Easy recipes kids can make themselves
Our easy, low-effort recipes are simple enough for kids to make themselves. Get children in the kitchen with our frozen banana lollies, pizza crumpets or no-bake cheesecake.
Want some simple, tasty recipes that need minimal adult supervision? These easy bites are the answer to your prayers. We have colourful sweet and savoury dishes kids can get stuck into, without the need for too much parental input. At most, there might be a little baking, microwaving or ingredient slicing involved, but we've kept the fiddly prep to a minimum.
Turn bored future-bakers into mini chefs in a flash. Kids can decorate sweet apple doughnuts, make instant ice cream or a filling lunch with our crumpet pizzas.
Get even more ideas for no-cook kids' recipes from our main collection, or discover more involved cooking projects with our kids' cooking recipes.
10 recipes for kids to make themselves
1. Apple 'doughnuts'
Whether you're planning an outdoor picnic or a pick 'n' mix style lunch, these easy apple 'doughnuts' make an eye-catching addition to any spread. Kids will love decorating and munching their fruity treats and best of all, there's no cooking required. For very young children, you might need to peel and slice the apples, then they can get spreading and sprinkling over their toppings.
2. Rainbow fruit pizza
Use a ready-made dough mix to create a base for your rainbow pizza. If you're feeling adventurous, make your own base using our eggs Florentine pizza recipe. Use whatever mix of fruit your kids love best, the cinnamon base adds a touch of sweetness and spice.
3. Rocky road
Busy fingers can dive into our easy rocky road recipe and mix up an afternoon treat with mainly storecupboard ingredients. These blocks of deliciousness take just 20 minutes to make – use mini marshmallows, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn or whatever fillings take your fancy. Swap dark chocolate for milk to bind the mixture together if your children prefer.
4. No-bake orange cheesecake
Children can really get stuck into bashing up the biscuity base, mixing the filling and decorating our no-bake orange cheesecake. This family-friendly dessert is ideal for a weekend project and is a great first foray into cooking. It's also very versatile, try switching up the digestive base with ginger or chocolate biscuits and swapping the orange for lemon or berries.
5. Cornflake cakes
A confirmed classic, everyone loves a cornflake cake. You'll need just four ingredients and some colourful cupcake cases. Younger kids might need some help melting the chocolate but other than that, let the chocolatey mess happen and set your stoercupboard treats in the fridge until you're ready to eat.
6. Frozen banana lollies
Everyone can enjoy these fruity chocolate lollies, kids and adults both! Chunks of banana and fresh strawberries make the perfect base for these sweet pops. Get the kids to thread the fruit on the lolly sticks, then dip in yogurt and chocolate layers and sprinkle on hundreds and thousands. You can make them up to a week in advance and keep in the freezer until you're ready to eat them.
7. Chicken pesto wrap
Swap your standard sarnies for these easy wraps stuffed with all your favourite fillings. Use cooked chicken breast, pesto, cheese and a soured cream base and get kids to roll their own lunches. The trick is to not overfill or it will be tricky to wrap.
8. Crumpet pizzas
In the mood for something savoury? Our fridge-raiding crumpet pizzas make a delicious weekend lunch. Help younger children with assembly, or let older kids loose to pile on their favourite veg. Chopped peppers, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn and ham work well, simply chuck on the cheddar, grill for 3-4 minutes and serve up these cheesy masterpieces. No dough needed, just chunky crumpet bases and whatever toppings you have to hand.
9. Rice pop doughnuts
No baking, just a handful of ingredients needed and delicious treats as a reward. Put a tray of doughnuts moulds to good use and revamp classic rice pop cakes into these customisable bites. No doughnut mould? No problem. Pack your chocolatey rice pops on a baking tray, then cut your doughnuts shapes out using pastry cutters, the effect will be the same.
10. Instant vanilla ice cream
Little kids will get a real kick out of this recipe; part science experiment, part tasty treat. Double bag all your ingredients and make sure they're sealed well to avoid any kitchen disasters. Get little hands shaking or throwing the bags of ingredients to turn the milk into ice cream, we advise wearing gloves to avoid chilly fingers. After around 10-15 minutes, open your bags, scoop into bowls and sprinkle with your favourite toppings.
Enjoyed these recipes? Try our other kids' activities...
10 kids' cooking projects
Top 5 savoury recipes to cook with kids
Breakfast muffins for kids
10 quick and easy snacks for kids
What's your go-to recipe to get kids in the kitchen? Leave a comment below...
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