4 Alternative Thanksgiving Recipes Your Kids Will Love

By Julia Bauer
Arial view of Thanksgiving food (pumpkin pie and bread) on a table

As Halloween becomes last week’s news and your child’s candy stash starts dwindling, it’s time to start thinking about the next big thing: Thanksgiving. This holiday can be difficult if you have little ones because they don’t always jump for joy when they see green beans or stuffing. But, there are ways to make Thanksgiving food more appealing to your kiddos! Here are four kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes your kids will love. 

Green bean fries

What better way of appealing to kids than making something that resembles french fries? Trade the cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions for panko crumbs to make green bean fries. Not only is this easy, but it is the perfect dish for kids who don’t like the traditional green bean casserole.

Pumpkin patch pudding

This recipe is not only fun for your kids to eat, but it is easy for you to make! Pumpkin patch pudding cups don’t require any cooking, just some creativity. All you need are some chocolate pudding cups, candy pumpkins, Oreos and green sprinkles. And, you can spice them up by creating little “pumpkin patch” signs with popsicle sticks!

Turkey fruit tray

A turkey fruit tray will help ensure that your kiddos get their daily recommended amount of fruit on Thanksgiving Day. This dish requires no cooking, just chopping! This recipe calls for half of a pear to make the turkey’s body and other fruit to create the turkey’s face and tail. You can use the fruit in the recipe or switch it out to include your child’s favorite fruit.

Mashed sweet potatoes

Mashed sweet potatoes can appeal to kids more than the original Thanksgiving mashed potatoes because they are sweet but still healthy! They can also work as a baby food if you have a little one who still eats pureed food.

These kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes will get your kids excited to eat without giving you too much more cooking to do! 

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