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Home ยป Recipes ยป Baby Food Resources

Healthy toddler finger food ideas

Last Modified: April 22, 2019 By Kathryn Doherty

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This collection of healthy toddler finger food ideas includes fruits, veggies, proteins, grains and dairy choices that are safe and appropriate for older babies and toddlers to eat at mealtimes. It also includes a free printable so you don’t get stuck in a rut with serving the same few foods!A collection of healthy toddler finger food ideas including fruits, veggies, proteins, grains and dairy choices that are safe and appropriate for older babies and toddlers to eat at mealtimes. Also a free printable so you don’t get stuck in a rut with serving the same few foods! #toddlers #fingerfoods #kidsfood | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

Welcome to the fun - and messy! - world of toddler finger foods!

If you are just embarking on this, I have a ton of information and FAQs in my healthy baby and toddler finger foods post that you can check out.

It’s all about how and when and what to offer as your child starts to try finger foods.

Today, though it’s all about the actual foods to offer and healthy choices to include to get your little one started on the right foot.

It really is neat to watch your child start to feed themselves. They have such a sense of accomplishment. And control. And independence. 💕

Purple kids plate with peas, chicken, blueberries and sweet potato

And it makes mealtimes at home and restaurants more fun when you can eat your own food while they eat theirs. 👍

If you’re like me though, you’ll quickly be hunting around for what else your child can try. What else to offer. What else to introduce that’s safe and healthy.

(And just so you know where I’m coming from, I didn’t ever buy processed kiddie snacks. I made all of my own homemade baby food and I didn’t want to bring junk into the picture just because they were ready for finger foods.)

Also, as a health and nutrition editor, I know it’s important to have plenty of variety.

And to keep offering your toddler foods that they don’t seem interested in, to encourage them to try new things. That can be hard, and the tendency can be to give them only what they seem to be eating. But I didn’t want to fall into a rut of offering the same things every day.

So I created this list and frequently turned back to it to help me pull in a fruit we hadn’t had in a while, or to offer a vegetable or grain I hadn’t made recently. It's easy to forget these things when you've got a toddler on your hands and this list was a great reminder!

Green kids plate with scrambled eggs, toast pieces, strawberries and mini spinach banana muffins

Just as a note, most of these are non-recipe foods - simple ingredients, simply offered. Cause many days I know that’s all we have time to pull out, right?

I’ve also included some of my favorite recipes for little ones, though, and you can always check out my toddler and kid food category for more ideas.

I hope this list of healthy toddler finger foods is helpful for you too and I’d love to hear in the comments below what your kids’ favorite foods are or whether there’s anything you’d add to this list.

(And if you have questions about how to get started and what’s safe — and not safe — for baby and toddler finger foods, check out my healthy baby finger foods and toddler finger foods post.)

XO,

Kathryn

Here is the FREE PRINTABLE of all the ideas below!

Check out these categories for some mostly ready-to-go finger foods and see below that for some easy recipes.

Overhead image of colorful plates with a variety of healthy baby finger foods and toddler finger foods

Healthy toddler finger food ideas: Fruits

Fruits should be soft (cooked, if needed, or very ripe otherwise) and able to be easily mushed or gummed in your child’s mouth. Remove peels and cut into small pieces or sticks for your child to pick up.

If the fruit is slippery and your child has trouble grasping it, you can roll it in a “dusting” of crushed O cereal.

  • Banana
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Avocado
  • Mango
  • Pineapple
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Blackberries
  • Raspberries
  • Apples, including no-sugar-added applesauce
  • Kiwi
  • Watermelon (seedless)
  • Cantaloupe and honeydew, if soft enough
  • Grapes - cut in fourths to avoid a choking hazard

You can also incorporate fruits into oatmeal, pancakes and muffins.

Healthy toddler finger food ideas: Vegetables

Vegetables should be well-cooked and soft enough that they can be easily mushed or gummed in the mouth. Cut larger vegetables into small pieces or sticks.

  • Green peas
  • Broccoli
  • Sweet potato
  • Baked potato
  • Carrots
  • Zucchini
  • Summer squash
  • Butternut squash
  • Spaghetti squash
  • Green beans
  • Asparagus

Orange kids plate with broccoli, shredded cheese, pasta with sauce and turkey pieces

Healthy toddler finger food ideas: Grains

Introduce your baby and toddler to a variety of whole grains and try to limit the amount of processed grains they receive. Cooked grains, once cooled a bit, can be smushed together to create little clumps for your child to pick up. Melting in some cheese helps, too.

  • Brown rice
  • Oatmeal
  • Barley
  • Quinoa
  • Farro
  • Whole wheat pasta, cooked well and cut into small pieces. You can also mix pasta with tomato sauce or cheese or a veggie puree.
  • Whole wheat toast pieces - these are great served with a spread of applesauce, smashed avocado, peanut butter, melted cheese, or any fruit or vegetable puree (which is one of my favorite ways to use leftover baby foods).
  • O cereal pieces
  • Pancakes (oatmeal, pumpkin, blueberry, etc.)
  • Healthy muffins (pumpkin, banana bread, zucchini-carrot, spinach banana, blueberry banana, etc.)
  • Soft crackers (make sure they don’t have added sugar and aren’t too high in sodium)
  • Quesadillas (fill with cheese, chicken, avocado, beans, etc.)
  • Baby cookies (like these baby banana cookies)
  • Banana bread or other breads (go for naturally sweetened and whole grain as much as possible)

Healthy toddler finger food ideas: Protein

Active, growing toddlers need protein and they’ll get it from many sources (including their milk). Here are some protein ideas you can serve. Make sure everything is well cooked, soft and cut into appropriate sizes.

  • Cooked chicken, cut in small pieces or shredded, or small ground chicken pieces
  • Cooked turkey, cut into small pieces, or small ground turkey pieces
  • Cooked pork, cut into small pieces or shredded, or small ground pork pieces
  • Cooked beef, cut into small pieces or shredded, or small ground beef pieces
  • Cooked fish, cut into small pieces - tilapia, cod, salmon and tuna are good places to start
  • Soft beans, including black beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, refried beans, edamame, field peas and black-eyed peas
  • Scrambled eggs or hard-boiled eggs, cut into small pieces
  • Egg muffins or omelets, cut into small pieces
  • Tofu
  • Hummus (you can spread it on toast or let them dip veggies into it)
  • Soft meatballs or burgers, cut into small pieces - chicken, turkey, beef, pork or veggie versions
  • Tuna or salmon patties, cut into small pieces

Healthy toddler finger food ideas: Dairy

Toddlers should continue to drink milk. Check with your pediatrician for the amount and type (such as whole versus 2%) for your child. Other dairy ideas are below.

  • Cheese including cheddar cheese, mozzarella and other soft cheeses
  • Serve cheese as small cubes, small sticks or shredded
  • Yogurt bites (make them yourself!)

You can also incorporate cheese into quesadillas, eggs, pasta or make grilled cheese bites.

WANT SOME RECIPES? Keep reading!

This collection of healthy toddler finger food ideas includes fruits, veggies, proteins, grains and dairy choices that are safe and appropriate for older babies and toddlers to eat at mealtimes. It also includes a free printable so you don’t get stuck in a rut with serving the same few foods! #toddlers #fingerfoods #kidsfood | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

Here are some great finger food and toddler recipes to check out:

  • Broccoli cheese quinoa bites
  • Whole wheat veggie pancakes
  • Veggie mac and cheese muffins
  • Spinach banana mini muffins
  • Triple veggie quinoa muffins
  • Maple cinnamon sweet potato rounds
  • Zucchini cheddar whole wheat waffles
  • Cheesy chicken meatballs
  • Easy baked turkey meatballs
  • Healthy school lunch ideas (sandwich spreads)
  • Breakfast oatmeal squares
  • Banana bread baked oatmeal
  • Apple and butternut squash muffins
  • Almond butter zucchini muffins
  • Mini oatmeal raisin baby muffins
  • Apple cinnamon quinoa breakfast muffins
  • Baby banana cookies
  • Banana oat cookies
  • Banana blueberry muffins
  • Whole wheat pumpkin muffins

Check out ALL of my healthy muffin recipes here.

And here's that FREE PRINTABLE one more time!

PIN this for later 👇

A collection of healthy toddler finger food ideas including fruits, veggies, proteins, grains and dairy choices that are safe and appropriate for older babies and toddlers to eat at mealtimes. Also a free printable so you don’t get stuck in a rut with serving the same few foods! #toddlers #fingerfoods #kidsfood

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. El

    October 21, 2018 at 9:28 am

    From my childhood I remember forkmashed potatoes, beans and meat together and it was not interesting thing to eat ๐Ÿ˜‰ I read in Susan Urban's guide 'how to introduce solid foods to your baby' about finger foods and it was something new for me. I would never thought that I can feed my son like that. But I'm not as you - homecooking nut and was lack of ideas how to prepare interesting dishes. So thank you for this article, now it is like you wrote - hunting around for what else your child can try, what else to offer and what else to introduce thatโ€™s safe and healthy ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      October 22, 2018 at 7:13 am

      I'm so glad this is helpful! I hope you find some new yummy foods for your little one!

      Reply
    • Rachel Henley

      June 23, 2021 at 1:04 pm

      I agree. Great post. Tons of ideas here. Thank you, from one mama to another. ๐Ÿ™‚ ๐Ÿ’—

      Reply
      • Kathryn Doherty

        June 23, 2021 at 3:21 pm

        Oh yay, I'm so happy to hear it's helpful Rachel! Thanks so much for sharing! ๐Ÿ˜Š

        Reply
  2. Erin

    August 24, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    Do you have pumpkin muffin recipes without honey? I have plenty of pumpkin puree Iโ€™d like to start using but my son is only 11 months old currently. Or if you have any other pumpkin recipes?

    Reply
  3. Kathryn Doherty

    August 25, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    Hi Erin! You could substitute maple syrup or agave in this recipe to avoid using honey in a baby who is less than 1 year old. I also have TONS of other pumpkin recipes! Here's the full search listing: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/?s=pumpkin These cookies may be a fun finger food for your son: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/pumpkin-banana-oatmeal-cookies/ Hope that helps!

    Reply
  4. Manisha

    October 20, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    I am so thankful to you for sharing these awesome finger food ideas.

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty

      October 20, 2020 at 3:20 pm

      I'm so happy it's helpful! ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Reply
  5. Breanne

    May 09, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    Thank you so much for these ideas! We eat mostly healthy over here, with the occasional side of mac n' cheese, and were looking for more variety to feed our 17-month-old! I have already printed off the list of foods and recipes and can't wait to try these options!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty

      May 11, 2022 at 7:35 am

      Oh yay, I'm so happy to hear this is helpful Breanne! I hope you find some new favorites for your little one! ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Reply
  6. Reann

    September 20, 2022 at 5:25 am

    Thank you so much for sharing. It has been a great help. I appreciate your free download. God Bless You.

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty

      September 21, 2022 at 7:38 am

      I'm so happy you found this helpful!! ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Reply

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Meet Kathryn

Hi there! Iโ€™m Kathryn Doherty, a cookbook author, mom of two, and devoted food and home cooking nut. Iโ€™ve got lots of easy recipes to help you get delicious food on the table for your family!

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