How to Get Children to Eat Vegetables (Hidden and Not Hidden)

“My child won’t eat sabzi” is one of the most common complaints from Pakistani parents. Many children happily eat daal, rice, roti and chicken but push every piece of lauki, tinda or palak to the side of the plate. The good news is that there are two approaches that work together: hiding vegetables in food children already like, and slowly teaching them to accept vegetables they can see. This guide covers both.

This is general cooking advice, not medical or nutritional advice. If you’re worried about your child’s growth or diet, talk to a paediatrician.

Approach 1: hide them

Hiding vegetables is not cheating; it’s simply good cooking. Many traditional dishes already do it: haleem and khichdi cook lentils and grains down until nobody can pick them out.

Grate them

Finely grated vegetables melt into food. A box grater is your best tool.

• Carrot disappears into chicken kebab bites, suji cheela, parathas and pancakes, and adds sweetness.
• Lauki (bottle gourd) and tori (courgette) are almost tasteless when grated and add moisture to kebabs, cheelas and paratha dough. Squeeze out the water first.
• Cabbage, chopped very finely, goes into chicken mayo sandwiches and egg fried rice without complaint.

Blend them

• Into sauces: blend a cooked carrot or a handful of spinach into the tomato base of chicken macaroni or pizza sauce. The colour barely changes.
• Into soups: children who refuse vegetables often drink a smooth soup. Blend whatever is in the fridge with stock, a little cream or milk, and serve with toast.
• Into dough: knead pureed spinach into roti or paratha dough for green rotis, or grated carrot and a little cumin for orange ones.

Bake them in

Egg muffins are one of the easiest ways to serve vegetables at breakfast: capsicum, onion, corn and spinach baked into a mini omelette. Banana or carrot can also go into muffins.

Approach 2: help them like vegetables they can see

Hiding helps nutrition today, but children also need to learn to eat vegetables in their normal form. Research on children’s eating consistently finds that repeated, relaxed exposure works better than pressure.

• Serve it again and again. Many children need to try a new food many times before accepting it. Keep putting a small amount on the plate without fuss.
• Don’t force or bribe. “Finish your sabzi or no dessert” teaches that vegetables are a punishment and dessert is the prize.
• Eat it yourself. Children copy adults. A family that eats vegetables at the table raises children who eventually do too.
• Start with sweet and crunchy. Carrot sticks, cucumber, sweet corn, peas and capsicum are easier first vegetables than bitter karela or slimy bhindi.
• Let them help. Children who wash, peel or stir vegetables are more curious to taste them. Taking them to the sabzi mandi to choose one vegetable works too.
• Pair it with a favourite. Peas in matar pulao, potatoes with spinach in aloo palak, or a few vegetables in a cheesy quesadilla.

Easy vegetable wins by age

• Toddlers: soft, mashed and mild. Khichdi, namkeen dalia with vegetables, mashed potato with carrots.
• Primary school: fun shapes and finger food. Vegetable sticks with a yogurt dip, egg muffins, kebab bites with hidden carrot.
• Older children: involve them in cooking, and let them build their own wraps, pizzas or salads.

A week of easy vegetable ideas

• Monday: suji cheela with grated carrot and capsicum.
• Tuesday: chicken macaroni with blended carrot in the sauce.
• Wednesday: mix sabzi with roti, and a small portion for the child next to a favourite.
• Thursday: egg fried rice with peas, carrot and corn.
• Friday: homemade tawa pizza loaded with finely chopped vegetables.

For more child-friendly cooking, see our kid-friendly collection, the kids’ breakfast collection and our guide to mild desi food for children.