Getting picky eaters to eat can sometimes take creativity. (iStock)
5 foods picky eaters will eat
By Mary Voogt · May 18, 2026
Related read: 3 P's of working with picky eaters
When my son was little, he would run screaming from the table if he saw one piece of carrot on his plate. That’s a strong reaction, but that’s how picky eaters are sometimes: Just the sight of something they don’t like can turn into a battle.
What parents often don’t understand is that picky eating is rarely about the food itself.
Instead, picky eating, or selective feeding, often stems from a deeper source, such as nutritional deficiencies, developmental gaps that create sensory aversions, nervous system dysregulation, or even food allergies.
For my son, it was food allergies. I didn’t know that carrots were causing him pain. And he didn’t know how to articulate that to me. So it felt like a battle of wills.
In reality, he was trying to avoid discomfort.
Common themes of picky eating
While there are a variety of root causes of picky eating, there are often common themes that parents contend with. These include:
- strong desire for starchy foods
- aversion to meat
- aversion to chunks in food or other strange textures
- desire for processed or easy-to-chew-and-digest foods
This equates to a challenge for parents, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are five food types that most picky eaters will happily eat that also provide nutritional benefits. Keep this list handy if you have a selective feeder.
1. Noodles
Noodles can be a platform for so much good stuff. You can keep it simple with butter and unrefined sea salt for healthy fat and minerals. But there is so much more.
Noodles can be transformed into homemade macaroni and cheese made with your favorite pureed orange veggie (carrot, sweet potato, squash, or pumpkin). Noodles also make a great vessel for spaghetti meat sauce. If your child doesn’t like meat chunks, then mash or puree them right into the sauce. Extra veggies can be added as well.
If your child is into green food, puree peas with olive oil and salt for a delicious pesto to top the noodles.
As a nutritional bonus, you can add nutritional yeast to any of these dishes. It’s like adding a multivitamin!
Helpful recipes:
2. Tacos
After working with hundreds of clients, if I had to choose one food that is accepted by just about every picky eater, it would be tacos. They are so customizable! You can use any meat you like. Ground meats are generally better tolerated because they are easier to chew. Cooking the meat in a slow cooker makes it even softer.
Add finely chopped or pureed veggies to the meat to boost nutrition, then add your child’s favorite toppings. This is where you can really load up on fiber from beans, avocado, salsa, olives, peppers, and lettuce. Add cheese, sour cream, and smashed avocado for brain-boosting healthy fats.
Tacos give your child a good balance of all the macronutrients.
3. Muffins
In my world as a nutritional therapy practitioner, muffins are a vehicle for nourishing even the pickiest eater. They are easy to chew, can be free of chunks, fill that desire for starch, and can even contain quality protein.
Muffins check all the boxes.
Just about any mashed or pureed fruit or vegetable can replace some of the oil in a muffin recipe. Banana, applesauce, avocado, pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, shredded carrots, grated zucchini, and cauliflower all work well. If your child doesn’t mind chunks, add berries, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or chocolate chips for variety and flavor.
Most muffin recipes can handle an extra egg or two without changing the final product. This adds great protein and healthy fats. A scoop or two of collagen is another great addition.
Finally, any nut or seed butter will add flavor and create great texture.
Helpful recipe
4. Homemade fruit snacks
Most kids like food that is fruity, sweet, and gummy, but store-bought fruit snacks rarely have any redeeming qualities. Homemade fruit snacks, on the other hand, provide a healthy dose of gelatin that supports gut health, hair, skin, and nails. They also are a great source of animal protein for kids who struggle with eating meat.
Use pure fruit juice or pureed fruit, a natural sweetener like honey, and plain gelatin to create a treat your picky eater will love. While you can simply make a big pan and cut it into squares, molds really bump up the fun factor! Who doesn’t love a gummy bear or worm?!
Helpful recipe
5. Pudding
Even picky eaters deserve a treat, right? That’s why I love making nourishing pudding!
Depending on your child’s needs, you can make a protein-rich chocolate pudding filled with eggs, a fat-filled pudding made with avocado, or traditional pudding made with egg yolks and your milk of choice.
Pudding is good alone but also makes a great “frosting” for muffins. Better yet, freeze homemade pudding in popsicle molds for a fun hot weather treat—pudding pops!
Helpful recipes
Nourish your child
Even though my son had a lot of food aversions and restrictions when he was little, he eats anything I put in front of him now as a teenager—even foods he used to be allergic to—but he still loves these five picky eater-approved foods.
Selective eating is rarely about the food, but nourishing, delicious food that kids are willing to eat always helps and can even be the ultimate solution.
More recipes to help with your picky eaters are available at Mary’s website JustTakeABite.com.