30 Kid-friendly Korean foods that every kid will love. These ideas will also help make your family meal planning a breeze, from lunchbox items to after-school snacks and one-dish meals for those hectic days.
What are some healthy Kid-Friendly Korean Foods??
This is the question I get asked often from new moms and parents with fussy eaters. For your convenience, I’ve put together a list of kid-friendly Korean foods that include lunchbox items, after-school snacks, and versatile dishes that can be included in everyday meals.
I am sure you are aware that there are many research studies that say the eating habits developed as a child will continue into adulthood. As I was growing up, I remember always having a special little bowl filled with water so I could rinse the spicy kimchi before I ate it.
And when my daughter was just starting solid foods, she refused to eat all the ‘healthy’ baby foods like peas and carrots but only wanted to drink milk and apple juice. But one day, my baby sitter (I was a grad student then so had to be in school during the day) who was an older Korean ajuma told me that she just fed her rice with Korean Cabbage Soup (Baechu Doenjang Guk) and she ate the whole bowl!!
WHaat?? Just like that?!! And that’s when I had an epiphany – oh, my daughter enjoyed good tasting real food.. none of the bottled bland stuff..hahaha..and then I found out, she actually LOVES to eat!
Why are these Kid-Friendly Korean Foods?
First, these are non-spicy Korean yet yummy dishes that I grew up eating and also raised my daughter with. Not only are they easy to prepare, but they are also packed with nutrients that benefit every stage of a child’s growth. From soups and porridges for young toddlers learning to eat solid foods to protein-, calcium-, and fiber-rich side dishes for active kids, they are easy to incorporate into your child’s diet.
NOTE – these foods are meant for kids at least 2 years and older.
Your kids will love them! And don’t be surprised that the adults will love them too. Many of these were also my favorite Dosirak (lunchbox) banchan too so you may want to try adding these to your child’s lunchboxes!
RICE AND NOODLES
Omelette Rice (Omurice) – My childhood favorite
Omurice (Omelet Rice)
Omurice is basically fried rice wrapped in an omelette. It’s a simple one-dish meal that can be personalized by including your kid’s favorite meat and vegetables (or maybe hide the non-favorites, haha 😆) in the rice. You can also add a little ketchup art on top. Kids love that!
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Jajangmyeon (Blackbean Sauce Noodles)
Jajangmyeon was every kid’s favorite when I was growing up. There’s something about the flavor of the yummy black bean sauce that kids just really love. With my homemade noodles (see my Kalguksu recipe), you can make everything from scratch at home!
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Korean Soy Sauce Noodles (Ganjang Bibim Guksu)
Simple yet absolutely delicious, this Ganjang Bibim Guksu is every Korean kid’s favorite dish growing up. It’s nutty, salty and of course, sweet. Ready in 10 min or less!!
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Gungjung Tteokbokki (Royal Rice Cake Stir Fry)
A cousin of the spicy tteokbokki, this is a mild version that has the flavors of sweet bulgogi. No kid can resist the wonderful flavors of this dish so give this a try! Great as snacks or even a simple meal.
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Simple One-Pan Korean Glass Noodles (Japchae)
The classic japchae made in my one-pan recipe. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and just as delicious as the traditional recipe minus the time and hassle. You can add thinly sliced bulgogi beef or ground beef and/or spinach to this dish if you want to make it even more nutritious. You know how kids LOVE noodles.. you can reduce the sugar amount to make it even more healthy.
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- VEGAN Japchae recipe and TRADITIONAL Japchae recipe with Spinach and Beef
IMPORTANT – these noodles spoil quickly in hot weather so please be careful in taking this outside for picnics in the summer.
Snowman Rice Balls (Jumeokbap)
As you can tell from this photo of snowman rice balls that I made for Christmas, you can have a lot of fun with jumeokbap (Korean Rice Balls) or Rice Triangles. Easy to make, this kid-friendly Korean food and snack item requires minimal ingredients but also so versatile, rice balls are definitely a kid-friendly Korean food that’s great for lunches and snacks (great to eat in the car, on the go) and can be a fun project to do with the kids. You can put in shitake mushrooms, beef bulgogi, tuna salad, or even rinsed and seasoned kimchi.
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Folded Kimbap (Kimbap Sandwich)
Easy and quick Folded Kimbap is a fun and delicious way to treat your kids at home. You may not want to make the one with kimchi but you can certainly just do spam/ham + egg + cheese without the kimchi. And you can make amazing lunchboxes with these!
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Fun snacks and sweets for kids
Kids always want snacks when they come home from school, when they are bored, when they are happy..or maybe when they are sad. So these are sure to put a smile on their faces.
Korean Potato Salad Sandwich
Korean potato salad sandwich (사라다빵) that tastes exactly like the ones I grew up eating in Korea. Bits of pickled cucumbers and onions add a perfect crunch to this incredibly delicious creamy potato salad sandwich.
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Quick Bungeoppang using Crescent Dough
Quick Bungeoppang is my new take on the popular Korean fish-shaped bread that’s filled with sweet fillings like sweet red bean paste and is sold as snacks in the streets of Seoul. Using the ready-made crescent dough allows you to make it in just 10 minutes.
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Chapssal Yakgwa without Soju
Make this pretty Chapssal (sweet rice) Yakgwa that's crumbly, soft and moist on the inside and crispy on the outside! This Yakgwa is exactly the same as the ones you buy from Korean supermarkets or convenient stores but of course with better quality ingredients.
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Kid-Friendly Korean PANCAKES (JEON)
Look at all these jeons and pancakes that you can make for your kids! And we all know kids LOVE jeons because these are mild, crispy and yummy! Also, a great way to hide veggies and when at restaurants, always order these and your kid will be happy.
Korean Zucchini Fritters (Hobak Jeon)
Korean Zucchini Fritters (Hobak Jeon) is a great banchan(side dish) for your everyday meal. This mildly sweet (naturally) and soft jeon makes it perfect for kids. One of my daughter's favorite!
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This jeon soft and mildly sweet which makes it perfect for kids. My daughter is a BIG FAN!
Korean Potato Fritters (Gamjajeon)
Korean potato fritters or gamjajeon is so simple to make yet so delicious. Great side dish and appetizer. Crispy with soft inside.
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Wanja Jeon (Korean Mini beef patties)
Wanja Jeon and Kkaennip Jeon are easy to make and produces a great side dish to any Korean meal with spicy soups or jjigaes. They are also great for lunch boxes because they keep well and taste good even when they are not warm.
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Pan-Fried Fish and Shrimp Jeon (Saengsun and Saewoo Jeon)
Cod and Shrimp are coated in flour and egg and then pan-fried golden brown. Great side dish or even main dish to any Korean meal. Easy, Simple and Delish!
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Crispy Zucchini Pancakes (Hobak buchimgae)
Easy Korean Zucchini fritters that is great as appetizer, side dish (banchan) for any Korean meal. Serve hot or room temp. Serve with soy vinegar dipping sauce.
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All these Jeons can be served at room temperature which is easy for kids. These kid-friendly Korean foods can also be made ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated. Also making them very convenient to have in your weeknight meal plans. Serve them to your kids as a snack or as part of a meal.
Kid-Friendly Korean SIDE DISHES (BANCHAN)
Korean Potato Side Dishe
This potato side dish recipe uses whole baby potatoes, which has a soft skin that can be left on for a nice chewy texture. That also means less work. But if you want, you can also use peeled potatoes or cubed potatoes.
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Bean Sprouts Side Dish (Sukju Namul)
This popular Korean side dish is an easy and quick way of preparing mung bean sprouts. It’s gluten-free, vegan, protein- and fiber-rich, and can be added to any of your kid’s meals. It's also a must topping for Bibimbap.
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Sweet and Salty Lotus Roots (Yeonkeun Jorim)
This is a lunchbox favorite for obvious reasons: the lotus roots are slightly crunchy, sweet, and salty all at the same time! Lotus root is a great source of fiber, Vitamin C, and minerals, so be sure to include this in your kid’s diet.
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Korean Potato Salad
Although somewhat similar to the classic American potato salad, Korean potato salad differs with the extra crunch and fresh flavors from the addition of apple and cucumber. Raisins are welcome too if your kids like them.
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Sweet and Salty Soybeans (Kongjaban)
Another lunchbox favorite, this side dish is made with black soybeans. It has a good balance of sweet and salty flavors that easily complement other dishes in a meal. You can also use regular white soybeans instead.
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Soy Maple Glazed Anchovies
Korean dried anchovies are loaded with calcium and DHA, an important nutrient for the brain and bones. So a Korean mom always makes sure this banchan is in their kid's lunchboxes. There are many Koreans (including my husband) who are lactose intolerant so grew up not drinking milk but just on these little anchovies!! You can see how this may be the most beneficial lunchbox item you can make for your growing kid.
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Korean Soy Braised Beef – Jangjorim
Beef brisket (or just chuck) is slow-cooked in sweet soy sauce to make this meaty side dish. When stored properly in the fridge, it can last up to a couple of weeks. Serve it with rice for a complete meal, and use the sauce to make other side dishes. What a great dish for the whole family!
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Steamed Egg in Hot Pot
This soft and nutritious steamed egg is such a great side dish for kids. Just a spoonful of this and rice will get your most picky eaters to eat. And the great thing is that you can finely chop veggies like carrots and hide them in it.
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Egg Roll (Gyeran Mari)
Such a versatile banchan where you can add your child's favorite fillings from cheese, ham, seaweed and more. Easy and quick to make, it's a great last minute add-on banchan to any meal. It was my favorite lunch box banchan and your child will love it.
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SOUPS
Korean Radish Soup (Mu Deonjang Guk)
Packed with nice umami flavors thanks to the fermented soybean paste and the radish, this soup comes out kinda sweet without any addition of sugar. Add some rice to this soup and your child will gobble it up in no time.
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Hearty Korean Beef Soup (Gogiguk)
Clear soups like this can help you introduce solid foods to toddlers. Koreans like to add rice to soup and feed to kids with rinsed (to remove the spicy seasoning) and chopped up cabbage kimchi.
Cabbage Soybean Paste Soup (Baechu Deonjang Guk)
Make a complete meal with this hearty beef and cabbage soup with some rice. It was my daughter’s favorite soup when she was a toddler. She needed a lot of fiber in her diet and this totally did the trick + prune juice.. 😝
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Seaweed Soup (Miyeok Gook)
High in iodine, calcium and fiber, seaweed (kelp) is considered a healing food in Korean tradition. Your kids will appreciate that it supports digestion and can help with constipation. This easy recipe highlights the wonderful and delicate flavor of seaweed. Again, mix with some rice and feed some myeolchi bokkeum or rinsed kimchi as a simple side dish.
PORRIDGE
Pumpkin Porridge (Hobakjuk)
The light and digestible pumpkin porridge is another healing food in the Korean tradition high in Vitamin A and C. With well-cooked and blended pumpkin, this sweet porridge resembles baby food and is naturally sweet from the Kabocha squash that I used here.
Black Sesame Porridge (Heukimja Juk)
Porridge is a good option for young toddlers as it falls somewhere between liquid food and solid food. This one’s filled with calcium- and fiber-rich, tummy-warming black sesame seeds perfect for cold weather enjoyment. I hope you will have a fun time cooking for your kids with these recipes!
XOXO ❤️
JinJoo
I used some of these recipes to make for my kindergartner on culture day at her school. I love it!
Oh wonderful!! Soo happy to hear that. Thank you!
This is a great list – it’s really helping me think of lots of meal options. One question I have though, why do you recommend these dishes are for 2 years and up? Was this based on anything in particular? My kid is 12 months, with lots of teeth and appetite. I think he could do most of these unless there’s another reason not to?
Oh I just wanted to be extra safe in case of allergies and whatnot. But no, if your kid has lots of teeth and has no allergies, you can totally try these dishes. Enjoy!
So many of these are my childhood favorites too! With maybe the exception of the porridges at the end, we ate most of these, often!
Thank you for sharing so I can try to make these, too!
That is so wonderful to hear! Yes, I hope you enjoy the porridges.. good luck and thank you so much for taking the time to comment.
I remember the first time I had this dish when I was teaching at an elementary school in Suwon. At first I thought I was eating some sort of noodle and I was wondering what kind of noodles they were because they were just so darn tasty! Then upon closer inspection, I noticed the eyes and realized they were tiny little fish. I gobbled them up (and maybe went back for seconds if there were any left after all the teachers had eaten). Thanks for posting this recipe! I am going to give it a try! I bet it will be fantastic!