In this article
Getting kids in the kitchen with you, whether you’re baking Christmas cookies or making healthy treats, is a worthwhile activity for all ages. There's no shortage of resources when you're trying to find the best cookbook for kids, but how can you be sure you're choosing the right one for your aspiring chef? Here we’ve compiled 10 cookbooks for kids that will have your children creating recipes the whole family will love.
Kimberly Houston is an Atlanta-based chef, author, and mom of two who believes that kids should be in the kitchen as much as possible. “Engaging kids in the kitchen is about more than them learning how to do another chore," Houston told Mom.com. "Learning to cook in partnership with other family members, teaches teamwork and encourages relationship building.”
Highly-rated cookbook for kids
Food Network Magazine The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook: 150+ Recipes for Young Chefs
This has been a popular choice since its release at the height of the pandemic. Caregivers seeking resources to keep kids busy flocked to this book and others like it from publisher Sourcebooks.
"Everybody is home together so you’re spending that quality time in the kitchen. Plus cooking has a great STEM connection; you’re doing math and science but you’re also making something," Sourcebooks editorial director Kelly Barrales-Saylor told The New York Times in 2020.
Teach kids to cook with this cookbook
Your Kids: Cooking! A Recipe for Turning Ordinary Kids Into Extraordianry Cooks
This ten-lesson cookbook will teach kids to cook with step-by-step instructions for creating comfort foods including macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, and chicken fried steak, and desserts like apple crisp and pineapple upside-down cake.
It covers the skills your child will need to be safe while preparing food, like how to properly use a knife, and other cooking techniques and skills necessary to be comfortable and effective in the kitchen.
Written by Barbara Brandt, Your Kids: Cooking is geared toward children 8 and up, to be used alongside a supervising adult. The cookbook also includes a DVD for visual learners who prefer step-by-step recipe instructions.
Baking with kids: Breaking it all down
Teach Me How to Bake: The Ultimate Baking Guide for Aspiring Chefs
While cooking allows for creativity and deviation from the recipe, baking is another ball game requiring exact measurements and a balance of proper ingredients to achieve the intended purpose.
Even for some adults, baking can be difficult and confusing. It’s an exact science that can be overwhelming and at times disappointing when recipes don’t turn out as they should.
Chef Kimberly Houston breaks down all aspects of baking in her book, Teach Me How to Bake: The Ultimate Baking Guide for Aspiring Chefs. “Teaching kids how to bake teaches them patience, math, and science, Houston told Mom.com. “Food science is not only fun but delicious.”
With instructions on proper measuring techniques, an introduction to the various types of flours and how they work, and of course, recipes, tips, and tricks for successful baking every time, this book is a must-have for any young baker.
Cookbooks for kids who love Disney
Tiana's Cookbook
If your Disney-loving family is like ours — excited for the reimagined Splash Mountain to Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom — this cookbook is just what you need to tide you over until late 2024 when the attraction finally opens.
Tiana's Cookbook by Joy Howard includes 50 delicious Cajun-inspired recipes like chicken and sausage gumbo, muffuletta, and of course beignets. Each recipe features a short introduction that aligns with the Tiana storyline.
For little chefs who want to cook for the whole castle
The Disney Princess Cookbook
This fun book features all of your child's favorite characters along with full-page color photos of their recipes, like Belle’s strawberry roses and Elsa’s ham and cheese biscuit braids. Even your picky eaters will love these recipes.
A no-cook cookbook for kids
The No-Cook Cookbook
From the acclaimed DK Press, The No-Cook Cookbook is ideal for caregivers who wish to impart in their children a sense of independence without having to use a stove or oven. This is the perfect book for children who can read independently and want to take the reins and create something delicious and nutritious on their own.
Packed with over 50 recipes, safety tips and nutrition basics, your child will be creating salads, sandwiches, soups and snacks the whole family will love.
A cookbook to support local farmers
The Whole Family Cookbook: Celebrate the goodness of locally grown foods
From Michelle Stern, popular parenting blogger and founder of a San Francisco cooking school for kids, this book will take you through 75 fun and practical meals for the entire family.
This may be the perfect cookbook for kids who are not the most adventurous veggie eaters, as it offers advice on how to pick local fresh fruit and vegetables. Introducing new foods, tastes, and textures and having kids help out in choosing the ingredients, is a great way to expand your child's palette.
“Exploring food in the kitchen with kids encourages curiosity, a growth mindset, and stretching of the imagination,” Houston told Mom.com.
Monthly subscription cooking kit for kids
Raddish Kids Create-a-Cookbook
Those familiar with the popular subscription cooking kits for kids will appreciate this option. The company provides a binder for subscribers to organize and store up to six months of recipes from their site.
A monthly Raddish Kids subscription is a great way to incorporate cooking with kids into your daily routine, as it includes recipes, instructions, and shopping lists with substitution suggestions. Also included are lesson plans that incorporate historical and geographical information, and a fun bonus — a useful tool or utensil delivered to your door each month.
A cookbook for kids who love cooking shows
Masterchef Junior Cookbook: Bold Recipes and Essential Techniques to Inspire Young Cooks
For families who enjoy all the kids' cooking shows, this cookbook includes recipes inspired by contestants from Fox Network's Masterchef Junior.
Learn to cook while practicing math skills
The Math Chef
With over 60 kid-friendly recipes, this cook presents math concepts and reinforces them with recipes. Your child will practice converting measurements to the metric system, multiplying, measuring, estimating and more, while learning their way around a kitchen and creating a variety of recipes from breakfast to dessert.
