35 Best Bean Recipes to Share with Kids (2024)

FAQs

What beans are best for kids? ›

White beans are soft and mild and are easy to blend into soups and dips to add vegetarian protein. And also, they're really great to add to salads! Red beans, I admit, are ones I use less often, but they are super tender on the inside, making them a great choice for kids.

Try mashed beans that can be scooped up with crackers. Larger-size beans like Great Northern Beans can be served as finger food. Make it Fun. Stir grated carrots into pureed beans to make sandwich fillings and then cut the sandwiches into fun shapes with cookie cutters.

Mash chickpeas or black beans into a burger. Puree black or white beans with oil, lemon juice and garlic to make a dip or a topping for fish or meat. Toss any bean or legume on salads or into soups. Replace half of the butter in a cookie or brownie recipe with a cup of pureed white beans.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends all people ages 2 and older eat between 1 to 3 cups of beans per week. Serving beans regularly at family meals and having young children eat along with the family is a great way to encourage healthful eating for your child, as well as the entire family.

America's favorite bean is pinto beans, according to the U.S. Dry Beans Council, often used to make refried beans. Navy beans, Great Northern beans, red kidney beans and black beans round out the rest of the top five.

Smaller beans like adzuki, lentils, mung beans and peas digest more easily. Pinto, kidney, navy, black-eyed peas, garbanzo, lima, and black beans are harder to digest and should be eaten only occasionally. Soybeans and black soybeans are the most difficult beans to digest.

Another easy way to get my kids to eat beans is by serving them in smoothies. Cannellini beans are so smooth, creamy and mild tasting that they're easy to add to smoothies without your kids knowing. I can add up to 1 tin of beans to this Chocolate Smoothie, and my kids have no idea.

Beans serve up plenty of complex carbohydrates, which are one of the best sources of fuel for your baby or toddler's brain. They're packed with protein to support your little one's rapid growth, too. Beans — especially chickpeas and black beans — are also good vegetarian sources of iron.

Are canned beans good for kids? ›

Make sure all beans are cooked well and have a soft texture. Both dry beans and canned beans can be made for babies. If using canned beans, choose a low-sodium variety if possible and rinse well before serving.

The combination of beans and rice creates a complete protein. Beans alone and rice alone both lack certain essential amino acids. If eaten together, however, each contributes what the other is missing to form a complete protein.

Although sensory bin beans are popular, please, don't use them as play materials with your children. Again, eating raw or undercooked beans can be toxic and cause food poisoning, including symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. However, there are a number of other sensory materials that you can use instead.

Counting and sorting activities – fill the bin with black beans and add little plastic terrarium globes with sorting labels in the bottom and counters to be sorted. Place tongs in as well to give more fine motor skill opportunities. Garden – Add bright plastic flowers, small shovels, flowerpots, and small rakes.

12 to 24 months old: By this age, toddlers are typically able to handle whole kidney beans that are fully cooked until soft. To encourage self-feeding with utensils, spear a kidney bean with an age-appropriate fork and lay the utensil next to the food for the child to try to pick up.

Yes, as long as the beans are fully cooked (from dried) or canned. Plant compounds such as lectins, oxalates, and phytates are naturally present in legumes, whole grains, and even nuts. These compounds are a great source of B vitamins, protein, fiber, and fat, as well as antioxidant and anti-cancer properties.