Easy peanut butter recipes for kids are a must for getting protein into my child. I remember the days fondly when Sophie used to eat like a champ. She wasn’t able to verbalize what she wanted to eat but we knew her go-to foods and it helped her to sleep through the night. For about six months she has been such a picky eater. We’ve tried several tactics on getting her to eat but the most successful is sticking to the foods she likes. We wish her favorite foods were salmon and spinach but we all know a toddler’s palate is more in-tuned to milk and peanut butter. That’s why I’ve decided to get crafty with different peanut butter recipes for her lunch box and after school snack. I’m going to share three easy peanut butter recipes for kids using foods that you likely already have on hand.

Easy Peanut Butter Recipes for Kids

I love figuring out one staple food that works for my daughter and mixing it up for different recipes. Here I did 1 peanut butter 3 ways. The first recipe is:

Peanut Butter Banana Sushi Roll Ups (a favorite after school snack)

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat tortilla roll
• Peanut Butter
• Banana
• Honey

Spread peanut butter on the whole wheat tortilla evenly but not all the way to the edges. Lay the banana in the center and drizzle with honey. Roll up banana with the tortilla and cut into bit sized pieces. *Can also sprinkle coconut or sprinkles for added fun.

Because of the cooking time, I usually make the second recipe for Saturday breakfast or after school snack.

Strawberry Peanut Butter Quesadilla

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat tortilla
• Peanut Butter
• Sliced strawberries

Warm a pan on stove top to medium heat. Spread one half of the tortilla with peanut butter and the other half with sliced strawberries. Fold in half and cook in the warm pan. Flip the quesadilla once it starts to brown slightly. Cut into triangles and serve. *Can swap out the strawberries for any fruit. Sophie really likes blueberries or bananas as well.

The third recipe is more of a dessert but I will give it to Sophie as a special after school treat sometimes. She thinks it’s really special because it’s frozen but it couldn’t be healthier!

Frozen Peanut Butter Banana Bark

Ingredients:

• Freeze dried banana chips
• 1-2 c plain greek yogurt
• Peanut Butter
• 1 tbsp Honey
• Unsweetened shredded coconut

Line your pan with parchment paper. Add one layer of banana chips along the bottom of the pan. Heat your peanut butter until it’s slightly melted. Mix the peanut butter and honey with yogurt until desired consistency (can add more peanut butter for a nuttier taste). Dollop spoonfuls of yogurt mix onto bananas and carefully smooth over top. Sprinkle shredded coconut over the yogurt and stick in the freezer over night. Break apart bark and serve. *Bananas can be substituted for any freeze dried fruit. You can experiment with fresh fruit but you will get a different consistency because of the added moisture.

My favorite part about each of these recipes is how healthy they are. They seem like treats to her because they’re so sweet but they have fresh, whole ingredients that help fuel my growing toddler. She has been eating this crunchy peanut butter better than the smooth. It’s also a win in my book because there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives so I’m confident in feeding it to my little girl.

We’ve been working on going through the entire process of our activities with Sophie because that is what she is learning at her Montessori school. I took Sophie to our local Walmart to have her grab the ingredients and put them in the cart. We checked out, headed home and laid out all of the ingredients for one recipe on the island. Sophie cut the strawberries with an egg slicer while I spread the peanut butter. She laid out all of her strawberry slices and helped me fold the quesadilla in half. Soph helped me load our dishes in the dishwasher. I cooked and cut her quesadilla and we shared the meal we had just made together. Having her help with each part of the process through the end helps her understand that there are many steps in her food being laid in front of her at snack time.

Do you have your kids help you in the kitchen? What about buying the food, helping with the meal and doing the clean up? It’s a long process but we’re focusing on making sure we do this once per week with Sophie.

Looking for similar kid-friendly recipes?

Gourmet Campfire S’mores

Nutella Parfait Dessert

Gooey Granola Bars

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