10 Kid Approved Crockpot Dinners for Picky Eaters

These kid approved crockpot dinners for picky eaters are the meals that get eaten at my table without a negotiation.

From a creamy mac and cheese to BBQ chicken sandwiches, sloppy joes, spaghetti and meatballs, and a pizza pasta that vanishes, they’re the dinners that work on a six year old and a teenager in the same sitting.

Here are the ten we rely on!

Every one of these is mild, familiar, and easy to serve in pieces, which is what picky eating usually comes down to in my house.

The vegetables are either cooked into a sauce where they can’t be picked out or served on the side where they can be ignored, and I’ve made my peace with both.

1. Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Dry elbow macaroni, milk, evaporated milk, butter, and a pile of cheddar, and it cooks in the crock in about two hours with no boiling.

It’s creamier than the boxed kind and my kids still call it the same name, which I take as a win.

Stir it twice during the cook so the edges don’t set, and serve it as soon as it’s done.

Peas on the side for the ones who’ll eat them.

2. BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken breasts cook in barbecue sauce with a little brown sugar and onion, then shred into the sauce, and it goes on soft buns.

The sauce is sweet enough that nobody at my table questions it, and the chicken is soft enough for the youngest to manage.

A bag of coleslaw mix on the side, either on the sandwich or next to it.

It’s the dinner I make for every kid birthday party!

3. Sloppy Joes

Ground beef browned and then simmered in the crock with ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and finely diced onion and pepper that disappear into the sauce.

The homemade version is less sweet than the canned one, and it’s the one my kids ask for by name.

Serve it on buns with a slice of cheese, or over rice for the kid who won’t touch a bun.

It doubles for a crowd without any extra work.

4. Salsa Chicken Tacos

Chicken breasts and a jar of mild salsa, and that’s the whole recipe, shredded at the end and piled into soft tortillas.

Taco night is the one dinner where a picky eater builds their own plate and eats it, because they chose what went on it.

Cheese, sour cream, and plain shredded chicken for the cautious ones, and all the toppings for everyone else.

Use mild salsa, and put the hot sauce on the table for the adults.

5. Spaghetti and Meatballs

Frozen or homemade meatballs cook in a jar of marinara with garlic and Italian seasoning, and the pasta gets boiled at the end.

Kids who won’t eat ground beef in any other form will eat meatballs, and I’ve never worked out why.

Parmesan on top, and garlic bread for the ones who eat mostly bread.

The meatballs and sauce freeze in portions for a faster version next month.

6. Pizza Pasta Casserole

Pasta, marinara, ground beef or sausage, pepperoni, and mozzarella, and it tastes enough like pizza that my kids stopped asking for the real thing on weeknights.

The pasta goes in cooked and the whole thing heats through in the crock until the cheese melts on top.

Leave out the pepperoni for the kid who picks it off, or put extra on top for the one who only eats that.

7. Cheeseburger Macaroni

Ground beef, elbow pasta, and a cheddar sauce, and it’s the box mix made from scratch in a crock, with the same appeal and a lot less salt.

The pasta cooks in the crock for the last half hour, and the cheese goes in at the end.

It’s a full dinner in one bowl, and there’s never any left.

Ketchup on the side, because that’s how the kids want it!

8. Crockpot Lasagna

Uncooked lasagna noodles, meat sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella layered right in the crock, and the noodles cook in the sauce over four hours.

It comes out softer than an oven lasagna and cuts into slabs, and the picky eaters at my table prefer it that way.

Skip the spinach if it’s a fight, or chop it fine and hide it in the ricotta layer.

A green salad next to it that at least one child will eat.

9. Teriyaki Chicken

Chicken thighs in a sweet soy, garlic, and ginger sauce, and the sauce is the reason it works on kids, since it’s sweet first and everything else second.

Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry in the last half hour so it coats the chicken.

Serve it over white rice with steamed broccoli, which is the one green vegetable that gets eaten at my table when there’s teriyaki sauce to dip it in.

Sesame seeds on top for the kids who like the look of them.

10. Queso Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken cooks in salsa and a jar of queso until it shreds, and then it goes into tortillas with cheese and gets crisped in a skillet.

It’s two familiar things, chicken and cheese, folded into a third familiar thing, and that is the entire strategy.

Cut them into wedges and serve them with sour cream, and they’re a dinner that gets eaten with hands.

The chicken mixture keeps for a few days, so the quesadillas can happen twice.

Notes on Cooking for Picky Eaters in a Slow Cooker

Mild is the rule, and I season the crock lightly and put the hot sauce, extra salt, and grated cheese on the table for the people who want more.

Anything with a sauce is easier than anything without one, because sauce is what makes a plate of chicken look like a meal to a six year old.

Chop onions and peppers small enough to disappear, or use onion powder and garlic powder, which nobody at my table has ever picked out of a dish.

A 6-quart slow cooker that switches to warm on its own means dinner is ready when practice ends and not before.

I shred the chicken and pork with shredder claws right in the crock, and the kids like watching that part.

A set of divided plates ended more arguments in my house than any recipe, because the sauce doesn’t touch the rice.

Use a liner for the cheesy ones, and the crock is clean before the kids are done eating.

Glass containers for the leftovers, which reheat for lunch the next day and get eaten with less complaint than the first time.

More Kid Friendly Crockpot Dinners on the Site

My crockpot chicken alfredo pasta would be number eleven on this list, and it’s the one my kids ask for most.

The slow cooker chicken and dumplings is soft, mild, and gets eaten by everyone.

And the quick crockpot dinners with ten minutes of prep post has more that pass the picky eater test.