As the temps cool and the holidays approach, many parents are spending more time in the kitchen, whipping up slow cookers full of comfort food and baking sheets lined with sweet treats. But aside from the simple act of getting dinner on the table, cooking can also provide a great bonding activity for parents to enjoy with their kids. At Daily Parent, we totally encourage cooking with kids, and we’ve rounded up our favorite kid-friendly cookbooks to help get the party started on the right foot!
The International Cookbook for Kids
If your kids are like most, they welcome any opportunity to gobble down pizza, guacamole, fried rice and lots of other international fare. Now, with The International Cookbook for Kids, you can save your takeout cash and teach your kids to make it themselves.
Garden to Table: A Kid’s Guide to Planting, Growing, and Preparing Food
With so many drive-thru and grocer’s freezer food options, it’s easy for kids to get disconnected from where their food actually comes from. With Garden to Table: A Kid’s Guide to Planting, Growing and Preparing Food, kids will learn what it really takes to get their favorite foods on their plates—from seed to frying pan.
Taste of Home Kid-Approved Cookbook: 328 Family Tested Fun Foods
Taste of Home is a trusted name in producing high-quality recipes that yield delicious results every time, and the Taste of Home Kid-Approved Cookbook: 328 Family Tested Fun Foods is no different. Sure, these recipes are created for little chefs—but they’re still big on taste.
ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family
Navigating the vast category of kids cookbooks can be difficult when you have no way to assess its true quality. As the winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in the Children/Youth/Family category, ChopChop: The Kids’ Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family takes all the guess work out of the decision. As an added health benefit, every recipe has been approved by the Academy of American Pediatrics.
The Do It Myself Kids’ Cookbook: Nothing Hot, Nothing Sharp
From the moment kids can talk, they are careful to let you know that they can do everything themselves. And with The Do It Myself Kids’ Cookbook: Nothing Hot, Nothing Sharp they actually can. Recipes are developed for children as young as four, and there’s a parents’ prep section that details what (limited) steps you’ll need to complete to assist your budding chef.
National Geographic Kids Cookbook: A Year-Round Fun Food Adventure
Finally—a book that really makes food and cooking fun! The National Geographic Kids Cookbook: A Year-Round Fun Food Adventure combines recipes tailored to each month of the year (e.g. Witches’ Toenail Trail Mix in October) with crafts and other activities for hours of excitement in and out of the kitchen.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory…
If you have a little Hogwart-wannabe who’s obsessed with everything Harry Potter, you need to buy a copy of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook STAT! It’ll make whipping up Treacle Tarts, Pumpkin Pasties and more than 150 other recipes pulled straight from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s bestsellers almost as easy as popping in the DVD.
If your daughter would rather hang with Cinderella, Tiana and Ariel than Harry Potter and friends, The Disney Princess Cookbook is the book for her. With your help, she’ll learn to cook a variety of her favorite princesses’ favorite dishes. All you’ll need is a castle (and Prince Charming) to make all her fairy tale dreams come true!
Eat Your U.S. History Homework: Recipes for Revolutionary Minds
History lessons can get boring pretty quickly for social media-minded kids who have a hard time relating to people who lived hundreds of years ago. But by offering recipes authentic to different periods in American history (think: Thanksgiving Succotash and Southern Plantation Hoe Cakes), the Eat Your U.S. History Homework makes the process much easier. The book only has six recipes, but the easy-to-read history lessons before each one make this book a must-have.
The Ultimate Allergy-Free Snack Cookbook: Delicious No-Sugar-Added Recipes for the Allergic Child
It’s no secret that more kids than ever suffer from food allergies, and, for those children, it can be incredibly difficult for parents and other caregivers to prepare foods that are safe, healthy and delicious. Not only does The Ultimate Allergy-Free Snack Cookbook offer recipes that are free of top allergens (including dairy, gluten and soy), but they are also free of added sugar, making them healthy for anyone—allergic or not.
Cooking is Cool: Heat-Free Recipes for Kids to Cook
What do you do when your child is to young to turn on the stove, but she still wants to learn to cook? You give her Cooking is Cool: Heat-Free Recipes for Kids to Cook. Each recipe helps kids develop early reading, math and science skills, while also giving them plenty of practice following directions. And with no stove or oven necessary, there’s also no risk of burns.
Cooking Class: 57 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!)
Every great cook must first learn to master the basics, and Cooking Class is the first step to help your kids do just that. While they learn skills like measuring ingredients and using knives, they’ll also learn how to cook some classic dishes like pancakes, quesadillas and cupcakes.
Cool World Cooking: Fun and Tasty Recipes for Kids
The world is full of exciting flavors, and once your kid is familiar with standard fare like tacos and lasagna, Cool World Cooking will introduce him to exciting new global fare. Take your child on a culinary adventure around the world as he learns to cook exotic dishes like groundnut stew and croque monsieur.
Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook
You’ve likely been reading Better Homes and Gardens magazine for years, gleaning expert advice on everything from decorating your home, to planting an herb garden and, of course, cooking great food. Now, with the Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook, your kids can get in on the fun. The book teaches cooking basics in a entertaining yet informative way that appeals to both boys and girls.
Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook
With chapters named, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, the Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook guides children through the year with tips and tools to help them make the most of each bountiful season. Studies have shown that kids who have a hand in preparing their own food tend to have healthier diets, and the added advice on planting and growing their own produce will keep them healthy for the rest of their lives.
