7 Recipes to Get Your Kids to Eat More Veggies

With myriad diets and healthy eating plans, there’s a never-ending barrage of nutrition recommendations for families. Despite their often misleading or contradictory advice, most professionals and “experts” can agree on the benefits of vegetables. 

However, if you’ve been a parent for any length of time, you know veggies are the most challenging food group to convince kids to eat. Somehow the colors and shapes of these nutrient-packed goodies are offensive to them, especially if you dare to serve them anything green. 

So, how can you get them the vitamins and minerals they need when they turn their nose up at your best efforts? Use delicious recipes like these to hide away the veggies or make them more fun. 

• Build Your Own Kabob Bar 

Kids respond well to having some control over their food choices. When you present them with a delicious dinner and a side of green peas, they’re highly likely to resist. However, a spread of bowls with an assortment of colorful vegetables they can choose from is more likely to be a winner. 

These kabobs allow you to use any meat you have on hand, like beef, chicken or shrimp, and combine them with your favorite vegetables. Pick plenty of colorful options with different flavor profiles. Let your kids make a small bowl with their selections for you to grill. For most meals, the professional recommendation is to fill half your plate with vegetables and fruits, which this recipe easily accomplishes.

Get the recipe from Family Fresh Meals

• Crescent Roll Veggie Pizza

You may remember this recipe from your childhood. This classic staple has the makings of a new family favorite. Butter pastry dough and ranch dip form a delicious base for your kids’ preferred toppings. 

Again, this recipe offers your picky eaters a choice. They can add their vegetable selections to their portion of the pizza, allowing them to try only what they want. Everyone will feel like a winner with this meal on the menu. As a bonus, you only need to bake the shell — not the toppings — so your house will stay cooler, and you can get food on the table faster. 

Get the recipe from Life Love and Good Food

• Berry Mango Kale Smoothie

Smoothies are the perfect opportunity for sneaking vegetables into your kids’ diet. The sweetness overcomes any earthy flavors you add, so your family will never know their favorites contain “icky” greens and other garden goodies.

Despite their sweet taste, kids often won’t taste a smoothie if it looks green, so this recipe covers the color of kale with a large amount of rich-toned berries. Pick a frozen berry mix with an assortment of your favorites — blueberries and blackberries work really well to hide greens. Frozen mango and orange juice bring even more sweetness to this delicious breakfast or snack. 

Get the recipe from Good Life Eats

• Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

French fries are almost always a crowd-pleaser where kids are concerned. However, loading up on starches fried in oil won’t offer your children many nutrients and could harm their health over time. If only there were a much healthier alternative that still tastes delicious — enter the baked sweet potato fry. 

Your kids won’t mind the difference. They’ll scarf these down before they have a chance to think about the orange color. Sweet potatoes are a more nutrient-dense option for fries, and this recipe bakes them in the oven with olive oil rather than the greasy frying alternative. Baking still gives a delightful crunch and holds onto more vitamins than other cooking methods.

Get the recipe from Simply Recipes

• Hidden Vegetable Baked Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is another classic family meal. Most parents will attempt to hide extra veggies in the sauce, hoping to get just a few more tablespoons in. However, many picky eaters don’t like red sauce or have wisened up to mom and dad’s tricks. 

This tasty recipe is easy to make and hides the veggies away where no one is looking for them — in the meatballs. Using a food processor allows you to chop the veggies up very small to blend in with other seasonings you add to the meat. The recipe calls for baby kale and carrots, but you can choose whatever you have on hand. 

Get the recipe from Squirrels of a Feather

• Chocolate Zucchini Bread

This sweet treat will surely be a favorite even with your pickiest eater. While not an entirely healthy recipe, this one packs a nutritional wallop with the inclusion of zucchini. Do the calories really count when vegetables are involved? 

The rich brown cocoa powder conceals the grated green vegetable essence, so your kids will be none the wiser. You can all enjoy this tasty bread filled with chocolatey goodness.

Get the recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod  

• Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts

Pop-Tarts don’t exactly top the list of healthy foods you’d want to give your kids, but this homemade rendition packs in a child-friendly veggie to increase the nutritional value. Pumpkin contains high amounts of beta carotene, which our body converts to vitamin A. We need plenty of this nutrient to maintain good eyesight and strengthen our immune system. 

Just one cup of pumpkin puree contains 200% of your daily vitamin A needs. The recipe makes 14 pop-tarts and uses two cups of puree, so each one will give your kids roughly 29% of their daily needs. What a great way to start the day. 

Get the recipe from This Pilgrim Life

Vegetables Don’t Have to Be a Struggle

Every parent dreams their children will wake up one morning and suddenly decide vegetables are delicious. While this may be reaching a bit, they’ll start to acclimate to these goodies the more they’re exposed. 

Hiding veggies away in favorite recipes and introducing them in fun and creative ways will set your kids on a path toward appreciating this food group. For now, you can stop the endless debates and no-thank-you bites, tabling them until your kids’ tastebuds and eyes are mature enough to handle plain vegetables on their plates.