How to Cook With Kids and Leave The Toy Kitchen Behind

"Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed."

- Maria Montessori

Since there are four kids using the kitchen, this is a good time to take a look at how to support kids in learning how to cook. Like our other living spaces, our kitchen tends to evolve with time and the ages and stages of each child.

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What is a Toy Kitchen?

When many people think of a kid-friendly kitchen space, they think of a miniature version of a real kitchen space that contains wooden or plastic food items and encourages children to use their imagination when working with food. It could also be a miniature version of a kitchen with a functional water component or some other real-pretend hybrid scenario.

Toy kitchens are a popular toy for children but, in my opinion, unnecessary. In fact, I think that time would be better spent working with real food and alongside you as you model food preparation techniques. It's also a great way for kids to explore on their own using appropriately-sized tools.

I would like to encourage you to think of your kitchen as a kid's kitchen where you invite your child to participate in food preparation activities alongside you and independently. These lessons will teach kids how to cook.

Why Teach Kids How to Cook?

Practical life in the kitchen supports care of self, care of the environment, grace and courtesy, and movement. It impacts language development, executive functioning skills, creativity, and an overall interest in learning. Furthermore, it nurtures confidence and independence in life skills.

Free Cooking Course for Families

Discover recipes for every continent! Sign up to receive free cooking lessons for the whole family. Learn from some of the most talented chefs around the world and participate in the quality practical life experiences Montessori education is known for.

Kids Learn How to Cook in a Prepared Environment

Kitchen Space for Montessori Food Prep Tools, Supplies, and Water

This is the area of our kitchen reserved for our kids' food prep materials and it's also where we keep the Berkey water filter.

The Berkey water filter provides easy access to water. It's a huge hit with our kids.

The stackable egg holder is an attractive display for the chickens' eggs that we collect each day from the chicken tractor. It also serves as a visual cue to complete that part of their daily routine. Each child carries an egg or uses a basket as desired. The walk back from the chickens to the kitchen is always an exciting one!

There's a beautiful blue carapace chef knife and a santoku knife resting on a magnetic knife block towards the back of the counter since they only need to be accessible to adults.

This Olive Wood Utility Knife is perfect for elementary learners. There's also the Paring Knife, 6" Chef Knife, or the 5" Olive Wood Santoku.

If you've tried the picarones, you may know of the desire for a sharp knife to teach cooking. Our kids have their own chef knives in their drawers as you'll see below.

The 5.2-quart copper saucier is large enough that you can double up on any of your favorite sauce preparations, which is helpful if you have a large family or you do batch cooking.

It's also lightweight compared to enameled cast iron so our kids can handle it with ease. It's a new piece for us and a welcome one, after outgrowing a 2 ¼-quart saucier.

The copper saucier is perfect for making all your favorite sauces, including this Mother Africa sauce and West African hot sauce, as well as this celebratory Hoppin' John, this light Persian shrimp and rice, and Costa Rican beans and rice.

You can find us using the Berkey while making delicious recipes such as these mallorcas.

Pro tip: If you have a 2-year-old who's really into that spigot, you can always remove access when you need to by rotating the Berkey on the counter so the spigot is at the back. Instantly removes interest and can keep your kitchen dry.

This space is simple but functional and it fosters the independence they're looking for in their daily routines.

Most handwashing takes place in our washroom because it's conveniently located right next to the kitchen and there is a step stool already in place at the sink.

Child-Sized Montessori Food Prep Tools in an Accessible Drawer

This is a good example of how our kitchen space supports freedom within limits and order. This drawer contains their most commonly used items. It includes child-sized utensils in their own cutlery tray, as well as a children's 3-piece knife set for food prep.

The basket contains vegetable shape cutters, cookie cutters, a bamboo vegetable brush, and funnels.

A similar drawer above contains tools such as a manual citrus press, apple slicer, wooden spoons, spatulas, measuring spoons, etc. These are all items that are accessible to our kids and help them learn basic skills of how to cook and prepare meals.

Placemats and Napkins for Order and Cleanup

This bottom drawer contains placemats, napkins, and washcloths for cleanup. This is our go-to drawer for encouraging independence with the cleanup. It also happens to be our toddler's favorite drawer for play. Who doesn't love a good napkin hat?

These kid's kitchen items are simple and affordable. The napkins were hand-sewn using some flannel fabric. However, when made accessible to children, they have a tremendous impact on developing independence and maintaining an environment of beauty and order.

Accessible Cutting Boards Help Kids Learn How to Cook

Having a few different sizes of cutting boards will allow kids of all ages to participate. It also allows kids to choose the cutting board to match the size of the food prep project. For example, chopping peppers and carrots may require a larger board than slicing a couple of pieces of cheese.

This two-sided butcher block is large enough for breaking down proteins such as chicken, rabbit, fish such as salmon, and even a butternut squash or two.

We keep our aprons in a similar drawer but have also kept them on hooks appropriate for our kids' height in the past.

Accessible Cups, Bowls, and Plates

• Assortment of Cups
• Stainless Steel and Porcelain Bowls
• Plates
• Pitcher {Similar}
• Travel Kits

This cabinet is accessible to everyone. In the past, we've used duct tape as needed to restrict access to young toddlers, especially when there's a persistent interest in running off with items others need to use. We also use latches to restrict access to items as needed.

The pitcher is a Montessori staple and can be used to practice skills such as pouring or flower arranging.

If you're looking for a bottle/cup that will grow with your baby and last forever, the stainless steel cup in the middle has been with us for almost 7 years now and it's still going strong. You can change out the top based on the child's developmental needs or do like we do now and just use it as a regular cup.

Bakeware and Accessories

• Round Casserole Dish
• Instant Pot Accessories
• Banneton Basket with Cheesecloth, Carbon Steel Seasoning Wax, Piping Tips
• Oval Gratin Dish
• Custard Cups
• Pie Dish
• Prep Bowls
• Square Baking Dish
• Baking Slab
• Rectangular Baking Dish
• Silicone Prep Bowls
• Measuring Cup
• Mixing Bowls

We keep the bakeware in a cabinet over the counter where our oldest can reach certain items and ask for assistance with others. This ensures that items in the lower cabinets are suitable for a young toddler.

Speaking of baking, be sure to try these simple Christmas cookies.

We use towels to separate the pieces we stack to protect them and keep them looking good.

The handy care and use instructions for kitchen tools and equipment are stored in the bottom left corner of the cabinet. It's nice to have those available if you teach cooking.

If you have any hardware or sharp edges on your shelves, you can cover it with shelf liner to protect your equipment.

The square baking dish works well with this cinnamon roll pound cake recipe.

The slate blue rectangular baking dish is a beautiful piece that showcases this bread pudding recipe and this pasta bake.

The baking slab is helpful for baking projects of all types and sizes, including this turmeric and nigella seed easter bread and these fluffy buttermilk biscuits.

Cooking Tools and Accessories

• Stock Pot + Pasta Insert
• Colander with Fine Mesh Strainers
• Blender Accessories
• Baking Dish containing Stand Mixer Attachments (Behind)
• Roasting Pan
• Flour Sifter on a Digital Kitchen Scale
• Baking Molds and Trays
• Silicone Baking Mat
• Molcajete y Tejolote

These items are kept on low shelves so all our kids can access them.

The colander and strainers are fun for our toddler to explore whether he's at the sink or playing on the kitchen floor. They're also useful for washing rice.

Our kids love working with the blender when making dishes such as jollof rice and sofrito.

The molcajete is perfect for making salsa or grinding up your favorite spices.

Teach Cooking With a Simple Stove Setup

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Silicone Handle Sleeve
• Spoon Rest (not pictured - in the dishwasher)
• Dutch Oven
• Instant Pot

The cast iron skillet we use just about every day so it sits right on the burner between uses. This easy Argentine pizza recipe comes out perfectly with this pan. Same for picadillo and homemade empanadillas. The silicone sleeve is a great way to protect hands as you're teaching kids to cook with cast iron at the stove.

The Dutch oven is the perfect size for regular use and it's my favorite of all the Dutch ovens I've used so far. One of my favorite things about it is the handles. They just feel so nice in your hands. The shape is perfect and it makes for a solid, comfortable grip for handling.

If you've ever dealt with a wobbly bail handle or dug your nails into your hands while walking with a heavy Dutch oven, you'll know what I mean.

This Dutch oven is perfect for making oxtails, shrimp and sausage gumbo, vegetarian gumbo, pork belly, kala, and the perfect whiskey-tea glaze for your salmon.

It's an attractive and comfortable design that's perfect for making this West African rice and beans as well as Cuban black beans and rice.

This carbon steel griddle and grill press can be used on a stove or grill to increase learning opportunities.

You can also see more of the Instant Pot in this delicious dumplings recipe.

Kitchen Spices and Canned Goods

• Masala Dabba & Other Spices
• Assortment of Canned Goods and Sauces

This beautiful hand-spun brass masala dabba is filled with a custom set of delicious spices, including cardamom, ginger, fennel, Kashmiri chilli, cinnamon, turmeric, and chaat masala. You can create your own custom masala dabba or enjoy one that's been carefully curated by experts and comes with seven spice spoons that are perfectly sized for young learners.

An heirloom piece that's also useful for cooking with kids, our custom dabba is oiled and ready for use alongside the rest of our spices.

See more of the masala dabba in this chaat recipe.

Would you like to take a tongue-tingling tour of mouth-numbing spices?

Baking Ingredients

• Chia Seeds
• Flaxseed Meal
• Black Wild Rice
• Lily's Chocolate Chips and Cocoa Powder
• Protein Powder
• Peanut Butter Powder
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• All-Purpose and Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour
• Stevia/Erythritol Blend
• Pink Himalayan Salt
• Yogurt Cultures
• Swerve Brown

We keep bulk items, including a variety of beans for making three sisters bean stew, in another location and we refill or bring those items to the kitchen as needed.

Interested in einkorn sourdough recipes?

How about the history of rice?

Beautiful and Diverse Cookbooks

• Australia: The Cookbook
• The Latin American Cookbook
• The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen
• New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian
• Cook Real Hawai'i
• The Prairie Homestead Cookbook
• Gastro Obscura
• Between Harlem and Heaven
• Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora
• Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook
• The Arabesque Table
• Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India
• The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning
• Food Politics
• The New Ukrainian Cookbook
• Let's Make Dumplings!: A Comic Book Cookbook

We keep most of our cookbooks in this corner. Having them visible and accessible to our oldest kids but out of reach of our youngest keeps the cookbooks safe while also enticing interest.

You can also stop by our shop to see more Family & Kids' Cooking Resources.

Free Cooking Course for Families

Sign up to receive free cooking lessons for the whole family. Learn from some of the most talented chefs around the world and participate in the quality practical life experiences Montessori education is known for.

There are recipes for every continent and they're excellent resources for kids to keep in their continent boxes along with other geography and culture materials.

How to Cook With Child-Sized Furniture or Assistive Devices

• Sprout Kids Adjustable Large Montessori Table
• Learning Tower

Our table is 30" x 60" in size with a 20" joint height. This is the perfect size for our family and for our kids' ages. Kaia sits at this table comfortably alongside Joshua.

We had a shorter table in the past but by the time Kaia was 4, she had outgrown it. We like that this table will last forever and we can purchase longer legs as needed.

• Lacing Sheep
• Matryoshka Dolls
• Toddler Animal Puzzle
• 5-in-1 Object Permanence Box
• Rainbow Blocks

You'll notice we keep a toddler shelf with toys, Schleich animals, a wooden barn, and an animal hospital nearby. We like this setup as it allows a young toddler to engage in various interests while others may be finishing up their meals.

These rainbow blocks are fun for all ages but Joshua especially enjoys working with them. They support the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, recognition of shapes and colors, and more.

The Learning Tower is essential for kids working at the kitchen counter or the stove. It's durable, sturdy, and adjustable in height so it also grows with your child. It's also quite useful for imaginative play scenarios and as an addition to a pikler triangle with ramps.

With these tools and materials at their disposal, it's easy to see how they could be interested in food preparation and assisting in the kitchen whenever possible.

Additional Items for Teaching Kids How to Cook

• Stand Mixer
• Butter Bell
• Plenty of Towels
• Nearby laundry basket or hamper

We use a 6-quart bowl lift stand mixer. A hand mixer will also work.

If your kids like bread, you should check out this kolach recipe.

A butter bell allows kids to work with soft, room-temperature butter without the wait.

Don't forget plenty of towels! If you have an abundance of kitchen towels or washcloths at your disposal, then cleanup will be effortless. Let the adventure begin!

Looking for an easy-to-use beginner recipe? How about thumbprint cookies or the best scrambled eggs?

Free Best Scrambled Eggs Recipe with Pictures

Grab your free printable recipe cards above. Kids can gather ingredients using the ingredient list, gather their equipment with the tools list, and prepare the meal using the step-by-step recipe cards with assistance as needed. The cards are easy to use, they include pictures, and they encourage confidence and independence in the kitchen.

More In the Kitchen

• Baking Blueberry Cake
• Ethiopian Sambusas
• Chocolate Bison Chili