Traditional Irish food for kids + kid-friendly Irish recipes you can make at home right now
Traditional Irish food for kids: kid-friendly Irish recipes you can make at home right now.
Filling, warming meals enjoyed in a family-friendly pub and indulgent Irish breakfasts are one of the many things that make a family vacation in Ireland special.
Breaking bread around the kitchen table is an important part of Irish family life, Irish mammies being very much like Italian ones- if you are your guest, they will want to feed you!
So today, I decided to share some kid-friendly Irish recipes and write an overview of traditional Irish foods for kids you may enjoy in Ireland or recreate at home.
You can make these recipes from Ireland to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, Halloween or any time you want to bring a touch of the Emerald Isle to your table, no matter the time of the year or where you are in the world.
Happy cooking!
Traditional Irish foods for kids
Starting from the first meal of the day, these are some Irish foods your kids may enjoy in Ireland.
Traditional Irish breakfast – a traditional Irish breakfast is a filling, indulgent meal with fried bacon, eggs, sausages, baked beans and tomatoes, served with a basket of white bread (or Irish soda bread), butter and jam.
Kids usually love it and they also handle better than adults the not exactly light nature of this dish!
A full-fried Irish breakfast usually involves also mushrooms and black and white pudding however, it is very common in Ireland to ask for substitutions.
If your kids don’t like them, you can easily ask for them to be left out and replaced with more eggs or extra rasher (bacon) and at home you can tailor make your irish breakfast for them without fear of straying from tradition too much!
If they like salmon, you can also add smokes salmon to your Irish breakfast, salmon being another lovely Irish food kids love.
Irish Pancakes – pancakes are very popular with Irish kids and you find them often offered as a breakfast food or brunch food and of course on Shrove Tuesday, which in Ireland I called Pancake Tuesday!
Irish pancakes make the most of Irish local ingredients: eggs, milk, and butter and you can make serve them plain or dress them with berries, honey, or Irish whipped cream. A delight!
Irish scones – Another delicious Irish food kids will love is scones. Irish scones are usually served for breakfast with Irish butter and jam or as an afternoon treat with tea and they can be plain or made with raisins.
Irish flour and butter make them delightfully rich and they are super easy to make so your kids can enjoy not just eating them, but even making them with you!
Irish lamb cutlets/leg of lamb – Lamb is a popular meat dish in Ireland, especially in spring, when you get the delicious Wicklow spring lambs.
Kids usually love it in the form of cutlets or as sliced leg of lamb served with mash potatoes and gravy. A wonderfully filling and complete meal!
Salmon (fresh and smoked) – Ireland has amazing salmon and you find it in Irish restaurants and shops all year round.
Kids usually love it: my two love smoked Irish salmon on grilled bread with a thin layer of butter, on fried eggs, in a wrap (it makes a wonderful on-the-go-snack too!) and we often make fresh salmon in the oven too, in the form of salmon darns or fillets.
Colcannon – Colcannon is a traditional potato dish from Ireland eaten especially in the winter and at Halloween. Colcannon is a creamy potato mash made with Irish potatoes, cabbage, milk and butter and it is a great way to get kids to eat their greens since the taste of the cabbage, in colcannon, is really mild (that of potatoes and butter prevails!)
Irish Flapjack – an Irish flapjack is a granola bar and one of the most popular Irish snacks for kids!
Super easy to make and very nutritious, it is an Irish recipe you can make with the kids and that will give you bars for a few days, so you can use them as snacks for instance in a lunch box.
We usually make them before the weekend and then use them as hiking snacks for the kids – they are perfect for a mess-free, homemade, nutritious kid snack on an active day!
Irish apple cake – Ireland has delicious apples and a great way to taste them is in a traditional Irish apple cake!
Unlike and English apple pie, and Irish apple cake is a sponge type cake and I can tell you: it is wonderful!
Serve it with Irish whipped cream for a truly indulgent treat
Banana bread – did you know that banana bread is super popular in Ireland?
While bananas are definitely not an Irish food, banana bread is so popular here the national newspaper reported it was a new ‘national dish’!
If your kids love banana bread, they will be happy to know they won’t have to go without, during your Irish vacation!
Irish fairy cakes – Irish fairy cakes are are Irish small cupcakes or buns. usually lighter and smaller that American style cupcakes, they are delicious with tea and are super easy to make too!
Kid-friendly Irish recipes you can make at home
Kid-friendly Irish recipes you can make at home right now
This is a selection of traditional Irish recipes for kids (and adults) we regularly make at home.
We have been living in Ireland for over 15 years and my husband is Irish so you can say we know a thing or two about Irish food and so do our kids!
These Irish recipes are those my kids like the most and they are super easy to make so even if you are busy or you don't like cooking, these are good Irish recipes to have in your repertoire!
You can use them on St Patrick's Day, Halloween (both important Irish festivities) and of course to get ready or reminisce about your family trip to Ireland.
What is a traditional Irish breakfast + how to make traditional Irish breakfast at home
Would you like to start your day with a delicious and filling traditional Irish breakfast for the kids and yourself?
In this article, you will find all you need to know to make a full Irish breakfast at home and get your kids ready for the day with a traditional (and very filling) Irish meal they are sure to love.
Irish pancake recipe: how to make perfect Irish pancakes at home
Do your kids like pancakes? Mine too, especially when I make them following this pancake recipe that uses lovely Irish creamery butter and milk!
Find step-by-step instructions to make pancakes plain, think, thick and ideas on what to serve your Irish pancakes with: we love them with berries, walnuts nuts, honey and sugar but the options are endless!
Easy and delicious sheet pan trout recipe
A super fast and easy recipe to offer fish to your kids in no time!
Ireland has delicious sea trouts and it is in Irland that we learned to oven cook them: find out how we make an Irish-inspired fish-based meal for the kids here.
Colcannon recipe: how to make this delicious potato and cabbage Irish dish
Colcannon is one of the most traditional Irish foods and kids love it!
Made of creamy potatoes with cabbage and butter, colcannon is a smooth, mild-flavored, filling dish perfect as a side to fish or, more traditionally, meat.
There is also a fun tradition attached to it: read the recipe to see what it is and how you can replicate it at home!
How to roast a leg of lamb
An Irish leg of lamb is a delicious and easy way to feed your family but cooking a leg of lamb might seem daunting!
However, it is surprisingly easy if you fall this Irish recipe perfect for kids and adults alike.
Irish smoked salmon recipe ideas
Irish salmon is delicious in all forms, fresh and smoked! If your kids love this salty, oily fish, we share many ideas on how you can offer it to them.
Our favorite way to prepare Irish smoked salmon for the kids is on bread with Irish butter or in wraps but you can also try it on eggs and even with pasta (which ok, is not a traditional Irish food but goes amazingly well with local salmon!)
Apple cake recipe: easy to make family favorite!
Do your kids love apple cake? Then you should have a go at making this Irish apple cake, delightfully moist, sweet and with just the right amount of sugar and acidity in it to be satisfying yet not sickly sweet!
This is an easy Irish recipe for kids to eat and make!
Irish scone recipe (no buttermilk version)
One of the most delicious foods from Ireland are Irish scones, the most buttery treat for tea time you can ask for!
An Irish staple, in this version we make them without buttermilk and they always come out delicious and a huge success with the kids, who love to load them up with jam and Irish butter!
Irish-style oatmeal bar recipe: the delicious Irish flapjack
Did you know that a flapjack in Ireland is a granola bar? yes, an Irish flapjack is a bar made with Irish oatmeal, corn syrup butter and dried fruit, a wonderful homemade nutritious snack for kids and adults
St Patrick’s Day cupcake recipe you can make with the kids
An super easy-to-follow recipe for Irish fairycakes, delicious mini treats you can prepare with the kids for St Patrick's day or for an Irish-inspired tea party!
Easy, delicious banana bread recipe
Did you know banana bread is Irish? Ok no, technically it isn't but it is so popular in Ireland it has now been adopted as an honorary Irish food!
Learn how to make banana bread with this simple Irish recipe for kids and adults
I hope you enjoyed this overview of traditional Irish food for kids and the recipes will inspire you to make some of it at home!
You can use the image below to pin this Traditional Irish food for kids guide + recipe roundup.
