by Lindsay 5 Comments
These Kid-Friendly Meal Prep Recipes are great additions to your weekly meal prep sessions. Having healthy options on hand for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time can help you eat healthy during busy weeks!
*Originally published 3/2017. Updated 3/2023*
Hi friends!
When kids are young, meal prep can be both a challenge and a life-saver during the week. Food prep is a weekly habit for me but when they were really little, I made it a goal to do at least a little food prep each week, even when I was tired, or busy, or had fussy kids. I know from experience how helpful it is during the week, especially when it comes to feeding kids. Having healthy meal components cooked and ready to go is crucial for allowing me to throw together healthy meals QUICKLY to avoid a meltdown.
Kid-Friendly Healthy Meals
I’ve rounded up some of my favorite kid-approved recipes from my site. I’ve made every single one of these recipes multiple times during my Sunday Food Prep sessions so I know that they hold up well even when made ahead of time and can be enjoyed daily throughout the week.
Kids Meal Prep
If you’re looking for food prep ideas for your kiddos, these recipes are a great place to start. Like I tell everyone….you don’t have to prep all of your meals and snacks ahead of time, but every little bit does help. Choose the meal or snack time you struggle most with during the week and start there. Prep a couple of breakfast options or healthy snacks and see how much it helps. With practice, it’ll get easier and you can start gradually doing more and more each session.
Meal Prep For Kids
If you’re new to meal prep, here are some resources:
- 5 Steps to Food Prep
- How To Use Component Food Prep
- How to Find Your Food Prep Focus Area
- Top 10 Best Foods To Prep
- 1 Hour Food Prep Session Recap
Or take my food prep masterclass!
Learn How To Meal Prep
So here we go with some of my favorite kid-friendly meal prep recipes:
Easy Meal Preps Breakfast
Breakfast can be a tricky time of day. Some kids don’t wake up hungry, others are starving and sometimes you’re too busy running around getting ready for the day to spend forever throwing something together. Meal prep for the win!
Sweet Potato White Bean Bars
These Sweet Potato White Bean Bars are perfect for breakfast or snack time. They’re kid-friendly, nut-free and full of fiber to keep them full until snack.
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Easy Freezer Prep Oatmeal Cups
An easy way to prep oatmeal ahead of time. Just pop in the microwave with a little milk and they’re ready to eat!
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Banana Flax Waffles
These Banana Flax Waffles are made with just seven ingredients and no added sugar. They freeze well and make a great breakfast or snack! Just pop them in the toaster to reheat.
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Easy Egg Wraps for Breakfast…Lunch AND Dinner!
These Easy Egg Wraps are perfect for any meal. Make several ahead of time and fill with things like turkey, avocado, cheese, hummus and more. Or serve them plain. They’re great warm or cold.
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Lentil Banana Muffins
These Lentil Banana Muffins make a healthy, high-fiber breakfast or snack. They’re kid-friendly and freeze well. And I promise you can’t even taste the lentils! Pair with a glass of milk or some yogurt.
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Find all of my breakfast recipes here.
Other ideas:
- Oatmeal or Overnight Oats.
- For Squish I often cook 1 cup oats with enough milk to cover them, a chopped apple, some cinnmaon and 2 Tbsp peanut butter in the microwave for about 3 minutes. During the week I portion it out and serve it cold but you could also reheat it if desired.
- French Toast Waffles
- Prep french toast like you normally would, but throw each piece in the waffle maker! Fun to eat and you don’t have to worry about flipping it on the griddle.
Kid-Friendly Food – Meal Prep Lunch
Here are some meal prep lunch ideas that your kids will love. Making them ahead of time can make it easier to throw together lunch on a plate during the day or pack lunchboxes after dinner!
Frozen English Muffin Mini Pizzas
These Frozen English Muffin Mini Pizzas are perfect for a quick, kid-friendly lunch or snack. Make them ahead of time and pop in the microwave for one minute when you want one!
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Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding
This Peanut Butter Banana Chia Pudding makes an easy, kid-friendly meal or snack. It’s packed with protein and healthy fats and is easy to prep ahead of time.
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Cheesy BBQ Meatballs
These are easy to make and taste great warm or cold. Pack them for lunch with extra dipping sauce!
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My Go-To Energy Ball Recipe
My Go-To Energy Ball Recipe is full of protein and fiber and makes a great addition to lunch. Pair with a cheese stick or some yogurt and a piece of fruit for a balanced lunch!
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Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
Make a batch of homemade tortillas and fill them with things like turkey and cheese, peanut butter and banana, taco meat and more for lunchboxes.
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Banana Carrot Muffins
Muffins or bars make a great addition to lunch especially if they’ve got some added veggies or extra protein and fiber from things like beans and lentils!
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Other ideas:
- Make some macaroni and cheese but stir in some greek yogurt for extra protein or add some chicken sausage or taco meat. Or try adding a veggie like pumpkin or pureed squash that will mix right in with the cheese!
- Cook a batch of hard-boiled eggs
- Pre-cut or slice veggies to easily add to lunch plates.
- Make more than enough for dinners so you can serve the leftovers for lunch!
If you need more lunch ideas, I have a whole resource with tons of photo examples, many of which can be prepped ahead of time:
Easy Lunch Box Ideas for Kids
Easy Dinner Meal Prep – Fun Dinner Ideas For Kids
Dinner is tough on busy evenings when the kids have a million activities. Prepping meals or meal components ahead of time can make it easier to eat healthy meals during the week.
Fun Meal Prep Dinner Ideas for Kids
Tater Tot Waffles
These Tater Tot Waffles are kid-friendly and perfect any time of day! Make them ahead of time and reheat in the microwave for a quick dinner.
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Air Fryer Steak Bites
If you’re intimidated by the grill, these air fryer steak bites are the way to go. So easy and they come out perfect every time and reheat really well!
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Instant Pot Pasta with Meat Sauce
This Instant Pot Pasta with Meat Sauce is a simple, healthy dinner recipe the whole family will love. It tastes even better the second day!
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Freezer Chicken Tenders
These Freezer Chicken Tenders are perfect for meal prep. Make several batches ahead of time and stick them in the freezer. On a busy night, just pull them out, bake from frozen and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!
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Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Tortellini
This Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Tortellini is so easy to throw together for an easy dinner that practically cooks itself! Serve it with a side of veggies for a kid-friendly meal the whole family will love.
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Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
This recipe for Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs is an easy, kid-friendly weeknight dinner. Let the crockpot do all the work and serve with rice and steamed veggies for a balanced meal.
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Meal Prep For Kids – Snacks
Don’t forget about snack time. Kids wake up cranky from naps and want to eat ASAP so it can be super helpful to have some healthy snacks prepped and ready to go!
Nut-Free Toddler Trail Mix
This nut-free Toddler-Friendly Trail Mix is the perfect make-ahead snack. Make a batch during your food prep session and portion into bags for kids to eat throughout the week.
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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Yogurt Bars
This recipe for Gluten-Free Pumpkin Yogurt Bars makes a quick snack. They’re kid-friendly and easy to customize.
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Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Nutrient-rich and super simple, this 4 ingredient chocolate pudding makes a great snack or dessert.
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Sweet Potato Banana Muffins
These gluten-free Sweet Potato Banana Bites have just four main ingredients and make a great snack for both kids and adults!
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Healthy Sweet Potato Cookies
These Healthy Sweet Potato Cookies are gluten-free, made with real food ingredients and packed with protein and fiber. Enjoy them for an afternoon snack!
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Lemon Energy Balls
Bursting with citrus flavor, these Lemon Energy balls make the perfect snack. Made with just 5 ingredients, they’re gluten-free, paleo-friendly and perfect for stashing in the fridge or freezer!
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I hope this gives you some inspiration! If you don’t currently food prep, I challenge you to pick one recipe to try this week!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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About Lindsay
Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!
Reader Interactions
Comments
[emailprotected] saysSo many great ideas! The all look great!
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- Annie says
So many good ideas for the little ones, thanks!!
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Wow this is great, thank you so much for sharing! I never thought to make home-made tortillas and honestly I hate how most of the store bought varieties have 1,00,000 ingredients. My little one LOVES tortillas, so I can’t wait to try this.
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Such a great resource. Thank you for putting this all together!
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- Stephanie Prause says
This is insanely helpful, thank you!! Food prep saves my life, ha.
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