Recipes for Young Toddlers: 18 - 24 Months

From snacks to entrées, find recipes and tips on how to get your growing (and opinionated) little one to try new and nutritious foods.

Trying New Foods

Cooking ethnic dishes with mild seasonings is a great way to continue to expand baby’s palate. Toddlers at this age are usually still open to trying new foods—especially when they see the rest of the family eating the dish.

The recipes included in this collection offer simple ethnic dishes with modifications to make them toddler friendly but still tasty to the rest of the family. These recipes include dishes inspired by favourite foods from around the world.

Toddlers love the “do-it-myself” aspect of dipping and participating in an activity they’ve seen older kids and parents do. Give them a bowl of tasty dip, and most children this age will eat anything you put in front of them from fruit and veggies to chicken and tofu. Don’t stop with ketchup though; use dips as an opportunity to get additional nutrients, protein, and fiber into baby’s diet.

Pumpkin Dip

Canned pumpkin makes it easy to whip up this sweet dip. Make sure to purchase 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.

For your toddler: • Serve the dip with peeled apple slices, banana slices, or cinnamon pita chips.

Asian Peanut Dip

Adults can use extra dip as a spread for veggie wraps or sandwiches made with grated carrot, sliced cucumber, and lettuce.

For your toddler: • Serve the dip with tender raw vegetables like pea pods and cucumber halves or slightly steamed carrot sticks and broccoli florets.

Mediterranean Salmon Salad

Don't let the word "salad" in the title deter you from serving this warm mix of pasta, salmon, and vegetables to your little one.

For your toddler: • Omit the black pepper from the fish. • Toss a spoonful of hot orzo with a small handful of torn spinach until the spinach wilts and the mixture is cool. • Shred a small amount of salmon and add it to the mixture. Add olives and cheese, if desired.