5 Favorite Kid-Friendly Cooking Tools

August 2022 Kristine Deworocki

It's no secret that I love cooking with littles. Whether it's in private speech sessions, in classroom settings, or at home with my own kiddo; I'm such a fan of getting kids "in the kitchen", so to speak! If you haven't done a lot of cooking with kids in the past, you might be wondering what kind of tools are best to use. Today I am sharing my top 5, favorite kid-friendly cooking tools. These will make cooking with kiddos safer, more fun, and super simple!

These 5 kid friendly cooking tools will help your students feel successful when you complete cooking activities in your classroom this year.

When you're ready to dive into cooking with your kiddos, it can feel a little overwhelming at first, I know. Figuring out the best way to structure cooking lessons, and what to use can be a big undertaking! Luckily though, I have done all the heavy lifting for you and figured out what works and what doesn't! Ready to check out my fave kid-friendly cooking tools? Let's go!

1. Banana Slicer

A banana slicer like this is a super kid friendly cooking tool that helps students with fine motor skills and hands on learning while working through visual recipes.

We use fruit, especially bananas, pretty frequently in my cooking lessons. They are a child favorite, cheap, and super versatile. Cutting a banana into small slices can be tricky for little hands still working on fine motor development though. That's where this handy banana slicer comes in!

This kid-friendly kitchen tool will safely and effectively cut a banana into 18, uniform slices super quickly! Even your youngest chefs can use this one without the fruit slipping out of their hands. I love that this can be tossed in the dishwasher for easy clean up too! See this kid-friendly kitchen tool in action here!

For a super easy snack, use this banana slicer to cut your bananas. Then have kiddos spread peanut butter on small crackers (like Ritz) and top with a banana slice. This is a great starter "cooking" project that will allow for lots of child engagement and hands-on learning!

2. Strawberry Huller & Slicer

Using a strawberry huller and slicer makes it easy for your students to prepare strawberries to use in visual recipes.

If you or your kiddos love strawberries- this is a MUST! The huller is nice and small, making it perfect for tiny hands! It's simple and easy to use as well. Simply press the button at the top, insert it into the top of the strawberry, give it a little twist, and VOILA! You can easily remove the entire strawberry/ tomato hull and leaves.

After removing the center, kiddos can use the strawberry slicer to make perfectly uniform slices. All you need to do is place the strawberry inside and press down. See how we use this kitchen tool combo here!

These kid-friendly kitchen tools are great for making fruit salads, snack plates, dessert recipes, and pancake toppers. I love that children can take the lead in preparing the fruit with the help of these handy tools.

3. Kid-Friendly Knives

You don't have to worry about your students cutting themselves with these plastic knives. They are a great way to help students practice fine motor skills while following visual recipes.

Letting children slice things on their own can be a little nerve-wracking. Those little hands are still working on fine motor control and the wrong tools just won't do! I love these kid-friendly knives for whenever I want to let my kiddos try their hand at slicing, safely.

This set comes with 3 kid-friendly, plastic, serrated knives and a crinkle cutter so kiddos can get some practice with cutting ingredients. These knives are durable enough to be used for just about anything, without having to worry about kiddos getting nicked.

I love having these for children who are ready to begin practicing slicing. These are such great kid-friendly tools to help grow fine motor skills and confidence while cooking. As always, make sure to supervise closely when allowing children to handle knives!

4. Grape Cutter

This grape cutter is a kid friendly cooking tool because it's fun and easy for your kiddos to use and cuts grapes and even cherry tomatoes into safe sizes for students to eat.

Grapes are one of those food items that I would rather be safe than sorry with. Large grapes make me worry about a choking hazard, especially with younger children. Using a grape cutter will ease your worries and ensure the fruit is cut into small pieces, safe for little ones.

This grape cutter is my absolute fave and can also be used for cherry tomatoes! Just place your grape (or tomato) inside the opening, push down, and there ya go! Just a heads up - this can get a little messy but I think that's totally worth it knowing your kiddos can eat their snack safely!

5. Multipurpose Shape Cutter Set

Are you looking for a fun way to introduce new foods to your students or children? These fun-shaped food cutters are the perfect way to spark interest in new foods!

These shape cutters are the perfect kid-friendly cooking tool

You can use these for so many things! While they work great for cookie dough, you can also use them for fruits and veggies like apples, bananas, melons, cucumbers, and carrots! You can even use them for sandwiches, bread, tortillas, cheese, and deli meat!

Cutting food into these fun shapes is a great way to get children interested in something new. The design of these cookie cutters makes them safe and easy for kiddos to use on their own as well. Simply push down firmly, and then pop the fun-shaped food out! This one might be your kiddo's absolute fave!

BONUS: Crinkle Cutter

And. . . a BONUS tool becuase I love this one too and I just can't leave it out!

This Crinkle Cutter is so fun and makes even the most boring of foods look enticing! It's perfect for cutting fruit and veggies as well as the edges of bread, tortillas and well - anything really.

Check out this short video to see this kid-friendly cooking tool in action.

Your students and kids are sure to love cooking with all these kid-friendly cooking tools. It allows them to be more involved in the hands-on process of cooking without all the risk of traditional cooking tools.

Start Building Your Own Cooking Tool Inventory

So, what do you think? Aren't these kid-friendly cooking tools just the best?! Adding a few fun tools like these is a great way to level up your cooking lessons and give children a little more independence and opportunity for growth in your sessions.

In all honesty though, you can still get cooking with just the basics! If you're in the beginning stages of building your cooking inventory for the classroom or speech room, be sure to check out this post for a list of all the basics you can find at the dollar store! Build your "speech cooking kit" slowly and then add in some of these other fun, kid-friendly kitchen tools to take it up a notch!