Delicious, traditional kid-friendly Italian recipes and Italy inspired dishes to bring a taste of Italy to your table.
There are many reasons to plan a family trip to Italy and delicious, kid-friendly food is surely one of them.
World-famous for its taste, variety and genuine ingredients, Italian food is a highlight for many travelers and not just foodie connoisseurs.
Kids also adore Italian food so much so that ‘eating pizza’ and ‘gelato’ are at the top of the Italy bucket list of pretty much any child I have ever met (and sure at the top of the bucket list of my two!).
But what can you do, when a trip to Italy is not on the cards? You bring Italy to your home, of course, recreating those fabulous Italian taste at home!
What do Italian kids eat?
Italian kids have a very varied diet.
The most traditional Italian meal would see a couple of courses usually un primo (first dish, usually pasta or rice or soup), un secondo (second dish, usually meat) and un contorno (a side dish, usually vegetables).
This may sound like a lot of cooking but Italian dishes are often so easy to make, it is actually pretty easy to whip up a dinner like this!
However, it is not uncommon to also have a ‘piatto unico‘, one dish that has a mix of nutrients and can, therefore, be served on its own: traditional lasagna being a perfect example.
Is it easy to make Italian food at home?
One of the many things that make Italian food so family-friendly is that the Italian tradition of cooking is born in real homes.
The food Italy is most famous for is not fine dining or haute cuisine but rather, dishes made by the people in their own homes and from all walks of life.
Some are elaborate and conjure up and Italian nonna working tirelessly to make the perfect fresh pasta but many are simple and very easy to recreate at home.
All you need is a good recipe, and this is where this collection of kid-friendly Italian recipes comes into play!
Italian food is what I grew up with (if you are new here, I am from Rome) and Italian food is what I make for my kids every day.
However, I don’t cook a huge variety of things so for this list, I reached out to am amazing group of family cooks and asked them to share their favorite kid-friendly Italian recipe. They delivered!
The result is this collection of tasty Italian recipes and Italy inspired dishes perfect for the whole family.
You can cook them for an Italian themed family dinner, a day reminiscing of a trip to Italy, or getting ready for a trip!
As you will see, some have their root in the most authentic Italian traditions and some give a twist to the original recipe, either in terms of the preparation method or ingredients added.
Each recipe leads to to a fabulous food blog, make sure you check them out!
I hope you try as many of them as possible! Buon appetito!
Kid-Friendly Italian recipes to bring Italy to your table
Real carbonara recipe: step by step guide for a taste of Rome on your table!
A classic of the Roman cuisine, pasta all carbonara is a firm kid-favourite in our home and one I love too, for its delicious taste but also for the nutrition in it.
A rich meal with pasta, eggs, guanciale (pork) and cheese, it is an easy way to get a lot of nutrition in my often too-distracted-to eat kids: even my fussy eater devours it each time!
World-famous, carbonara is at its very best when done following the original Italian recipe. Hint: there is strictly no cream in the real thing!
A traditional pasta dish from Rome, pasta all'amatriciana is a firm family favorite in Italian households and how could it not be? Made with a rich tomato sauce, tasty pecorino cheese and guanciale (pork), it is the perfect compromise between a satisfying meal and an easy-to-make, family friendly one. A wonderful choice for a family midweek dinner! (ed)
This Classic Homemade Pasta Sauce or Italian Ragù is an easy meat-based sauce packed full of flavor! Our kids love it because nonna makes it for them when we go to Italy. From the Veneto Region (Vicenza) (introduction by the recipe author)
Sage Butter Gnocchi! The sauce is made with a few simple ingredients! Cooks up in about 5 minutes!
Another great recipe that nonna makes. The kids love the sauce over the potato!
A classic rice dish from Venice, Risi e Bisi (rice with peas) is an easy-to-make, veggie Italian recipe loved by kids and adults. Fun fact (ed): risi e bisi was traditionally served on the 25th of April in Venice, to celebrate St Mark, the city's patron saint!
This Italian pasta with peas is a simple, creamy, and delicious one-pot dinner recipe that uses minimal ingredients.
It makes a perfect weeknight meal, it’s ready in 15 minutes and 1 serving costs less than $0.80. What’s not to love?
Veal Saltimbocca Recipe: the easiest way to bring Rome to your table
So easy to make and so delicious, it simly 'jumps into your mouth' - this is the literall translations of 'saltimbocca' a meat recipe from Rome. Veal saltimbocca is one of the easiest kid-friendly recipes to make and one of the most satisfying!
This simple and utterly delicious Caprese pizza is a dream for any pizza lover. It’s a no-knead dough recipe, so easy to make from scratch and ready in 1 hour.
A step by step guide of How to Make Simple Risotto. This is the basic technique for perfect risotto every time that is not as time-consuming as its reputation suggests!
Bolognese sauce is so loved by children, it is THE pasta item you find on kids menus across the world! And you can make it easily at home, following this easy, delicious bolognese recipe from Italy (ed)
Pastina is a soup that is often given to babies and children in Italy, but you can make it, too! Very fun, easy to make and so nutritious, it will be on the menu often!
Pizza fritta means, "fried pizza", but it's not what you'd think! Easy enough for kids to make and shape the dough, and fry lightly in a pan. Everyone loves this simple dish!
Polenta is a traditional dish from the North of Itay and a wonderful wone for a warming family dinner. In this version, it is served with delicious mushrooms ragu for a lovely vegan Italian meal (ed)
Italian apple cakes is a family favorite with kids big and small! This is an easy to make cake perfect for breakfast, as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee and awonderful homely dessert with a delicate apple taste and a sweet texture.
To make Apple cake Italian style you need to previous baking experience nor special equipment and the result is alwasy a delight!
Italian pastry cream is a delicious and very declicate custard that you can use on its own as a dessert or as a filling for pastry and cakes. This recipe is easy to follow and spells out the most common mistakes made when preparing Italian cream with easy solitions for them all! This is a simple yet delicious recipe that yealds a cream with delicate taste loved by kids and adults. You can use the cream as is or use some of the flavorsome suggestions we give in this recipe to personalize it and make, out of one recipe, many more!
This tiramisu recipe is the kid-friendly version of the most classic Italian cake, tiramisu without coffee and alcohol - perfect for kids!
Thi tiramisu recipe mantains the creaminess of the original but recplaces the kick of espresso with dark cocoa, making it perfect for (almost) all ages
This homemade gelatin free Watermelon Jello is a classic Sicilian summertime treat. This Vegan gluten-free dessert will become a family fave!
Cheesy and creamy, this is one way to get your kids to eat cabbage. Homestyle Virze Rise is classic comfort food - Italian style! Photo credit: theschizochef
Minestrone Soup is an Italian classic and is the perfect veggie-filled nourishing meal to fill the family up quickly and easily.
Amazingly creamy and delicious tortellini alla panna or tortellini in cream sauce with prosciutto, an Italian classic recipe easy to make and always soooo good
This homemade Italian pizza dough recipe is easily whipped up from pantry staples. It will make enough dough for 8 lovely thin crust pizzas. Make a pizza or two now and save the rest for later. Perfect for batch cooking.
Pasta with peas is a tasty 1-pot 10 minute midweek dinner that’s bursting with fresh taste! It’s a delicious, hearty and family-friendly Italian dish (pasta e piselli). Plus it’s so easy!
Super easy recipe by an Italian mama to make the perfect Neapolitan pizza at home! Delicious to eat and a fun one to make with the kids too! (ed)
Risotto al ragu, beef risotto, combines two children' favorites: rice and bolognese sauce! A lovely family recipe for a tasty kid-approved meal (ed)
Arancini are a specialty for Sicily loved by kids and adults. In this version, a tasty rice ball has a heart of melting mozzarella and a crispy fried exterior: no surprise kids love it! Photo credit: 4theloveoffoodblog (ed)
Vegetable, pulses and lots of taste: this easy minestrone soup is a super easy recipe to bring a delicious and nutritious vegan Italian recipe to your family table (ed)
Tomatoes and garlic are the star ingredients of this easy to make, delicious Italian pasta recipe, perfect for a summer lunch! (ed)
This Easy Italian Wedding Soup recipe is quick, easy and healthy with no pre-cooking meatballs required! Kids love it! Fun fact (ed): Wedding Soup is a translation from the Italian name of this soup 'minestra maritata', which refers to the marriage of meat and vegetables in the dish!
This easy homemade lasagna is made meat (ground beef) with fresh lasagna noodles, fresh spinach, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. It's make-ahead, freezes well and is perfect for feeding a crowd or taking along to a potluck! One of my kids' first foods!
A paleo twist to the traditional 'pizzelle', Italian biscuits from the Molise and Abruzzo region! (ed) Photo credit: homesteadylady
An air fryer recipe to bring the taste of those delicious Italian sausages to your table, accompanies by the sweet taste of peppers and onions (ed)