Lunch Ideas for Kids

Soft, fluffy French vanilla ice cream can be served with amaretti cookies or rainbow nonpareils. It's also the perfect base for a variety of mix-ins.

Eggs are tasty and healthy but they can be fun too! Make these Open Face Sandwiches for a nutritious and delicious meal.

With a candy-bar-inspired top and a crumbly cookie base, each of these rich squares packs a double dose of that perfect pairing: chocolate and peanut butter.

No cream here! A butter-and-flour roux is the secret to this lush, velvety tomato soup. Gild with fresh basil, cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of your best olive oil. Serve alongside our Test Kitchen's Favorite Grilled Cheese for the ultimate comforting meal.

Homemade ice cream is delicious and surprisingly easy. With just 20 minutes of prep, create this frosty treat using just five ingredients—egg yolks, sugar, skim milk, heavy cream, and sliced strawberries.

Blistered tomatoes and a crunchy panko topping elevate this three-cheese mac.

Marinating the chicken in buttermilk makes the meat moist and flavorful. Chicken breasts cook faster than other parts, so fry them separately in the last batch.

This smoothie gets a flavor boost from light coconut milk.

Tender chunks of potato make thick pea soup even heartier. This make-ahead meal is guaranteed to warm kids up on cold winter days either for lunch or dinner.

This slow-cooker version of split-pea soup is as easy as it gets and is packed with healthy fiber and protein. Serve it with crusty bread and you've got a soul-warming meal ready to go.

Native Buckeyes pledge allegiance to this dog. Pile on the all-beef chili, heady with chocolate, cinnamon, and other spices, with abandon. The finishing touches are fundamental: yellow mustard, diced sweet onion, and lots of shredded cheddar cheese. Unless you're a pro at eating one, you may want to grab a knife and fork -- or a bib.

Ask your butcher to cut a chicken into pieces and give you the backbone—it makes for a richer broth.

Broccoli is used two ways in this kid-friendly dish: it's simmered until tender for the soup base and roasted for the garnish.

Sunny yellow tomatoes provide a sweetness that's set off nicely by the basil in this summer-perfect pizza.

Indulge in a slice of rich chocolate cake made with buttermilk, butter, and plenty of cocoa powder. It's topped with a super easy buttercream recipe that uses marshmallow cream for the base, plus two kinds of chocolate—cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips.

An animal theme can really get things swinging at a kid's birthday party. Indulge your child's penchant for monkey business with a fanciful banana cake with chocolate buttercream icing shaped and decorated to look like a curious friend.

The secret to an even coating: Pour the batter into a tall container, such as a Mason jar, and dip in each hot dog.

Whip these up for picky eaters, or add one of our favorite fillings: Orange-Braised Pork or Chipotle Chicken.

In this cleverly customizable cookie, peanuts, almonds, and cashews work equally well for the nut and nut-butter components of the recipe. (It's best to stick to one type of nut per batch.) To amp up the flavor and texture of the cookie, the oats are toasted in butter before being mixed into the dough. And if you don't like nuts, sunflower seeds are also delicious.

Inspired by classic clam chowder, this delicious creamy chicken soup is packed with red potatoes, peas, and corn.

This sandwich possesses energy beyond that of ordinary lunch favorites thanks to salami, prosciutto, provolone, and an array of fresh tomatoes and roasted red peppers.

These lamb sliders are topped with cool and creamy tzatziki for a Greek twist on a classic.

Broccoli with pan-fried potatoes is an accompaniment that goes with everything, from broiled steak to scrambled eggs.