These hidden veggie recipes for toddlers are the ones my very fussy son actually ate. From veggie-loaded chicken nuggets to a cheesy zucchini slice, every one is packed with grated or blended veg that little eyes won't spot.
A Quick Look At The List
✅ What It Is: 29 toddler recipes with hidden vegetables (26 savoury, 3 sweet)
🥕 Veggies Hiding Inside: zucchini, carrot, sweet potato, spinach, corn, mushroom and more
👪 Perfect For: fussy toddlers, daycare and kindy lunch boxes, and easy family dinners
🧊 Freezer Friendly: most of the muffins, nuggets, fritters, slices and sausage rolls
🥣 Best Tricks: grate it finely, blend it smooth, and wrap it in cheese
📖 Good To Know: lots of these have a Thermomix or conventional method in the recipe card
⭐ Why You'll Love It: real recipes tested on a real fussy eater (mine!)
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Toddlers can take fussy eating to a whole new level. Loving a food on Monday, throwing it on the floor on Tuesday... welcome to my house a few years ago! These recipes got us through, and they're just as handy for lunch box snacks and nut free lunch boxes once they head off to kindy.
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The Best Vegetables To Hide
- Zucchini: it all but disappears once grated, and keeps muffins and slices super moist. Peel it first if your toddler is on green alert.
- Carrot: sweet, mild and easy to grate into rissoles, sausage rolls and muffins.
- Sweet potato and pumpkin: mash them into fritters, nuggets and patties. They add natural sweetness kids love.
- Cauliflower: blend it into cheese sauce or mash and nobody's any the wiser.
- Spinach: chop it super fine and hide it in pies and bakes with lots of cheese.
Savoury Recipes For Fussy Toddlers
Savoury Muffins
This basic 'one bowl' savoury muffin recipe takes less than half an hour and requires no fancy ingredients, plus you can vary it with whatever you have on hand! Serve warm with a little butter for tempting fussy eaters....
Chicken Rissoles
Use chicken mince packed with hidden veggies and cheese to make these healthy and tasty chicken rissoles. Such an economical recipe to have on hand for simple meals, they're always popular with fussy toddlers as well as the older kids!
Healthy Sweet Potato & Zucchini Nuggets
Perfect for little fingers to grasp and dip into sauce or mayo, these veggie smuggling nuggets are crispy little treats, and go down a 'treat'! Keep a stash in the freezer to please the fussiest eater...
Cheesy Macaroni & Vegetable Frittata Bake
Cheesy macaroni and vegetable frittata bake is the easiest midweek dinner and is loved by all the family, including the slightly 'picky' little ones! Packed with kid-friendly ingredients of eggs, ham, cheese, pasta and an assortment of veggies too!
Corn & Zucchini Fritters
Cheesy corn and zucchini fritters are made using six budget friendly ingredients, then panfried until golden and crispy on the outside. So handy to keep a few in the freezer for quick and easy toddler meals!
Healthy Sweet Potato, Zucchini & Bacon Slice
A little cheese and bacon in a savoury slice always adds to the taste factor, and sweet potato is almost too yummy to be classed as a vegetable, right? Well, that's why this slice appeals to both little (and big) kids - try it!
Ham, Cheese & Zucchini Muffins
Zucchini muffins packed with ham and cheese make the perfect alternative to a sandwich, a yummy bite to dip in soup, or a filling afternoon savoury snack for little ones. Have a batch of these muffins ready in less than 30 minutes!
Homemade Sausage Rolls
What's not to love? These crispy homemade sausage rolls with hidden carrot and zucchini are quick & easy, freezer friendly, toddler friendly, and loved by all! Make a bulk batch to freeze and have on hand for time poor days, and fussy mouths....
Sweet Potato & Tuna Patties
Sweet potato and tuna patties may be small in size, but they pack a major flavour punch! I'm a huge fan of having a batch of these in the freezer ready for quick and easy midweek dinners, or a healthy snack for littlies.
Cheesy Vegetable & Quinoa Bake
You can use whatever veggies you have on hand for this simple healthy bake, just keep them small or finely grated to pass fussy lips.....It's all pulled together with a creamy, cheesy sauce which makes it totally delicious!
Beef & Spinach Cottage Pie
This classic recipe is a guaranteed winner with the kids! Loaded with hidden veggies and a creamy mash on top, the flavour of cottage pie makes it perfect for toddlers and kids (even the picky ones love it!) - just add sauce on the side!
Chicken & Vegetable Sausage Rolls
Made with chicken mince and veggies, these little beauties are leaner than sausage rolls made with traditional beef or pork versions. So handy to have in the freezer, just grab some out and reheat whenever you need a light lunch or dinner for little ones!
Healthy Vegetable & Chicken Nuggets
If you are looking for a healthier alternative to takeaway nuggets and an easy way to smuggle some more veggies into your kids' meals, then these oven baked vegetable chicken nuggets are definitely for you!
Cheesy Quinoa, Sweet Potato & Zucchini Fritters
A great little fritter combining yummy mashed sweet potato, grated zucchini and quinoa, all wrapped up together with cheese and panko crumbs. Ready to dish up in half an hour, this is a great budget friendly meal with loads of 'smuggled' veggies!
Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
I kid you not, these super healthy sausage rolls, packed with mushrooms, grated carrot and sweet potato as well as protein packed lentils (no meat!), simply have to be tried to be believed!! I can GUARANTEE they will pass the taste test with your little ones!
Easy Zucchini Slice
A classic slice, this is perfect for using up those zucchinis that keep multiplying in the garden, or are handed over by others that are simply drowning in them. Just one bowl and 10 minutes to prep - the cheese and bacon makes it totally yummy!
Vegetable Fritters
Not only are veggie fritters super quick and easy to prepare, they're also great fun for little fingers to experiment with. Soft and moist inside a crunchy outer, these yummy fritters are a massive winner with fussy toddlers.
Healthy Sweet Potato Quinoa Bites
Quinoa bites are perfect for little fingers to dip and eat. Using mashed sweet potato, quinoa and cheese (and a sprinkle of sesame seeds!), they are oven baked (no oil) and freezer friendly - healthy and simple, yay, that's a winner!
Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
Packed full of flavours, this budget friendly pasta dish is always a hit! With plenty of cheese and pasta to appeal to the most fussy toddlers, it's a super healthy dish to have on high rotation!
Healthy Carrot & Zucchini Slice
Here's a variation on the classic zucchini slice. You really can't go wrong with this one, add some shaved ham, maybe some corn too. Great for those lunch boxes or a light, no-fuss dinner!
Oven Baked Cheesy Mashed Potato Cakes
I don't think there would be many toddlers that would turn up their noses at these homemade potato cakes - they're totally thumbs up! Add some ham and corn too if you like, and serve with a dollop of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce!
Healthy Veggie & Turkey Meatballs
There's just something about finger-food that makes it an easy favourite with kids. And when it's also something that you can dip into a sauce, then you definitely have a winner! Perfect to have some in the freezer too - you can take out just how many you need.
Healthy Zucchini Fritters
Super quick, budget friendly and healthy - that's what us Mums' need, right? Oh, did I mention that they taste good too! Golden crispy on the outside, and deliciously soft inside - perfect for last minute dinners as well.
Rice & Vegetable Slice
A yummy savoury bake that's perfect for smuggling a few extra vegetables into your little ones meals. By grating the veggies in this slice they're virtually impossible to detect, and ideal for toddlers experimenting with eating foods on their own.
Cheesy Corn Fritters
Cheese + corn = yumm! A simple snack or meal totally made with pantry staples. These fritters are quick and easy to whip up - try serving with some ham or crispy bacon, avocado, cherry tomatoes - whatever takes your whim!
Spinach, Tomato & Bacon Frittata
A simple protein filled meal that can be an easy weeknight dinner, a light lunch, or even a healthy weekend breakfast for all the family, including toddlers! No fuss, no hassle, quick and kid-friendly = a winner in my household!
Sweet Recipes For Fussy Toddlers
Who would suspect there's veggies hidden in these sweet treats?! They taste so delicious and perfect for popping in kindy or day care lunch boxes.
Apple, Zucchini and Carrot Bread
This yummy loaf loaded with finely grated apple, zucchini and carrot will go down well with the most discerning 'non fruit & veggie eaters'.... It's super moist and sweet, yet packed with plenty of goodness!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
It's easy to disguise zucchini in so many dishes, even in sweet recipes. The grated zucchini keeps this loaf super moist, and well, the chocolate chips just make it yummy, don't they?!
Carrot Cake Muffins
One bowl, 10 minutes to prep, 20 to bake - and voila! Healthy muffins to satisfy the most fussy toddler....and the 'big' ones too! These muffins are just as moist as the traditional carrot cake, with coconut oil and almond milk to boot!
Tips For Hiding Vegetables In Toddler Food
- Grate it fine: use the small side of the grater. Big chunks get picked out (ask me how I know).
- Squeeze out the water: grated zucchini is full of it. Squeeze it in a clean tea towel so fritters and slices don't go soggy.
- Match the colour: orange veg in orange food, green veg in green food. Carrot in a pumpkin fritter is invisible.
- Cheese is your best friend: a little grated cheese makes almost anything an easy sell.
- Make it finger food: nuggets, fritters, muffins and meatballs are perfect for little hands to grab and dip.
- Keep offering veg they can see too: hidden veg is a great helper, but popping a few plain veggies on the plate as well helps them get used to them over time.
- Cook once, eat twice: double the batch and freeze half. Future you will be very grateful.
Freezing And Storage
Most of these recipes are made for the freezer. Muffins, nuggets, fritters, rissoles, meatballs, slices and sausage rolls can all be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Pop baking paper between layers so they don't stick together.
Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat until piping hot. Muffins and loaves can go straight into the lunch box frozen and they'll be thawed by lunch time. Check each recipe card for the exact storage times.
Hidden Veggie Recipes FAQs
More Recipes For Kids
Need more ideas for little tummies? These lunch box and party food favourites are always a hit:
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Corinne smith says
Hi I'm a childcare cook and look forward to this page for inspiration and fun ideas.
Corinne
Lucy says
Thank you!