42 Low Carb Dinners Your Kid Will Actually Eat

kids cooking
Image: iStock

Do you have a picky child on your hands? If so, you are like most of us. Most children refuse to eat anything that does not look familiar, or like typical kid’s menu food. Unfortunately, most of the typical kid’s food are not healthy options. This includes macaroni and cheese, pizza, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and french fries, all foods that are both high in carbohydrates and saturated fats. While it is not bad for children to indulge in their favorite foods, these foods should not be their staples. Also, cooking two different meals for the adults and the kids became pretty time-consuming as well. Fortunately, these low-carb recipes can help your child eat healthier and not against their will.

Many of the recipes on this list remix popular kid’s menu staples and make them healthier. Hello, cauliflower crusted grilled cheese and mini chicken pizza bites! Some of the recipes introduce children to new foods with familiar ingredients, such as Zuddha Bowls and Chicken Kabobs. Either way, your children will look forward to dinnertime instead of dreading it. They may even want you to make some of these recipes to pack them for school lunch! Read on to find out about more low-carb recipes that you can cook for the entire family:

Chicken Alfredo Spaghetti Squash

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest /  The Gunny Sack

Do your children like going to Olive Garden all the time? Unfortunately, the food is very high in carbohydrates, including the pasta and especially the addictive unlimited breadsticks. Fortunately, you can save some money (and your waistline) by making this recipe from The Gunny Sack for your children. This recipe substitutes carb-filled fettuccine noodles with ”noodles” made from spaghetti squash. Fortunately, this recipe only has nine grams of carbohydrates per serving. You can also add some vegetables with it to give your children a more balanced meal. Your children will love eating the chicken alfredo spaghetti squash so much, they wouldn’t even miss going to Olive Garden afterward.

Mini Chicken Pizza Bites

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Image: Pinterest / Divalicious Recipes

The only thing that young children love more than pizza is the mini versions, Bagel Bites. Parents love Bagel Bites because they are easy to pop into the microwave and for little hands to hold and eat. Unfortunately, Bagel Bites combine pizza with bagels, one of the foods that have the highest amount of carbohydrates. Four tiny Bagel Bites have over 30 grams of carbohydrates! Luckily, you can make Mini Chicken Pizza Bites from the recipe on Divalicious Recipes! Just add chicken, cheese, seasoning, and sauce to make these low-carb bites! The best thing is that these bites take less than 30 minutes to make! Each bite have less than 100 calories, 12 grams of protein, and 0.4 grams of carbohydrates!

Fat Head Pizza Crust

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Ditch the Carbs

Pizza is a childhood staple food. It is served at school pizza parties, birthday parties, and on Friday nights when you don’t feel like cooking for the entire family. But the crust alone makes pizza a high carbohydrate food. Ditch the Carbs has a handy recipe for low-carb pizza. Fat Head Pizza is a top low-carb pizza recipe because it uses almond or coconut flour instead of traditional flour. It can also be made in 30 minutes, so your children can help you make the pizza. One slice has only 4 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of protein! Make Fat Head Pizza a household tradition and save the traditional pizza for special occasions.

Cauliflower Crusted Grilled Cheese

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Kirbie’s Cravings

Grilled cheese sandwiches are an American classic for a reason. Adults and kids alike love the taste of gooey cheese between slices of toasted buttery bread. It is also very easy to whip up for children. Grilled cheese is high in fat due to its cheesy and buttery content. It is also high in carbohydrates because of the bread. Eliminate the carbs by replacing the bread with cauliflower in this recipe from Kirbie’s Cravings. It takes less than an hour to make and it only has 16 grams of carbohydrates. It also has 24 grams of protein. Children will love dipping their grilled cheese sandwich into another low carbohydrate recipe, Creamy Tomato Soup with Parmesan crisps.

Turkey Bolognese with Roasted Spaghetti Squash

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / The Recipe Critic

Another Italian recipe with a low-carb twist is the turkey bolognese recipe on The Recipe Critic. This recipe replaces carb-filled spaghetti with spaghetti squash. Prep time is only 10 minutes long, and the rest of the time, you cook the food in the oven. Therefore, you can play with your children while you wait for dinner to finish. Kids will love the tomato sauce seasoned ground turkey and the spaghetti squash noodles. You can even add some kale or salad to the recipe to make it healthier. A small portion is more than enough, especially for very young children. A serving of turkey bolognese with roasted spaghetti squash has a lot of calories.

Chicken Enchilada Bowl

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Hey Keto Mama

If your kids like going to Chipotle, this would be a great recipe to try out. You can be low-carb at Chipotle, but some of the favorite options are carb-filled, such as the rice, beans, tacos and definitely the giant burrito. Good luck giving your kid a salad bowl with chicken and veggies at Chipotle. This recipe from Hey Keto Mama incorporates Mexican cauliflower rice as a replacement for white rice. It has your kid-approved toppings, including sour cream, cheddar cheese, avocado, and chicken. You might want to leave the jalapenos and green chile peppers out of the recipe! A serving of the chicken enchilada bowl includes 10 grams of carbs and 38 grams of protein.

Baked Chicken Fajita Roll-Ups

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Eat Yourself Skinny

Chicken fajitas are a delicious Mexican inspired recipe. This recipe makes chicken taste so flavorful and zesty. Unfortunately, chicken fajitas pair well with high carb foods, such as white rice, burritos, and tacos. But did you know that you can eat chicken fajitas by itself? Sounds unusual? The Baked Chicken Fajita Roll-Ups recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny makes it simple. This recipe wraps chicken around red, yellow, and green bell peppers. These roll-ups are easy for toddlers to hold and bite. It also helps young children eat their vegetables! Two chicken roll-ups have under 11 grams of carbohydrates and over 27 grams of protein.

Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Becky Luigart-Stayner, food styling by Marian Cooper Cairns and Lindsey Fine Lower

Spaghetti and meatballs are a children’s dinner staple. Which child (and adult) does not like eating pasta covered with hearty tomato sauce and juicy, tender meatballs? Unfortunately, the carbs from the spaghetti and the saturated fat from the beef or pork from traditional meatballs make spaghetti and meatballs an unhealthy meal. Fortunately, your childhood classic got a healthy makeover. You can replace spaghetti with zucchini noodles and beef and pork meatballs with turkey meatballs with this recipe on Country Living. In order to reduce the number of carbohydrates, replace breadcrumbs with low-carb options made either from almond or coconut flour.

One-Pot Teriyaki Chicken Zoodles

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Life Made Sweeter

Teriyaki chicken is one of the most popular Japanese-American dishes (aside from sushi, of course!) The glazed chicken breast strips are commonly served with white rice and vegetables, such as steamed cabbage, broccoli, and carrots. Replace the carb-filled rice with zucchini noodles, or zoodles, in this recipe from Life Made Sweeter. The best part about this recipe is that you can eliminate cooking different ingredients in different pots since it only needs one pot! If you would like to reduce the carbohydrates more, take the pineapples and honey out of the recipe and replace it with a low-carb sweetener such as stevia.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / I Breathe I’m Hungry

Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian recipe. Children love it because it incorporates two of their favorite foods, pasta, and breaded chicken. Eliminate the carbs with this Chicken Parmesan Casserole recipe on I Breathe I’m Hungry. Replace the pasta with spaghetti squash to reduce carbohydrate intake. You can also replace the breadcrumbs used for the chicken cutlets with a recipe made from almond flour, Parmesan cheese, and herbs and spices. Children and adults would not know the difference between this recipe and the traditional Chicken Parmesan! This recipe has 6 grams of net carbs and 28 grams of protein per serving.

Instant Pot Ribs With Chipotle Lime Slaw

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Low Carb With Jennifer

Ribs are a meal that both children and your spouse love to eat. The tender, juicy meat glazed with sweet barbecue sauce is a family favorite. Unfortunately, ribs could be high in carbohydrates due to packaged barbecue sauces. It also could take a long time to prepare. You can follow the recipe for Instant Pot Ribs with Chipotle Lime Slaw on Low Carb With Jennifer to make your own low-carb barbecue sauce. If it is a weeknight and you don’t have time to make your own barbecue sauce, buy a sauce that is sugar-free. Use an instant pot to cook your ribs in for 35 minutes instead of a smoker. The zesty slaw has cabbage, Chipotle Lime mayo, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Low Carb Shepherd’s Pie

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Ditch the Carbs

Shepherd’s Pie is a classic dish that originates from England and Ireland. It is savory and filling at the same time since it is filled with meat, potatoes, and other hearty veggies. It is very high in carbohydrates since it is a potato-based meal. The Low Carb Shepherd’s Pie recipe on Ditch the Carbs gives Shepherd’s Pie a healthier makeover. This recipe substitutes carby potatoes with cauliflower mash. To make the meal even lower in carbohydrates, remove the carrots and tomatoes from the recipe as well. When your kids eat this savory dish, they would not even miss the potatoes! The recipe has 12 grams of carbohydrates and 21 grams of protein per serving.

Dairy and Gluten-Free Lasagna

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Mamashire

Lasagna is an easy and tasty meal to make. Children, adults, and even the fictional cartoon cat, Garfield, loves to eat the savory meal. If you do not want to make lasagna from scratch, you can always buy frozen lasagna to pop in the oven on a weeknight. But lasagna is filled with carbohydrates due to the high amount of pasta. Also, lactose intolerant kids cannot consume lasagna due to its high dairy content. Skip the dairy and the carbs with this lasagna recipe from Mamashire. This lasagna replaces cheese with coconut milk. It also has ground beef or turkey, spinach, nutritional yeast, eggs, glucomannan, and mayonnaise. It only takes 40 minutes to bake in the oven. If you do not have time to make this recipe, you can also buy Amy’s Gluten Free, Dairy Free Vegetable Lasagna to make for your family on a busy weeknight.

Restaurant Style Breaded Chicken Tenders

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / My Montana Kitchen

Chicken tenders are one of the tried and true dishes for kids. Whether you go out to a fast-food restaurant or a chain restaurant, your child can always order chicken tenders and enjoy it. You also most likely have frozen chicken tenders in your freezer for busy school nights. But if you want to make a healthier recipe that tastes just like the chicken tenders from Chic-Fil-A (especially on a Sunday!), check out this recipe for restaurant-style breaded chicken tenders from My Montana Kitchen. This recipe replaces traditional breading with Trim Healthy Mama Baking Blend, eggs, and spices. Your kids are not the only ones who would devour these tenders. You and your spouse will also love these savory strips. This website also includes a copycat Chic-Fil-A sauce that you can dip your chicken tenders in.

Mommy’s Meatloaf

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Briana Thomas

Meatloaf is a hearty meal that children and adults both love. It is very rich and high in protein so your children will be full at night after dinner (meaning no waking up for midnight snacks). But due to unnecessary, but tasty, condiments like ketchup and sugar, meatloaf can add up in the carb department after all. Mommy’s Meatloaf recipe from Briana Thomas is free from all the unhealthy additives. The recipe is completely sugar-free and has only 5.5 net carbs per serving. If you would like to still add a topping to the meatloaf, you can use sugar-free ketchup instead of traditional ketchup.

Low-Carb Sloppy Joes

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Diet Doctor

Sloppy Joe’s are one of the best lazy meals that you can make your kids for dinner. All you have to do is place some leftover ground meat between two hamburger buns and your children would be munching away! But the carbs from the hamburger buns and the added sugars in the meat make Sloppy Joes a less than ideal meal. Give Sloppy Joes a low-carb makeover with this recipe from Diet Doctor! Season your meat with condiments and spices, including olive oil, onion, garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Make the bread yourself by replacing the wheat flour with almond flour. A serving of Sloppy Joes has only 14 grams of carbohydrates for 51 grams of protein.

Zucchini Ravioli

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Delish US

Ravioli is a delicious, hearty Italian recipe that children and adults love to eat. It tastes equally as good with meat and cheese filling. Unfortunately, it is very high in carbohydrates. Before you heat up a can of ravioli on the stovetop or in the microwave, remember that one serving of the leading canned ravioli has 33 grams of carbohydrates. That is 132 calories of carbohydrates! And admit it, your children eat the whole can, not the serving size of half of the can. That means that your children are getting 66 grams of carbohydrates for one meal! Replace the pasta with zucchini in this recipe on Delish! This recipe has only 6 grams of carbohydrates per serving.

Cauliflower Baked Ziti

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Jon Boulton

Like ravioli, baked ziti is an Italian dish that tastes good with or without meat. However, ziti, like most Italian recipes, is high in carbohydrates. Replace the ziti noodles with cauliflower in Delish’s Cauliflower Baked Ziti recipe! Flavor the cauliflower with a sauce made with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and oregano and of course ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. It is a great way to trick your kids into eating their vegetables since they would not even notice that there is no pasta in the recipe! Add some mixed vegetables to the recipe and it will make a balanced dinner for the entire family.

Burrito Zoodles

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images:  Carrie Stalk

Is your family craving some Chipotle? Take out the burrito and replace the white rice with zucchini noodles with this recipe from Delish. Add beef, black beans, tomatoes, corn, red enchilada sauce, cheese, and cilantro to this savory dish. If you want to make this recipe vegan, substitute the beef with Chipotle-style sofritas. Or you can ditch the meat altogether and make it a veggie bowl. Do you want to go keto? Remove the black beans and the corn from the recipe. Or you can substitute the black beans for black soybeans, which only has only one gram of net carbs per half-cup serving.

Zuddha Bowls

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Charlie Gillette

Buddha bowls are one of the best and tastiest new health trends. This bowl is typically vegetarian, hence its name, and is filled with ingredients such as rice or quinoa, a form of vegetarian protein such as chickpeas, beans, or tofu, and hearty veggies. Even though Buddha bowls are great for vegetarians and vegans, they are not keto-friendly due to the grain and carb-filled protein substitutes. If you are keto you don’t have to feel left out. Try out the Zuddha Bowl recipe on Delish for a recipe that replaces grain with zoodles. This recipe includes bell peppers, avocado, baby spinach, sesame seeds, chicken, and a Buddha sauce that has both sweet and savory accents. Do you want to stick to the vegetarian origins of the Buddha bowl? Replace the chicken with tofu or tempeh.

Zucchini Taco Shells

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Chelsea Lupkin

Are your children craving Taco Bell? Do you think that it is a bad idea to give your kids Taco Bell on a school night? Whip up a healthier alternative from Delish that makes taco shells from zucchinis. Use zucchinis, almond flour, cheese, eggs, and garlic powder to make a keto-friendly taco shell. You can fill your tacos with whatever you would like from there. In this recipe, they fill the shell with savory ingredients such as scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, salsa, avocados, and cilantro. After your kids much on these homemade tacos, they will never ask for Taco Bell again! Each taco only has about 3 grams of carbohydrates!

Low- Carb Chicken Nuggets

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Kalyn’s Kitchen

Chicken nuggets are the only thing that children love more than chicken tenders. Children start to eat these nuggets at younger ages since they are smaller and easier to hold and dip than the tenders. And it is what they always seem to request whenever they order a Happy Meal from McDonald’s. Like chicken tenders, chicken nuggets are high in carbohydrates due to the breading. Use this low-carb chicken nugget recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen to create healthier chicken nuggets that your kids would love. Substitute the breading with a mixture of almond flour, Parmesan cheese, seasoning, salt, and pepper for a low carb alternative. You can also make a dip called Grandma Denny’s from Scratch Ranch Style Vegetable Dip that goes with the nuggets that are also on Kalyn’s Kitchen. This dip is made with sour cream, mayonnaise, onion, dill weed, and seasoning salt.

Low- Carb Chicken Stir Fry

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Kalyn’s Kitchen

Is your family craving Chinese takeout? While Chinese takeout is delicious, it is not healthy since it is high in carbohydrates because it is often paired with rice or noodles. The soy sauce laden dishes are unsurprisingly very high in sodium and also often have MSG, an ingredient that increases your appetite and makes you want to eat more Chinese food an hour after dinner. The frozen Chinese food dishes from the grocery store are not much healthier. Skip the takeout and cook your own Chinese inspired recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen. Cook chicken, bell peppers, snap peas, and sesame seeds together to make a sweet and savory stir fry. Season it with soy sauce, rice vinegar, stevia, agave or maple syrup, sesame oil, and garlic powder and pair with Kalyn’s Kitchen’s cauliflower rice recipe for a full meal.

Oven-Fried Zucchini Fries with Herbed Buttermilk Dipping Sauce

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Eating Well

No matter how picky your kid is, your kid most likely loves to eat french fries. Vegan-friendly and virtually allergen-free, you can eat french fries at fast-food restaurants, from frozen packaged bags, or make them yourself in a frying pan with vegetable oil. Since french fries are made from potatoes, they are very high in carbohydrates. Fast food french fries are also high in sodium and saturated fats. Make a low carb french fry alternative by replacing potatoes with zucchini in this recipe from Eating Well. Make the recipe keto-friendly and gluten-free by replacing whole wheat flour with almond or coconut flour. You can also use low-carb alternatives to regular breadcrumbs.

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Hugs and Cookies XOXO

Spaghetti Carbonara is a classy dish that originates from Italy. A well-cooked flavorful plate of carbonara makes you feel like you are at a five-star restaurant straight from Italy. However, it is not necessarily healthy, since it is still a plateful of spaghetti! Whip up a plate of healthier carbonara for a date night at home with this recipe from Hugs and Cookies XOXO. This recipe replaces spaghetti with low-carb spaghetti squash. Since you are reducing the carbs this recipe adds bacon to make it super flavorful. You will definitely have leftovers for your kids for the next day for dinner.

Keto Chicken Quesadillas

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / All Day I Dream About Food

Quesadillas are one of the foods that kids enjoy the most. I mean, which kid does not like to eat cheese and bread? Add chicken to the mix, and it’s a completely kid-friendly food! The bread in chicken quesadillas makes it a less healthy option. But did you know that you can make chicken quesadillas without the bread? Me neither! Replace the bread with a low-carb pizza crust from a company such as Kbosh. Add chicken, cheddar cheese, green peppers, onions, and seasoning to make a hearty dinner that your kids will devour. The best part about it is that it has only 5 grams of carbohydrates per serving.

Creamy Tomato Soup With Parmesan Crisps

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Cooking Light

Tomato soup is an American classic that goes well as a dipping for grilled cheese. Although tomato soup of itself isn’t a high carb food, the croutons that people toss in their tomato soup make it high in carbohydrates. And we all know that croutons in tomato soup are an absolute necessity! Make a creamy rich soup from this recipe from Cooking Light with tomato paste, tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and vegetable broth. Homemade recipes definitely beat any of the canned tomato soups in the market. Use panko, cheese, paprika, cumin, and red peppers to make breadcrumbs with fewer carbohydrates. Make it keto and gluten-free with breadcrumbs made from almond or coconut flour instead.

Low- Carb Beanless Chili

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Liz Mervosh

Chili is a hearty meal that is high in protein and can full you for the entire night. It is also an easy meal for kids to eat, even when they are very young. Unfortunately, chili is not keto-friendly, since it has a lot of black and pinto beans. Ditch the beans for a chili recipe that tastes just as good from Cooking Light. Add other ingredients instead, such as onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, and garlic. (Leave the corn out if you are going keto!) Can’t give up the beans completely? Replace black or pinto beans with black soybeans, which have one gram of net carbohydrates per serving.

Keto Low-Carb Coconut Curry Chicken

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Wholesome Yum!

Curry chicken is one of the most popular Indian recipes. Coconut curry is delicious because it is both sweet and savory at the same time. Unfortunately, curry is usually not keto-friendly because some recipes use potatoes to cook with the curry to make it thick and flavorful. Also, Indian recipes serve curry chicken with white rice or naan, which is very high in carbohydrates. Use this coconut curry recipe from Wholesome Yum to make a keto-friendly but equally as good curry chicken. Use curry powder, coconut cream, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, paprika, and sea salt to cook flavorful curry chicken. You can serve the curry chicken with cauliflower rice to keep it keto-friendly. This recipe only has six grams of net carbs in total.

Ground Beef Empanadas

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest/ Mince Republic

If you are from a Latin background, you loved eating empanadas growing up. These patties had a delicious crust with flavorful meat inside. Empanadas are easy for children to eat because they can hold it and eat it. If you are on a low-carb diet, you cannot eat empanadas anymore because they are made with flour and have a lot of carbohydrates. Thanks to this recipe from Mince Republic, you would be able to eat empanadas again! Replace wheat flour with almond flour to make it keto-friendly! If you want to switch it up, you can add buffalo chicken to the empanada instead of ground beef. This recipe has only 5 grams of carbohydrates per serving.

Brie, Ham and Apple Panini Sandwich

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / All Day I Dream About Food

Paninis are delicious because they have the savory, flavorful taste that grilled cheese has but with more toppings, such as meat, veggies, and condiments. When you are your family go to Panera Bread, paninis might be one of the first things that you order. But paninis are a carb-filled food (after all, you did go to a place called Panera Bread!) Make a lower-carb panini with this recipe from All Day I Dream About Food. Make a low carb flatbread by replacing wheat with almond and coconut flour that only takes 35 minutes to make! After making the bread, the sky is the limit when it comes to filling. This recipe includes ham, thinly sliced brie, and thinly sliced green apples. If you want to reduce carbs completely, you can remove the apples from the recipe. This recipe has under nine grams of net carbohydrates per serving!

Spicy Keto Ramen Bowl

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Perfect Keto

Kids love eating ramen. Since ramen has a lot of noodles and a flavorful broth, they enjoy sucking up both the noodles and the broth. You probably never gave your kid the packaged ramen (it is so high in sodium!), but you might have taken your children out to eat at a ramen restaurant before so that they can slurp up savory noodles. To save money and lose weight, cook ramen from this keto recipe on Perfectly Keto. Replace the ramen noodles with either shirataki or zucchini noodles. One of the major ingredients of this recipe is bone broth, a broth with many health benefits. Add mushrooms, eggs, and a little bit of ginger for a recipe your children will love more than the restaurants. Remove the chili paste for younger children. It only has 7 grams of net carbohydrates per serving.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Sugar-Free Mom

Beef stew is a classic family recipe. This hearty recipe is a family favorite because it has juicy beef and a savory stew. You probably have a family recipe for beef stew that was passed on from many generations. If you would like to try a new recipe, try this recipe that uses a Crock Pot from Sugar-Free Mom. Add beef, carrots, onion, potatoes, oregano, parsley, and garlic and set for seven and a half hours to simmer in the Crock-Pot. Add peas to cook for the remaining 30 minutes. Take the potatoes out of the recipe for a keto-friendly alternative or replace them with turnips or rutabaga.

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / All Day I Dream About Food

Macaroni and cheese is a kid’s meal classic. Whether it is baked, from a restaurant, or from a blue box, kids love to eat the cheesy noodles. One cup of the top brand of boxed macaroni and cheese has 47 grams of carbohydrates! Use this low-carb recipe from All Day I Dream About Food to get your children to eat a bit healthier. Replace macaroni noodles with cauliflower that is shredded to look like macaroni bits. Add English cheddar cheese and bacon bits to add flavor. This recipe has less than eight grams of carbohydrates per serving. Add steamed broccoli or mixed vegetables for a balanced weeknight dinner.

Low-Carb Sweet and Sour Chicken

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Maria Mind Body Health

Another delicious Chinese takeout recipe is Sweet and Sour Chicken. Four ounces of sweet and sour chicken from the top fast-food chain has 28 grams of carbohydrates. Eat a healthier alternative from Maria Mind Body Health. It also has yacon syrup, a sweetener that suppresses your appetite and can cause you to lose weight. Flavor your sweet and sour chicken with tomato paste, chicken broth, coconut vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce, garlic powder, and ginger. You can eat the sweet and sour chicken with cauliflower rice or shirataki rice, low-calorie rice without net carbohydrates. You can also eat the sweet and sour chicken with steamed broccoli for a balanced meal.

Authentic Eggplant Parmesan

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Getty Images / Maria_Lapina

If you would like a vegetarian alternative to Chicken Parmesan, you can prepare Eggplant Parmesan instead. Eggplant Parmesan is a great recipe for kids because it is a tasty way to get children to eat their vegetables. Instead of breading the eggplants, use eggs, Parmigiano- Reggiano, mozzarella, and basil leaves, since the traditional Italian recipe is not breaded before it’s fried. Instead of using spaghetti that is high in carbohydrates, eat the Eggplant Parmesan with low- carb pasta alternatives such as spaghetti squash or zoodles. Eat the Eggplant Parmesan with vegetables that are low in carbohydrates, such as green, leafy vegetables.

Chicken Zoodle Soup

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Damn Delicious

When your children are not feeling well, chicken noodle soup is a classic recipe that always helps your kids feel better. Although homemade recipes are best, the canned chicken noodle soup can also help you feel better since it is still hot and flavorful. However, 60% of calories in the top brand of chicken noodle soup are from carbohydrates. Also, canned chicken noodle soup has 1550 milligrams of sodium. Foods that are high in carbohydrates, such as bread and noodles, can create more mucus and make your children feel sicker. Replace the noodles in the soup with zucchini noodles from this recipe from Damn Delicious. Season it with rosemary, thyme, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, and black pepper to make this healing soup. Leave the carrots out of the recipe to make it keto-friendly.

Paleo Fish Sticks

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / A Girl Worth Saving

It is harder to get kids to eat seafood than other forms of protein, such as chicken, beef, and pork. If you serve your child grilled salmon or shrimp, they most likely would not even touch it. That is why you have to trick your kids into eating seafood by making it look similar to chicken tenders! Fish sticks are higher in carbohydrates than most other forms of seafood because they are breaded even more than fried fish. Lower your kid’s carbohydrate intake with this paleo recipe from A Girl Worth Saving! Use coconut flour and pork rinds to bread your fish sticks made from Alaskan cod before frying them. They only need to be baked in the oven for 15 minutes and they are ready to eat! The best part is that these fish sticks have only one gram of carbohydrates and 39 grams of protein!

Rosemary Garlic Chicken Kabobs

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Pinch and Swirl

Chicken kabobs are one of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes. It is a great recipe for kids to eat because they can hold the stick and eat chicken and veggies of the stick. Create a weeknight dinner that only takes half an hour to make from a kabob recipe on Pinch and Swirl. Season your chicken with rosemary, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. You can also replace the chicken with lamb if you are feeling experimental. If you do not want your kids to solely eat meat on a stick, you can add low-carb vegetables, such as bell peppers and zucchini.

Low- Carb Walking Taco Bowls

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images:  Wholesome Yum!

Do you have older children who can serve themselves? If so, the Walking Taco Bowl recipe from Wholesome Yum is perfect for them! All you have to do is cook the ground turkey and your children can add whatever ingredients they want to their bowl. Present them with low-carb options, such as avocado, romaine lettuce, onions, cilantro, Parmesan crisps, and sour cream. Are your kids still too young to serve themselves? This recipe is also good for them. Place the ingredients in a small bowl for your young children and they will finish eating before you know it. This can also be a cheap and convenient option for children’s birthday parties since young children can play party games and run around while eating their food.

Stir Fry Sesame Chicken

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Skinny Ms.

This savory sesame chicken recipe from Skinny Ms beats any sesame chicken recipe that comes from a frozen dinner or a chain restaurant. Flavor the chicken with teriyaki sauce, chicken stock, garlic, scallions, and sesame seeds. Sesame chicken pairs well with low-carb vegetables, such as red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, and green beans. Therefore, your kids will definitely eat their veggies since it is seasoned from the chicken and sauce from the Chinese-American dish. This recipe goes well with cauliflower rice, shirataki rice, and zucchini noodles. This recipe has 11 grams of net carbohydrates and 27 grams of protein.

Korean Paleo Bibimbap (Wicked Spatula)

kid friendly low-carb recipes
Images: Pinterest / Wicked Spatula

Bibimbap is one of the tastiest Korean dishes. Unlike less healthy Korean dishes, such as Korean Barbecue, bibimbap became popular in America after health movements, such as veganism and whole-food diets became widespread. The most important part about this dish is that all of the ingredients must work together to create its flavor. Since bibimbap is a rice dish, people on a keto diet cannot eat the meal. But thanks to Wicked Spatula’s Korean Paleo Bibimbap, people on a low-carb diet can eat bibimbap again! Use cauliflower rice instead of white rice to make the recipe keto-friendly. This recipe adds in ingredients such as egg, kimchi, carrots, spinach, cucumber, and bean sprouts. You can also add meat such as chicken or beef if you are craving the extra protein.

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