Healthy Meals for Picky Eaters [38 Recipes Included]

Healthy meals for picky eaters can be tricky as their food preferences range from the bizarre to just plain gross.

But this doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel!

With a little hard work and creativity, you can eventually get your picky eater on board with some healthy foods.

Here are some tricks of the trade for feeding picky eaters:

38 Healthy Meals for Picky Eaters

1- Avocado Toast

Perfect healthy meal for picky eaters!! serve it as an appetizer or for breakfast.

Toast your bread and top it with mashed avocado and seasonings of your choice. You’ll be treating yourself to a healthy, creamy meal!

2- Brown Rice and Beans

It’s a healthy alternative to potatoes plus it makes a healthy meal for picky eaters to satisfy their taste buds.

Steam your brown rice, season with herbs and spices, toss with black beans, top with cherry tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese.

A healthy meal to satisfy any picky eater’s munchies!

3- Chicken Nuggets

If you’re looking for a new twist on an old favorite, try this healthy meal for picky eaters.

Mix up some ground chicken with breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, herbs, and spices.

Make sure the mixture is sticky enough to hold its shape when formed into nugget-sized balls. Shallow fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve with homemade ketchup or sweet chili. Your picky eater will be begging for more!

4- Cinnamon Toast

A healthy alternative to sugary breakfast cereals, this one is sure to satisfy that sweet tooth.

Toast your healthy bread and top with mashed banana, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey.

You can also add some vanilla yogurt for an extra creamy texture.

5- Eggs Florentine

It’s egg-ceptional! It’s super easy to make too!

Just replace the English muffin with spinach leaves, to make it healthy meals for picky eaters.

Top with a poached egg, hollandaise sauce, and some seasoned salt.

Serve on the side of roasted asparagus or alongside bacon or breakfast sausage for a filling meal–your picky eater won’t be able to resist!

6- Fish Sticks 

Picky eaters usually don’t like the idea of ‘fish’, so offer them fish in another form.

Try this recipe for fish tenders!

It’s way healthier than store-bought versions and doesn’t involve too much work, so you can get the whole family involved!

Serve with homemade tartar sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. Even some ketchup will do the trick! Your picky eater won’t be able to resist!

7- Green Smoothie

It’s a delicious and healthy breakfast choice! It involves lots of healthy ingredients like banana, spinach, kale, avocado, etc.

Served with coconut yogurt and granola on the side, it makes a filling meal that will keep your picky eater satisfied for hours!

8- Cheese Quesadillas

The best part about quesadillas is that you get to decide the ingredients, so it’s completely customizable for everyone.

Serve these with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. Your picky eater will be asking for seconds!

9- Indian-Style Lentils

It’s a healthy vegetarian option that is sure to satisfy any meat cravings. And the best thing about this recipe? It’s made in ONE POT, so there’s no mess.

Just cook the lentils with cumin, onion, garlic until tender and top with a fried egg. It’s a healthy meal in no time!

If your picky eater isn’t a meat-eater, this will be their new favorite meal! Serve alongside some crusty bread to soak up all of the delicious curry sauce.

10- Spaghetti and Meatballs

Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs? This classic dish is a great option when choosing healthy meals for picky eaters because it’s an old favorite everyone can enjoy.

Serve with your choice of sauce, extra cheese, and parmesan on top. Your picky eater will be filling up as soon as they smell the spaghetti sauce!

11- Stuffed Sweet Potato

It’s a healthy alternative to the classic potato. Sweet potatoes make healthy meals for picky eaters!

Bake your sweet potato, slice it in half, and top with black beans, cilantro or parsley, corn kernels, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper.

12- Dukkah Roasted Vegetables

These roasted vegetables are healthy and flavorful. Make a big batch and use them in other recipes throughout the week.

Just combine cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, onions with some olive oil and roast in the oven until tender.

Mix up some dukkah spice (coriander, cumin, sesame seeds, salt) and sprinkle over your roasted veggies before serving.

13- Fried Rice

This is a fun, simplified version of Chinese takeout. It’s healthy, too, since it uses brown rice.

Just sauté up some garlic with peas, carrots, onion until tender.

Combine with the rice and top with soy sauce, sriracha, sesame seeds.

Serve with chopsticks for an authentic feel!

14-Sausage Sweet Potato Skillet

Packed with protein and flavor, this dish is sure to please the entire family.

Just combine ground sausage, onions, garlic until cooked through. Add in some kale or spinach towards the end of cooking. Finally, combine with the sweet potatoes and top with some cheddar cheese. Your picky eater won’t be able to resist!

15- Carne Asada Tacos

Carne asada is one of the easiest recipes to make. Just marinate your meat for at least an hour in lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, etc.

Serve in warm corn tortillas for a taco night the whole family will love. Your picky eater won’t be able to resist!

16- Chicken with Apples 

This one-skillet medley is the perfect meal prep recipe. Just marinate your chicken for 20 minutes in olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, rosemary. Then sauté up some onion and celery before adding in the apples at the end. It’s a healthy meal that tastes just like fall!

17- Crispy Fish Tacos

It may not be your typical taco recipe, but it’s still delicious and nutritious.

Just prepare some fish (cod, mahi-mahi, salmon) in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, rosemary until golden brown. Serve in corn tortillas with cabbage slaw and your choice of sauce (sriracha mayo, spicy mayo).

18- Garlic Chicken with Kale

This is perfect for people who struggle to eat their veggies. The kale becomes crispy, which makes it tasty too!

Just sauté up some garlic and greens until tender. Add in some pickled jalapenos and diced tomatoes before serving. Your picky eater will be thanking you for this one!

Dinner doesn’t have to be a hassle. Use these simple healthy meals to convince your picky eater that there’s more than pizza and mac and cheese.

19- Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kids love cookies, so why not make them healthy? This recipe uses whole-wheat flour for a nutritious twist on the classic cookie.

Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract in a large bowl. Then add in the rest of the ingredients (gluten-free oats, almond milk, baking powder). Bake for 13 minutes and enjoy!

20- Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Delicious shrimp in less than 30 minutes? Yes, please!

Just saute shrimp in butter, garlic, salt, lemon juice until pink. Add your favorite seasoning (cajun, paprika) before serving.

21- Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs are a great way to get picky eaters involved in cooking. Kids love making their own meatball recipes too! Just combine lean ground chicken, garlic, bread crumbs, egg until combined. Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!

22- Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Zucchini bread is a healthy alternative to sugary banana bread. Make this recipe all year round since you can use fresh or frozen zucchini!

Just combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients (eggs, brown sugar, butter).

Finally, fold in the mashed or grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Bake for 40 minutes and enjoy!

23- Fruit Kabobs

Kids love fruit skewers for a fun take on afternoon snacks. Just skewer up some grapes, watermelon, and strawberries and serve with a side of ranch (if you want to be extra fancy).

24- Chicken Enchiladas

These enchiladas will fool your picky eater into thinking they’re eating Mexican food.

Just combine chicken, green onion, cilantro, cheese in a bowl. Then add in 3/4 cup each of salsa and enchilada sauce to the chicken.

Spoon mixture into tortillas and bake for 15 minutes.

25- Black Bean Spinach Breakfast Burrito

This is a healthier take on breakfast burritos for those who love Mexican food.

Just combine spinach, black beans, cheese in whole wheat or gluten-free tortilla. Then add some salsa or hot sauce as a finishing touch.

26- Chicken Fajita Burgers

This is a great way to make burgers healthy.

Just combine ground chicken, red onion, bell pepper, salt in a bowl before forming into patties.

Pan-fry or grill until cooked through, then serve on whole wheat buns with your favorite condiments (ranch is great for picky eaters!)

27- Grilled Chicken with Almond Lime Coleslaw

A perfectly healthy meal for picky eaters!

Just marinate the chicken in some olive oil, lime juice, salt before grilling.

Combine coleslaw ingredients (lettuce, jicama, apple) in a large bowl before adding in almond slices and dressing.

Enjoy!

28- Pad Thai with Shrimp

It’s a great healthy meal that doesn’t skimp out on flavor. Replace regular rice noodles with brown rice noodles to get an extra boost of fiber.

Combine fish sauce, pepper flakes, garlic in a bowl before adding shrimp.

Then combine bean sprouts, scallion, lime juice in another bowl before adding to the pan.

Finally, add your cooked shrimp and noodles before stirring until combined!

29- Pan-Roasted Cod with Olives, Tomatoes, Onions, and Capers

This healthy fish recipe is great to make for dinner parties!

Just combine all the ingredients (olive oil, salt, onion, tomatoes, capers, chopped basil) save for the cod.

Then pan-fry the cod until cooked through and serve with your favorite sauce (lemon butter is great!)

30- Pita Pizza with Ricotta, Arugula, and Pear

A healthy twist on a traditional pizza.

Combine sliced pear, arugula, ricotta in a bowl before spreading onto whole-wheat pitas.

Then top with salt and pepper as desired. Bake for 10 minutes and enjoy!

31- Simple Avocado Salad

Picky eaters love this quick and simple salad since it only requires a few ingredients.

Combine sliced avocado, salt, pepper in a bowl, then top with chopped tomato, onion, cilantro before finishing off with lime juice!

Enjoy!

32- Healthy Chicken Stir-Fry with Quinoa

This is an easy 30-minute meal for picky eaters to get involved in cooking.

Just combine quinoa, salt, pepper, and water in a pot or rice cooker before cooking. Then add some oil to a pan and stir-fry chicken with some garlic and onion.

Combine cooked quinoa and veggie mixture (carrots, snow peas) in a large bowl before serving!

33- Arugula Salad with Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

This is a great side dish that uses balsamic vinegar as dressing. It’s healthy and quick!

Just combine balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic in a bowl before adding vegetables (red onion, carrots, zucchini).

Roast for 15 minutes and enjoy!

34- Rainbow Beet Salad with Goat Cheese Pesto Dressing

Picky eaters love the look and taste of this yummy salad!

Just combine shredded beets, goat cheese, pesto in a blender. Then add lemon juice and olive oil before stirring to make the dressing.

Combine all your ingredients (beets, arugula, cucumber) in a bowl, then top with dressing.

35- Italian Style Quinoa Salad

This healthy salad is filled with flavorful ingredients. It’s also gluten-free!

Just combine all your ingredients (quinoa, red onion, zucchini, bell pepper) in a large bowl before stirring in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve when ready. Enjoy!

36- Roast Stuffed Potatoes with Tandoori Chicken

A healthy meal that doesn’t skimp out on flavor.

Just combine tandoori chicken (marinated in yogurt, lemon juice, cilantro, onion), salt, pepper into potatoes before roasting.

Then add some chopped green onions and tomatoes on top!

37- Teriyaki Salmon Bake

A great healthy meal for all the family. Just make sure to serve the salmon to those who enjoy it!

Just combine ingredients (salmon fillet, teriyaki sauce, honey) before baking. Then serve with a side of brown rice and veggies. Enjoy!

38- Spinach, Pineapple, and Avocado Smoothie Bowl

A blend of healthy ingredients. Just blend all your ingredients (coconut water, spinach, pineapple, avocado) until it makes a smooth consistency before adding toppings to enjoy!

Practical Tips on planning healthy meals for picky eaters

• Kids should have a say in what their favorite healthy dishes are, so get them involved!
• If you want your children to grow up with a healthy mindset, then teach them how to cook and eat healthier now.
• Be creative about how you present your food – even if it’s just on a plate! At least they will eventually come around and see the benefits of eating healthy. Plus, it’s fun to try new foods!
• Don’t give up on your picky eaters – you’ll get them one day!
• And remember, these are just some options for feeding picky eaters. You can be creative with adding extra ingredients to their food so it’s not so bland.
• Spice things up with new flavors and textures every few weeks or so to keep things interesting! Give these recipes a shot and let us know how it goes!
• And most importantly, remember that it’s not the end of the world if your picky eater doesn’t enjoy something.

Final Say

Learning to eat healthy is a life-long journey! And to start somewhere is better than waiting for nothing at all. So, just take each day as it comes.

Good luck!

If you liked this article, try these healthy meals for picky eaters. Have a fun cooking time!