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Home » Toddler Meal Plans » 2 Year Old Food Chart, Food Menu & Meal Ideas

2 Year Old Food Chart, Food Menu & Meal Ideas

Published: Nov 22, 2022 by Dora · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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A 2 year old food chart, food menu, sample meal plan with meal ideas and healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, created following American Academy of Dietetics Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.

2 Year old baby food menu title image with title and child in background
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  • 2 Year old food & meals
  • Food chart for 2 year old baby
  • Food menu for 2 year old baby
  • 2 year old meal plan with meal ideas
  • Breakfast ideas for a 2 year old
  • Dinner and lunch ideas for 2 year old
  • Snacks for 2 year olds
  • Feeding tips
  • More toddler recipes

2 Year old food & meals

At 2 years old your child should be eating 3 main meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and 1-2 snacks.

The amount they eat will be dependent on their weight, height, sex and physical activity.

It is your choice what you serve but it should be their choice if they want to eat it.

Encourage eating with cutlery and drinking from an open cup.

Toddlers at this age can eat almost any food (other than coffee and alcohol of course) but we would still want to avoid:

  • Low-fat milk and dairy products – cause excessive intake of protein and low intake of essential fats
  • Excessive salt – kidneys not sufficiently developed
  • Fruit juices and soda – high sugar content
  • Unpasteurized products – can contain dangerous bacteria
  • Smoked & cured meats / processed food – excessive salt intake
  • High mercury fish (fresh tuna, halibut, grouper, shark) – excessive intake of mercury
  • Chocolate, especially dark – high caffeine content

Food chart for 2 year old baby

The food chart, food menu and meal plan with meal ideas are based on average recommendations per age per FAO/WHO/UNU Energy Requirements and the American Academy of Dietetics Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.

But please adapt the quantities to your own child!

Food chart for 2 year old baby

Download FREE PDF version of the 2-4 Year Old Toddler Food Chart.

Food menu for 2 year old baby

We have made a "Build you own food menu" infographic and a "Made for you 2 year old toddler meal plan" so you can easily make your own or get ideas from the one we created.

A few points to consider when it comes to feeding toddlers:

  • Adapt the order of the meals to your family's eating habits if it doesn't fit for you already
  • Try to keep a consistent schedule to provide your toddler with a sense of order in their day
  • Every attempt should be made to ensure that all food groups are included in the daily toddler food plan
  • The amounts of servings don't need to be exact each day but there should be a balance and the average number of servings of a food group throughout the week should roughly line up with the recommendations
how to build you own 2 year old baby food menu infographic

2 year old meal plan with meal ideas

  • Breakfast - Walnut Raspberry Oatmeal
  • Snack - 1 Applesauce Oatmeal Cookie with ¾ cup milk
  • Lunch - 1 Slice Oven-baked Spanish Tortilla
  • Afternoon snack - ½ apple and 1 cup yogurt
  • Dinner - Pan-fried turkey, eggplant and millet with olive oil
food menu for 2 year old baby

Breakfast ideas for a 2 year old

3-ingredient Oat Banana Pancake for Baby
Easy, healthy banana pancakes for baby are made with just 3 ingredients - oats, bananas and eggs. Made in 10 min, perfect for 6 month old baby-led weaning , toddlers and even adults love them. Great with peanut butter and fruit, as breakfast or on-the-go snack. Once you make them they will become a staple in your kitchen. Can be made with no egg (vegan), and are gluten-free and naturally dairy-free.
Check out this recipe
a pile of 3 ingredient banana oat pancakes for baby on a plate
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
5 min prep, super nutritious Peanut Butter Overnight Oats loaded with vitamins and minerals provides a healthy breakfast for baby (or toddler) and parent
Check out this recipe
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats for baby and toddler
Homemade Granola
Granola can be a super healthy breakfast, packed with energy and micronutrients. But it's too often full of sugar. Our homemade granola isn't!
Check out this recipe
Banana Spinach Pancakes Baby Recipe
A great way to add nutritious spinach to a baby recipes. These healthy spinach pancakes are made with just 4 ingredients - banana, oats, egg and spinach and in 10 minutes. Perfect for 6 month old baby-led weaning, toddlers, kids and even adults love them. 
Check out this recipe
banana spinach pancakes stacked for baby recipe
Overnight Oat Chia Pudding
Overnight oats are a simple breakfastk packed with macro and micro nutrients, that you can prepare the night before so it's waiting for you in the morning.
Check out this recipe
chia pudding overnight oats
Easy Cheese & Egg Quesadilla
Incredibly cheesy, yet crunch and crispy this super easy Cheese and Egg Quesadilla will keep yourself and your child nourished, happy and full.
Check out this recipe
egg quesadilla
Banana Oat Sheet Pan Pancakes
A 1-bowl, one baking tray with healthy ingredients Banana Oat Sheet Pan Pancakes that your baby, toddler, kid and even the rest of the family will love.
Check out this recipe
Banana Oat Sheet Pan Pancakes Stacked Together

Dinner and lunch ideas for 2 year old

Easy Red Lentil Soup Recipe for Baby
10 min prep, 30 min to cook this nutritious, tasty and easy Red Lentil baby soup recipe is perfect for a 6 month old baby and older. Can be given if you are doing baby-led weaning, for toddlers, kids and it is so delicious adults will love it. Make a big batch and freeze it for days you don't want to cook. It's naturally vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Check out this recipe
red lentil soup for baby in a silicone baby bowl with spoon
Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites
This easy, healthy Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites recipe is a perfect appetizer, snack, or even lunch and dinner for baby, toddlers, kids and the whole family. Made in 4 easy steps they will become a part of your family menu.
Check out this recipe
Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites
Oven-baked Spanish Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)
A healthy and filling meal you can prepare in no time to feed the whole family. A twist on the classic Spanish tortilla that takes 10 min of prep and 45 min in the oven. Easy, delicious oven-baked Spanish tortilla.
Check out this recipe
Oven Baked Spanish Tortilla in glass dish
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas
10 mins to prep, just 1 dish to clean, these oven-baked chicken fajitas are a delicious healthy dinner that can be easily made for babies, toddlers and adults at the same time.
Check out this recipe
easy oven baked chicken fajitas
Vegetarian Crispy Roasted Chickpea Gyros
10 min prep, 30 min in the oven, easy delicious vegetarian recipe that you can deconstruct for baby, toddler and serve to parents for lunch or dinner.
Check out this recipe
Vegetarian Crispy Roasted Chickpea Gyros with toddler plate
Best Red Lentil Vegan Bolognese
Rich and hearty, this delicious red lentil vegan bolognese tastes like the original, no joke. Made with healthy vegetables such as mushrooms, carrots, celery, and walnuts and finished with flavorsome bolognese herbs. The whole dish tastes almost exactly the same as an authentic bolognese yet it is healthy, vegan, and loved by babies, kids, and adults. Even my husband, who adores the original bolognese, now prefers this as it makes him feel full but light.
Check out this recipe
Red Lentil Vegan Bolognese with tagliatele
Easy Homemade Wholewheat Pizza
Super easy homemade wholewheat pizza base that is great for baby-led weaning, practicing pincer grasp and for toddlers. A healthier version of the traditional pizza that you can make for the whole family.
Check out this recipe
Homemade wholewheat pizza

Snacks for 2 year olds

Healthy Blueberry Pancakes
Deliciously naturally sweetened, these Healthy Blueberry Pancakes are perfect for baby-led weaning, finger food or for toddlers. Great for breakfast or snack.
Check out this recipe
Toddler holding healthy blueberry pancakes
10 min No-Bake Energy Balls
Super easy no-bake energy balls are a perfect energy booster for babies and toddlers and help their digestive systems work.
Check out this recipe
Energy balls for toddlers
Homemade Sesame Seed Crackers
Ditch the store-bought crackers packed with messy ingredients and make these natural, nutritious and homemade Sesame Seed Crackers that will keep your kids full.
Check out this recipe
homemade sesame seed crackers
Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
3-ingredients, one bowl, no mixer, 5 min to prep, no sugar - we made these delicious soft cookies which are perfect for baby-led weaning. These healthy vegan applesauce oatmeal cookies are great for babies and toddlers 6 months old + and older kids, for breakfast or snack. Made only with applesauce, banana, oats and cinnamon and baked in 12 minutes.
Check out this recipe
4 Healthy applesauce oatmeal cookies stacked
Frozen Chocolate Banana Popsicles
10 min to make, easy, healthy chocolate covered banana popsicles that your toddler or bigger kids will love. They will love dipping the frozen bananas into melted chocolate and then covering them in ground nuts. Fun for the whole family resulting in an easy, healthy summer popsicle.
Check out this recipe
3 chocolate and hazelnut covered banana popsicle on a plastic stick

Feeding tips

  • How much food any toddler needs is influenced by a number of different factors, including gender, age, weight, height, and physical activity.
  • Some days your child will eat more than others – that's normal. They might want way more than you served one day and barely anything at all the next. Again: that's normal. Children naturally understand portion control and how to follow their bodies' cues. Unfortunately, we often un-learn that as we grow up.
  • A hungry child should always be fed!
  • You are in charge of what you serve, your child is in charge of what they eat. They might want more potatoes one day while ignoring the chicken on their plate. But the next day could be the opposite. Don't force them to finish something just because it's on their plate. They didn't put it there.
  • You are in charge of monitoring your child's allergies and dietary requirements. These meal plans have not been customized for any specific child's allergies, dietary requirements, pre-existing nutrient deficiencies, or any other food-related requirements.
  • Nothing can replace proper supervision of your child while they are eating. It should go without saying, but keep an eye on your kids while they eat. If you have any concerns for your child's health, you should seek advice without delay. And always follow safe food handling practices when preparing food.

Hopefully this helps you to have an instinct for what kinds of foods to serve and in (approximately) what amounts. Ultimately we hope this makes life a little easier for you and your toddler!

To learn more about toddler nutrition and see toddler nutrition charts see the Daily Toddler Nutrition Chart, 3 toddler meal plans and schedule, Toddler 12-15 month old sample meal plan, Toddler 16-18 month old sample meal plan and the 19-21 month old toddler baby food chart and meal plan.

More toddler recipes

  • Pink Beet Pancakes
  • Easy Hazelnut Butter Recipe
  • Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites
  • Easy & Healthy Red Lentil Baby Soup

see all toddler recipes

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19-21 month old toddler baby food chart and meal plan »

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