23 Kid Friendly Vegan Recipes That My Toddler Loves

This simple steel cut oatmeal is my daughter's go-to breakfast on busy mornings when I don't have time to make anything more elaborate. It's healthy, filling, and really easy to make in the Instant Pot.

I usually make a big batch of these oats once a week, and then reheat single serving portions with a splash of almond milk for baby J's breakfast.

These delicious vegan chocolate chip pancakes with blueberries are made with simple ingredients that you probably have in your home right now! Dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free, and easy to make.

My daughter loves these easy 5-ingredient vegan banana pancakes so much that I've been making them almost every weekend. They call for just 5 simple ingredients, and have no refined sugar. Better yet, you'll only need one bowl to make the batter! My daughter loves these pancakes so much that I've been making them almost every weekend.

I may be biased, but this vegan waffles recipe is probably one of the easiest and most versatile I've seen on the internet. I almost always have all the ingredients at home, so I can whip a batch of these anytime, or even double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for a quick breakfast another day.

Baby J likes her waffles with maple syrup and strawberries on the side, but I prefer to pile all my berries on top, then cut up my waffle and pour the syrup on top.

Butternut squash is usually a safe bet as a vegetable side for baby J. She's had it roasted both with Indian and Italian spices, and liked both equally. I usually serve it with lentils, avocado, and whatever vegetables I have in the fridge that day.

Few kids - or adults - would ever turn down mashed potatoes. My quick and simple vegan mashed potatoes recipe calls for only 5 ingredients, and comes together in about 20 minutes! Better yet, these potatoes are made with no butter or oil, and are naturally gluten free.

I know what you're thinking - there's no way a toddler would ever eat Brussels sprouts! That's what I thought too until one night I put a few roasted Brussels sprouts in baby J's dish along with other foods, and by the time I made my own plate, she scarfed down every last piece of her sprouts!

This is the recipe I've been using to make my toddler-adored Brussels sprouts. Even if you're not usually a fan of sprouts, I'm sure you'll enjoy them roasted this way just like my daughter does.

Once baby J became proficient with utensils, I started serving her various soups. This simple vegan soup with lentils, rice, and cauliflower quickly became one of her favorites. It's a good source of protein, fiber, and healthy carbs.

I often mix in some chopped avocado to make its fat content a little higher (kids need more fats in their diets than adults because fat is used for a variety of growing tissues and organs including brain).

Another variation of lentil soup, this one is made with a variety of curry spices that give it an oh-so-comforting, rich flavor. This vegan lentil spinach soup is a more recent addition to the blog, but it's been in baby J's favorite recipe rotation for a few years now.

This vegan minestrone is another well-enjoyed soup in baby J's diet. She loves picking out pieces of potatoes and pasta with her hands, and dips bread in her bowl to soak up the broth (of course she uses her spoon too).

I have instructions to make this minestrone soup both in the Instant pot and on stovetop - click the button below to see how it's done.

This is a later addition to this post, but it absolutely deserves to be here. My daughter loves this hearty Tuscan soup with vegan sausage, potatoes, and kale so much that she always asks for seconds.

These BBQ chickpeas and rice are a delight both for baby J and me: they are flavorful, which she likes, and very easy to make, which I find helpful. I usually make them with a homemade barbecue sauce using a recipe in this post, but if you want to make things even easier, feel free to use a store-bought sauce.

Baby J wasn't immediately sold on these eggplant rollups, but eventually she warmed up to the familiar flavors of tomato sauce and potatoes. As for the eggplant, sometimes she eats every last bit, while other times she won't touch it. Just what you'd expect from a two year old 🙂

This fajita filling with soy curls is another dish that took a few tries before baby J started eating it regularly. Since she's been vegan from birth, she's never had meat, so the meatiness of soy curls wasn't anything special to her.

She does like vegan "chicken" nuggets, so once I told her that the soy curls were "just like nuggets", she eventually gave them a try. These days she'll eat a good-sized serving of this fajita filling every time I make it.

Any kid has a soft spot for mac and cheese, so it was only natural for baby J to enjoy my version of it. She's also a big fan of broccoli, so its presence isn't a turnoff for her. If your kids (or you) aren't into broccoli, feel free to skip it, and just add a bit more pasta to make up for the volume difference.

This is hands down baby J's favorite recipe from the blog as of today. When her speaking skills started getting better at 18-20 months, she would point at boxes of jumbo shells at the grocery store and exclaim, "Stuffed shells!"

I usually give her a couple of these cut up into quarters when we sit down to dinner, but lately she's asked to keep the shells whole. That gives me lots of opportunity to practice my patience as I watch her make a mess of the spinach-ricotta filling 🙂

This vegan bruschetta pasta is one of the quickest recipes from the blog, taking only about 10 minutes to make.

Baby J likes the simplicity of angel hair noodles (which I usually cut up for her to make them shorter) tossed in a simple tomato-based sauce. I try to serve these with some extra veggies on the side.

These vegan pinto bean taquitos weren't a "love at first sight" with baby J, but they definitely grew on her after a while. They're very easy to make, which makes them perfect for a weeknight dinner.

The bean filling is also great for meal prep: it can be made in advance, and then used in these taquitos, as well as in burritos, burrito bowls, and even sandwiches.

Baby J has been a bit picky with some Asian-style stir-fry varieties because some sauces can a bit too flavorful for her, but this sweet chili tofu stir-fry has always been welcome.

I mean, what[s not to love? It's got lots of texture thanks to broccoli, peppers, onions, and crispy tofu, and a lovely, sweet sauce with just a hint of spice. Better yet, the sauce is super easy to make with just 5 ingredients (+ water).

You're probably surprised to see a spicy Cajun classic like jambalaya on a toddler-friendly vegan recipe list. Believe it or not, baby J enjoys spicy food, so as long as I don't jack up the Cajun seasoning to the max, she'll eat it just fine.

If your toddler isn't a fan of spicy foods, you may want to skip this recipe for now - although you never know, they may surprise you.

For a while baby J wasn't very proficient with eating hard cookies or crackers, so these lovely vegan oatmeal-raisin cookies became one of her favorite sweet treats. Raisins are a hit or miss with her: sometimes she picks them out, while other times she eats every last bit.

If you've always found oatmeal-raisin cookies underwhelming, I suggest that you try this recipe - it's gotten rave reviews both from kids and adults.

I don't think I need to sell you on chocolate muffins, and it's probably safe to think that you trust me that baby J loves these. In fact, our whole family is a fan: not only do these muffins taste heavenly, they are also quite healthy, made with no oil and hiding an entire grated zucchini in every batch (but you'd never tell that zucchini part, of course).

So if you'd like your kids to eat more vegetables, I can't think of a better way to do it than by offering them some chocolate muffins. Yum!

Baby J loves banana bread (I know, shocker! 😄), and this one is her favorite. Speckled with chocolate chips, it's got vibrant aroma and a rich, moist texture, yet it's made without any oil added!