Thanksgiving isn't exactly the most kid-focused holiday, as it includes lots of sitting still at a table, fancy foods, and adults taking over the television to watch football. But if you have a bunch of little ones populating your Thanksgiving table, you're probably thinking about how to please their palates as well. No one wants to spend all day in the kitchen only to have half their guests leave hungry (or request they whip them up a batch of hot dogs).
We have the solution with the following 17 kid-friendly, adult-approved recipes, all perfect for making sure your Thanksgiving feast is enjoyed by everyone.
Sandwich King Jeff Mauro's cream-cheese mashed potatoes will blow your family's collective mind. The cream cheese's mild flavor and thick texture is the perfect tool to make mashed potatoes incredibly velvety. Cream cheese, a stick of butter, and half-and-half are whipped with a hand mixer until fluffy, then combined with diced, boiled potatoes, plenty of garlic, and black pepper.
Every child loves applesauce but Cookin Canuck's electric pressure cooker applesauce elevates the kid staple into something worthy of your Thanksgiving table.
Lemons For Lulu's pumpkin roll poke cake takes everything we love about pumpkin rolls and turns it into an easy-to-assemble cake.
Your children might scoff at a corn casserole, but once they taste the sweet-and-savory balance in The Cookie Rookie's classic corn pudding, we guarantee they'll fall in love.
Get your kids to eat their greens happily by serving up Dinner at the Zoo's green bean bundles. Not only do they look cute and fun, but they also include bacon! What kid could resist?
Want to win Thanksgiving's Best Mom Ever award? Then whip up a batch of these sure-to-wow pumpkin pie fidget spinners. They're as delicious as they are fun!
Kids always reach for the rolls, but you'll be fighting them for these pumpkin cornbread drop biscuits. Wholesome and hearty, the biscuits include healthier ingredients like whole-wheat flour, pumpkin puree, cornmeal, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup. Yum!
Apples plus sugar and topped with whipped cream equals kid paradise. Culinary Hill claims its apple pie is the best, and who are we to argue?
Even the smallest dinner guests will eat their veggies when you serve these cinnamon-butter baked carrots. A simple to make yet beautiful and delicious recipe? What more could a mom want?
Delightful Food Mom's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies put a Fall spin on every kid's favorite treat. The flour alternatives this recipe uses will have you feeling good about going back for a second (or seventh) cookie!
Even more comforting than Kraft, this stovetop mac and cheese combines Velveeta for the kids with a good-quality, extrasharp cheddar for the parents. The results: everybody wins!
From Chrissy Teigen's Cravings cookbook, these scalloped potatoes are the meal she says she'd request as her very last if she, you know, ended up on death row. But you don't have to commit a crime to enjoy the rich, decadent, addictive flavor combination of potatoes, ham, bacon, onion, and more.
Sweet cornbread and salty bacon make an irresistible combination in this delicious dressing. Even better: it can be made up to three months ahead of time and frozen.
Life Made Sweeter's no-bake icebox cake takes just minutes to whip up and is full of cozy Fall flavors with layers of graham crackers and pumpkin cream cheese mousse.
You kids will be obsessed with Cookies and Cups' creamy cheesy cornbread, a cross between cornbread and corn casserole that you can eat with your hands. Both cream cheese and cheddar make this one memorable and delicious side dish.
Turkey is classic, but once my family started adding a ham to our Thanksgiving dinner, we never looked back. And after the feast, Creme de la Crumb's ham and cheese sliders on buttery herb rolls will have everyone fighting over leftovers.
Sometimes simple is best when you're feeding kids, but no one wants to skimp on Thanksgiving. That's why these twice-baked sweet potatoes are the perfect side. Simple enough not to scare off your kids but delicious enough to appeal to everyone, these sweet potatoes are first fried in butter, then sent to the oven for a thorough roasting.