can be a great way to get your kids to add new foods to their diet. Research shows that kids are more likely to try healthier foods (like fruits and veggies) if they are involved in the process. I have been teaching children’s cooking classes as a dietitian for years, and I can back this up—I have seen kids turn from picky eaters to vegetable lovers with a good interactive children’s cooking class. Another great benefit from cooking with kids is that you’ll be in control of what goes into their food—a contrast from the standard sugar, fat, and salt added to junk foods and fast foods. It is also a wonderful opportunity to teach your children where food comes from, beyond the plastic take-out boxes, and cereal packages. You can prepare your kids to be more self-sustaining as they grow older, so they can be equipped to prepare their own favorite, healthy recipes when they’re off on their own. And cooking with your kids takes both you and your child away from technology, such as the phone or computer games, to focus on talking to each other. You can create precious moments of bonding and learning by utilizing all your child’s senses to make a beautiful dish. With that in mind, check out these 5 Tips on How to Teach Your Kids to Cook along with some of my favorite kid-friendly recipes, and get your kids in the kitchen today!

5 Tips on How to Teach Your Kids to Cook

1. Set Aside Time

Teaching your kids how to cook requires patience and time. Don’t rush, as cooking will be safer and more enjoyable.

• Make cooking part of family time; figure out when the most family members are available to join in on the fun!
• Allow extra time for clean up for messier recipes.
• Try a quick recipe for starters, such as a smoothie, no-bake energy ball, or sandwich.

2. Have Kids Pick the Recipe

Kids will be more excited to cook a recipe they personally picked out!

• See what you have in the fridge and pantry first, and try easy-to-follow, kid-friendly recipes according to what you already have. Check out my blog for soup, taco, and stir-fry recipes for those staples.
• Give your child the freedom to choose between two recipes so they aren’t overwhelmed with too many choices.

3. Set Up the Workspace

Make cooking less stressful by making the workplace child-friendly beforehand. Keep potentially dangerous kitchen tools out of reach and away from their workspace. Make sure that the child can focus on the task at hand with limited distractions. Setting up the workspace before bringing the child into the kitchen creates less stress and anxiety for the parent and more emphasis on bonding.

• If the child is younger and cannot use hot tools or knives, the parent can chop and/or cook certain items so that the child can be in charge of the assembly process.
• Rice bowls, salads and parfaits are great introductory dishes that allow the child to use their creativity and motor skills to arrange the fruits and veggies as they wish.

4. Kids are the Food Prep Helpers

Depending on the age of the child, they can help with washing, peeling, deseeding, juicing, measuring, or cutting the produce.

• Try recipes that include sauces, because they are a great learning opportunity for measurements. Try this avocado veggie dip or ranch dip for starters.
• If the child is too young for cutting produce, find recipes that they can use their hands for mixing, such as veggie-burgers or vegan meatballs.

5. Allow Children to Make Mistakes

Give up some control and give your kids confidence in the kitchen. The steps of the recipe may be out of order, or the measurements might be slightly off, but they can feel more independent and feel encouraged to help in the kitchen more often.

• Parents, remember to taste as you go! If a measurement is off you can easily adjust accordingly along the way.
• Try recipes that are more forgiving, such as smoothies, wraps, burritos, and soups.

Written by Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN and Rhesa Lacanienta, Dietetic Intern

For more tips on plant-based kid-friendly diets, check out these blogs:

Plant Chat: A Healthy Plant-Based Diet for Kids with Plant-Based Juniors
5 Tips to Get Kids to Eat Veggies
Helping Kids Express Gratitude for Healthful Foods
Boost Whole Grains for Kids