How to Get Kids Cooking In the Kitchen; 10 Tools to Get Them Excited to Help You!
I will be the first to admit that when my kids used to ask me if they could help in the kitchen I would cringe a little. It was just easier and faster to do it myself. I felt so guilty though. My kids were missing out on the joy and learning of an important life skill.
Fast forward to today and after some practice and preparation, I have learned that getting my kids cooking in the kitchen can be a relatively smooth, easy and sometimes incredibly time-saving experience! I also have ulterior motives here...if I put in the work now, they are going to be cooking meals for me soon enough! Okay, maybe that's still a few years down the road, but it's still important to start them young.
When children participate in kitchen tasks, they learn to touch, feel, smell, and taste real food. Their senses are awakened and curious. They start to understand where food comes from, how it "magically" becomes a meal, and they become interested in trying new foods.
I'm going to highlight 10 tools that I think are some of the best ways to get your kids cooking in the kitchen. Why not try a few to start with? I've even included some of the recipes and ideas we use.
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10 Tools to Get Kids Excited to Help Cook In The Kitchen
#1 The Inspiralizer
I am starting with this tool because I find it to be one of the best gadgets to inspire kids cooking in the kitchen! Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I just want to NOT tell my kids we are making veggie noodles because then I get to use the Inspiralizer all by myself 🤣!
My kids go bananas carrots over this tool as well. (Note: you can't spiralize bananas!) As soon as I suggest using it there is a mad race to the kitchen and a fight over who gets to use it first (maybe I should buy two and capitalize on free child labor?)
What I really like about The Inspiralizer Pro is that this version has two suction points on the bottom to ensure no slippage, even when being used by two rambunctious boys! It also comes assembled. #bonus. Those are really the only two differences between the Lite and the Pro versions. Both versions have a safety cover to protect little hands from sharp blades. Safety first!
What you can use this tool for:
making vegetable noodles (as a substitute or in addition to flour-based pasta)
adding spiralized fruits and veggies to salads
making "vegetable rice" to use instead of (or in addition to) regular rice
adding spiralized veggies to soups
making fancy spiralized fruit for cocktails or mocktails
Ali, the founder of Inspiralized.com even has a whole section on cooking with Kids!
#2 The Lettuce Spinner
My 1.5 year old helping me in the kitchen with the salad spinner.
Oh, how the simple things in life can provide so much entertainment. That is exactly what happens when you bring out the salad spinner. Fun times in the kitchen.
Have your kids pick off herbs from stems, pull apart kale into bite-size pieces, or break up large lettuce leaves. Show them how to wash the produce, and then get them spinning! So. much. fun. You will see!
They won't want to stop, so if you have other meals you can prep that day, might as well get the kids to do more washing and spinning!
We use a salad spinner like this one with a grippy bottom.
#3 The Kitchen Aid Mixer
My (almost) 4 year old helping me make breakfast muffins with the Kitchen Aid mixer.
This kitchen gadget is great to use when you bake healthy muffins, cookies, or other baked goods. The kids and I frequently make one of our favorite recipes, Banana Apricot Muffins, using the Kitchen Aid Mixer, that we eat as breakfast muffins (full or protein and it's grain-free!)
Make sure to get all of your ingredients ready ahead of time so you can monitor the operations side of the process. Then grab a step stool for the younger ones and let them help you. You have to be okay with a little mess here, but the giggles and sheer joy make up for that a thousand times over!
#4 The Vitamix (Blender)
My husband getting some help from our 4 year old to make his daily green smoothie.
What can't you make in this thing? The Vitamix blender is clearly one of my favorite kitchen tools if you peruse the other recipes on my blog. The kids love it because of the buttons, dials and the fact that you can see everything getting swirled and mixed together.
In the summertime, I think we run our Vitamix blender several times a day. Getting kids cooking in the kitchen is pretty easy when they know that a delicious (and nutritious) popsicle or smoothie can be enjoyed shortly.
Some of our favorite recipes using the Vitamix blender (with kids) in our household are:
No Fail Chocolat Kale Smoothie (for kids and adults!) (smoothie or popsicle recipe)
How to Make Mango, Mint, and Spinach Taste Amazing Together (smoothie or popsicle recipe)
Chocolate Blender Pancakes {gluten-free, dairy-free} and Muffins
My 4-year-old is anxiously awaiting the finished product...blender pancakes!
#5 The Cuisinart (full size and mini)
As with the Vitamix blender and the Kitchen Aid Mixer, one of the reasons kids love these tools so much is because of the buttons! The Cuisinart Food Prep is no different, and with the proper oversight, this is an incredibly safe tool for even young kids to use.
Again, make sure you get your ingredients ready ahead of time so that the kids don't have time to investigate the sharp blades while your back is turned getting everything sorted. With all of your measured and prepped ingredients, kids can have fun helping to add different ingredients and pulse or mix them together with your instructions.
Some of the foods that we love to make together in the Cuisinart are:
Chimichurri sauce (link to the recipe and how I like to use this sauce)
Hummus (find your favorite recipe with 15 amazing hummus recipe variations here)
Salad dressings (like this 5 Minute Avocado Cilantro Dressing)
My 4 and 8-year-old making pesto using a Cuisinart. (Yes, the 8-year-old was using a knife and is well versed in safety!)
#6 A (somewhat) Dull Knife
I know you might think I'm crazy telling you to give a preschooler a knife. Hear me out for a sec.
We teach our kids everything else about how to become a functioning human being as they get older. They learn how to dress themselves, how to pack their school bag, how to manage time with homework, responsibility for doing household chores and more. One thing we often neglect to teach is the super important aspect of how to feed one's self and prepare food. Basic stuff, not Top Chef level here.
This online cooking class for kids was super great for helping me teach the kids about knife safety (and more!)
So grab a dull knife and start teaching your young child how to cut and prep foods. Start with soft foods like zucchini, cucumber, or fruit. Then as they master control you can move on to sharper knives and firmer foods.
Young children have such a strong desire to help you with just about anything and everything so capitalize on that and get them used to being in the kitchen and seeing how various foods come together to produce what they see on the dining room table.
This is my 2.5-year-old helping me in the kitchen with a dull knife. He had the idea to get his swim goggles to protect his eyes from the onions! 🤣
#7 A Kitchen Spoon (stirring)
My (almost) 2 year old "helping" to lick the spoon after baking.
Another seemingly boring task but not for a child! Mixing foods together in a simple bowl is a highly desired job in our kitchen. And of course...licking the spoon!!!
With young children, you may still have to hold the bowl for them. I really like the bowls with silicone bottoms so they don't slide around as much (like these). With a spoon and your gentle guidance, even the youngest child can feel like a kitchen pro with this task! Not only are you boosting their confidence and self-esteem, you are also getting your kids cooking in the kitchen! Baby steps...
#8 Funnels
It's just like sand-play but with real food! You know what I'm talking about, right? Those sandbox toys that look like funnels and the sand or water makes the thing spin as the sand or water flows through? Yeah, that one! Somehow, using a funnel in the kitchen is even cooler. Probably because it isn't a "toy" but rather a "big person tool".
Grab a funnel, hold it firmly for your child and give them some instructions to go slow and steady. We use funnels for putting homemade salad dressings or sauces in bottles, pouring smoothies into popsicle mold bags, or refilling pantry containers with bulk bags.
#9 Lemon or Lime Press
My 8 and 4 year old using a lemon press and Cuisinart to make pesto.
Another fun tool! Things that go squirt when you squeeze!
You may need to help small hands with both the squeezing and the directing but they still love to see all the juice squirt out! We use these ones.
#10 Measuring Cups and Spoons
Math in real life! I am totally guilty of turning a kitchen session into a math learning opportunity. But my kids didn't even realize they were doing math! #winning
Some of the ways we use math in the kitchen are:
doubling recipe ingredients
cutting a recipe in half
using a different measuring tool than what is listed (for example using a half cup measuring tool instead of a full cup measuring cup so the child has to figure out how many half cups in 2 cups etc)
converting metric units to US customary units (for example converting grams to pounds - although we did use an app for that!)
So there you have it! 10 kitchen tools to help you get your kids excited to help you make dinner (or anything!) One of the most valuable lessons you can teach your kids is cooking in the kitchen. Even just basic cooking skills can give them enough knowledge to prepare and eat healthy foods for life.
I would love it if you shared one of the ways you and your child spend time in the kitchen in the comments below!
Shop this blog post
Most of the kitchen tools I highlighted are all featured in my Shop. Just to be clear, if you buy something through my affiliate links, I will get a very tiny commission (not enough to retire 😉) but it helps me continue to create free content like this article. Thank you!
To learn more about how to get kids cooking in the kitchen, be sure to check out this amazing online course!
