Hi, there! It's been awhile since I posted a round-up of easy, kid-friendly snack or meal ideas, and I'm not sure why! They have always been some of my most popular (and probably most useful) posts. Lucky for you, this may be one of my best yet! I have pulled together more than 40 easy and Healthy Toddler Finger Foods. These options are all simple to prepare, nutritious, and the perfect size and texture for introducing your little ones to a variety of new tastes and textures. Check out my list below and let me know what I'm missing. What are some of your favorites? Leave a comment and share your ideas with all of the other readers. Our kids will thank us!
- Cheese cubes, cut up string cheese, or soft cheeses (like American), cut into bite-sized pieces
- Pesto pasta wheels (one of my boys' favorites! Just cook some wagon wheel pasta shapes and toss them with some homemade or store-bought pesto sauce)
- Mini Muffins (like these whole grain honey-peach Toddler Muffins, these Maple and Spice Yogurt Muffins, or these 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins)
- Guacamole or Hummus with pita bread triangles, toast squares, or small pretzel sticks for dipping
- Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites from The NY Melrose Family
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Bites from Plum Pie Cooks
- Cheese quesadilla triangles (my boys like to dip them in mild taco sauce or guacamole, too!) or Pizzadillas (a favorite in our house)!
- Buttered toast squares (spread with 100% fruit jam for a sweet treat)
- Blueberries (always a favorite fruit with my little ones)
- Cut-up canned green beans (the canned version is very tender for little gums, but you could also steam your own fresh beans until they reach desired tenderness), or for another very tender and flavorful option, try these Slow Cooker Southern Green Beans
- Mini whole wheat pancakes (a great freezer option that you can just microwave when you need them!), or if you can handle a bit more mess, you can make the pancakes into these delicious sandwiches
- Make these meatballs in a miniature size for easy handling! Kids love them, and they freeze perfectly. If you have standard-size meatballs, just cut them up into smaller bites. Works great!
- These healthy no-bake granola bars are soft and perfect for little toddler gums – just leave off the large M&M’s on top to prevent a choking hazard.
- Cooked pieces of fish (salmon or a mild white fish like halibut have always been favorites in our house)
- Aunt Bee’s Sour Cream and Cheese Potatoes (it might get a bit messy with a toddler, but these tender, cheesy potatoes are perfect for little mouths, can be grabbed by the handful, and are even easy to scoop up with a spoon)
- Pirate’s Booty snack
- Steamed and chopped broccoli or cauliflower (surprisingly, most little kids seem to love this!)
- Italian Herb & Parmesan Greek Yogurt Biscuits (cut as small as your kids like – I make mini biscuits for my boys and they LOVE them!)
- Egg and Cheese Mini Muffins (a reader favorite and another great freezer-friendly option!)
- Graham crackers dipped in this healthy 2-Minute Peanut Butter Dip
- Hardboiled or scrambled eggs
- Macaroni and Cheese (like this easy, no-boil version of Overnight Macaroni & Cheese)
- Cooked carrot sticks that are soft enough for a little one to chew
- Fresh, ripe avocado cut into long slices so that they are easy to hold
- Cooked green peas
- Cubed grilled, boiled, or roasted chicken
- Shredded Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef (tender and easy to chew!)
- No-Bake Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars (cut them into bite-sized pieces or small squares if that makes them easier for your child to handle)
- Raw bell pepper strips
- Raw zucchini strips
- Sweet Potato Corn Muffins (use a mini muffin tin to keep them toddler-friendly!)
- Turkey, Pesto, and Cheese Roll-Ups or Roast Beef & Cheddar Roll-Ups (soft and easy to hold!)
- Canned black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1-Dish Creamy White Cheddar Shells with Shrimp & Peas (this super-fast dinner uses all bite-size ingredients – even the shrimp are mini!)
Looking for even more kid-friendly food ideas? Check out these previous posts:
Lower Sugar Breakfast Ideas for Kids
Mix It Up! 5 Toddler Lunch Ideas (Beyond Mac and Cheese)
Healthy and Easy Lunch Ideas for Kids
My Top 10 Toddler and Little Kid Breakfast Ideas
10 MORE Favorite Toddler and Little Kid Breakfast Ideas
Introducing Solids With Baby-Led Weaning
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg
Blair - Although I don't have children of my own, this is a great post for my cousin. Her baby will be one in a month and she's always looking for healthy snacks to give Amaya. Thank you for sharing.
Blair
You're so sweet, Erin! I hope that it's helpful for your cousin!
Manali @ CookWithManali
your little one just melts my heart whenever I see him Blair, he is so damn adorable!Awieee! lots of love to your kids and these recipes are all wonderful!
Blair
You're so sweet, Manali! Thank you. 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
Your kids are the cutest, Blair! And although I don't have kids, this is such a great list! I will have to remember this for when I do or when I baby sit. Such a great collection of recipes!
Blair
Thanks SO much, Gayle!
Jaime
My daughter loves muffins. Really, any kind of bread. So I make healthy banana muffins for her breakfast. =) And she loves crackers and hummus, but she ends up eating the crackers separate and then shoveling hummus in her mouth with her fists, haha.
Blair
My kids love muffins and healthy banana bread, too! Crackers and hummus is such a great snack for them. I hope that you got a few more good ideas here too! 🙂
Marina @ Parental Journey
I love all the ideas!! Always looking for some healthy snacks.
Blair
Thanks, Marina!! 🙂
Chelc | Inside the Fox Den
What a great list! I don't have any kids of my own yet but I spend a lot of time with my toddler aged cousins and friends' kids so this is definitely helpful! Thanks for sharing over at Merry Monday, hope to see you again next week!
Blair
Thanks so much for stopping by!
saray
Tried almost all of these super delicious snacks my 2year old son loved them! Thank you!! I'm always looking for healthy recipes for him.
Blair
Oh, I'm so glad!! Thanks for letting me know, Saray!!
Ushmana Rai
My nephew is turning 2 this November ,which means he is going to be snacking a lot ,along with his regular baby food. Right in time that I find you blog. Really helpful , thank you for this amazing list of speculations, keep posting more!xx
Blair
Thanks so much! I'm glad that you find this post at just the right time. 🙂
Samara
Blair,
I love all of these ideas! I have a two year old, and sometimes it can be tough to get her to eat a healthy meal or snack. I'm always looking for good ideas on how to prepare simple things, and I bet she'd like several things on your list. I have bookmarked it for future reference! Thanks for this!
Blair
Thanks, Samara! I'm so glad that you may have found some new ideas! 🙂
meenal deshpande
Thank you for this great post! I feel set free from the overwhleming, regimented meal planning I tend to get stuck in. What I took away was it’s ok to do what I do ~ The Do Me/Do You mantra ~. While I don’t tend to keep multiple meats available in the fridge, I find keeping one meat/fish thawed helps the rest of the meal come together. My husband is super duper finicky on what veggies he’ll eat, but we keep trying others and slowly adding new items to our choices.
Beth
After reading tone of guides in the style of 'how to introduce solid foods to your baby?' (personally can recommend Susan Urban from parental-love.com), starting to feed baby with regular food is very easy. But how to do this in interesting way, especially when you are not a master chef, this is the real challenge! Thanks for many lovely ideas!
Blair
Thanks, Beth!
Richa'e Allison
I love all these ideas and I believe that my child would have eaten every single one of them if I would’ve started younger with some of these healthier things. Now she is one and a half years old and sometimes is a little too picky for my taste. Maybe we could start over. Right now, she’s addicted to those baby food pouches and bread with peanut butter.
Deeksha
I like the ideas. thank you so much.
Blair
You're welcome, enjoy!