Finding the best cookbooks for kids often means choosing options that are challenging without being overwhelming to use. For this list, I looked for cookbooks for toddlers and for tweens. I’ve separated the books on my list into both categories. As always, you can follow the (affiliate) links to Amazon, read the reviews for yourself, and find the best pick for you!
15 Sweet Cookbooks for Kids of Different Ages
Best Cookbooks for Toddlers
The cookbooks in this section are no play things. Although geared toward toddlers and younger kids, these books are interactive and actually contain recipes both you and your toddlers can use.
Pizza!: An Interactive Recipe Book (Cook In A Book)
2-6 years old
Simple yet accurate recipe text takes readers through the steps of cooking pizza, from dough to toppings, while the interactive novelty features invite them to participate in the process! One hundred percent adult-free, knife-free, oven-free, and mess-free, cooking pizza has never been so independent! Perfect for kids who love to help in the kitchen, or any child who prefers to ‘do it myself’. This is the second title in a series of interactive recipe books.
Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers and Up
2-6 years old
Mollie Katzen, renowned author of The Moosewood Cookbook, and educator Ann Henderson bring the grown-up world of real cooking to a child’s level. Children as young as three years old and as old as eight become head chef while an adult serves as guide and helper. Just consider all that can be explored in the kitchen: counting, reading readiness, science awareness, self-confidence, patience, and, importantly, food literacy. Pizza, after all, does not come “from a telephone.”
Busy Little Hands: Food Play!: Activities for Preschoolers
2-4 years old
Preschoolers learn how to prepare their own food with activities that foster fun in the kitchen and promote healthy eating habits. Colorful photo-driven recipes for making fruit wands, noodle bowls, chocolate smoothies, and more encourage kids to discover and expand their tastes and experience the joy and pride that come from making with their own hands the foods they eat.
Pancakes!: An Interactive Recipe Book (Cook In A Book)
2-4 years old
Simple, straightforward recipe text brings readers through each step of cooking pancakes, while the interactive novelty features, such as pull-tabs, wheels, and a punch-out piece, invite them to participate in the process. Cooking pancakes has never been so satisfying nor so clean! Perfect for young chefs-to-be, or any kid who prefers to ‘do it myself’. This is the first title in a series of interactive recipe books.
Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook: Healthy, Kid-Friendly Recipes to Cook Together
1-4 years old
This standout among children’s cookbooks helps your little one discover new foods as they work together with you to create English Muffin Breakfast Pizzas, Broccoli Nuggets, Rainbow Rice Noodles with Toasted Tofu, and more. Each recipe features a difficulty ranking, instructions that clearly tell you which steps are toddler-safe, and space to record your experiences—making this children’s cookbook a wonderful keepsake of first cooking memories.
- Teach your toddler to cook―Find simple instructions for safely bringing your toddler into the kitchen, as well as a list of kid-friendly kitchen tools.
- Introduce new flavors—Encourage your little one to try new foods like Pumpkin French Toast Sticks and Chicken BLT Kebabs―with 40 healthy mealtime, snack, and dessert recipes.
- Have fun together—Recipes are clearly labeled to let you know how difficult they are and which steps your toddler can get involved with.
Give your aspiring little chef a head start on a lifetime of kitchen skills with Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook.
The Best Cookbooks for Kids Ages 5-8
If your kids are no longer toddlers, but not quite tweens, then the right pick for them might be in this section. Whether they’re into cooking or baking, they’ll find a cookbook for them here.
My First Cookbook
3-7 years old
My First Cookbook will inspire the youngest chefs to enter the kitchen, empower them to cook, and engage their creativity–plus they’ll have fun doing it. From simple after-school snacks, family meals, and holiday celebration recipes, each beginner recipe is developed by America’s Test Kitchen Kids before being kid-tested and kid-approved.
The Silver Spoon for Children New Edition: Favorite Italian Recipes
7-10 years old
Following the global success of the first edition of The Silver Spoon for Children (adapted especially for children from the most influential Italian cookbook of the last 50 years), and to mark the 10-year anniversary of its publication, this newly designed edition presents a fresh, easy-to use layout. Kids will love to cook and eat the authentic regional Italian dishes – chosen by a nutritional specialist for their simple instructions, achievability, and balanced nutrition. With its charming specially commissioned illustrations, a lively layout, and bright and tempting photographs of the finished dishes, this book is sure to please budding cooks in kitchens around the world.
The Disney Princess Cookbook
4-8 years old
Make learning how to cook fun and downright magical with inspiration from the Disney Princesses! Featuring simple step-by-step instructions and mouth-watering photos of each dish, this cookbook makes it easy to whip up enchanting treats, while enjoying captivating illustrations of the princesses and their friends.
In this book, readers will discover:
- 50 beginner-friendly recipes, including dishes like Rapunzel-inspired Frying Pan Eggs, Tiana-inspired Bayou Meatloaf, Moana-inspired Te Fiti Tropical Punch, and many more
- A thorough introduction to kitchen basics
- A “difficulty rating” for each recipe, so brand new chefs know where to start
- Beautiful food photography on every spread
- Charming illustrations of the Disney Princesses
- Bonus menus to inspire young chefs to combine recipes and create their own magical feasts
Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book (Better Homes and Gardens Cooking)
Baby-5 years old
This new and fully revised edition of the beloved New Junior Cookbook is the perfect way to introduce children ages 6 to 10 to the rules of the kitchen and successful cooking. The book begins with the framework needed for navigating the kitchen–safety is always first. Then recipe chapters that cover breakfast, brunch, supper, snacks, and desserts draw in children with their colorful and whimsical illustrations. All recipes in this edition are new, and are nutritious without sacrificing great taste.
Throughout, kids learn the message that good food fuels the body, and the recipes, tips, and hints hone that message. Each recipe is easy to follow, with a simple-to-read ingredient list, a list of tools needed, and a step-by-step method. In addition, there are food swaps in recipes, turning kids from picky eaters into chefs who customize their food as they please. Full nutrition, including grams of sugar, is included in every recipe.
The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids: 60 Easy Plant-Based Recipes Kids Can Make
5-9 years old
Experts tell us the best way to teach kids healthy eating habits is to involve them in the process. This irresistible cookbook presents 60 appealing recipes kids will beg to make themselves, in fun and charming illustrations they will love. Bursting with color, humor, cute animal characters, and cool facts (did you know your brain actually shrinks when you’re dehydrated? Drink water, quick!), Help Yourself empowers children to take charge of their own nutrition — for now and for life!
Recipes include:
- fun-to-munch hand-held snacks like Life Boats.
- bright fruit-flavored drinks like Tickled Pink.
- the always popular things-on-toast, like Leprechaun Footprints.
- salads they will actually eat, like Tiger Stripes.
- cozy soups like Tomato Tornado.
- and sweets like chocolatey Disappearing Dots!
Kid Chef Junior: My First Kids Cookbook
5-9 years old
Help kids develop their culinary know-how as they make healthy, wholesome, kid-approved meals―first with an adult and eventually all on their own! Kid Chef Junior is the ultimate kids cookbook, helping them build essential skills, practice food and kitchen safety, and gain confidence and imagination.
- Cooking basics for kids―This kids cookbook uses a colorful, kid-friendly format to explain different kitchen tools; why certain ingredients go together; how to read a recipe; and how to chop, stir, whisk, and pour.
- Pictures of each recipe―Colorful photos help kids choose the recipe they want to make and see in advance what the end goal will be.
- Guidance for parents―Find tips for helping your child succeed in the kitchen and labels on each recipe that indicate how much supervision is required.
Give budding chefs confidence in the kitchen with fun, yummy recipes from Kid Chef Junior.
Food Network Magazine The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook
6-11 years old
The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook from Food Network Magazine gives young food lovers everything they need to succeed in the kitchen. Each recipe is totally foolproof and easy to follow, with color photos and tips to help beginners get excited about cooking. The book includes recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert—all from the trusted chefs in Food Network’s test kitchen.
Inside you’ll find:
• 150+ easy recipes
• Cooking tips from the pros
• Color photos with every recipe
• Special fake-out cakes (one looks like a bowl of mac and cheese!)
• Choose-your-own-adventure recipes (like design-your-own Stuffed French Toast)
• Kid crowd-pleasers like Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins, Ham & Cheese Waffle Sandwiches, Pepperoni Chicken Fingers, Raspberry Applesauce and more!
• Fun food games and quizzes (like “What’s Your Hot Dog IQ?”)
• Bonus coloring book pages
The Best Cookbooks for Tweens Ages 9-12
Most tweens can use adult cookbooks, but they’re still kids and may not be interested in the same recipes adults love. So the cookbooks in this category are specifically for them and their interests.
The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs
8-11 years old
For the first time ever, America’s Test Kitchen is bringing their scientific know-how, rigorous testing, and hands-on learning to KIDS in the kitchen!Using kid-tested and approved recipes, America’s Test Kitchen has created THE cookbook every kid chef needs on their shelf. Whether you’re cooking for yourself, your friends, or your family, The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs has delicious recipes that will wow!Recipes were thoroughly tested by more than 750 kids to get them just right for cooks of all skill levels―including recipes for breakfast, snacks and beverages, dinners, desserts, and more.Step-by-step photos of tips and techniques will help young chefs feel like pros in their own kitchen.
By empowering young chefs to make their own choices in the kitchen, America’s Test Kitchen is building a new generation of confident cooks, engaged eaters, and curious experimenters.
The Forest Feast for Kids: Colorful Vegetarian Recipes
8-12 years old
The Forest Feast for Kids includes the most kid-friendly favorites from The Forest Feast, along with 20 new recipes, plus ideas for kids’ parties and easy-to-follow instructions on techniques, measurements, and other helpful kitchen aides.
Each meal is simple and full of fresh and lively flavors that will appeal to kids. The natural beauty of Gleeson’s surroundings and the abundance of local produce serve as the inspiration for recipes such as:
- Pesto Pepper Pizza
- Rainbow Chard Quiche
- Kale Tacos
- Watermelon Smoothies
In addition to its recipes—which span meals, party food, snacks, and beverages—this nonfiction book includes ideas for crafty table decoration, party ideas, an illustrated guide on kitchen safety, and a glossary of culinary terms. The recipes are complemented by a mix of stunning photographs and art, including Gleeson’s own fanciful watercolor illustrations and hand lettering.
American Girl Baking: Recipes for Cookies, Cupcakes & More
9-12 years old
It’s easy to understand why baking is so much fun. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as measuring and mixing ingredients, putting dough or batter into a hot oven, watching – and smelling!- the transformation during baking, and finally removing delicious sweets from the oven. But the best part is sharing the treats you made with love with your friends and family. American Girl Baking provides delicious, easy to follow recipes that everyone will love.
Cookies: From cookie flower pops and cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodles to pinwheel icebox cookies to ice cream sandwiches – find something for every craving.
Cupcakes: With kid-favorites flavors like PB & J, s’mores and snowball, and more adult flavors like carrot cake, red velvet, and white chocolate and raspberry, there’s something for every family member.
Madeleines: Honey or orange, chocolate or vanilla, no matter what flavor they are- madeleines are a delicious and dainty treat!
Baking: A wide range of sweets as diverse as chocolate truffles, rocky road fudge, fruity turnovers, caramel-glazed blondies, and everything in between.
Whether you follow each recipe step-by-step or add your own unique twist, baking is a great opportunity to let your personality shine and to create mouthwatering goodies.
MasterChef Junior Cookbook: Bold Recipes and Essential Techniques to Inspire Young Cooks
8-12 years old
Creativity, hard work, and lots of fun—that’s what it takes to cook like a master. Beloved television competition show MasterChef Junior fosters all of this within each of its pint-size home cooks, and what they whip up is truly impressive. This book aims to give any aspiring young chef the tools he or she needs to hone essential cooking skills, with 100 recipes inspired by dishes that the contestants served in the first five seasons, as well as timeless techniques, tips, and advice. With this book, anyone can become an excellent cook.
In the French Kitchen with Kids
9-12 years old
Twice a week during the school year, you’ll find Mardi Michels–French teacher and the well-known blogger behind eat. live. travel. write–directing up to a dozen children in her school’s science lab as they slice, dice, mix, knead and, most importantly, taste. Whether they’re learning to make an authentic ratatouille tian or tackling quiche made with pastry from scratch, Mardi’s students can accomplish just about anything in the kitchen once they put their minds to it.
In her first book, Mardi shows that French food doesn’t have to be complicated. The result is an elegant, approachable cookbook featuring recipes tailored for young chefs and their families. From savory dishes like Omelettes, Croque-Monsieurs or Steak Frites to sweet treats like Profiteroles, Madeleines or Crème Brûlée, readers will find many French classics here. With helpful timetables to plan out baking projects, as well as tips on how to get kids involved in the cooking, this book breaks down any preconceived notion that French cuisine is too fancy or too difficult for kids to master. With Mardi’s warm, empowering and encouraging instructions, kids of all ages will be begging to help out in the kitchen every day of the week.
The International Cookbook for Kids
8+ years old
The International Cookbook for Kids is packed with features that make cooking a snap: 6 classic recipes from Italy, France, China, and Mexico; More than 1 full-color photographs and illustrations; Hardcover with concealed spiral binding that lies flat when open; Easy-to-follow recipe format; Kid-tested recipes; Chef’s tips discussing ingredients, nutrition, and technique; Safety section discussing basic kitchen precautions; Cooking terms and definitions; Special taco-party section; Includes dishes of every kind: Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Main Dishes, Vegetables and Sides, and Desserts
Kid in the Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Tips for Young Home Cooks: A Cookbook
10+ years old
Whether you’re new to cooking or you already rock that kitchen, these 100 recipes make it easy to cook what you like, exactly how you like it.
In Kid in the Kitchen, Melissa Clark, who has been cooking with her own kid for years, takes you step-by-step through how to understand and create each dish. These recipes are fun, insanely delicious, and will help you become a confident cook. There are tons of tips and tweaks, too, so you can cook what you want with what you have. Make amped-up breakfasts, sandwiches that slay, noodles and pasta for every craving, plus sheet pan dinners, mix and match grain bowls and salads, one-pot meals, party classics, and the richest, gooiest desserts. This is the fun, easy way to awesome food.
Recipes include: Fresh Custardy French Toast •OMG, I Smell Bacon! (spicy and candied, too)•Granola Bar Remix, feat. Cranberry and Ginger•The. Last. Guacamole. Recipe. Ever.•FastPho•Garlicky,Crumb-y Pasta•Classic Caesar Salad with Unclassic Cheesy Croutons• Crispy Pork Carnitas Tacos•Mexican Chicken Soup&Chips•Shrimp Scampi Skillet Dinner•Korean Scallion and Veggie Pancakes (Pajeon)•Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits Put a Spell on You•Rise & Dine Cinnamon Raisin Bread•Buttery Mashed Potato Cloud•Deep Dark Fudgy Brownies•Think Pink Lemonade Bars
Super Good Baking for Kids
8-12 years old
This beautiful 208-page hardcover is packed with delicious, clear recipes and tons of fun fact-filled sidebars on everything from the science of yeast to the history of baking, Super Good Baking for Kids shows kids how to make treats that will amaze parents, delight friends, and make the whole family go “mmmmmm.”
Celebrity chef and host of Kids Baking Championship Duff Goldman believes baking should be three things: super fun, super delicious, and super creative.
Super Good Baking for Kids features dozens of the gooiest, chewiest, easiest-to-follow recipes ever! This book teaches young bakers how to make everything from wicked good Boston crème donuts to delicious monkey bread to a mind-blowing stuffed-crust dessert pizza. The cakes, cookies, pies, and puddings are all fun to bake, a thrill to decorate, and delicious every time.
With kid-friendly step-by-step instructions; helpful kitchen-safe tips; funny, fact-filled sidebars on everything from the best places to eat in New York to the surprising facts about unicorns; and an overview of crucial cooking skills, this book will give any kid the kitchen confidence to make crazy delicious desserts that everyone will enjoy.
While this is super good baking for kids, the clear instructions and photography also make the book a winner for Duff fans of all ages and anyone who wants to whip up tasty, delicious, totally tricked out treats!
There they are: 15 of the very best cookbooks for kids! Which ones on this list do you love — and what did I miss?
What do you think? Leave a comment