8 Hearty Dishes Your Kids Will Love

Salad can be a simple, healthy dinner option, but it’s challenging to create a hearty version that appeals to everyone. Sweet grilled corn and creamy avocado give this filling purslane salad that extra something to make it a favorite of kids and adults alike. For a protein boost, add bacon, hard-boiled egg or feta cheese.

It can be tough to convince kids to eat their greens. Rather than hiding the vegetables, we love recipes that pair a favorite ingredient with ones they’re still learning to like. This potlikker soup, which uses a ham hock to give the greens a sweet, smoky flavor, is a perfect example. It’s also a complete meal served in a single bowl, which makes clearing and cleaning easy.

This classic combination works well together as a dinner, lunch or breakfast. If you’re new to home cooking or you’re looking for a recipe to have older kids help make, this is a perfect place to start because it’s hard to get wrong. No matter who whips it up, everyone is sure to enjoy this flavorful, comforting dish.

People who aren’t otherwise adventurous eaters generally make an exception for fruit, so adding something a little out of the ordinary to salad can make it a bit more intriguing. But combining the rich creaminess of avocado with the silky sweetness of mango goes beyond intriguing and makes for a yummy salad everyone will finish.

When you find yourself in a suppertime bind, soup and sandwiches are a great standby for feeding a hungry family. And while many of us grew up on the canned stuff, it’s surprisingly easy to make a simple, delicious soup from scratch. This tomato soup couldn’t be easier, and since most of the cooking time is unattended, you’re free to do more (or less) important things. Pair with cheese croutons or grilled cheese for a delicious garnish or side dish.

There’s a reason casseroles are such a staple of family meals – they’re incredibly flexible. You can serve this creamy and savory version as a healthy breakfast, the main dish of a vegetarian dinner or an easy side with leftovers. If you have time beforehand, prep the ingredients. Otherwise, you can do it all at once and use the baking time to work on something else or to just have a moment to yourself.

This takes hours to make, so it may not seem like a great option for busy parents at first blush, but it’s actually a terrific secret weapon. Braised meats are best on the second or third day, so you can get this started on an easy day and stick it in the fridge to serve later when you know you’ll be busy. This particular version is full of kid-friendly flavors like honey and ginger as well as the healthy vitamins and minerals found in kale.

Though still widely available, parsnips have become an unfamiliar ingredient in most households. And that’s a shame because in addition to being ridiculously inexpensive and healthy, they’re also quite sweet, making them a hit with children (and adults). If you’ve never cooked with parsnips before, this savory soup is a no-fuss way to introduce yourself to them.

Along with their two daughters, the couple live in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and since 2008 have been chronicling their local cooking and baking adventures on their Brooklyn Supper blog. “We hope to start a conversation and inspire readers to get to know local foods, from the humble to the sublime.”