Getting dinner on the table is hard enough some nights. Finding kid-friendly side dishes? That can be even more challenging. Don’t worry – I’ve got you covered. I’m going to share 15+ of my favorite kid-approved side dishes to serve with dinner tonight.
15+ Kid-Friendly Side Dishes to Make for Dinner
1. Broccoli Balls
This mom is serving these delish broccoli balls for lunch, but you can easily make them as a side dish for dinner.
Just smash together some cooked broccoli and potato. Add an egg, some oil, a good handful of shredded cheese and some spices. Mix it all together and form balls out of the dough.
Bake for about 20 minutes and serve as a tasty side dish with some dipping sauce.
2. Chickpea Veggie Nuggets
Are your kids obsessed with nuggets? They’ll love this recipe. Your kids won’t even realize they’re eating veggies.
Use a food processor to blend cooked chickpeas with shredded carrots and zucchini, an egg, garlic, spices and a little bit of breadcrumbs.
Pan fry for about 3-5 minutes on each side, and serve warm. You can even make a bigger batch to serve with other weeknight meals. They stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days.
3. Toddler Sausage Balls
One of our favorite kid-friendly side dishes on this list. Why? Because it’s such a versatile recipe. You can serve these sausage balls as a side dish or a main dish.
These balls feature ground pork, butter, baking powder, flour, ranch seasoning and shredded cheese.
If your kids are a little more adventurous, try making the dipping sauce, which calls for mustard, maple syrup and yogurt (or mayo).
Related: 21+ Easy Side Dishes for Barbecue That Are Too Good to Skip
4. Crack Corn Casserole
Kids love this casserole, and it’s such an easy side dish to make. It mixes corn with butter, ranch seasoning, cream cheese, bacon and cheddar Jack cheese.
If your kids aren’t fans of bacon, you can omit this ingredient and it will still taste amazing.
Once you’ve mixed everything together, the only thing left to do is bake it in a casserole dish for 20-30 minutes.
5. Baked Macaroni & Cheese Bites
What kid doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? This recipe bakes little balls of mac & cheese in a muffin tin until they’re crispy and delicious.
The best part is that you’ll make everything from scratch, including the cheese sauce, which is made with a simple butter, flour, milk and cheese mix.
This Pinner adds a lot of different spices that your kids may or may not like. You can omit them and stick to just salt and pepper to be safe.
Don’t forget to top your bites with shredded cheese before baking to make them even crispier.
6. Air Fryer Broccoli and Carrot Tots
These kid-approved tots are so easy to make, and they give your little ones a healthy dose of veggies.
Cook your carrots and broccoli however you want (steam or boil). Just make sure they’re soft enough to mash. Then, add cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, an egg and spices.
Mix well and start forming tots with your veggie mix. Lay them out evenly in the basket of your air fryer and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Carrot Pizzette
Here’s a fun recipe that your kids will love. Start with cooked carrots. Mash them into the bottom of a bowl. Add flour to form a dough.
Then, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough and a round cookie cutter to make little pizzas.
Spread them out on a baking sheet and top each round with some sauce and cheese. Bake and serve.
8. Kid-Approved Zucchini Bites
Want healthy kid-friendly side dishes? These zucchini bites are it. Crispy. Cheesy. What’s not to love?
It’s as simple as tossing your zucchini slices with olive oil, spices and Parmesan cheese.
Bake for just 15-18 minutes and you have a tasty side dish that will be devoured by your little ones.
The great thing about this side dish is that it’s so versatile. You can serve it with virtually any main dish you want.
9. Kid-Friendly Strawberry Salsa
A simple five-ingredient recipe that’s perfect for summer. It’s not the usual side dish, but it pairs really well with most main dishes.
All you have to do is mix together strawberries with cilantro, red onion, a garlic clove and lime juice. You can serve them with chips to make it even more fun as a side dish.
10. Cheesy Carrot Bites
These carrot bites are so simple to make, and there’s no doubt that your little ones will devour them.
Mix shredded carrots with breadcrumbs, egg, spices and shredded cheese.
Then, scoop out tablespoon-sized portions and roll them into small balls. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees until the edges start to brown.
If your kids love these bites, you can prepare a large batch and freeze it for later.
11. Kid-Friendly Pizza Pasta Salad
This is one of those kid-friendly side dishes that even the adults will love. You need only a few ingredients, too: rotini pasta, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, Italian dressing, grape tomatoes and shredded Parmesan cheese.
Just cook your pasta, let it cool and add all of the pasta salad ingredients. Top with Parmesan cheese, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Related: 25+ Easy Gnocchi Recipes You Need In Your Life
12. Veggie Rice Balls
Here’s a fun recipe that the kids will enjoy. It uses mostly healthy ingredients: carrots, broccoli, shredded cheese, rice and egg.
Mash it all together and form little balls. Bake and enjoy!
You can use any type of cheese your kids like for this recipe.
Prefer not to use eggs? Try mixing flax and water to create a binder for this recipe.
13. Parmesan Zucchini Fries
Crispy veggie fries that take 30 minutes or less to make.
Start by slicing your zucchini into fry shapes. Then, dredge through eggs, followed by a mix of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, and serve.
I recommend using panko breadcrumbs because they make the fries extra crispy.
You can serve these as-is as a side dish, or you can add some dipping sauce if you want.
14. Veggie Orzo
Here’s a kid-approved side dish that you’ll also love. And it doesn’t take long to make. Sauté broccoli florets and carrots with a little garlic until they soften and become fragrant.
Fill a pot with chicken broth and add the orzo. Cook for 10-15 minutes and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. You want the orzo to absorb most of the chicken broth.
Then, add the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Once they melt, this dish becomes so creamy. Just make sure that you let this dish cool off a little bit before you serve it to your little ones.
15. Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries
Here’s one of my favorite kid-friendly side dishes to prepare because it’s so easy. It’s also a healthy choice because it’s not loaded with cheese.
The trickiest part is cutting the carrots into fries. Once you have that down pat, you can toss with oil, seasonings and cheese. This recipe calls for garlic powder, but you can skip this ingredient if your kids aren’t fans of garlic.
I prefer to cook mine in a pre-heated air fryer, but you can use an oven if you like.
16. Cheesy Cauliflower Nuggets
These cauliflower nuggets are such a fun dish to make. And you only need a few ingredients: cooked rice, cauliflower florets, eggs and spices.
Steam the cauliflower first. Then run it through your food processor until finely chopped. Just be careful not to puree it (you don’t want to over-process them).
One important step is to drain as much water from the cauliflower as possible. Once you’ve mixed with the remaining ingredients, you can use a small cookie scoop to portion your mixture and form little nuggets.
Bake for about 14 minutes (7 each side) and serve with your little one’s favorite dipping sauce.
Related: 25+ Best Side Dishes for Chicken That Are So Easy to Make
17. Corn Fritters
Kids will love these fritters, which are subtly sweet and crunchy. You only need a few things to make them: corn kernels, eggs, flour, cilantro leaves, salt and oil. The recipe also calls for a sliced jalapeno, but if your kids don’t like spice, you can skip this ingredient.
Making the fritters is so simple. Mash your corn kernels in a bowl using a mojito muddler or a potato masher until they’re broken and juice comes out.
Add the rest of your ingredients and mix well.
Cook in a frying pan for about 3 minutes, flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
Serve with some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
18. Buttered Corn Rice
Sweet corn. Buttery rice. A touch of garlic. This tasty combination is ready in just a few minutes.
You’ll use a generous amount of butter and olive oil for this recipe, but that’s what gives it its rich flavor.
Pair your cooked white rice with diced white onion, corn, chicken bouillon and fresh herbs. You can skip the herbs if your kids are extra-picky.
If your little ones love rice and corn, then they’re sure to adore this recipe.
