3 No-Cook Fall Recipes For Hands-On Learning

September 2022 Kristine Deworocki

Do you like seasonal treats? I know I do! There's just something about a change in the season that makes me want to prepare some fun treats to celebrate. This is especially true in my speech sessions. I just LOVE adding some seasonal flair to our cooking projects for extra student engagement. If you're looking to mix up your speech sessions, you're in luck! Today, I am sharing 3 of my all-time favorite no-cook, fall recipes!

These 3 no-cook fall recipes are fun and engaging for your students as they practice fine motor skills, vocabulary, and following step-by-step directions.

Benefits To Cooking With Kids

If you're new around here, you might not have heard the news. . . There are some serious benefits to cooking with children! Whether you're an SLP, classroom teacher, or parent, cooking can help you promote engaged learning with your littles!

Cooking with your students is more than just having fun. Your students will gain self confidence, build important vocabulary skills, and practice following step-by-step directions which are all important as they grow.

Adding some hands-on cooking activities to your routine can help your children grow in so many ways, but here are some of the highlights:

Language Development: Cooking offers opportunities for conversation, making it great for young learners beginning to communicate.
Vocabulary Growth: Cooking with kids is a great way to learn new vocabulary words for ingredients and tools used in your recipes.
Promotes Independence & Self-Confidence: You can expect to see HUGE growth in this department when you incorporate cooking! Allowing children opportunities to take the lead on cooking projects is a great way to grow their confidence in social settings.

The list truly goes on and on! Check out this article for a more detailed look at the benefits of cooking with kids.

Now, I know you might be thinking... Isn't cooking with kids hard? I promise, it's not! Use my tips to make the process painless and fun for everyone.

Simplify Cooking In Speech Sessions

Using no-cook recipes in your classroom is great for hands-on learning without the worry of your students getting injured by hot items coming out of an oven, but still gives your students the opportunity to practice cooking.

My very best tip for making cooking more approachable and easy to integrate into your lessons is to remove the heat aspect of cooking.

Yes, that's right, your cooking projects don't need to have any "actual" cooking using a stove, oven, hot plate or any other heat source.

When you focus on recipes that don't require heat, it truly simplifies the activity and makes it easy to include in any setting. Plus, kiddos will still get all the benefits we discussed and perhaps even more since you'll cut out the need to stand over a stove.

All of my favorite no-cook recipes require only a microwave to quickly warm ingredients, making these great for classrooms and speech rooms. Ready to hear my favorite recipes for fall? Let's get to it!

1. Blender Applesauce

First up, I have a super simple, healthy treat to welcome that crisp, fall air. The great thing about this recipe is it really can be used all year long. It accompanies an apple theme wonderfully, but you can pull it out any time you need a fun, no-cook recipe.

This recipe comes to you from my original Cooking and Craft Resource. Inside this resource, you will find 50, seasonal recipes perfect for preschool classrooms, speech sessions, and cooking at home. This blender applesauce is always a student favorite!

This no-cook blender applesauce is the perfect fall no-cook recipe to use with your students this year.

To get started you will need:

apples
honey
chopping board
knife
peeler
blender

Depending on the age of your kiddos, you can have them do the peeling and chopping or model it during your lesson. If you're the one doing the chopping consider asking questions about safety with knives as children watch. It's never too early to learn about kitchen safety!

Next, have kiddos pop the apples in a blender, add a bit of honey, and blend! That's it! It really is so simple and provides so many great opportunities for learning. If you're looking to level up this lesson, be sure to check out the full resource , which includes vocabulary cards, a visual recipe card, and comprehension questions!

2. Caramel Apple Nachos

Next up, we have a fun recipe from my Cooking with Kids Visual Recipe Cards. These apple "nachos" scream fall and kiddos won't be able to get enough of them. This no-cook recipe is another super simple one, only requiring a few ingredients.

This caramel apple no-cook recipe is a crowd favorite in my classroom when it comes to fall no-cook recipes.

You'll need:

4 apples
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup caramel sauce

For this "no-cook" recipe, you will need a microwave to melt your chocolate chips, but they only need a couple of seconds! To get started, you'll slice up your apples to serve as your nacho "chips" and then drizzle them with the caramel sauce and melted chocolate chips.

Allow the chocolate to set for a minute and enjoy! You can make these even more delicious with some optional toppings like granola, mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or crushed pretzels!

3. Donut Hole Acorns

Finally, I have a fabulous, fall FREEBIE for you to try! Donut Hole Acorns are the perfect fall, no-cook recipe to include in your sessions. These are especially fun to make in preparation of a fall party or as a "fun Friday" treat!

These acorn donut holes are the perfect fall no-cook activity to try out with your students. Grab this FREEBIE to get started today.

To make these, you will need:

plain donut holes
jar of chocolate frosting
orange, yellow, and/or brown sprinkles
pretzel sticks

For this recipe, you will melt your chocolate frosting in a microwave and then have kiddos dip a donut hole in the frosting, roll in sprinkles and then add a pretzel "stem". These are such a cute, seasonal treat that your students will love!

This freebie comes complete with vocabulary cards, comprehension questions, and a visual recipe card so you can extend your activity further. It's a perfect freebie to grab so you can try cooking in your therapy sessions or classroom.

Taking your time during the activity by asking lots of questions will help you target specific speech skills in depth as you work through the recipe.

Try These No-Cook, Fall Recipes

It's time to get cookin', friends! I hope you'll snag the freebie and get started with these simple, no-cook, fall recipes! If you're interested in checking out even more simple recipes, be sure to take a peek at my Visual Recipe Cards for Kids!

This physical resource is filled with easy, kid-friendly recipes that will help you target big speech goals in a fun and exciting way. I wrote a whole post all about these and how to use them if you're looking for some inspiration.

Just remember, cooking with kids doesn't have to be difficult or complicated! With a variety of fun and simple recipes, you'll be hooked on it too! Happy Cooking Friends!

Save This Post

Don't forget to save this post on your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you'll be all set when it comes time to plan your fall cooking activities!