Pasta Recipes for Kids

Both adults and children love pasta. In this blog, we will offer some practical ideas on how to make kids' pasta recipes even more delicious.

Why do babies like pasta? Many children prefer white foods, such as plain macaroni, rice, or bread, as they find them 'safe'. Pasta dishes can be a true favourite if you experiment with sauces, new ingredients, and different flavours. You can start with butter and cheese spaghetti, serve noodles with tomato sauce, and later try new combinations to create your new kid-friendly pasta recipes. Our recipes provide a balance of taste and nutrition. We're sure your kids will love our simple and tasty toddler pasta ideas.

Choosing the Right Pasta for Kids' Pasta Recipes

Babies can eat adult pasta, but it is important to select the right type. Wheat or multigrain spaghetti can be high in fibre and better than refined flour. Rice flour noodles, durum wheat, and common wheat flour macaroni are the best healthy pasta types for babies. Buckwheat, quinoa, and pulses are better for toddlers. You can introduce it to babies when they can start solids at around six months of age. Pasta meals are easier to chew, swallow and digest when cooked until soft.

Kids' pasta recipes should be age-appropriate. The safest and most popular shapes include macaroni, toddler spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagne, and penne. Toddlers prefer easy-to-grab pasta shapes, so alphabet pasta, rotelle, and fiori are funny and attractive.

Pasta shapes that tend to be kids' favourites include:

• Alphabet pasta (shaped like alphabet letters)

• Farfalle or bowtie (butterfly pasta)

• Fiori (resembles flowers)

• Gnocchi (kid-approved chewy texture)

• Gomiti (macaroni curved like a snail shell)

• Conchiglioni (Jumbo shells for stuffing)

• Lasagna

• Macaroni and vermicelli

• Mezzelune (like ravioli with semicircular shapes for stuffing)

• Penne (tubular and angled with ridges)

• Rotelle (wagon wheel)

• Rotini (fun tightly-spiraled pasta)

• Toddler spaghetti (solid strings, between macaroni and vermicelli in thickness)

• Tortellini (stuffed pasta)

• Rigatoni (large straight penne)

• Ziti (baked ziti is similar to lasagna)

Many shapes are safe for young children, so don't be afraid to include pasta in baby recipes.

Additional Ingredients for Making Easy Pasta for Toddlers

We can mix pasta with different ingredients to make more nutritious and attractive dishes. With its soft texture and mild flavour, pasta is a great way to introduce toddlers to simple and delicious recipes.

Pasta contains vitamins and minerals, iron, magnesium, and saturated fats and can be a good energy source. Vegetables and healthy products increase the nutritional value of recipes. Adding minced chicken, meat, fish or pulses to a meal can increase the amount of protein. All pasta contains carbohydrates necessary for a growing child. It helps build the body, maintain hormonal balance, and improve digestion.

We recommend the following ingredients for our toddler pasta recipes:

• parmesan cheese

• olive oil and olives

• pesto sauce

• artichoke hearts

• sundried tomatoes

• roasted peppers

• capers

• fresh herbs (basil, oregano, chives, thyme, parsley mint)

• onion and garlic

• chopped fresh vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, pepper)

• light dressings made from olive oil, lemon juice and herbs.

• a variety of toppings (bolognese, pesto, tomato pasta sauce)

• mushrooms

• meat or chicken

• eggs

• creamy sauce

• whole milk, cream cheese, cheddar

• butter and cheese

• zucchini

• dried herbs and seeds

All toddler pasta recipes become delicious, healthy and easy to prepare with these ingredients.

Simple Pasta Recipes for Babies

Our kid-friendly pasta recipes can tempt even the pickiest eaters. The original set of ingredients can be customised to your toddler’s taste.

General information for all the recipes described below:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Served: warm or hot

Calories: 600kcal

Follow the cooking instructions to enjoy delicious and easy pasta recipes for toddlers and babies.

Baked pasta with minced chicken, tomato sauce and mozzarella

You need the following ingredients to prepare easy pasta for toddlers (4 servings):

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 1 chopped onion

• 2 crushed garlic cloves

• ¼ tsp chilli flakes

• 400g canned chopped tomatoes

• 1 tsp caster sugar

• 6 tbsp mascarpone

• 500g skinless chicken breasts, minced or sliced into strips

• 300g penne

• 70g grated mature cheddar

• 50g grated mozzarella

• finely chopped parsley to decorate

Follow these cooking instructions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion gently for 10-12 minutes. Add garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute.

2. Tip in the tomatoes, sugar, and season to taste.

3. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes until thickened, then stir in the mascarpone.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken and fry for 5-7 minutes.

5. Cook the penne following pack instructions. Drain and toss with the remaining oil. Put the pasta into a medium-sized ovenproof dish.

6. Stir in the chicken and pour over the sauce. Top with mozzarella, cheddar, and parsley.

7. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Homemade butterfly pasta with caramelised pesto sauce

This tasty meal includes the following products:

• 500g pasta

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tbsp butter

• 1 large sweet onion peeled and diced

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water

• approx 1/3 cup heavy cream, more or less

• 170g of homemade or store-bought pesto

• salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

• freshly chopped parsley and thinly sliced basil leaves optional, for garnish

To prepare, go through the following steps:

1. Cook the macaroni. Drain and set aside.

2. Caramelise the onions:

   1. Heat the extra virgin olive oil and butter (2 teaspoons) in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 15 minutes until it softens and turns golden brown.

   2. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and melt the remaining butter into the pot. Cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir until the onions are well caramelised and browned.

3. Prepare the Creamy Pesto Sauce:

   1. Add the pasta cooking water (1 cup) to the pot and stir to incorporate. Add the cream and keep at a low boil for 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly.

   2. Stir the pesto into the sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes more over low heat.

   3. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Finish the Pasta:

   1. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss.

   2. Taste and season to your preferences.

   3. Toss again and turn off the heat.

5. If desired, serve in bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or sliced basil. Sweet and caramelised onion goes well with creamy pesto pasta. Add cooked chicken or shrimp and make a delicious cold pasta salad.

Spaghetti chicken bolognese with homemade pasta

You need the following ingredients to prepare the dish:

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

• 1 celery stalk, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 500g ground chicken

• 2 cans (400g) crushed tomatoes

• 1 cup strong chicken stock or vegetable broth

• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

• ½ tsp dried rosemary

• ¼ tsp dried thyme

• ¼ cup heavy cream

• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• 3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

• salt and pepper

• 500g spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions

• grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

You should follow the next steps:

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

2. Add the onion, carrot, and celery until softened about 5-7 minutes; join with the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Put in the chicken and cook, breaking up the pieces, until there is no pink remaining, for about 5 minutes.

4. Bring the crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, parsley, rosemary, and thyme to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened.

5. In the last 10 minutes, add the cream, Parmesan cheese, and basil and season with salt and pepper.

6. Serve on top of the cooked pasta and garnish with extra Parmesan cheese.

Fideua with fresh prawns and clams

For our recipe, you need the following products:

• 150g of fideua noodles or spaghetti for toddlers

• 200g of peeled prawns

• 250g of clams

• 1 litre of water

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 3 tbsp of tomato sauce

• 1 fish stock cube

• paprika

• olive oil

• salt

Follow these steps to cook:

1. Heat a litre of water together with a fish stock cube. Keep this broth for the fideua.

2. Fry the onion with the two garlic cloves and put in a pot. Add the 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce, peeled prawns and clams. Cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat, stirring frequently.

3. Add the broth to the pot and let the flavours mix for 5 minutes over low heat.

4. Cook the fideua noodles in the broth on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

5. Mix with the seafood, and add the salt and sweet paprika. Serve hot.

Creative Kids Pasta Presentations

Pasta recipes balance taste and nutrition, but babies and toddlers are picky eaters. If we add some fun and creativity, it will turn traditional servings into kid-friendly pasta recipes.

Presentation is everything: it can surprise and make kids smile. With eye-catching ingredients, the dishes can be both imaginative and nutritious.

Let's look at some exciting ways of presenting pasta recipes:

• Pasta salads: decorate the dish with bright vegetables.

• Pizza pasta: present on the plate in the form of pizza.

• Cheese bakes: melted cheese on top makes dishes bubbly and golden.

• Bread Bowl: present pasta in a giant bread bun.

• Pasta Cupcake: a pasta meal is plated like cupcakes.

Here are some tricks with creative presentations to teach your toddler about new animals and shapes:

• A yellow plate with a funny cat made of pasta, sausages, and vegetables.

• A light blue plate with a cute hedgehog made of pasta, sausages, and tomatoes.

• A yellow plate with octopuses made of sausages, pasta, and vegetables.

• Pasta medallions with cheese made in star shapes.

These ideas will also make your dishes more appealing to kids:

• Experiment with presentation

• Combine different shapes and colours to foster creativity

• Use bright orange and yellow shades to make kids feel happier

• Focus on form over flavour

• Introduce finger foods to stimulate sensory learning

• Make food interesting to catch kids' eyes

• Present every meal more creatively

Kids' pasta recipes will make them smile. Entertaining cooking brings benefits: children play, learn, and eat with pleasure. When kids cook and feed themselves, they do not become fussy eaters.

Our pasta ideas for toddlers and babies can turn the kitchen into a hub of creative activities and fun. Children plan, cook, and serve a dish and use the kitchen space for funny, creative, and artistic projects.

Kids can learn creatively as they play with the food and have fun.

So now you can cook dishes that work for everyone and bring joy to the whole family!