37 Healthy Kid Friendly Vegetarian Dinner Recipes (2024)

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Created On: April 30, 2018&nbsp|Updated: October 22, 2020| 49 Comments

Today I’ve rounded up my favorite Healthy Kid Friendly Vegetarian Dinner Recipes! Even if your child is picky, you’re sure to find a few new easy go-to dinner recipes here! All are easily adapted to be vegan or gluten free, if they aren’t already!

I know that the phrase “Kid Friendly” can be very subjective! What one kid gobbles up, another kid won’t even touch. Some kids are more adventurous and are willing to try anything while others have their staple meals that they eat over and over again. So, I most definitely cannot promise that your kid will enjoy every single one of these Healthy Kid Friendly Vegetarian Dinner Recipes!

I can tell you that my almost 2 year old has enjoyed all of these meals though and I definitely wouldn’t call him the most adventurous eater! We all know our own kids and their palettes, so some of these recipes might require a little tweaking to get just right for your kiddos, but I’m hoping you will find this list useful and that your kids will enjoy at least a few of these Healthy Kid Friendly Vegetarian Dinner Recipes!

A lot of these healthy kid friendly vegetarian dinner recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less and all of them are very easily modified to make gluten free or vegan, if they aren’t already 🙂

KID FRIENDLY VEGETARIAN DINNER RECIPES

Crispy Baked Tacos with Summer Vegetables

5 Ingredient Gnocchi, Broccoli and White Bean Bake

Easy Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Vegetarian Meatball Enchilada Bake

Loaded Greek Chickpea Pasta Salad

BBQ Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Lentils

Polenta Parmesan with Spinach and White Beans

Vegan Lentil Meatloaf Cups

Roasted Butternut Squash Tostadas

Curried Vegetable Pot Pie

Crispy Baked Tacos with Seasoned Cauliflower

Jackfruit and Pinto Bean Baked Taquitos

Baked Enchilada Style Veggie Burritos

Zesty Pumpkin Mac N Cheese

30 Minute Ginger Sesame Noodles

30 Minute Tempeh and Chickpea Sloppy Joes

Smoky Homemade Veggie Dogs

Avocado Pesto Quesadillas

One Pot Creamy Vegan Caprese Pasta

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Crispy Potato Tacos

30 Minute Pizza Skillet Casserole

Easy One Pot Pasta Primavera

Crispy Baked Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos

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One Pot Loaded Vegetarian Chili Mac

Fajita Gnocchi Skillet with Avocado Salsa

Cheezy Vegan Taco Skillet

Tofu and Chickpea BBQ Sandwiches

BBQ Black Bean and Quinoa Tacos

Vegan Butternut Squash Mac N Cheese

BBQ Spaghetti Squash Pizza

One Pot Stove Top Enchiladas

Creamy Corn Penne with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes with Chickpeas and Lentils

Cashew Alfredo Pasta with Broccoli

Smashed Chickpea Taco Pizza

Baked Taquitos with Black Beans and Sweet Potato

Easy Vegan Black Bean Burgers

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Jacqueline Sseggayi-Blankenstein says
April 30, 2018 at 3:50 am

Woaw, this is a LOT of great recipes…. Thanks for sharing this for free!:-) You’re amazing.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  May 3, 2018 at 4:44 pm
  
  I hope you find some you and your family enjoy! 🙂
  Reply
Alyssa says
August 8, 2018 at 2:57 pm

Thanks so much for the recipes! It’s been so hard to find vegan/vegetarian recipes that the kiddos and husband love. Both are meat fans and I am trying to cut out all the meat these all look delicious!! Thanks so much ????????????
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  August 8, 2018 at 6:15 pm
  
  Yah! I’m so glad you find them helpful! My husband loves meat so I try to come up with meals that meal eaters will enjoy too!
  Reply
Stacey K Clarke says
August 13, 2018 at 12:02 am

Mmm, these look delicious! So creative. I am excited to try one of them this week! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  August 13, 2018 at 6:28 pm
  
  Thank you, Stacey! I hope you find some that you like!
  Reply
Karen says
August 19, 2018 at 6:19 pm

I have made probably 8 of your recipes for dinner my husband and I loved them! My kids actually ate some of them and really loved the pumpkin macaroni and cheese. Keep posting!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  August 21, 2018 at 6:37 pm
  
  That’s so nice to hear, Karen!! And awesome that your kids and husband loved them too! I know it can be a struggle to cook for husbands and kids somethings haha 🙂 Thank you!
  Reply
Veronica says
August 30, 2018 at 1:06 pm

Thank you so much for this! I was slowly forgetting everything I used to make for my family, and finally decided to restart my “plan to eat” account. I added all kinds of recipes from here, which is saying a lot, because we have so many restrictions and picky eaters in this house!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  September 2, 2018 at 9:16 am
  
  Yah! I hope you find some your entire house enjoys! 🙂
  Reply
Daliz Vasquez says
August 31, 2018 at 11:53 am

Thank you for sharing! My 12 year old has been transitioning into the “meatless” world… and it has been so difficult to find meals that the entire family would enjoy as we support her choice of no meat. I hope these recipes not only help us bond as we are making them together, but that they continue to support her decision… and hopefully ours of going meatless in the future. I thank you!
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- She Likes Food says
  September 2, 2018 at 9:15 am
  
  That’s so nice to hear, Daliz! And great that you are supporting her! I hope she likes some of these recipes 🙂
  Reply
steph says
September 16, 2018 at 10:16 am

Amazing collection of recipes! Thank you so much for giving me dinner plans for the next two weeks! Looks like great options for my 4 and 7 year old. 🙂
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  September 23, 2018 at 4:25 pm
  
  I hope you find some that you and you kids like!! 🙂
  Reply
Caitlin says
October 14, 2018 at 2:19 pm

Yum! These look amazing!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  October 14, 2018 at 11:39 pm
  
  Thank you! 🙂
  Reply
Jacky says
October 26, 2018 at 9:07 pm
See Also
Easy Grape Salad Recipe - Feeding Your Fam

I am SO glad I found your recipes!!! They’re amazing. I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and I’ve been waiting to find amazing recipes that my kids will eat too! Thank you!!!!!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  October 26, 2018 at 11:19 pm
  
  Yah! I hope you find some that you all will enjoy! I’m so glad you found my page too! 🙂
  Reply
Caitie says
October 26, 2018 at 11:25 pm

SO happy to have stumbled on your site! My whole family will enjoy these meals:)
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  October 28, 2018 at 6:25 pm
  
  Yah! I hope you find some that they all love 🙂
  Reply
Becca says
November 28, 2018 at 9:17 am

Wow – this is PERFECT! I’m in such a food rut with my kiddos and am resorting to the boring staples of english muffin pizza, pasta and hummus with a side of veggies and cottage cheese waaaay too often. Thank you so much for gathering all these recipes in one place!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  November 28, 2018 at 10:47 pm
  
  I’m so glad you find this post helpful! I’m guilty of getting stuck in food ruts too and we’ve been known to do a lot of bagel pizzas around here haha! I hope you find some recipes that you and your family will enjoy 🙂
  Reply
Oliva says
November 30, 2018 at 12:01 pm

Wow the food look amazing!
This is great the kids I babysit love to try new things they will surely love these.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  December 2, 2018 at 4:14 pm
  
  Awesome! I hope you find some that they enjoy 🙂
  Reply
Nazmul Hasan says
December 12, 2018 at 11:04 am

Wow the food look amazing!
This is great the kids I babysit love to try new things they will surely love these.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  December 13, 2018 at 10:23 pm
  
  Awesome! I hope you find some that you like!
  Reply
Ewa says
January 6, 2019 at 8:42 am

These look amazing!!! I’ve been trying to find recipes that we can all enjoy as a family for a long time. Thank you for sharing them with the world.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  January 6, 2019 at 9:59 pm
  
  Thanks, Ewa! I hope you find some recipes that you and your family will enjoy!
  Reply
Kirsty says
April 6, 2019 at 8:27 pm

Wow, i just stumbled upon your website after deciding to reduce the amount of meat we eat (hopefully eliminate it eventually!), am so excited to try your recipes and you have made this weeks meal planning so easy! Thanks so much.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  April 8, 2019 at 6:16 pm
  
  Yah! I’m so glad you are finding my site helpful! I hope you find some recipes you and your family enjoys 🙂
  Reply
Suzie Douglas says
June 18, 2019 at 10:00 am

I’m very excited to stumble upon your site with all these wonderful veggie ideas for kids! My kids are 14,12, 10 and 7 and none of them eat meat, apart from the little one, who very rarely gets given it as he lives with all of us! Anyway… I am constantly tying to find new interesting recipes. Can’t wait to try some of these. Thanks so much for sharing xxx
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  June 18, 2019 at 3:15 pm
  
  Yah! I hope that you can find some that your kids enjoy! <3
  Reply
Mila says
October 30, 2019 at 12:10 pm

Super grateful for your inspiration and for sharing. Thank you!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  November 18, 2019 at 4:58 pm
  
  I hope you find some that your family enjoys!
  Reply
Monica says
November 5, 2019 at 10:50 am

These all look so delicious… I would love to transition to a vegetarian household. We arent yet and I’ve mentally prepared myself for this and it’s super overwhelming, especially when I have a picky no veggie eater of a son and a Husband who loves meat. 😞 my youngest daughter who is 3 LOVES fruit & some veggies. She refuses to eat meats or chicken. So my house has been tough to please. I would love to in a perfect world go all plant-based/ vegan. But its super overwhelming with a large household and a fixed income. Its overwhelming for sure for me, it’s kinda preventing me to even start. 🤷‍♀️ just being honest. Thank you for sharing your recipes, they look amazing.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  November 18, 2019 at 4:48 pm
  
  I totally understand! And it can take some time. My husband and kids eat meat but I don’t ever cook it for them so they’ve just learned to eat what I cook and then can order meat when we go out 🙂
  Reply
Elizabeth says
April 21, 2020 at 9:23 pm

Thank you so much for these! I’ve made a few and just printed off 5 more to try soon. I’ve got a 7, 4, and 1 year old (and a meat-loving husband. haha) but we are trying to do more vegetarian meals for our health. I appreciate you posting these. Such a great resource.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  April 27, 2020 at 4:18 pm
  
  Awesome! I hope they enjoy them! I have a meat loving husband too 🙂
  Reply
Beth says
April 24, 2020 at 10:37 pm

Not kid friendly AT ALL!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  April 27, 2020 at 4:10 pm
  
  My kids have eaten and enjoyed all of these recipes. As I say at the beginning of the post, it definitely depends on the kid and how picky they are, but my kids have enjoyed these meals
  Reply
Anonymous says
May 12, 2020 at 5:00 pm

Can’t wait to try these recipes! My ten year old daughter is trying to become a meatless person and we all have to support her journey
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  June 3, 2020 at 12:00 pm
  
  I hope you find some that she enjoys!
  Reply
Harilal's says
June 5, 2020 at 9:21 am

A big thank you. Your recipes are amazing. Keep sharing more vegetarian recipes.
Reply
Heather says
May 3, 2021 at 12:03 pm

Thank you for these!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  May 12, 2021 at 11:02 am
  
  I hope you find them helpful!
  Reply
Melanie L Shannon says
May 21, 2021 at 8:23 pm

I like your recipes but these pop up ads are irritating!
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  May 23, 2021 at 10:20 am
  
  I’m so sorry you are finding them irritating, I’ll look into them! Unfortunately, I do need ads to earn a living but I try to keep them at a minimal 🙂
  Reply
Nancy says
November 21, 2022 at 6:04 pm

Hi! I am a grandma following Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), my kids are fluid eating meat and vegetarian, my 7-year-old granddaughter is leaning towards vegetarian but doesn’t eat a variety to support good health. I am excited to share these with my daughter and granddaughter. I hope if she is really ready to be vegetarian, she’ll try more variety.
Reply
- She Likes Food says
  November 22, 2022 at 10:55 am
  
  That’s great! I hope she finds some she enjoys! Thank you for sharing my recipes!
  Reply

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37 Healthy Kid Friendly Vegetarian Dinner Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to eat healthy vegetarian meals? ›

Healthy eating as a vegetarian

Eat a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. ...
Base meals on starchy carbohydrates. ...
Dairy or dairy alternatives are needed for calcium. ...
Eat beans, pulses, eggs and other sources of protein. ...
Choose unsaturated oils and spreads. ...
Limit foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Show Me More ›

What children eat for dinner? ›

Picky eaters will love our classic dishes like chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and fish fingers. Or try introducing new flavours and textures with our easy curries, stir-fries and stews. Get your little ones their 5-a-day with our easy ideas to pack in more veggies, including hidden veg sauces and healthy recipes.

Find Out More ›

What can kids eat for lunch without meat? ›

Easy vegetarian lunch options including hard-cooked eggs with crackers, nut or seed butter sandwiches with jam, hummus wraps, DIY Lunchables (without meat), DIY Uncrustables, pasta salad, hummus and crackers or bread, cheese and cracker plate, rice and bean burritos, bean and cheese quesadillas, and more are easy ...

Learn More Now ›

What is the most nutritious vegetarian meal? ›

Our 10 Healthiest Vegetarian Dinners

Vegetarian Kale and Cannellini Bean Stew. ...
Vegetarian Paella with Red Peppers & Chickpeas. ...
How To Make the Best Lentil Dal. ...
Tofu Chickpea Stir-Fry with Tahini Sauce. ...
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Chickpeas, Feta, and Herbs. ...
Roasted Broccoli & Cheddar Soup. ...
Sweet Potato Fajitas.

More items...

Read On ›

What is the most famous vegetarian dish? ›

Originating in the Middle East, falafel is one the most popular vegetarian foods in the world! As one of the most popular vegetarian foods in the world, falafel needs no introduction! However, the origin of these beloved patties is rather controversial.

Discover More ›

What to eat instead of meat? ›

Whole soy foods, such as edamame, tofu, tempeh, soy milk and soy nuts, are great sources of lean protein. Unlike most vegetarian proteins, soy is a complete protein, providing all the essential amino acids for optimal use by your body.

Can vegetarians eat cheese? ›

Given that dairy — including cheese — does not require the slaughtering of an animal, it's usually permitted by lacto- and lacto-ovo-vegetarians, as well as some pescatarians. On the other hand, vegans avoid all animal products or animal byproducts, including dairy and milk.

Read The Full Story ›

Can a vegetarian eat eggs? ›

Well, the short answer is yes! Unless they are vegan (meaning they don't eat dairy products, eggs, or any other products which are derived from animals), some vegetarians do eat eggs and belong to a group known as lacto-ovo-vegetarians which according to the Vegetarian Society is the most common type of meatless diet.

Get More Info Here ›

What is healthy food for kids? ›

Nutrition for kids: Guidelines for a healthy diet

Protein. Choose seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans, peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.
Fruits. Encourage your child to eat a variety of fresh, canned, frozen or dried fruits. ...
Vegetables. ...
Grains. ...
Dairy.

What if my 11 year old won't eat meat? ›

“But if the child still has a serious moral issue with meat, or thinks that the animal suffers, don't force your child to eat meat. Give them healthy options and don't give up on exposing them to new and different kinds of food. All children go through eating phases,” Murray said. “Sometimes it's a week or a month.

Know More ›

How can I replace meat for kids? ›

If your child is vegetarian or vegan, they can get protein from beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, nuts and wholegrains. For example, your child could eat legume-based dishes like dahl, or you could add nuts to salads. If your child is vegetarian but not vegan, they can also get protein from dairy foods and eggs.

Read On ›

What do vegetarian Americans eat for dinner? ›

American Vegetarian Food

Grilled Cheese Sandwich. A classic American sandwich made with melted cheese between two slices of bread, often grilled or toasted until crispy and golden brown.
Green Bean Casserole. ...
Hush Puppies. ...
Corn On The Cob. ...
Peach Cobbler. ...
Red Beans and Rice. ...
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. ...
Macaroni and Cheese.

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Apr 28, 2023

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What is the best dinner for night? ›

Here are some healthy dinner ideas:

Grilled chicken or fish with roasted vegetables and quinoa or brown rice.
Vegetable stir-fry with tofu or shrimp and served with whole wheat noodles or brown rice.
Black bean and sweet potato tacos with a side of mixed greens.
Lentil and vegetable soup with a side of whole wheat bread.

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Jan 23, 2023

Read The Full Story ›

What do vegetarians eat for protein? ›

Vegetarian protein options include: