October 21, 2021 Leave a Comment
Check out these 35 Healthy Pasta Recipes for Babies and Kids, including vegetables and proteins of all kinds. Quick, easy and delicious too!
What is it with kids and junk food? Whether it’s burgers, pizza or fries, kids seem to veer towards anything that is deep fried, or has lots of cheese!
Maybe it’s because they crave a change from the daily rice-roti routine, and this feels like something special. Unfortunately, ordering such foods from restaurants can be laden with high calorie and unhealthy ingredients like MSG. They can also be pretty heavy on the pocket, and contain little to no vegetables or protein.
So the best option is to make these at home. Thanks to the availability of varied ingredients these days, making kiddie favorites at home has become easier. We’ve already featured healthy versions of popular junk foods, so today we’ve rounded up the best healthy pasta recipes – for kids of all ages, even babies!
35 Healthy Pasta Recipes for Babies and Kids
1. Baby’s First Tomato Pasta
Yes, this can be baby’s first ever pasta dish! Happy Veggie Kitchen gives us a recipe that’s good for babies over 8 months, and is packed with lots of healthy ingredients like red pepper, carrot, white beans and tomatoes, as well as healing spices like garlic and Italian herbs.
2. Pumpkin Baby Pasta
One good thing about using pumpkins in pasta is that it can easily become part of the sauce. What’s more, it adds a lovely natural sweetness that babies will enjoy. My Kids Lick the Bowl also adds carrots and tomatoes that add a lovely color. You can skip the cream for babies under one – the vegetables will add sufficient bulk.
3. Butternut Squash Creamy Pasta
A close relative to pumpkin is butternut squash, which makes it another excellent choice for pasta sauces. It’s also got a nutritional profile similar to pumpkins. Baby Led Feeding makes use of this fact in this lovely recipe that can be made vegan by using almond milk to thicken the sauce.
4. Baby Led Weaning Pasta
Baby led weaning is a great way to encourage self feeding in babies, and pasta is a great choice for this, especially if you choose larger varieties. Abbey’s Kitchen has a recipe that’s suitable for babies over 9 months and with avocado, tomatoes, egg yolks and walnuts, this is a great combination of fruits, vegetables, protein and nuts!
5. Carrot Pasta Baby Food
Baby Foode gives us a simple pasta recipe that focuses on carrots as the star ingredient along with orange zest. The result is a brightly colored pasta that has a nice, citrusy zing to it. This is a great recipe to try if your baby enjoyed carrot puree initially.
6. 4 Ingredient Pasta Soup for Babies
Soups are a popular food during winters and there’s no reason your baby can’t enjoy it too! Indulge with Bibi has a warming soup that is a good way to sneak in foods like avocado, tomatoes, mushrooms as well as pasta and meat. You can replace the meat with tofu if you like.
7. Beetroot Pasta Sauce
We absolutely love the gorgeous color of this pasta recipe from Mummy to Dex! Beetroot is a wonderful vegetable – it goes perfectly well with all kinds of cuisines and lends everything it’s bright pink color. This recipe also uses pine nuts, but you can replace it with almonds or walnuts.
8. Baby Lasagna
If you always thought lasagna was a complicated dish and definitely not for babies, you’ll be proved wrong by this recipe from Baby Led Feeding! It is the filling of the lasagna that is the star though, with lots of cheese and spices. Make sure your baby is okay with digesting cheese on its own before trying out this recipe.
9. Red Pesto Pasta
When we think of pesto, we often think of a green sauce, but this recipe from Happy Veggie Kitchen is a bright red which babies will love. The red comes from roasted red peppers, which adds a whole lot of Vitamin A along with other trace minerals. Walnuts are the nuts used in this pesto, along with basil which gives it a nice Italian touch.
10. Greek Yogurt Mac n Cheese
Mac n Cheese is an incredibly popular pasta dish, especially among kids, and now thanks to this recipe from Running in a Skirt, your baby can enjoy it too! Instead of cream, you can thicken the pasta with Greek yogurt instead. If you can’t find Greek yogurt, just drain plain dahi in a muslin cloth and you’ll get thick yogurt which you can use.
(The recipes listed below are suitable for babies over the age of one year)
11. One Pot Toddler Pasta
Moms today don’t like to spend hours slaving in the kitchen, which is why one pot dishes are all the rage. If you love OPOS dishes too, you’ll love this one pot pasta from My Modern Cookery. You can use homemade chicken stock in stead of the bone broth in the recipe.
12. Hearty Minestrone Soup with Pasta
Soups are often had at the beginning of a meal, but if you add some pasta to the soup, you can turn it into the full meal itself! This minestrone soup includes not just pasta, but loads of veggies as well as dried beans, which adds bulk and lots of nutrition to the soup.
13. Avocado Pasta
There are many reasons avocado is a favorite among parents. For one thing, they don’t need to be cooked – even babies can have the flesh of a ripe avocado. Avocados naturally creamy texture make them great for thickening any dish, and the neutral taste lends itself perfect for both sweet and savory recipes. GK Food Diary makes use of this texture in this yummy pasta recipe.
14. Vegan Creamy Pink Pasta
Do you have a kid who loves everything pink? Then this is the perfect recipe for you! Plant Based Jess shows us how easy it is to make pink pasta – without any artificial coloring! All you need are tomatoes and coconut milk and a few spices that go well together.
15. Chicken Pasta Bake
Just like soups, there is something very comforting about a baked casserole during winters. That’s why we love this baked pasta dish from My Kids Lick the Bowl. It’s quite a hearty dish, made of pasta, chicken, cauliflower, spinach and of course, cheese! You can use this as a vehicle for other veggies too, especially root vegetables like carrots!
16. Creamy Vegetable Pasta Recipe for Kids
This creamy vegetable pasta is something you can whip up on a busy weeknight, when you don’t want to think too much. Chop up some fast cooking vegetables like bell peppers and mushrooms, stir in the pasta and sauce and you’re done for dinner!
17. Pasta with Spinach Sauce
Kids have a rather strange relationship with greens, especially leafy greens. This poses a challenge for many parents because greens are packed with nutrients and refusing to eat them can cause deficiencies. Rather than fighting over this at every meal, try to sneak in the green leafies, with this pasta dish from Cooktoria.
18. Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce
Spinach isn’t the only vegetable you can sneak into pasta – Eat with Clarity shows us that you can do this with many others too! In this recipe, they’ve skillfully made a pasta sauce which has bell peppers, carrots, celery and zucchini – and your kids will be none the wiser!
19. Broccoli Mac n Cheese
Kids have trouble eating broccoli, and most parents are confused about how to cook it. If that’s your problem too, check out this recipe from Feel Good Foodie. There isn’t much in this pasta other than broccoli and cheese, which really puts the focus on these limited ingredients.
20. Vegetable Pasta Recipe for Kids
Do you think pasta will taste bland without any meat or seafood in it? Well this recipe shows that it doesn’t have to be so! You can create a flavorful, well balanced meal with just vegetables. The trick is to make the pasta sauce spicy and packed with flavors – and you don’t have to make it too hot either!
21. Creamy Peas Pasta
Do you have a child who picks out the peas from his sabzi or pulao? Do you wish she’d eat her greens without fuss? Well, you’re in luck, because Yummy Little Belly has got us a delicious, creamy pasta recipe made with peas and cheese and a few pantry staples.
22. Tuna Tomato Pasta
It’s not just meat or vegetables that you can add to pasta – you can add seafood too! We love this recipe from Healthy Little Foodies that uses tuna along with olives and tomatoes. This is a great recipe for a busy day when you’re too tired to cook chicken separately – tuna is perfect since it cooks fast and you can have dinner ready in a short time.
23. Curry Pasta Salad
This recipe from Baby Foode is great for the whole family, and you can easily modify it to suit babies too. The ingredient list may look long, but it’s just basic things you’ll find in your kitchen like yogurt, olive oil and yes, curry powder! Curry powder gives this pasta recipe a unique recipe, and makes for a welcome change from the cheesy versions.
24. Indian Style Masala Macaroni Recipe
If you’ve got elders in the family who don’t like pasta because they think it won’t suit their Indian palate, then ask them to try this recipe and watch them change their minds! The familiar masala taste will help them warm up to the idea of pasta, and it is also a great way to get seniors get their nutrients when they don’t feel like eating much.
25. Pasta Soup with Sausage
Kids love sausage, and it’s okay to have it once in a while, although not as a staple. If you’d like to try something simple for dinner, check out this pasta soup recipe from Chelsea’s Messy Apron that uses sausage. You can use any sausage of your preference, along with homemade chicken stock for a milder flavor.
26. Lentil Pasta Sauce
Lentils doesn’t always have to mean sambar or dal, it can also mean pasta sauce! My Fussy Eater shows us that it is indeed possible to turn red lentils into pasta sauce. Red lentils cook fast and add the requisite thickness for the sauce – perfect for pasta!
27. Greek Yogurt Alfredo Pasta
Alfredo sauce is classically made from butter, cheese and cream, but this version from We are Far from Normal is healthier, made from Greek Yogurt and milk. Although it’s lighter, it’s still creamy and tastes rich, without extra fat and also goes easy on those trying to lose weight!
28. Rainbow Pasta Salad
They say you should eat the rainbow, and Sugar, Spice and Glitter takes this advice to heart with a salad dish bursting with colors! This dish includes tomatoes, bell peppers, pineapples, cucumbers and olive oil – a perfect salad for all seasons! You can make it heartier by adding some boiled eggs on top.
29. Fried Macaroni Fritters
Pasta is great – because you can make anything out if it – even fritters! Mommy Musings turns plain elbow macaroni into some lovely cheesy balls that are perfect for a kiddie party or as a snack for a rainy afternoon. Just look at all that cheese oozing out!
30. Makhani Sauce Pasta
Did you know you can make pasta with makhani sauce too? Yes, you can, as Fun Food Frolic shows us! This sauce uses your regular Indian curry ingredients like onions, tomato and ginger garlic paste, along with ‘foreign’ ingredients like parsley, oregano and of course, cream!
31. Tofu Broccoli Pasta
If you’re thinking of going vegan but are worried about how to make nutritional meals, try out this recipe from She Likes Food. This is a very simple pasta recipe that uses broccoli, tofu and spices. It’s so easy, you’ll be surprised at how something so simple can taste so good!
32. Dairy Free Cauliflower Pasta
We have cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza and more, and Cotter Crunch has cauliflower pasta for us today! Use homemade vegetable stock and coconut milk for a truly wholesome dish that’s also vegan.
33. Hummus Pasta
Here’s another vegan recipe from Loving it Vegan, that uses sun dried tomatoes for an interesting flavor. But the star here is the hummus, which is a great idea of a pasta sauce – don’t know why more people don’t use it! Made from chickpeas, hummus adds a good amount of protein along with fiber.
34. Mac n Cheese Muffins
You’ve made Mac n Cheese, but have you made Mac n Cheese muffins? Well if you haven’t, it’s a good time to try! The Best Ideas for Kids has an easy recipe for which you need very basic ingredients. Tip: Add some chopped spring onions for an extra burst of flavor and some greens!
35. Chicken Masala Pasta
If you’re in the mood for biryani, but can’t bother to make one from scratch, why not go for a biryani-like pasta instead? Yes, you can, thanks to this masala chicken pasta recipe from Sharmis Passions! With regular ingredients you have at home, you’ll have a delicious pasta that’ll have everyone happy!
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