In our house lives a delightful 7-year-old who, for the longest time, would eat hot dogs, plain spaghetti, cereal, and that was about it. Getting her to try something new was like pulling teeth, to the point that my wife and I started to worry about her nutrition. That all changed, though, when my wife received a decorative cake cookbook for Christmas.
My 7-year-old daughter could not put it down and would spend hours reading it and planning which cakes she wanted to make for various occasions. Seeing her interest, we explored the world of cookbooks for kids, and suddenly she became interested in food and trying new dishes because she could make them. Since then, she’s been a de facto sous chef in our house, helping out with just about everything we put on the table.
There are a metric ton of great kid-friendly cookbooks, each one with its recipes and step-by-step instructions for tiny Gordon Ramseys (with hopefully less shouting). Vegetarian, desserts, baking, international, you name it. Here are 15 cookbooks for kids that will inspire them to get into the kitchen!
The Complete Cookbook For Young Chefs: 100+ Recipes That You’ll Love To Cook And Eat!
If you’re going to start, start complete! From America’s Test Kitchen Kids, The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs is just that. The over 100 recipes were tested by over 750 kids, ensuring that there’s bound to be a whole bunch of foods that become favorites.
With step-by-step photos and testimonials from the kid test-chefs, your kid will eat up (yeah, I had to) chapters about Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, and the difference between cooking for one vs cooking for many, this is the cookbook that will give your kid a well-rounded start in the kitchen.
Bluey and Bingo’s Fancy Restaurant Cookbook
It’s all of the wonderful and adorable dishes from Bluey in your house, for real life! From Nana’s Ice Blocks to the sought-after Pavlova, the best of the best of Bluey’s recipes are in this spiral-bound, lay-flat book.
Each recipe comes with an easy-to-follow ingredients list, simple instructions, and a whole lot of fun. Fairy Bread and Shadowland Cupcakes are favorites in our house, but the real winner was the Omelet, which convinced our 9-year-old that eggs were not that difficult to make!
Be sure to check out our list of the best Bluey episodes and the lessons they teach children.
Pretend Soup And Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook For Preschoolers And Up
Don’t let the name fool you. Pretend Soup is a very real cookbook from Mollie Katzen, author of over a dozen cookbooks for kids and grown-ups. The extensive classroom- and home-tested recipes are designed to inspire kids’ appreciation for creative, wholesome food.
Pretend Soup is also filled with beautiful watercolor critters and pictorial versions of each recipe to help the young cook understand and get excited about the process. This book is hours of fun for kids and grown-ups as the kids become “Head Chef” and the grown-ups their helpers!
Kid Chef Junior Box Set: My First Kids’ Cookbook for Junior Chefs & Bakers
This one’s a “twofer” because the Kid Chef Junior Box Set includes not one, but two great books for your budding Boyardee. Kid Chef Junior provides recipes for healthy meals in a fun and creative kids’ cookbook that teaches kitchen skills and prep, utensils, appliances, and more. For dessert, Kid Chef Junior Bakes provides easy-to-follow instructions as well as tips for kitchen rules and safety, as your kid creates delicious baked goods and treats.
Each book provides large type and illustrated instructions. Through 50 recipes, your kid will learn the importance of food handling rules, essential cooking skills, and more. One might even say, it’s going to be a piece of cake. I wouldn’t say that, but some might.
Star Wars: The Padawan Cookbook: Kid-Friendly Recipes From A Galaxy Far, Far Away
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… people were really hungry! It takes a lot of energy to set up a Galactic Empire or Rebellion. Fortunately, they wrote down what they were eating, and now young padawans can learn all about cooking (and the force) through the easy-to-follow instructions.
There are dozens of Star Wars-inspired recipes like Fruit TIE Fighters, Endor Rolls, Sith Soupers, Ahsoka’s Jelly Cubes, and (presumably blue) Bantha Milk Slushies. This cookbook will easily take your padawan to the rank of master… chef!
Camping With Kids Cookbook: Fun And Easy Recipes For The Whole Family
Cooking isn’t just in a kitchen, and kids and families don’t always eat inside. So, for the outdoor adventurous type, there’s the Camping With Kids Cookbook. The book is filled with recipes that kids can make for the whole campsite. Hearty ingredients keep everyone’s energy up for days of adventure—and evenings of passing treats around the campfire. You and your kid can cook up nutritious meals and try some new twists on traditional campfire cooking, such as s’mores and roasted hot dogs.
Camping With Kids Cookbook doesn’t stop there, though! It also includes instructions on various outdoor cooking methods, like a Dutch oven or skillet, a camp stove, fire, or coals, or even no heat at all.
Lunchbox: So Easy, So Delicious, So Much Fun To Eat
In our house, the meal that causes the most stress is always lunch. What can we put in the lunchbox that they will eat? Can we slip some nutrition in there? Will the box come home empty or untouched? These are the burning questions when it comes to lunches. One way we’ve tried to answer them is by asking the kids to help us stock their lunchboxes.
Lunchbox features 100 easy-to-make, healthy, and colorful meals that require virtually no cooking and make not just lunchtime fun, but also the process of making lunch. This cookbook is an excellent resource for kids and parents when it comes to packing a lunch that they will actually eat!
The Official DC Super Hero Cookbook: 50+ Simple, Tasty Recipes for Growing Super Heroes
I couldn’t pass this one up because I needed to know what was in the Bat Cave Chicken Stew (spoiler alert: it’s chicken). From Up, Up and Away Parfait to Green Arrow’s Fruit Kebobs, DC superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, and more contribute to over 60 kid-friendly recipes.
This book is also great if you’re having a superhero-themed birthday party or celebration, and it even comes with DC Superhero symbol stencils and hero cutouts for decoration. It’s both the heroic cookbook your kids need and the heroic cookbook your kids deserve.
The Ultimate Science Cookbook For Kids: Over 75 Recipes & Science Experiments For Kids
If you have a little scientist in the house, this is the book for you. This STEM-based cookbook contains over 75 recipes that aren’t just science-themed; they are experiments in themselves! Your kid can learn about the food they’re making while uncovering the science behind Marshmallow Meteorites, Grape and Cheese Towers, and even an Edible, Exploding Volcano!
These succulent science experiments are also highly customizable, with half the fun being the experimentation with different flavors and ingredients. Your kid can build their kitchen confidence, experiment with new tastes, and digest science facts. Plus, around Halloween, it’s not hard to convert this into the “Mad Scientist” cookbook as well!
Kitchen Explorers!: 60+ Recipes, Experiments, And Games For Young Chefs
Another great way to encourage your child to try new dishes is to “gameify” the experience. With that said, Kitchen Explorers! is not just a cookbook; it’s an interactive workbook that contains experiments, hands-on activities, and games–all about food! It’s like school, but way more delicious.
Why are fizzy drinks fizzy? Can salt be art? Do jelly beans… smell? Find out with recipes for smoothies, guacamole, energy bites, mug cakes, and more. Puzzles, word games, coloring pages, and experiments will keep your kid excited and counting down to dinner.
Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook: Healthy, Kid-Friendly Recipes To Cook Together
Age ain’t no matter when it comes to pancake batter! Even the smallest chefs can be helpful in the kitchen. Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook not only teaches kids aged 3-5 about cooking, but it also provides lists of safe and easy tasks and safe kitchen utensils for your little one to utilize.
The recipes are twists on things kids already enjoy, like English Muffin Pizzas, Rainbow Rice Noodles, and, dare I say, Broccoli Nuggets?! Plus, there are spaces in the book to record your kid’s reactions and experiences with the recipes, so when they find something they like, you’ll have it right at hand.
Passport On A Plate: A Round-The-World Cookbook For Children
If you’re looking to add a little international flavor to your kids’ exploration of cuisine, this cookbook is filled with recipes from all over the world. Dishes from Africa, China, Russia, and many other regions are represented in easy-to-follow recipes and gorgeous illustrations. It not only exposes your kid to the food, but also the customs from around the globe.
Twelve countries and regions are explored in over 100 recipes that teach the culinary history of different lands and the eating habits of people from a range of cultures. The cookbook also includes activities to do with friends or in the classroom, as well as foreign language expressions for inviting others to eat.
The Forest Feast For Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes That Are Simple To Make
If your kid isn’t big on meat, food blogger Erin Gleeson serves up kid-friendly vegetarian recipes that are quick, easy, and fun to make. This colorful cookbook emphasizes simple recipes, locally grown foods, and kid-friendly flavors. Kids can try out 20 recipes, including Pesto Pepper Pizza, Black Bean and Kale Tacos, Butternut Quesadillas, and more!
There are also sections giving tips on crafty table decorations, kitchen safety, and even a glossary of culinary terms. Gleeson herself provides lush watercolor illustrations, making it perfect for the more veggie-minded kids in your life.
Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love To Make (And Eat!)
Even at only ten years young, this cookbook is already considered a classic. Cooking Class has taught millions of kids to cook, and this 10th anniversary edition (released in 2024) includes new recipes, photos, and a sturdy paper-over-board format. Your kid will learn that using fresh ingredients and making things from scratch makes food even more delicious.
The 10th Anniversary edition also includes bonus pull-out pages that feature stickers, place cards, and even meal-time conversation-starter games, so that your kid will be the life of every tiny dinner party they are invited to!
Gruffalo Crumble And Other Recipes
Oh, you didn’t know? Yes, the favorite food of the Gruffalo, a frequently read bedtime story in our house (even now!), is available to make! Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes is filled with simple meals and treats, healthy snacks, and more from the classic book The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Scrambled Snake? Check. Roasted Fox? You Bet! And of course, Gruffalo Crumble and more are all represented with step-by-step instructions, exciting illustrations, and more. Also, you don’t have to talk in rhyme while you make these dishes, but it helps!
A quick note: Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes is due for release in October 2025 and is now available for pre-order.
