10 kids’ cooking projects for the school holidays

The school holidays are the perfect time for kids to get messy in the kitchen. With a little preparation and planning, little ones can soon be helping to prepare food for the whole family or making a special project of their own. We’ve picked 10 fun and easy kids’ cooking projects to get them started.

Remember to always wash hands before and after preparing ingredients, especially if there’s raw meat involved, and never leave your little ones unattended around hot surfaces or sharp knives.

1. Make your own burgers

Any recipe that involves dividing a batch into balls or burgers is a great way of incorporating maths into cooking. Once the kids have helped you to make the mixture, get them to weigh it on the scales and divide the number into the portions for the recipe. Then the fun bit – pat out the burger shapes and get cooking! Try our easy sunshine burgers, delicious Swedish meatball burgers or green burgers as a veggie option.

2. Pack in the fun

Involve the kids in preparing their own packed lunch before a day trip and they’ll be more inclined to eat it, saving you money in the long run. Get inspired with our family picnic recipes or try these healthy lunchbox ideas for kids. Cutting sandwiches into shapes, like these star-shaped sarnies, makes simple food feel more special.

Fussy eater? Lay out a pick & mix pesto pasta salad bar and let them have control over exactly what they want to eat.

3. Pizza faces

Throwing a pizza party for kids is super easy as dough can be divided into individual portions and toppings laid out in bowls. There’s also the chance to weave in some kitchen skills – encourage little ones to knead and roll out their own base, then ask them to help with a homemade pizza sauce. Top it all off by making silly veggie faces with the ingredients.

For an even easier version, try pitta pizzas – a ready-made base makes this one super speedy to make – or for a healthy option, get them to make colourful rainbow pizzas.

4. Run a mocktail bar

Keep hydrated and let the kids become mini baristas! Discover a whole range of wonderful mocktails for kids – let them mix their own drinks and serve them to family and friends. They can even make their own handwritten menu! Choose from a vibrant watermelon lemonade, apple, elderflower & mint sparkle or an iced fruit slushie.

Want to keep it simple? Help kids to make a batch of really easy lemonade and they can run an old-fashioned stall in the garden.

5. Play with your food

Create a fun fruit memory game and kids will soon be well on their way to five-a-day! Lay out an assortment of fruit like strawberries, banana slices, apricots, berries or grapes then hide a portion under paper cups. Make a note of the fruits used, shuffle around the cups then guess which cups are hiding the matching fruit, working down the list and eating the fruits when the answer is correct.

Remember, always cut grapes in half before giving them to young children.

6. Create instant ice cream

Introduce science to the kitchen with our fantastic instant ice cream recipe. Adding salt to the ice lowers the temperature, allowing the milk to freeze in minutes – you can have fun throwing the bag between you to keep the mixture moving before dipping in a spoon and tasting your delicious experiment!