Let’s face it, I don’t have time or patience to make any of those toddler meals on Pinterest. My child just isn’t going to eat kale or quinoa.
I also don’t always want to make a full meal to share with her. Sometimes we want to eat a meal that she won’t eat.
So here are my realistic toddler meals for lunch and dinner when I need something fast and easy just for my toddler.
You can mix and match any of these with the sides or just use the sides as snack ideas.
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These are meal options for toddlers that don’t want what you’re having for lunch or dinner.
We usually just give our two-year-old small portions of our food, but she can be picky sometimes.
And we like to eat spicy food occasionally. Two-year-olds are usually not fond of spicy foods.
So I keep these easy toddler meal solutions on hand for her.
If you want easy and fast recipes for the whole family, they’re over here.
Lunch & Dinner
Hummus, Pita Chips, and Veggies
Hummus is delicious. It’s really easy to give her a dollop of hummus and some carrots and pita chips.
Toddlers love to dip. Especially my kid. Everything needs a sauce or a dip.
Why not dip your veggies in veggies. (Chickpeas are veggies right? lol)
Mac & Tom
My husband grew up eating Mac & Tom. It’s essentially just buttered pasta in tomato juice.
Yes, you have to cook this on the stove but you can cook just one small portion at a time if you don’t want it for dinner too.
Cook any kind of pasta (we like to find the whole grain medium shells) add some butter, salt and pepper.
Then pour in tomato juice to make it a delicious soup. You can use tomato soup too, but my husband got mad at me when I tried that. It just wasn’t like his dad’s Mac & Tom.
We will eat this as a family sometimes too. I don’t give Toot a whole lot of juice because she usually gets it everywhere.
Eggs
My daughter will eat eggs at any hour. Scrambled, fried, in an omelette, and especially deviled.
Deviled eggs are great for meal prepping. Keep some in your fridge for when your toddler gets hungry. Toot will eat two halves in one sitting.
You can also try just giving your toddler half of a hard boiled egg. Those are easy to meal prep, too.
Scrambling eggs is pretty quick and easy to do. I will make two eggs for my toddler if I’m scrambling them.
Get one of these egg pans if you want to make just one egg. It’s quick to heat up and shapes it nicely. It’s the perfect size for an egg sandwich on a biscuit, bagel, or croissant. Or just a toddler sized egg.
If you’re making an omelette, try adding spinach, onion, bell peppers, cheese, turkey, or ham depending on your toddler’s taste and pickiness level.
Homemade Pizza Bagels or Muffins
All you need to make little pizzas for your toddler is shredded cheese, pizza sauce, and bagels or english muffins.
If you have a toaster oven, you can bake them at 375 for just a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
Or you can bake them in your regular oven, it just might take a little longer.
Add little pepperonis or veggies like bell peppers if your toddler likes them. Pre-cooked sausage works great too. We buy pre-cooked turkey sausage.
Toot likes whole grain English muffins for her mini pizzas. You can also try mini bagels and make your own bagel bites.
If you’re into eggplant, you can also slice up eggplant to make your pizzas. Just make sure you dry out the eggplant as much as you can. I tried this once and they were really soggy.
Hot Dogs
Who hasn’t eaten cut up hot dogs as a kid?
Just make sure to cut them up into small pieces because they can be a choking hazard for younger toddlers and babies.
I also cut them length-wise so they’re even less of a choking hazard.
I usually serve hot dogs with ketchup, but you can also try mustard (it’s healthier) and barbecue sauce.
If you want a semi-healthier version of hot dogs, try turkey dogs or get 100% beef.
My daughter doesn’t mind turkey dogs.
Salad
No, I’m not joking. Salad. My toddler likes salad.
I buy bags of salad weekly because I enjoy it. Then I found out my daughter did too when she started stealing lettuce off my plate.
She started just eating iceberg lettuce leaves one by one with her hands. Then we moved to putting it in a bowl with no dressing.
It was a slow transition from picking at lettuce to actually eating a simple salad.
I go light on the dressing when I make a salad for her. Sometimes she doesn’t want dressing.
Ranch is basically the only dressing she wants. She’s very midwestern. lol
It’s really easy to meal prep little salads if your toddler likes it as much as mine. Just don’t put the dressing on until it’s time to eat it. Otherwise it gets soggy.
Vienna Sausages
I grew up eating “little weenies.” Toot loves them too. I figured all kids ate Vienna sausages, but a lot of my friends said they had never heard of them.
They’re basically the SPAM version of hot dogs. They’re small and softer so they’re easier for babies and toddlers to eat than hot dogs.
We started giving Toot Vienna sausages at about 10 months once she got a couple of teeth.
They’re safer than hot dogs for one-year-olds.
They’re also super cheap. I can usually get a can for 60 cents and it’s enough for two meals for her.
I know, I know, they aren’t exactly healthy. But there’s protein in them at least.
Homemade Lunchables
It’s so easy to rip up some deli meat and cheese that Toot eats it almost daily. We usually have a supply of ham, turkey, and chicken to choose from.
I would stay away from anything with added flavor or seasonings. We tried to give her some mesquite turkey once, and she wanted nothing to do with it.
Protip for a good toddler meal: Rip up the cheese, and stick it to the edge of the plate so it’s easier for their little fingers to grab.
Mac and Cheese
Ahhh Mac and Cheese. I buy little microwaveable cups so it only takes a few minutes to get it ready for her.
They have generic brands that are cheaper options, and they also have whole grain macaroni if you want to try and be semi-healthy. I’ll warn you, though. It tastes different, and I didn’t like it. Toot didn’t seem to mind.
Make sure it cools down for at least a minute or two before letting your toddler shovel it into her mouth.
It gets really hot, and the cheese is pretty much lava.
Transfer it to another bowl to cool it down faster. I put it in the fridge to cool it down before I give it to her.
One-year-olds will only be able to eat half the cup per meal. Save the rest in the fridge for later and put one of these on top of it to re-seal it.
Two-year-olds will probably eat the whole thing.
Ravioli
You know what else comes in little microwaveable cups? Ravioli!
As you can tell, I’m a fan of things I can microwave, serve, and throw it all away. Quick and fewer dishes to clean. Toot likes the micro mini ravioli.
If you’re part of Amazon Prime you can order a lot of these in Prime Pantry and have them delivered to your door!
Easy Pasta or Rice
If you’re willing to actually get out a pot and cook on the stove, (I won’t judge you if you’re not) there are some simple pasta or rice sides that can be used as a toddler meal.
Obviously, your kid won’t eat the whole package. So if you don’t want any at the moment, save the rest for later.
You can also make these as a side dish for whatever you’re having for dinner. We make pork sometimes and my daughter doesn’t like it. But she’ll eat the rice or pasta we make as a side.
Our favorites include butter noodles, alfredo, and cheddar broccoli.
Corn dogs
My toddler went through a corn dog phase for a long time. You can buy them in the frozen section of the grocery store.
I always take the stick out and slice the corn dog up into bite sizes. She uses a fork to dip them and eat them.
And of course she wants ketchup with it. If your toddler likes mustard, offer that because it’s healthier.
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Don’t forget about PB&J. It’s a childhood staple.
I had a friend say her 18 month old was really picky, and I told her that my daughter was living on peanut butter sandwiches. She literally forgot that was an option. lol
I guess if you don’t eat PBJ yourself, you forget about it.
We buy the natural peanut butter and reduced sugar jelly just to try to cut down on added sugar.
Whole grain bread is better than regular white bread. So look at the labels closely. Also I found out that multi-grain is not the same as whole grain. So don’t fall for that trap! lol
Check with your pediatrician about peanut allergies before you try it if you’re worried about that. My sister is allergic so we had to be careful with Toot. Luckily, she’s not allergic.
Alternatively, you could do other nut butters like almond butter.
Just don’t do Nutella. For the love of God, do not. It’s basically chocolate and a thousand calories. And it’s addictive. It’s so delicious though!
Ramen
No one ever said ramen was healthy, but you might as well prepare your kid for college now. I didn’t have ramen until I actually was in college. But Toot loves it.
Just be sure to cut the noodles up into smaller pieces since they’re about four miles long. You can break the noodles before you cook them to make them shorter too.
I don’t serve the broth with it. It cools down faster if you just give them the noodles.
Plus you don’t want broth EVERYWHERE. And it cuts down on sodium.
Chicken fingers or nuggets
Ok, so when I was pregnant I said, “my child is not eating frozen chicken fingers.” Well, here we are.
Again, don’t forget to cut them up into manageable bites.
Add a squirt of ketchup, ranch, or BBQ sauce to your toddler’s plate to get them to eat more. Now that Toot is two-years-old she wants sauce with everything.
Remember “fed is best”? Well, if you can’t get your toddler to eat anything, just feed them chicken fingers.
Even experts like Kids Eat in Color agree. Nugget if you need to.
Snacks & Sides
Cheese
The obvious answer to cheese is to take a slice of American singles and fold it up into small squares.
But I like to take a cheese stick and cut it up into bites. She gets different kinds of cheeses like mozzarella and cheddar.
For slices of cheese, I stick them to the side of her toddler plates so she can easily grab them without the cheese melting to the plate.
Cheerios
There are Cheerios just all over our floor constantly.
I stick to the regular Cheerios because she doesn’t need any of the extra flavors. Although, I have been known to give her pumpkin spice flavored Cheerios.
If you want to try to contain the Cheerios, you can get little containers like this.
Crackers
Toot loves goldfish. I’ll buy a huge box and it will last forever. There are other versions of goldfish that are penguins (my BFF swears by them) and bunnies.
She also loves oyster crackers for some reason. Oyster crackers are more delicate so I don’t take them when we travel. Goldfish are great to throw in a ziplock bag and take in the car.
Try to limit their cracker consumption though. They’re like chips for adults. If you sit down with a huge bag, the whole thing is gone before you know it.
Fruit
Toot would live on fruit if I let her. The easiest way to keep fruit is to buy the little fruit cups. Try to get the no sugar added ones. Your toddler doesn’t need any extra sugar.
You can also buy frozen fruit! I have frozen strawberries and frozen mangos.
I’ll pull some out of the freezer, put it in a bowl with a cover, and stick it in the fridge in the morning. They’ll be defrosted by lunch time. You can always microwave them for a few seconds too.
Fruit also includes applesauce! Don’t forget to try applesauce. It’s one of the most loved toddler foods.
Veggies
Frozen veggies are a staple in our house too. They’re perfect for toddler meals. I always have bags and bags of frozen peas and carrots. I stock up. Other good options are corn, mixed veggies, and green beans.
Pour some in a bowl that has a cover and microwave for 30 seconds. Shake (or stir) and microwave for 20 more seconds.
This all depends on how much you put in there but I just fill a small toddler bowl and cover with another bowl.
The ice crystals on the veggies will steam them perfectly so you don’t have to add water if you’re only making a toddler portion size.
Toot also likes to just eat lettuce or spinach. I rip the stems off of baby spinach for her.
I wouldn’t do raw baby carrots until your toddler is 3 years old at least. They’re very hard to eat and they’re a choking hazard.
Looking for Realistic Toddler Breakfast Ideas? I’ve got a lot of those too!
Fed is Best Doesn’t Stop When They’re Toddlers
I’m sure you’ve heard the fed is best argument when it comes to breast milk and formula. Well, this is the fed is best version of toddler food.
If you can’t get your toddler to eat what you’re eating for dinner, you still need them to eat something. These are more realistic options for picky eaters.
They aren’t exactly the healthiest options, but you need to feed your toddler at least something and that’s okay.
Some battles aren’t worth it. Just feed your kid.
If you’re worried about your child getting enough nutrients and vitamins, talk to your pediatrician about supplementing with kids vitamin gummies.
What are your favorite toddler meal ideas?
Let me know in the comments below!
Rebecca at The Radish Society says
I don’t have any kids myself but I do have a nephew that is a toddler! Will send these along to his mother 😀
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thanks!
Corrie says
Oliver and I eat deli meat and cheese almost every day, too! It’s so easy and he loves it.
Also, the penguins are THE BEST 🙂
Jamie says
Thanks for a realistic list of meals! My P loves deli meat and cheese. Ravioli and Mac and cheese are favorites as well!
Tricia @ Mamabops says
Girl, thank you! Spending hours preparing a meal for a toddler is not realistic for me! I totally ate Vienna sausages as a kid. I’ve never tried my son on them, but maybe he’d like them. Going to pin this!
T'Naya says
Thank you! been looking for meals I can make for my toddler and 4 yr old but it’s like really? how am I supposed to make such a complicated sandwich they might not even like? thanks for keeping it realistic and for the great ideas!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Exactly! I won’t make anything too complicated for myself let alone my toddler!
Sharree says
My daughter is 20 months old and she LOVES a piece of cinnamon raisin bread, or a Eggo Waffle with or without a little bit of butter. She usually has that for breakfast with her milk and a plum organic pouch (also a must have in my pantry). Thanks for sharing, I will be trying some of these ideas as well!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
I need to try some of those pouches. I think she’s ready for them!
Meghan says
This post is so refreshing. I feed my toddler pretty much the same things… Glad I’m not alone!
Does your LO seem to get bored with that stuff though? I think mine is starting
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
No not that I’ve noticed. But she doesn’t get this stuff every day. I usually will give these foods to her when she’s not eating with us or if we’re eating something she can’t have like spicy food or something that she might choke on.
She had macaroni yesterday and was still super excited about it. She can kind of say macaroni now!
Kira | A Better Life Lived says
So our family is vegan and we try to eat as healthy as possible. But I still am with you in not having time to make elaborate meals. Not to mention, he’s three, so he’s super picky when it comes to eating things mixed together, of questionable color, etc. So we have some simple go to too. Like you, fruit and veggies. Zach loves those squeeze applesauce. He also loves the Kind fruit bars, larabars, pretzels and raisins, dried bananas, and smoothies. Smoothies are a huge way we get nutrition into him. Just mask the spinach and spirulina with some chocolate almond milk, frozen banana and strawberries and he doesn’t question it!
Bernadette at MomandCarrot.com says
We eat a lot of Eggo waffles and Go-Gurt tubes, apples and cantaloupe. Sometimes I just give my three year old peanut butter on a spoon, she loves it!
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
We do Eggo waffles for breakfast a lot. They’re so easy to make!
Holly says
YES. THANK YOU. I can’t get my daughter to eat half of what we eat.
Kamie says
Hiya! If you throw a can of chicken in that Knorrs rice mix and put it in the micro for 13 minutes (I know it says 12 on the package), it’s a meal. I used to eat the cheddar broccoli ones whole I was in the military. I’ve probably cooked more of those than their professional kitchen staff.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Excellent suggestion! Thanks!
Jessica says
Thank you SO much for posting realistic meal ideas. There’s so much pressure and judgement when it comes to feeding kiddos and I really appreciate you writing this.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
I totally get that. I feel so bad when my daughter just wants macaroni and PBJ but it’s better to have a full kid than an angry starving kid.
Heather says
We sometimes do a toddler version of a charcuterie board with deli meats, cheese, olives, nuts, crackers etc. Also a side cottage cheese or avocado is a win with our toddler. If she only eats half of her banana, I stick it on a plastic popsicle stick/holder and pop it in the freezer (wrapped tightly in foil).
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
That’s a great idea! I’ve tried cottage cheese and avocado with my daughter and neither of us like them. I think it’s a texture thing. I’m going to have to try that banana trick!
Connie K says
I came across this randomly and am I thankful!! My lil boy has been super picky lately with what we cook for dinner and it’s been hard! I don’t know why I didn’t think of these ❤️??
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Glad I could help!
Steph says
I came across this.. i wish my 1 1/2 year old would eat more stuff like this.. My child is SUPER PICKY!!!
He won’t eat all the normal stuff Most kids like.I wish he would eat this stuff. His diet in a nutshell is; peanutbutter on a spoon, blueberries, yogurt, speghittos, popcorn chicken and cereal and fruit. And sometimes he’ll eat green beans..
No mac&cheese no hotdogs or other meats no mashed potatoes no pb&j no cheese. He hates anythin with a slimy or anythin textured. If his hands will get messy he won’t eat it. And he ALWAYS uses a spoon and fork. ?? it’s crazy how different kids can be.
Kate says
My toddler loves homemade pizza, broccoli & cheese veggie tots, kielbasa, frozen waffles, everything bagel & cream cheese!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Oooh we haven’t tried bagel and cream cheese. I need to see if she’ll eat that.
Mackenzie says
Also, they sell veggie cups just like the fruit cups! They have been my lifesaver for my 18m boy. You dont even have to warm it up, just drain the juice and your done! Love this post!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
I need to find these! I’ve seen corn but I want to try to find some other veggies.
Zoe garcia says
This is a great list of realistic stuff , soon NEEDING to feed my son SOMETHING I’ve already reached for a few of these , I LOVE the new easy ideas i found in your article . Will follow this blog from now on. ❤️
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thank you so much!!
Megan says
My daughter will not eat veggies for nothing it is such a struggle I have tried hiding and mixing with other stuff to no avail she gets her veggies through V8 juice and Gerber pouches
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yeah that’s typical of a toddler. Or even just a kid. I’ve heard the best way to do it is to just put a tiny bit on their plate each time. They don’t have to eat it. Exposure over time will get them interested in it and eventually they’ll eat it. I didn’t eat broccoli willingly until I was in my 20s. lol
Sylvia Ruiz says
Thank you so much for this article! I love that you kept it realistic, when you have a picky eater the goal is to get them to eat even if it’s not always healthy. I have a 3 year old that just entered the picky stage. He loves fruit & surprisingly broccoli & lettuce. The problem is trying to get him to eat a meal. We just rediscovered pb&j I forgot how good it is, we also make our own pizza. I’m definitely going to try a lot of these ideas. I honestly felt embarrassed for letting him eat chicken nuggets & microwave mac & cheese. Thank you for letting all moms know we have the same struggle. Your article is a blessing!!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thank you so much! I honestly am scared every time I get a comment that it’s going to be someone being super judgy about me suggesting chicken nuggets and PBJ. There’s no food shaming here. You shouldn’t be made to feel embarrassed for feeding your kid “kid food.” It’s more common than the pinteresty healthy meals would have you think. My four year old had pizza rolls and Frosted Flakes and yogurt today.
Michelle says
You named your daughter “Toot?” Or is that her nickname? That’s all I could think about while I read this… lol
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Lol no that’s just a nickname. Most bloggers try to use a nickname for their kid online for privacy. But we do call her Toot in real life sometimes. Not so much anymore now that she’s in preschool.
Courtney says
Girl!! I love this so much!! My 1 year old is picky too! And some people go way too crazy with the elaborate meals! Some days I can get him to eat new things, others we have either chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese or lunch meat with cheese and crackers!! 1 thing he really likes also is frozen meatballs! You can microwave them individually and then I just cut them into bite size pieces!!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Ohhh that’s a good idea. I didn’t think about frozen meatballs.
Brittany says
Ummm can I just say thank you and I love you!! Hahah I thought I was doing something wrong because my son just isn’t a “meal” eater. He likes what I call finger foods and snack foods but at thus point I’m just happy he is eating something. These ideas are perfect and refreshing to see. I’m so tired of finding suggestions for recipients like broccoli tots and other fancy recipes that would take too much time and my son would just enjoy smashing in his hand.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
My thoughts exactly! I’m glad he’s eating something even if they are just finger foods. That’s still food. 🙂
Samantha says
Thank you so much for this list. Gave me a few good ideas. My husband and I love to eat very spicy food so there are nights we cant serve our main dish to the kids. We have tried a few times and they hate the spicy stuff. I really appreciate that you put ideas that I can actually make without needing fancy ingredients.
Jelena says
Thank you! The most honest article to date!! I don’t feel guilty now packing nuggets and mac n cheese to daycare! You literally described my household! I honestly don know anyone who pack those pretty lunch boxes from Pinterest as well! Lol !
Julie says
Thank you for such a realistic list of toddler food ideas. I started searching for meal ideas for my picky 2 year old and realized that whatever she eats is ok as long as she’s eating! She does chicken nuggets and PB and J easily plus many of the other suggestions in this post. I got some new ideas as well, so thank you! Nice to know that other mom’s out there are in a similar situation with their picky eater.
Amy says
This was a great article! There are so many recipes out there for toddlers that aren’t very realistic for most people’s lifestyles. I have a 17 month old who is a pretty good eater, he LOVES cheese quesodillas. Wet the tortilla, throw in a skillet, put some a shredded cheese blend on there, fold, then flip. Perfect with some green beans or broccoli. Lol ❤
Tara says
I love all these ideas! I have 2 toddlers that like veggies one day and can’t stand them the next day. My go to are smoothies at lunch time. I use power greens, a fruit, greek yogurt, chia seeds, and unsweetened almond milk….my toddlers love them!! Smoithies are also so versatile and quick
Meg says
A lot if these are staples in my little guys diet. I do a version of Mac n Tom, but I used crushed tomatoes because my little guy likes the chunks of tomatoes. He also loves peanut butter, so we also do apple slices with peanutbutter and raisins, toast with peanutbutter and honey, pancakes with peanutbutter. I’ve also started add mashed/pureed carrots to his mac n cheese, or the broccoli cheddar knorrs pasta sides. He and my 11 monthold also love meatless spaghetti. I’ll cook noodles and put cold prego (they have low sugar, veggie+, and +protien options) on top, it ends up being the perfect temp for him. Homemade hambuger helper with fusilli is very popular. So are airfried tatortots and veggie chicken nuggets.
Nat says
I don’t know how often you see this but I’d strongly suggest that you edited this post in regards to ramen. Ramen is not unhealthy. The sauce the cokes with “instant” ramen might be unhealthy, but the noodles themselves are fine. Koreans eat a lot of ramen, and they’re not unhealthy or less healthy than Americans by any means.
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yes that’s very true. The instant packet of ramen is what is available to most people and is very high in sodium. But the noodles themselves are fine if you can find a good substitute or serve them plain. Thank you!