Ensuring a balanced diet for our little ones is something that consumes a great deal of our time and efforts, and sometimes we’re still not satisfied with the results. Kids are notorious for picky eating, and it’s often a reason for nutritional deficiencies, especially if they avoid entire food groups.

Forcing kids to eat or bribing them with dessert are all tactics that may work in the short term, but cause lasting damage in the long term. We want our kids to enjoy all foods in their natural state, without preservatives or added flavors, so they don’t get addicted to additives. We want them to have a healthy relationship with food and for this, we need to change our attitude to food ourselves.

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One way to do this is to serve food to kids in an attractive way, and make the environment a pleasant one, so kids associate mealtime with family, bonding and fun. You can of course serve up plates of fun foods cut in all kinds of shapes, but sometimes, all you need is to infuse some color. And we can’t think of a better way to do it than by sneaking in colored vegetables – like beetroot!

40 Healthy Beetroot Recipes for Babies and Kids

1. Beetroot Potato Puree

One of the first ways parents introduce a vegetable to their little ones is in the form of a puree. Once your baby is familiar with plain beetroot puree, you can start combining it with other vegetables. Root vegetables like potatoes are a good option to begin with!

2. Carrot Beetroot Puree

Beetroots are very similar to carrots in many ways. They’re both root vegetables, they’re brightly colored and are naturally sweet. Not to mention the incredible combination of nutrients! That’s why they work so well in this stage 2 puree for babies.

3. Beetroot Chickpea Puree

Ready to take your baby’s beetroot puree to the next level? Give it a protein boost by adding chickpeas! Not only does this increase the nutrient quotient, it is also much more filling and eases up bowel movements with its dietary fiber.

4. Beetroot Peach and Coconut Puree

If you’d like to treat your baby to a gourmet-level puree, check out this one from the chef himself, Jamie Oliver! This puree makes use of peaches and is thinned out with coconut milk. This gives the puree a natural sweetness along with a creaminess from the coconut milk. Use freshly homemade coconut milk from the first extraction.

5. Beetroot Pearl Millet Porridge for Babies

We love including whole grains in our baby food, especially not so common ones like millet. Many millets are actually seeds of the plant and are chock full of nutrients. This puree is a great way to introduce pearl millet to your baby once she’s familiar with the flavor of beetroot.

6. Carrot Beetroot Soup for Babies

Summers call for light meals and lots of hydration, and soups are the perfect way to ensure that! This soup has a gorgeous deep color thanks to the carrot and beetroot in it, and is a great way to get some fluids into babies who are reluctant to drink plain water.

7. Sugar-Free Beetroot Laddu for Babies

Who says laddus are only for adults – or for Diwali? Every day can be a festive occasion for your little munchkin – and you don’t even need sugar for it! These beetroot laddus make use of coconut and Little Moppet Foods’ Dry Fruits Powder for a lovely nutty flavor.

8. Beetroot Halwa for Babies

We know babies under the age of one can’t have sugar, salt or cow’s milk, and that’s why we have to figure out recipes that work around this limitation. One excellent example of this is this beetroot halwa made without milk. You can use a little coconut milk if you’d like more liquid when cooking the halwa.

9. Beetroot Raspberry Pudding

We love how beautiful this pudding from Creative Nourish looks! In fact, with a few tweaks, you could even serve it to the whole family! Raspberries are known for their high antioxidant content, and while they may not be as easily available in India as we’d like, you can make this whenever you get our hands on some.

10. Healthy Beetroot Muffins

MJ and Hungry Man has the perfect recipe for older babies who’re practicing self feeding. These muffins are packed with fiber from oats, protein from chickpeas and peanut butter and natural sweetness from the banana. Not to mention our star ingredient that gives it flavor and nutrients – beetroot!

11. Baby Beetroot Pancakes

Pancakes are a great idea for baby led weaning, and this recipe from Creative Nourish uses beetroot along with staple ingredients like oats and banana. The recipe is suitable for babies over 9 months, who are used to eating whole eggs. Not only are the pancakes nutritious, they look very pretty as well!

12. Beetroot Curry Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the most common baby foods across the world, but we often try to make it sweet by adding fruit purees or dates. However, MJ and Hungry Man has an interesting savory recipe that uses spinach, beetroot and curry powder. You can adjust the level of spice according to your baby’s tolerance level.

13. Beetroot Khichdi

Ah, the ultimate comfort food for Indians – khichdi! GK Food Diary combines beetroot with moong dal, ghee and spices for a filling meal that has everything you need in a balanced diet – proteins, carbohydrates and fats along with micronutrients from the vegetables.

(The recipes listed below are suitable for children over the age of 1 year)

14. ABC Juice

The ABC juice is quite common among weight watchers and everyone interested in detoxing; and for good reason! This juice uses apples, beetroots and carrots for a potent drink bursting with antioxidants and other healthy nutrients. This is a great drink to accompany your child’s breakfast and won’t decrease his appetite.

15. Tomato Ginger Beetroot Soup

During winter or the rainy season, you crave something warm, comforting and easy to eat. There’s just one dish that checks all these boxes – soup! Tomato soup is one of the most popular soups, but you can take it to the next level by adding some beetroot to it. Since they’re both red, no one will be able to guess that it’s been sneaked in!

16. Immunity Boosting Soup

The pandemic has taught us how valuable natural immunity and overall good health is. This is not just to prevent ourselves from catching the coronavirus – it’s also to prevent other common illnesses so we don’t have to visit hospitals in this situation. Keep your child’s immunity levels high with this nourishing, immunity boosting soup.

17. Beetroot Jam for Kids

Kids love spreading things on their toast, and jam is among the top picks. However, store bought jams are often loaded with preservatives – the ingredient list can leave you feeling dizzy! Skip all that and make this beetroot jam instead, free from additives and preservatives and anything icky!

18. Beetroot Hummus

One easy way to make any boring dish interesting for kids is to give them something to dip it in! So if your little one is refusing to eat his parathas or rotis, just cut them up into nacho-like shapes and serve with this beautiful dip from Little Dish. Those rotis will disappear before you know it, and they’ll be eating a vegetable without realizing it!

19. Beetroot Poori

We think puris are an ASMR food – for both the person making it and the person eating it. Watching them fluff up in the hot oil is an indescribable feeling, and then eating them with some soft potato bhaji or aamras is another experience altogether! Give this feeling an extra dimension by adding beetroot to your puri dough, like it’s done at Raks Kitchen.

20. Beetroot Paratha Recipe

If you can make puris with beetroot, can parathas be far behind? If your child is the kind who’ll only eat one thing on his plate – paratha or subzi – try combining both categories in one recipe – beetroot paratha! All you need with this is some curd and you’ll be able to include some protein too!

21. Beetroot Rice

Kids love colored food, which is why they’ll be quite excited about seeing rice in a bright pink color instead of the usual boring white! Antos Kitchen gives us a beetroot rice recipe that is made with very few ingredients that are sure to be there in your pantry. You can also add some shredded coconut to it for extra crunch.

22. Beetroot Rolls

When the rains begin, what’s the first thing everyone craves? Hot snacks! While you can make your usual pakoras, we’d recommend giving these beetroot rolls a try. This is a good recipe for kids who may not like eating beetroot in other forms. Don’t forget to serve tomato sauce with the rolls – they go very well together!

23. Mini Beetroot Falafels

Kids these days enjoy trying other cuisines from around the world, and with so many ways to get new recipes these days, you should certainly give them a try. If you’re planning on making falafels any time soon, do try these beetroot falafels from Cooktoria – they use basic ingredients and the mini size makes them more appealing to kids.

24. Beetroot Burger Recipe

There are few kids out there who’ll refuse a burger, and while they may remove other vegetables from it, they’re sure to leave the patty behind. That’s your cue to include as many vegetables as you can right there in the burger patty! This recipe can be modified to include any combination of vegetables, so make the most of it!

25. Chocolate Beetroot Pancakes

Fruit and chocolate are a popular combo – think strawberries, raspberries and banana. Not many of us would think of paring chocolate with vegetables, but Sneaky Veg has gone ahead and done that in these pancakes. There’s also a recipe for a homemade chocolate hazelnut sauce, which you can make with whatever nuts you have on hand.

26. Beetroot Pomegranate Smoothie

Smoothies are a godsend for parents of fussy eaters – you can put an entire meal into a glass! This beetroot smoothie recipe isn’t just great for kids who refuse to eat fruits and vegetables, you can also make it with milk and serve it to kids who refuse to drink milk in its original form.

27. Beetroot Pasta Pesto Sauce

If you’d like an easy dinner idea that is not going to require going to war with your toddler, check out this pesto recipe from MJ and Hungry Man. While pesto sauce is generally green, this one goes outside the box by including beetroot. The result is a pasta sauce that doesn’t just taste good, it looks amazing!

28. Chocolate Beetroot Brownies

Sneaky Veg has come up with an offer no kid can refuse – brownies! Brownies are generally unhealthy since they’re packed with sugar and butter, but not these ones! This recipe uses beetroot, dates, walnuts and pumpkin seeds, all healthy ingredients that will fill in many nutrient requirements for the day.

29. Sathumaavu Beetroot Crackers

If you’re looking for a snack idea for kids that doesn’t include deep frying or opening a packet, you’ve come to the right place – these Sathumaavu crackers are what you need! There are many benefits to this recipe – it substitutes refined flour with the immensely nutritious sathumaavu, and it includes veggies like beetroot and spinach.

30. Beetroot Cutlets

You can make cutlets with just about anything, but there’s no denying the fact that beetroot cutlets are the ultimate classic! Masala Korb shows us how to make these juicy cutlets that have not just beetroot, but potatoes, pumpkin and carrot as well. We can’t think of a better way to sneak in veggies through snacks!

31. Beet Applesauce Dip

With most kids stuck at home during the pandemic, it’s natural for them to ask for snacks frequently, and those snacks often need something to dip into. Rather than going for store bought dips like mayonnaise, try this healthy option that uses apples and beetroots. Kids will enjoy dipping their breadsticks or nachos into this brightly colored dip!

32. Beetroot Dosa

There’s a reason we are asked to include a rainbow in our diet – it’s because most of what we eat is white, beige or brown! Raks Kitchen shows us how to make plain dosa all kinds of interesting simply with one step – adding beetroot to the dosa batter! Kids are guaranteed to get excited on seeing dosa in this new avatar and you’ll be relieved on seeing them gobble it up!

33. Beetroot Rice Casserole

Rice is one of the easiest ingredients to cook, which is why most Moms resort to one pot rice dishes when they’re pressed for time. Mom Junction’s beetroot rice casserole is a great option to try during busy weekdays, and it’s incredibly nutritious too. The recipe uses brown rice, chicken and eggs, making it a filling meal that’ll keep your little one going for a good while.

35. Beetroot Spaghetti

When have you last seen a dish that looks so utterly gorgeous? Sims Home Kitchen shows us that this doesn’t require Masterchef-level skills – you just need a few simple ingredients that pack in lots of color, like the beetroot! You can use any pasta shape for this recipe, although we’ll admit the spaghetti takes it to another level!

36. Banana Beetroot Flapjacks

Flapjacks are cousins of brownies, and you can use them to wean your child from eating too much sugar. This recipe from Rebel Recipes works great as a snack, breakfast and as a party item when we’re ready to open up and have birthday parties for our kids! This recipe also uses banana and blueberries, but you can substitute with fruits of your choice.

37. Crispy Beet Chips

There’s nothing as satisfying as biting into a thin crisp and hearing that crunch, and feeling the crisp break into a thousand pieces in your mouth. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to buy a pack of chips or deep fry something to experience this feeling – all you need is an air fryer! Check out the recipe at My Forking Life to know how to make these beetroot chips.

38. Ultimate Beetroot Chocolate Cake

When was the last time that you heard chocolate cake was healthy? Well thanks to the recipe from Love Beetroot, you can now have your cake and eat it too! The recipe uses sugar, but you can go with any natural sweetener of your choice. You can skip the frosting too, if you’d like to keep things light.

39. Healthy Oat Beetroot Bars

Think of all the healthy ingredients you’d like to feed your child and this recipe from Sneaky Veg has it! It’s got beetroot, apple, dry fruits, almonds and oats – all in a kid-friendly, baked format. What more can you ask for in a healthy snack?

40. Beetroot Mishti Doi

Mishti doi is a popular Bengali dessert, made with sweetened yogurt. While we’re fans of the classic mishti doi, Tempting Treat takes it a notch higher by adding some beetroot to the mix. The result is a dessert that looks and tastes out of this world! You can skip the strawberry essence if you like, or add a different flavor your child prefers.

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