Grandparents, plan a menu with foods to serve grandkids – and always include a chicken soup.

When your grandchildren visit, you’ll be prepared when you’ve already planned a menu. 

Parents, this article is focused on foods for grandparents to serve their grandkids. But what are your food preferences for your kids?

As a grandparent myself, I love making special meals and treats for my grandchildren. However, I like cooking and preparing foods that they will eat. Therefore, it helps to know foods that the parents know their kids will eat and love.

How to Know What Foods to Serve Grandkids

What to serve grandkids can sometimes be daunting when you don’t know what their favorite foods are. It can help to ask the kids’ parents what they prefer.

Find out if there are any foods the parents absolutely do not want them to have. And if there is no preference, ask the kids because you know they won’t hesitate in letting you know.

Meal planning for grandchildren makes life fun and challenging at the same time. Make it easy for yourself. Serve your grandkids simple meals, like chicken soup, that are healthy, tasty, and fun to eat.

If you’re a parent reading this, what is your input on this topic? Do you leave it up to your parents and in-laws for deciding on what foods to serve your kids? Or do you have certain nutrition preferences that you would rather they follow when the kids are with them?

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Provide breakfast, lunch, dinner – and snacks. 

Breakfast Foods to Serve Grandkids

Breakfast is my favorite meal. Sometimes we go out for breakfast. But on nearly every visit, our grand littles ask me to make pancakes.

Of course, we choose breakfast foods other than just pancakes like eggs for example. If your children or grandchildren like eggs, make egg sandwiches for breakfast. Museum or zoo days, though, we’re in a hurry and eat cereal or pop frozen waffles in the toaster.

Lunch/Dinner Foods to Serve Grandkids

Don’t want to cook lunch/dinner? Take them out to kid-friendly restaurants. My grands love it when we take them out.

Our grands like chicken soup, chicken from Chick-fil-A, but we also learned that they love ribeye steak. My husband grills ribeyes on a charcoal grill.

Grilling ribeyes
Charcoal-Grilled Ribeyes 

One time we sat down for dinner and gave them grilled hamburgers. However, they asked to try what Grumpy and I were eating – the steak. They loved it, so now we know.

These hamburgers were grilled for the Napolean Cheeseburgers recipe. Kids and adults who love big fat hamburgers will love this recipe.

Best burgers
Napoleon Cheeseburgers on the Grill

Often, kids will say, “I don’t like that” to a different food when they’ve actually never tasted it before. Offer new foods to them anyway. Suggest that they taste. That’s how kids learn to appreciate different foods. 

How do you convince your kids or grandkids to eat a new food? A friend of mine told me a strategy that worked when her children were little. I’ll pass it along to you so you can see how it works with your children.

When she cooked a food they hadn’t tried, she would give them one bite of everything. One green bean, one piece of steak, and one piece of the new food. They had to eat every one of the bites put on their plate, and then they could have more of the foods they liked. 

Chicken 

Chicken is a top priority on my grandchildren’s common weekly menu. During a four-day trip my daughter and son-in-law took, my husband and I stayed with the three kids. At seven, four, and three, they were (still are) accustomed to Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A is the perfect choice if it has a playground on site (the one we chose did). Good for the grandparents, too, because the grandkids spend their energy on the playground. It makes falling asleep easily at bedtime.

Chicken in a slow cooker

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks
Crockpot BBQ & Sweet Tea Chicken Drumsticks

Put several chicken legs in a slow cooker. Season them with barbecue sauce if your grandkids like barbecue chicken. Cooking in a slow cooker all day can help make your meal preparing smoother.

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is a comfort food. I grew up on it. My daughter grew up on it. Now she makes her own version of chicken soup (a fabulous-tasting one I can proudly say).

Meal prep
Chicken Noodle Soup Meal Prep

My husband and I chose to eat out at restaurants on the weekend. However, on Sunday afternoon, I made a huge pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. It was made similar to my daughter’s version that the kids love.

The homemade soup recipe made so much that there was plenty for leftovers, including some for the freezer. See the recipe below.

Want the recipe now?

Skip to the recipe.Jump to Recipe

Snack foods to serve grandkids

When in doubt about snacks, ask your grandchildren – they’ll quickly inform you.

The following snack choices were specifically chosen by my four-year-old granddaughter:

  • strawberries
  • oranges
  • apples
  • peanut butter crackers

Again, I was proud of my daughter when my little granddaughter gave me the list of snacks she likes best. They indicated that her mom provides healthy snacks at home for the children.

Need help preparing meals for your pre-school grandkids?

Look at this sample menu for a preschooler that I found to be helpful. Mayo Clinic recommends ten tips to prevent mealtime battles with young picky eaters. Most importantly, the parents can tell you what kind of snacks they don’t mind their children eating and will probably be happy to suggest a list of snacks.

How to make chicken soup from scratch

Need more help on making chicken soup from scratch? Check out these cookbooks from Amazon:

Things to keep on hand to make chicken soup:

Bone Broth:

Mrs. Miller’s Homemade Noodles:

Organic turmeric powder:

Six Seasonings (my most favorite seasoning blend):

Chicken soup mix:

Now that you are ready to make that chicken soup for the grandkids, here is my recipe:

Chicken Soup for Grandkids

a family-favorite chicken soup for the grandkids

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword chicken
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 270 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 2 teaspoon Santa Fe Seasons Six Seasonings
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 2 teaspoon Chicken soup mix
  • 1 package Boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 6 stalk Celery
  • 1 10.5 oz. can Cream of chicken soup
  • 1 16-oz bag Sliced carrots
  • 1 bag Mrs. Miller's Old Fashioned Medium Egg Noodles

Instructions

  1. Season chicken with the seasonings.

  2. Fill a large pot 2/3 full of water.

  3. Add the seasoned chicken to the water.

  4. Turn the burner to high, and heat until boiling.

  5. When the water begins boiling, turn the burner down to medium.

  6. Cook for 15 minutes on high.

  7. While the chicken is boiling during the first 15 minutes, chop 6 celery stalks into small, fine chunks and set aside.

  8. Open a can of cream of chicken souip.

  9. Empty the can of souip into a 2-clup measuring glass.

  10. Fill the can halfway with water.

  11. Add the water to the soup and stir with a whisk.

  12. Now add the celery, chicken soup, and one bag of sliced carrots into the pot of boiled chicken.

  13. Stir well.

  14. Add one bag of Mrs. Miller's Old Fashioned Medium Egg Noodles.

  15. Turn the burner down to low and cook for 30 minutes.

  16. The soup is thick, and you may prefer adding more water to it.

Recipe Notes

This recipe makes enough for five people to have two servings plus plenty leftovers.

The chicken noodle soup results were great. We all loved it.

Since I have always liked chicken soup, I enjoy coming up with different recipes. For instance, check out this pressure cooker chicken soup that includes sweet peas – it tasted really good…

Pressure cooker pea soup
Pressure Cooker Chicken Alfredo Pea Soup

Desserts to Serve Your Grandkids

What desserts do you make that your children or grandchildren love and ask for often? My grands do love dessert, but sugar can cause a lot of excitability. However, they love fresh fruit – especially topped with canned whipped topping.

I made Everything Mini Bundts once when our grandchildren came for a visit, and they loved it. It’s actually a low-sugar dessert and is quite tasty. 

Bundt cakes
Everything Mini Bundt Cakes

When I’m meal planning for my grandchildren, I try to be careful about the sugar. I remember how excited the littles get after they’ve indulged in yummy sweets.

Of course, what can I say. Grandma loves sweets, too – and the grands know it.

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