Recipes to Cook with Kids in September
For us, September means back-to-school, hectic mornings, busy afternoons, and apple season. So, for this month’s Recipes to Cook with Kids, I’ve focused on recipes kids will love to make for fun after school snacks, make ahead breakfasts, and quick, comforting dinners. Plus, lots of nutritious and delicious baked goods that feature apples!
Recipes to Cook with Kids in September:
Apple Recipes:
Sweet Apple Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips
Celebrate Fall with this fun and healthy snack for kids! Use up those all of those apples from your family apple picking outing or just buy a few varieties from the store. This easy dip and chip combo is low in added sugar, but tastes like apple pie!
Apple-Cinnamon Snack Cake with Honey
Apples, cinnamon, honey, and oats…the perfect combination for a sweet and nutritious Fall treat. This Apple-Cinnamon Snack Cake is great to bake-up post apple picking or whenever you have a couple apples to use up. Kids will love helping stir together this easy, one-bowl recipe with you.
This is a recipe I often make with kids in my cooking classes. The sweet flavors of apples and cinnamon make this smoothie irresistible. Have your little one add the ingredients into the blender with you, especially when adding the greens. (The recipe is in my apple recipe blog post, so scroll down the page to find it.)
Want more apple recipes, like Baked Apple Cider Donuts, Easy Applesauce, and Apple Pie Breakfast Cookies? Head to my post Healthy Apple Recipes to Cook with Kids.
Breakfasts for Hectic Mornings:
Cottage Cheese Pancakes (high protein)
These pancakes are great to make ahead to reheat before school. Kids can help make them on the weekends when you have time. They are made from super simple ingredients and couldn’t be easier to blend up. All you need is cottage cheese, egg, and oats! Because the blended oat pancakes aren’t quite the same texture as traditional pancakes, I’ve also included a version of this recipe made with all purpose flour. Those are not gluten free, but they have that lighter, more fluffy texture that kids often love.
A cozy, nutritious bowl of oatmeal, but portable so kids can eat them in the car on the way to school! These Oatmeal To-Go Bars are hearty, packed with protein and fiber, and quickly stirred together in one bowl. They are also really easy to customize for a nutritious toddler snack or a nut-free school option.
Snack Attack: Recipes to Cook with Kids
My version of the poplar chocolate hummus (but lower in sugar!). Healthy Brownie Batter dip is great for kids’ lunches and snacks. Blend up beans (no, you can’t taste them!) with cocoa powder, and dates to get this easy spread your kids are going to love. Kids can help make the dip then spread it on toast and set up a nice snack platter to enjoy together.
California Roll Cucumber Salad: My boys have been obsessed with making these “viral” cucumber salads after school. Made popular by content creator Logan, there are many styles of the cucumber salad, including a smoked salmon “bagel” and a spicy peanut sauce version. My kids especially like the “California roll” with thinly sliced cucumbers, imitation crab, avocado, kewpie mayo, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and a splash of rice vinegar. You shake up all the ingredients in a large deli container…it’s so fun to make! There’s a similar recipe on another blog, Here.
Afterschool Snack Mix: This is a really fun activity for kids: Head into the pantry or cabinets and find all the snacks that have just a little left in the bag (we all have them!). Then make snack mix to enjoy. We like to include cereal, pretzels, nuts/seeds, and especially freeze-dried fruit like strawberries and bananas. For a video and more ideas, head to my IG post HERE.
Bite-sized treats perfect for kids to bake up for snacks, lunch boxes, or to enjoy at home. These Mini Funfetti Muffins are more nutritious thanks to whole grains and lower sugar content. However, the little muffins still taste like birthday cake!
Dinner Recipes to Cook with Kids
No-Boil Pasta Bake (with veggies!)
This has been on of the favorite easy dinner recipes on my site for many years! It’s so great for kids to help make because you just add everything to the baking dish before covering and putting into the oven. While dinner bakes you are free to do whatever you want!
Need another dinner recipes to make the busy afternoons run more smoothly? Check out my post, Kid-Friendly Make Ahead Dinner Recipes.
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