Need ideas to add variety to your toddler’s lunchs?
Mid-morning meals are the perfect time to offer a balanced variety of foods and try to take advantage of those combinations to enhance nutrient absorption.
On this page, you will find easy meal ideas that work for the whole family, not just toddlers.
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Check out our breakfast ideas for toddlers as well!
Meal prep can be a lifesaver when it comes to feeding picky eaters, and it’s especially helpful when it comes to packing lunch for toddlers.
Not only does it save time during busy weekday mornings, but it also helps ensure that your little one is getting a balanced meal.
However, coming up with healthy and varied lunch ideas for toddlers can be a challenge.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of quick and easy lunch ideas that are perfect for meal prep.
Plus, with a little advance preparation, you can have these lunches ready to go in no time. Say goodbye to boring and unbalanced meals, and hello to healthy and satisfied toddlers!
Toddler lunch idea #1: Zucchini Puree +6 months
Ingredients
- A dash of olive oil
- 2 zucchinis
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 leek
- 2 carrots
- curry and black pepper
**For +12 months old you can add a bit of butter / grilled cheese to make it tastier and creamier.
You would offer some protein with it.
- Chop all the ingredients
- Add them to the pot together with the spices
- Let them poach so that everything gets a lot of flavor.
- When it smells great, let it cook for 15-30 minutes, mash and eat!
It can be easily frozen in jars to keep individual portions in case you don’t have time to cook one day.
Toddler lunch idea #2: Garlic Broccoli with carrots and hummus +6 months
Ingredients
- Garlic steamed broccoli
- Boiled carrots
- Hummus
- Tangerine
This dish is packed healthy foods with vitamins and minerals! Broccoli and carrots are cooked together and spices can be added to taste. Depending on what your baby likes. The thing is to try different combinations, in the end you will find many that your baby likes.
You could add some grilled cheese or cottage cheese to the broccoli if your child is 12 months or older.
Combining tangerine with Vitamin C and broccoli enhances the absorption of vitamins and minerals. This is one of the reasons why eating everything at the same time is beneficial and forget about dessert or starters.
When offering fruit, always choose fresh fruit if possible.
Toddler lunch idea #3: Green beans with potatoes and carrots +6 months
Ingredients
- Green beans with potatoes and carrots, dressed with EV olive oil
- Steamed apple slices or chunks
- Creamy Peanut butter
A nutritious toddler’s lunch!
Your baby needs protein, yes, but it does not always have to be animal origin. This meal is a perfect example of a balanced plate and, in this case, the protein comes from peanuts. You can offer animal protein at dinner or breakfast.
Remember to offer food in a shape and hardness that is adequate for your baby’s age.
Toddler lunch idea #4: Chickpeas with veggies and curry +6 months
Ingredients
- Chickpeas with veggies and curry
- Whole grain spikes
- Tangerine
If your baby is starting with solids, try offering a softer and safer type of bread.
Chickpeas are high in dietary fiber, which is good for your microbiota. Also, studies have shown that eating chickpeas regularly can help lower cholesterol.
We always try to offer citrus when eating legumes, since they help absorb iron better.
You can always swap the fruit for something else, like sliced strawberries for example.
Add a bit of curry to give some taste and flavor!
Toddler lunch idea #5: Sauteed Cauliflower with tofu and Carrots +6 months
Ingredients
- Cauliflower, tofu and carrots
- Whole grain spikes
- Kiwi
As we always do with vegetables, cook the cauliflower and then sauté it with the tofu, a little garlic and whatever spices your baby likes (in our case paprika).
More sliced fruit! Kiwi provides a dose of vitamin C and whole wheat breadsticks to add a little crunch to the dish.
Toddler lunch idea #6: Grilled chicken strips with corn on the cob +6 months
Ingredients
- Grilled Chicken Strips with Curry
- Corn on the cob
- Whole wheat toast
- Kiwi
Quick and easy this meal provides high bioavailable protein. Vitamin C and fiber are provided by the kiwi and the spelt bread. The corn on the cob just felt like it, although it has some nutritional value as well.
Remember, watch the daily protein intake.
Toddler lunch idea #7: Rice with veggies and mushrooms 12+ months
A video says more than 1000 words, so here you have the recipe directly from our Instagram. An easy, tasty and healthy rice recipe suitable for babies.
Toddler lunch idea #8: Chickpeas stew +12 months
Same idea for this one, but the recipe is Cocido, a special stew from Spain. Pablo loves it as much as we do. Check the video below.
Toddler lunch idea #9: Broccoli with carrots and pizza bread +12 months
Ingredients
- Broccoli
- Carrot
- Rye bread
- Fried tomato with no added sugar or salt
- Pasteurized cheese
As usual, we cook the broccoli with the carrot and sauté it with garlic and paprika.
Extra virgin olive oil to the bread, cheese, and tomato and to the air fryer, oven or frying pan.
Kiwi+broccoli=explosion of vitamins and minerals.
Remember, watch the daily protein intake.
Toddler lunch idea #10: Red Cabbage with Egg. +6 months
Ingredients
- Red cabbage cooked with apple and raisins
- Grilled egg (½)
- Wholegrain Rye bread with EV Olive oil
Remember, when cooking for kids younger than 24 months, to not use added salt.
Make sure the apple and the raisins are soft enough for your baby.
Also, try using high-quality oils, not only to use raw but also for cooking. The best option is, of course, extra virgin olive oil. However, you can also use regular olive oil or oleic high sunflower oil.
Toddler lunch idea #11: Chickpeas, Cabbage and Chicken. +6 months
Ingredients
- Chickpeas with cabbage
- Shredded chicken
- Apple slices
Chickpeas are a great source of phosphorus, iron and magnesium and they are especially rich in vitamins B1, B6 and folic acid.
We usually cook the cabbage with garlic and sweet paprika. Once it is cooked, we add the chickpeas and let it boil a bit more.
Toddler lunch idea #12: Garlic Broccoli and Cockles +6 months
Ingredients
- Garlic broccoli
- Airfryer potatoes
- Cockles with lemon
- Tangerine
The iron in the cockles is better absorbed with vitamin C, so we add lemon and tangerine.
Broccoli is always sautéed with a little garlic, pepper, and some extra spices, such as cumin. The potatoes are spiced (without salt) and in the air fryer to avoid fat.
Toddler lunch idea #13: Garlic Green Beans and Banana +6 months
Ingredients
- Garlic green beans and carrots
- Banana with almond butter
- Whole wheat toast with extra virgin olive oil
Cook the green beans and sauté them with garlic, carrots and a little paprika.
The carrot is cut in slices, and the slices in turn in half to avoid choking.
The banana with a little almond cream because Pablo loves it, and the spelt bread with a little extra virgin olive oil.
You could add some diced avocado to the toast for extra healthy fats and calories.
Toddler lunch idea #14: Bell peppers stuffed with fish with sweet potatoes and zucchini 12+ months
Ingredients
- 1 or more Bell Peppers
- Steamed Hake or unsalted cod
- Egg
- Zucchini
- Sweet potatoes
- Spices
Steam the fish. Then mash it, mix it with 1 beaten egg, and fry it in a frying pan. The previously roasted bell pepper is stuffed.
The zucchini and sweet potatoes are cut into strips, spiced and fried in an air fryer.
This meal requires a little more preparation, so it would be perfect for the weekend.
You could also use ground beef instead of fish for this recipe.
Toddler lunch idea #15: Curry chickpeas with veggies +12 months
Ingredients
- Precooked chickpeas
- Red bell pepper
- Carrot
- Spring onion
- Blueberries (crushed)
- Fresh or soft unsalted cheese
- Crackers without added salt
- Curry
- Add a little extra virgin olive oil to a pot or deep frying pan and add all the chopped vegetables.
- Then add curry to taste (we like a lot of curry).
- Let the vegetables dehydrate, stirring from time to time so that they do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- When the mixture looks golden brown add the chickpeas and turn off the heat.
- Stir for a minute and let them rest.
Toddler lunch idea #16: Peas with mashed vegetables and mashed potatoes +12 months
Ingredients
- Frozen Peas
- Zucchini puree (first lunch recipe on this page)
- Mashed potatoes
Simple, we know, but very nutritious.
Sometimes we don’t have time to be creative or to cook, but that doesn’t mean we run out of meal options to give to our toddler.
The peas are frozen, simply cooked for a few minutes, and seasoned with a few spices. If you have more time you can pan-fry them with a little onion or garlic to enhance their flavor.
The mashed potatoes in the photo are the ones that come in a sachet, not homemade. Choose the mashed potato option with the least amount of additives.
Toddler lunch ideas #17: Homemade pizza for toddlers and vegetable puree 12+ months
Ingredients (For the pizza dough)
- 6oz (170gr) whole wheat spelt flour
- 100ml warm water
- 0,2oz (6gr) fresh yeast
- Spices to taste
- A dash of olive oil VE
- Mix the yeast with the water
- In a bowl pour the flour and the spices and add the water with the yeast little by little, and finally the oil.
- Knead for 10 minutes.
- Make a ball after this time and leave it in an oiled bowl covered with a cloth and let it rest for at least one hour at room temperature.
- After this time, take it out and shape the pizza with a rolling pin.
Rest of ingredients
- Fried tomato without added sugar or salt
- Mushrooms
- Grated unsalted cheese
- Zucchini puree (again)
- Kiwi (golden for better taste)
Put the tomato on the dough, followed by the toppings and bake in the oven until golden brown.
Toddler lunch idea #18: Chicken fingers with couliflower +12 months
Ingredients
- Cauliflower
- Chicken nuggets (See: chicken nuggets recipe for babies and toddlers)
- Quartered grapes
- Carrot
- Cook the cauliflower until it is soft enough to be crushed with two fingers.
- Mash and sauté with a little garlic, carrot, and spices to taste.
- Cut the grapes into quarters to avoid choking.
Toddler lunch idea #19: White beans with clams and noodles +12 months
Ingredients
- Clams
- White beans
- Thin noodles
- Spiced whole wheat breadsticks
- Orange chunks
- The white beans are pre-cooked, to save time. It is necessary to wash them well.
- In a saucepan add oil and 3 cloves of garlic until golden brown.
- Previously the clams (we buy them frozen but the process is the same) are left to soak in cold water with salt until they are all open and can be cleaned well of possible traces of sand.
- Add the clams to the casserole with the garlic and cover for 5 minutes.
- Add beans and a glass of water and a touch of parsley. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes so that all the flavors are well integrated.
- If you want to add forcefulness to the dish, shortly before serving you can add some whole wheat noodles to the broth.
Toddler lunch idea #20: Spiced omelet with sweet potato 12+ months
Ingredients
- Spelt bread toast with peanut butter
- Crushed or halved fresh blueberries
- Sweet potato steamed and fried in air fryer
- 1 egg omelet with spices
- Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork in different areas and wrap it in a napkin dampened with water.
- Microwave for 5 minutes if it is a medium size sweet potato.
- Crack 1 egg and add spices to taste and then whisk.
- When the sweet potato is done in the microwave, take it out and cut it into thick strips. Add EVOO and spices to taste and put it in the air fryer or in the oven until golden brown.
- Make the omelet in the pan and eat!
And more!
Conclusion
In conclusion, feeding toddlers nutritious and balanced meals can be challenging, but it can be done with some meal prep and creativity.
We’ve provided 20+ healthy lunch ideas for toddlers that are delicious and packed with nutrients.
From zucchini puree to spiced omelets with sweet potatoes, these meals are perfect for meal prep and can be easily customized to suit your little one’s taste preferences.
Following these ideas ensures that your toddler gets a balanced and healthy lunch every day.
Don’t forget to check out our breakfast ideas for toddlers and follow us on Instagram for more meal inspiration!
We’re Maria and Alberto, a married couple and educators who are nutrition enthusiasts. Even before we had kids, we were already crazy about nutrition.
We’d read scientific articles, watch videos from nutritionists, and spend hours listening to nutrition podcasts.
Today, we continue doing this, but in a different way, as we’ve learned to sift through the noise and trends. Nutrition, like any other field of knowledge, the more you read and learn, the more you develop a comprehensive understanding of reality, and that’s what has happened to us.
Before having our first child, we focused on learning everything we could about child nutrition, using the same techniques we had already employed, backed by our extensive knowledge in nutrition.
Our mission is to help other parents with their children’s nutrition, to help them become the best versions of themselves.
If we are what we eat and drink, which is absolutely true, let’s do it right!
