The Toddler Broccoli Your Child Will Love Is Already In Your Pantry
Sometimes the move to get your kid to eat vegetables is just obvious (if not a little lowest-common-denominator): make it look and especially taste like things they do like. Case in point: this easy toddler broccoli dish, which draws on “gluing” both crumbs (Goldfish!) and condiments (mustard) to make the green crowns look and feel like anything but a vegetable. And you know what? It works! It’s a little crunchy, a little creamy; it doesn’t taste like broccoli at all. And it comes together in under 20 minutes, meaning it’s the ultimate audible for those times you need a vegetable on the table but have no idea what or how you’re going to get your kiddo to eat it. Just tell ‘em they’re crackers!
(Looking for more broccoli options? Check out our best here!)
- 1 Head/Crown Broccoli (or about 12 florets if using frozen or pre-sliced broccoli)
- 16 pieces Goldfish (see Adapt section for what to do if you don’t have any on you)
- Yellow Mustard
- dried Herbs of your choice (optional)
- Lemon (optional)
- Grated cheese (optional)
- Cut the crown into florets of about 2-4 branches each. Toss in olive oil.
- Heat in an oven set to 400 for 12 minutes or an air fryer set to 350 for 8 minutes.
- While the broccoli cooks, blitz your Goldfish in a blender until crushed and powdery. Place crumbs in a flat bowl or container; place a small mound of mustard in another and place to the left of the crumbs.
- Cut the broccoli into appropriate sized pieces for your child. Press one side of each floret into the mustard, then toss and swirl it into the crumbs to adhere. Gather all the florets in a bowl.
- Top with grated cheese, herbs (i.e., cilantro, parsley, etc.), and lemon as you please.
For the skeptics--and your child may well be one--cut the florets into small ‘trees’--this will make the eating process easier and feel like snacking. In fact, we recommend serving just a few pieces at a time, the better to encourage your child to pop them into his/her mouth and treat eating it as a fun time (rather than a chore). You could even go the DIY route and have piles of broccoli, mustard, cracker crumbs, and cheese for your child to dip and construct on his/her own.
This technique can work on pretty much any vegetable you might roast: green beans, cauliflower, asparagus, et al. Don’t have goldfish and/or don’t want to use them? Blitz the end pieces of a bread loaf in the blender to create breadcrumbs; you can also use saltines or other type of cracker.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
