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50 simple and easy 18 month toddler meals. What my one year old toddler eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I’ve compiled 50 meal ideas based on what my toddler really eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.
These meals aren’t anything fancy, but are simple, easy and fairly healthy.
I am a busy mama who tries to live by a few rules when serving my toddler (and really my whole family in general):
- Less time in the kitchen and more time together (quick and easy meals)
- Cook once per meal (no special dinners for the toddler)
- Add veggies to everything!
- Buy whole grain or whole wheat options when I can
- Buy organic when I can
- Use frozen food when I can
For all the other busy mamas out there, i’ve compiled a list of 18 month toddler meals. Add some of these to your meal rotations!
See Also
Healthy Chicken Enchiladas {Clean Eating} - Clean Eating with kids75+ Gezonde hapjes kerstdiner voor kinderen op school of vegetarische & koolhydraatarme hapjes - Mamaliefde.nlHomemade Chicken Nuggets | Chick Fil A Copycat RecipeThe BEST Homemade Sloppy JoesIf you are looking for more meal ideas for babies or toddlers, check out more posts from my feeding series:
- Combing Purees and Baby-Led Weaning
- Baby’s First Solid Foods
- Self-Feeding ideas for 8-12 Month Olds
- Self-Feeding Foods for One Year Olds
- 20 Easy Meal Ideas for 1 Year Olds
- Easy Toddler Breakfast Ideas
- Easy Toddler Meals with Frozen Food
- Self-Feeding Ideas for 12-16 months
- Self-Feeding Daycare Lunch Ideas for One Year Olds
- Toddler Meal Ideas – 15 months
- Toddler Meal Ideas – 16 months
- 33 Toddler Dinner Ideas
- Toddler Meal Ideas – 17 Months
- Toddler Daycare Lunch Ideas
Favorite Feeding Tools
Below are some of my favorite feeding tools for toddlers. You can see these in use in many of my meal photos!
Toddler Silverware// We love the Munchkin fork and spoon set and its now our go-to for all meals! The fork is a little more like a “spork” so I find that it is super easy for him to use.
Ingenuity Booster Seat // This booster seat is a game changer when you are ready to move your toddler to the table and out of the high chair. It is SO easy to wipe down and clean and he seems a lot more comfortable eating at the table.
For a full list of toddler feeding products that I recommend check out my post:10 Toddler Feeding Essentials & 5 Best Toddler Cups
Breakfast Toddler Meal Ideas
I like to make breakfast especially quick and easy.
Breakfast is normally a whole grain or protein and a side of fruit.
Some morning we have to be out the door fairly quickly so I like to use frozen foods or pre-made/left overs whenever I can.
Below are our 18 month toddler breakfast meals:
- Waffle with jelly. Mandarin oranges and blueberries on the side. Waffles are so versatile and can be topped with so many things! I try to chose sugar free natural jelly and whole wheat waffles when I can.
- Waffle with cream cheese. Squash and grapes on the side. Most people don’t think to serve veggies with breakfast, but a sweet veggie like a squash or sweet potato can be an awesome way to add variety in the morning and get in a serving of veggies.
- Waffle with peanut butter. Side of blueberries. Peanut butter is a great way to add in some protein and healthy fat for breakfast. My toddler isn’t a big fan of peanut butter but i’m trying to incorporate it more and more into his meals.
- Toast with smooshed avocado. Side of strawberries and bananas. Avocado toast can be great for toddlers! I find that very lightly toasted works best for one year olds so its not too crunchy and hard to eat. My toddler loves avocado and I found this was a little less messy than serving avocado by itself.
- Toast with peanut butter, yogurt with peaches. Toast can make for a super easy breakfast and a great way to get in a serving of whole grains. Yogurt is also one of my toddler’s favorites; plain yogurt can be sweetened with fruit.
- Toast topped with peanut butter and bananas. Instead of serving the fruit on the side, try adding it on top of whole wheat toast!
- French toast. Side of oranges. It’s so simple and easy to make homemade french toast! You can mix things up by adding cinnamon or banana to the egg before cooking. I like to make french toast on the weekend and have leftovers throughout the week.
- English muffin with peanut butter. Side of grapes and blueberries. For my one year old I like to lightly toast and add a thin layer of peanut butter for added protein. Grapes should be quartered and blueberries cut or smooshed until you feel very confident about their chewing.
- Cinnamon raisin english muffin with scrambled eggs. We topped this with butter for a little extra fat and flavor. Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese.
- Over hard egg. Side of waffle and kiwi. Another way to serve eggs is over hard (like a fried over- easy egg, but cooked until the yolk is firm). I did this one in the microwave and added a little spinach.
- Egg frittata muffin. Side of strawberries. Egg muffins are so easy to make and are so handy for quick week-day breakfasts! Whisk eggs, a splash of milk, and whatever toppings you would like in a large bowl and then pour into muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 mins or until set.
- Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese. Side of banana. I tend to make scrambled eggs in the microwave unless i’m cooking them for the whole family. Scramble in a bowl and then microwave for about 1 min or until set. SO EASY!
- Scrambled eggs with pepper, turkey, and hashbrowns, and a side of french toast. So many different types of veggies and protein can be added to scrambled eggs! A great way to clean out your fridge 🙂
- Mini breakfast burrito. Side of mandarin oranges and blueberries. To my surprise, my toddler saw mea eating a breakfast burrito and insisted on trying it! He chowed it down so I made him his own the next morning. I used the same egg mixture as mentioned above (eggs, turkey, pepper, hashbrowns).
- Banana and egg pancake. Side of grapes. One egg and half a banana fried in some butter! This was also one of my toddler’s first table foods. You will want to quarter grapes until you are comfortable with their chewing ability.
- Oatmeal with milk and peaches (peaches n’ cream oatmeal). This is one of my toddler’s new favorites and i’m okay with it since its so easy to make! We use quick oats and a pre-packaged cup of diced peaches (make sure to rinse them). You can also mix it up and use thawed frozen berries.
- Oat bar. Side of avocado and blueberries. Oat bars are made just like oatmeal in the microwave, but you will want to cook it until its very set in the bowl (about 5-8 mins).
- Plain greek yogurt with mixed berries. For ease I thawed some frozen mixed berries. You can also use fresh fruit or a fruit cup (drain and rinse).
- Spinach banana muffins. Side of blueberries. My toddler loves Inspiralized Kids Spinach Blender muffins. They are so easy to make and moms love the simple ingredients.
- Cinnamon raisin bread. Side of mandarin oranges. For a treat on the weekend we sometimes like to serve cinnamon raisin toast topped with cream cheese.
Toddler Lunch Ideas
My toddler was in daycare until recently so some of our lunch ideas are great for packing! You can also check out my full post on toddler daycare lunch ideas.
Below are our 18 month toddler lunch meals:
- Grilled Cheese. Side of mixed veggies and kiwi. I served this opened face to make the sandwich a little less thick but you could definitely make a normal grilled cheese sandwich.
- Mac n’ cheese with peas. Side of turkey and grapes. I normally add veggies (peas or peas and carrots) to my toddler’s mac and cheese for a little extra sustenance and nutrients. Annie’s is one of our favorite brands!
- Corn dog. Side of mixed veggies and grapes. We like MorningStar Farms veggie corn dogs and do cut it up for our toddler so its easier to eat.
- Avocado sandwich. Side of lunch meat, cheese, and fruit. This was one of my toddler’s go-to’s for daycare! Its like avocado toast but portable.
- Peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Side of blueberries, peas, banana, kiwi, and whole milk yogurt. Any toddler’s favorite! Paired with fruits and veggies and whole milk dairy for a healthy fat.
- Zucchini Pancake. Side of lunch meat, string cheese, and fruit. The zucchini pancake is the brand “Golden” and found in the frozen food isle. I’m sure they can be made homemade too! A great way to add veggies to lunch.
- Cheese, lunch meat and crackers. Side of fruit. Like a home made lunchable! Cheese and crackers can be a fun alternative to a sandwich and can be eaten separately or like little sandwiches.
- Lunch meat and cheese. Sides of fruit and peas. For many of our meals lunch meat and cheese is a side, but it can also be the main course if you increase the serving size.
Toddler Dinner Ideas
For dinner, my toddler normally eats what the family eats or a modified version.
As you will see below, we tend to eat a lot of Mexican food. But, I like to mix up the protein and sides to keep things interesting and expose my toddler to different tastes.
Below are our 18 month toddler dinner meals:
- Deconstructed chicken taco bowl. Jasmine rice, pinto beans, pulled chicken, avocado and corn. A semi-deconstructed version of what the rest of the family had for dinner. We also sometimes substitute black beans!
- Chicken Taco Bowl. Once you have mastered the deconstructed taco bowl, try piling it all up for them to eat. Jasmine rice, pulled chicken, corn, black beans, and avocado.
- Avocado Quesadilla. Sides of pulled chicken and corn.We recently decided to go dairy-free (for eczema) so I made a quesadilla with no cheese and used avocado instead. Still super yummy!
- Cheese Quesadilla. Side of ground pork, black beans, and tomatoes.
- Carne Asada (steak). Side of avocado corn salsa, squash, and cheese. Another version of a deconstructed taco, but with steak! I also threw in some squash as a safe food since I wasn’t sure if he would eat much steak.
- Ground beef taco meat. Side of tortilla, tomatoes, and black beans. Another version of a deconstructed taco, but with ground beef.
- Pulled chicken taco meet. Side of black beans, corn, and avocado. Another version of a deconstructed taco with pulled chicken. I also offer a hefty side of avocado for a healthy fat!
- Broccoli ‘Littles’ Potato Cakes (by Dr. Praeger’s). Side of mixed veggies and blueberries. These are great to keep in the freezer to have dinner in a pinch. They also have awesome ingredients and my toddler always asks for seconds.
- Spinach ‘Littles’ Potato Cakes (by Dr. Praeger’s). Side of squash and black beans. These are another on of my toddler’s favorites. They only take about 2 mins in the microwave.
- Deconstructed Chicken Gyro. Pulled rotisserie chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, and tzatziki (greek yogurt) sauce. The family had these in whole wheat pita’s which I offered as a side as well. If you toddler was more advanced you could also offer the whole sandwich!
- Pulled Chicken. I loved to make pulled chicken in the Instapot! Side of mixed veggies and whole wheat Hawaiian roll (check for honey before 1 year old).
- Naan bread with avocado. Side of hamburger, homemade fries and roasted carrots. The family had hamburgers but I knew my toddler wasn’t a fan. I still offered it for exposure but served it as a side instead of the main course.
- Pizza. Everyone’s favorite! Side of peas and mandarin oranges. If I serve pizza I always try to serve my toddler sides so he has something a bit more nutritious.
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- Chicken fried rice. I always add extra veggies and egg when i’m serving to my toddler.
- Beef Teriyaki. Served over rice with sides of mixed veggies and fruit.
- Ravioli. Side of broccoli and squash. Like pizza, I always like to serve pasta with lots of veggies to make it a little more nutritious.
- Mac n’ cheese. Side of peas and kiwi. Mac n’ cheese doesn’t only have to be for kids! This was a rich white sauce version I made for our family for dinner.
- Pasta with red sauce. Sides of mixed veggies (pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach). This was a baked pasta that I made for dinner. I separated out the veggies for him so he could see and be aware what he was eating but you could leave it mixed together as well.
- Chicken noodle soup. Side of avocado and blueberries. A great meal for a cold winter day or when you are feeling under the weather. I served this with a little less broth so that he could more easily see and scoop the meat, noodles, and veggies.
- Butternut Squash Soup. Topped with peas. For blended soups I’ve found that he is more willing to try them when they have something he is familiar with in them. It also makes it easier to scoop and eat with a spoon.
- White Chicken Chili. Side of mixed veggies and roll. I also served this with a little less broth (more solids) so that it would be easier for him to scoop and eat.
- Chicken Meatballs (Kidfresh brand). Side of zucchini pancake (Golden brand) and grapes. Chicken meatballs and zucchini pancakes are two of my favorite frozen convenience foods for toddlers!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out our 18 month toddler meals!
