3-Ingredient Recipes That Make Kids AND Parents Happy
by Stacy Liu
You’ll be amazed at what you can make with just three ingredients
If you’re anything like us, you’re always on the hunt for easy dinner recipes. The fewer ingredients we have to remember, the better (because no one likes doing a last-minute grocery store run!). To make all of our lives easier, we’ve rounded up a list of 3-ingredient recipes that will please even the pickiest of eaters. Read on to simplify your meal plan.
Cauliflower Soup
Your whole crew is sure to fall in love with this silky soup from Just a Taste. It’s practically begging to be topped with your favorite add-ons, from a simple swirl of olive oil to crumbled bacon or crispy chickpeas.
Dry, overcooked chicken will be a thing of the past once you try this 3-ingredient recipe from Cooking with Janica. Their easy method yields a juicy, well-seasoned chicken breast—perfect for pairing with rice, salad, or potatoes.
Our hunt for perfectly crispy roasted potatoes has finally come to an end, thanks to A Clean Bake. This foolproof method will have your whole family asking for seconds.
Honey Teriyaki Lime Salmon
Delicious salmon is less than a half hour away, thanks to this 3-ingredient recipe from Savory Nothings. Bonus points if you make your own teriyaki sauce (but we won’t judge if you go for the bottled stuff!).
Grab your soup pot and make a big batch of this soup from Honey and Birch! With the homey goodness of tomato soup and tortellini (a kid fave!), we guarantee it'll disappear in no time.
Make-ahead-meal alert! We love how these sandwiches from A Taste of Madness can be frozen and then heated whenever you need a quick and easy school lunch. Plus, you can always customize it with your kiddo’s favorite lunch meat.
Taco night just got way easier, thanks to this genius recipe from Lanc Foodie Girl. Set up the slow cooker in the morning, and dinner will be hot and ready by the time you get home.
3-Ingredient Biscuit Recipe
The Feathered Nester has an incredibly easy 3-ingredient biscuit recipe we love for weekend breakfasts.
Grilled Ranch Pork Chop
No one likes a dry pork chop! Good news: this recipe from Gimme Some Grilling is going to be your new go-to method for the juiciest (and easiest) pork. The secret ingredient is hiding in the grocery store spice aisle.
We’re always on the hunt for healthy snacks that the little ones will actually eat, and these sweet potato wraps from Lemons & Basil get the toddler seal of approval. You can fill them up with butter, cheese, or peanut butter for a perfectly balanced snack.
Three ingredients and a few hours in a Crock Pot and bam! Now you have killer BBQ chicken wings to feed the masses, all thanks to this recipe from Intelligent Domestications. Plus the kids will get a kick out of the “secret ingredient.”
Grilled Cheese Rollups
Flat sandwiches are so last year… These rollups from My Little Gourmet are perfectly sized for tiny hands to dunk into a bowl of soup.
Get your tiny taste testers’ hands deep into potatoes when they help you make gnocchi from scratch! Pair this step-by-step tutorial from Eugenie’s Kitchen with the tomato sauce later in this roundup.
Roll up ham and cheese for a dinner that will have the little ones forgetting about their pre-boxed meat, cheese, and crackers (you know which ones we're talking about!). You and your kids can whip up this recipe from It's Peachy Keen in less than 20 minutes for a fun, fingers-only meal.
You know that stockpile of juice boxes your family has been collecting? This sweet recipe, courtesy of Oatmeal With a Fork, puts them to good use! This chicken is flavorful and easy to make—and we’re willing to bet it’ll be a hit with kids and grown-ups alike.
A dinner that is fun to make, fun to look at, and deliciously satisfying to eat? Please let your burgeoning kitchen master bring these pinwheels to your dinner table. Weary Chef simplifies it down so your little one can get artsy with their greens before rolling it up to bake.
For the easiest (and kid-friendliest) side dish, you’ve got to try these green beans from Nyssa’s Kitchen. Her method leaves the beans perfectly tender with a little char on the outside. Drooling yet?
Grilled PB&J Sandwiches
If your little one is tired of sandwiches, switch it up with this tortilla version on the stove. It’s literally as simple as spreading peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla, then heating up before devouring.
This easy dish subs nutritional yeast for parmesan and olive oil for butter to make a simple, dairy-free alternative to your kiddo’s favorite go-to pasta dish. Just cook spaghetti or linguine noodles according to the package, toss in enough olive oil to coat, and sprinkle liberally with nutritional yeast. You can add parsley, pepper, and a pinch of salt if you’re a rule-breaker.
Does your kiddo feel like traveling south of the border for dinner? Try out this deliciously simple black bean soup recipe from The Pretty Bee.
Easy Meatballs
We know your kids can’t get enough of meatballs once they’re on the table—it’s time to teach them where those delicious things come from. Take a peek at Persnickety Plates’ recipe for three-ingredient slow cooker pineapple teriyaki meatballs and have your little sous chef’s help with all the prep.
This one's an easy one for momma's helper, and it's done in no time at all. The Honour System has got tomato sauce down to a two-step science: simmer and stir!
Maple & Mustard Salmon
Your iron chefs-in-training may or may not be ready for handling raw salmon, but they can certainly help out with a sweet and spicy glaze from For the Love of Cooking.