What Can I Make As An Easy Dinner Idea For My Toddler This Winter?
What are some of the best (and easiest) winter dinner ideas for toddlers? As parents, we want our toddlers to eat nutritious meals – and this is particularly true during winter when the weather is dark and cold. But it’s not always easy when we’re pressed for time or needing to connect with our toddler. We’ve done the hard work for you with some top cooking and time-saving tips. So read on for some easy, delicious and warm dinner recipe ideas for your toddler this winter.
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Bolognese-Based Recipes For Toddlers
Our first three recipes are made using the same sauce, so you can batch cook the sauce and use it over more than one night.
1. Simple Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients: spaghetti, Bolognese sauce (whole or chopped canned tomatoes, tomato puree, kidney beans, mince (optional), onions, carrots, mushrooms, water)
Packed full of nutritious veg, you just need a can of tomatoes, tomato puree, kidney or other beans, onions, and whatever vegetables you like. Carrots, courgettes and mushrooms all work well. If you want to go non-veggie, use beef or pork mince instead of beans. Fry off the onions, cook the mince thoroughly (if you’re using meat), then add the other ingredients and a cup of water. Leave to simmer/reduce for as long as you like – and voila! You can cook spaghetti, pasta shapes or even rice as an accompaniment.
You can freeze extra Bolognese sauce to defrost and use another night. Or pop it in the fridge for the following day.
TODDLER TIPS:
- The beauty of Bolognese is that you can adapt it to your toddler’s taste. Prefer a smoother sauce (or want to hide the veggies)? Pop it in the blender. Want to make a vegan version? Substitute beans for meat. Is your toddler a big fan of cheese? Give them some grated cheddar to sprinkle on top.
- Once you’ve mastered a basic bolognese sauce, you can use it in other recipes too like lasagne. Cook double the amount you’ll use in one night and refrigerate half for the following night.
2. Lovely Lasagne
Ingredients: lasagne sheets, béchamel sauce (butter, cornflour, milk) Bolognese sauce (whole or chopped canned tomatoes, tomato puree, kidney beans, mince (optional), onions, carrots, mushrooms, water)
Make a Bolognese sauce as in the recipe above. While your Bolognese sauce is simmering, make a basic béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a pan on a low heat, and make a roux (paste) by stirring in cornflour. Gradually add milk and stir continuously to thicken the sauce. Add cheese to taste. Layer up your lasagne using pasta sheets, béchamel sauce and Bolognese, then cook in the oven for 40 minutes.
If you’re using fresh Bolognese sauce, you can make a whole extra lasagne and freeze it for another time (but if the sauce is left-over, the lasagne needs to be eaten straight away as you’re already reheating it).
TODDLER TIP:
- Make lasagne the day after making spaghetti Bolognese so you can use the left-over Bolognese as the filling for your lasagne.
- If your toddler is lactose-intolerant, try substituting oat milk in the béchamel sauce.
3. Brilliant Beef Bites
Ingredients: puff pastry, green vegetables (optional) Bolognese sauce (whole or chopped canned tomatoes, tomato puree, kidney beans, mince (optional), onions, carrots, mushrooms, water)
Again, using the same Bolognese sauce recipe, with or without meat. Make sure you heat the sauce thoroughly first. You just need a sheet of puff pastry. Cut this up into 8-10 rectangles, add the sauce, fold over into a parcel, then cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and well-risen.
TODDLER TIPS:
- Add green vegetables, sweetcorn or peas as a side. Whatever your toddler likes!
- Freeze your Bolognese sauce to save time on making it fresh. When you’re ready to use it, pop it in the fridge to defrost overnight.
Quick And Easy Winter Dinner Ideas For Toddlers
These next two ideas are kitchen staples you can use again and again.
4. Jolly Jacket Potatoes
Ingredients: large baking potato, oil or butter (optional), cheese/baked beans/other toppings
Jacket potatoes really cook themselves (just remember to prod with a fork several times before putting them in the oven) so you can go and spend time with your toddler while the potatoes are cooking. Add your toddler’s favourite toppings and serve.
TODDLER TIP:
- Speed up the cooking time of jacket potatoes by microwaving them first for 5 minutes on each side. Then, oven-cook them with a little oil or butter. You’ll find they come up nice and crispy.
5. Chompy Cheesy Pasta
Ingredients: pasta, béchamel sauce (butter, cornflour, milk), cheese
Boil your pasta for 10 minutes. While it’s cooking, make a béchemel sauce (see idea 2 for lasagne). Melt grated cheese into your sauce. Combine the drained pasta with the sauce and serve.
TODDLER TIP:
- Use pasta shapes or spaghetti if you prefer.
Batch Cooking Ideas For Toddlers
Our next three recipe ideas can be prepared ahead of time. Check the recipe for whether you can freeze and pull out when you need them, or whether to store in the fridge for up to three days.
6. Beautiful Broccoli Bites
Ingredients: brown rice, broccoli, egg, cheese, breadcrumbs
This is one we’ve sourced from a mum blogger who loves prepping healthy toddler food. For her broccoli bites recipe, you basically need fully cooked brown rice, egg, cheese, breadcrumbs and fresh (or frozen) broccoli. Cook the broccoli, combine the ingredients in a food processor, and use a spoon to put portions on a baking tray. Bake in the oven.
Find the full recipe and instructions for this here under Broccoli Tots and for dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free options. Freeze and defrost when you need them, or store in a fridge for up to three days.
TODDLER TIP:
- Try substituting cauliflower for broccoli.
- Serve as a full meal alongside pasta, rice and sauce.
7. Choice Chicken Fritters
Ingredients: flour, egg, grated cheese, chicken pieces (fully cooked leftovers or cooked chicken from the supermarket)
Another one from the Yummy Toddler Food blog. Simply shred the cooked chicken into a large bowl, add the flour, egg, grated cheese and mix all together. Use your hands to form the mixture into balls and flatten them so they’re flat fritters. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the fritters and cook until golden on both sides. Read the full recipe, pictures and other options here.
These can be kept in the fridge for around three days (don’t freeze as the chicken has already been cooked once and reheated).
TODDLER TIP:
- Add vegetables like broccoli
8. Perfect Pancakes
Ingredients: plain flour, eggs, milk, oil (for frying)
Pancakes are another toddler favourite. Use the 1-2-3 method: that’s 100g of plain flour, two eggs and 300ml of milk. Whisk or blend all the ingredients together. Pop a frying pan with a drop of oil on a medium heat then add one or two large spoonfuls per pancake. If you’re not a fan of flipping, carefully turn the pancake over to cook on the other side using silicone spatulas. You can freeze these pancakes.
TODDLER TIP:
- Make batches of small scotch pancakes for the freezer. When you need one, pop it out on the side to defrost or in the toaster on the defrost setting.
- You can add banana to pancakes for your toddler. For a dairy-free option, try this three ingredient recipe of just banana, egg and flour.
9. ‘Wonderful World’
Ingredients: baked beans, scrambled eggs, milk (optional), butter (optional), toast
One from our very own Emily, Happity’s Co-Founder. Once you arrange it on a plate, this looks like the Earth’s crust, core and mantle. So to make this fun-looking dinner, heat the beans, make the scrambled eggs (with a little milk and butter to taste) and toast the bread. Serve the baked beans in the middle to form the “core”, add scrambled eggs around them for the “mantle” and finally add a cut-up toast ring round the outside for the “crust”. A creative alternative to beans on toast!
Other Recipes We Love:
- Annabel Karmel’s Fruity Chicken Curry – Annabel Karmel is a guru when it comes to prepping meals for toddlers. This one’s great for the whole family and suitable from 18 months.
- Annabel Karmel’s ‘My First Chicken Curry’ – you can make this for your baby from 6 months.
Extra Top Toddler Tips:
- Batch cook where possible
- Freeze small portions to use another time (make sure they’re defrosted thoroughly)
- Use leftovers or make sauces to use on consecutive days
- Get your toddler involved with easy cooking like stirring and mixing
- Stock up on staples like flour, eggs, butter, oil, frozen vegetables and pasta so you always have ingredients to hand
Which recipe will you try today? Tell us in the comments or share your toddler’s favourite winter warmers with us on social media.
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