16 Ideas for high-calorie toddler lunches. Healthy, nutrient dense, high-calorie food ideas to feed your toddler for lunch or any meal of the day.
I’m a mom of two boys who love to eat! One of them is a slow weight gainer and needs some extra calories in his meals to help him with weight-gain. Therefore, i’ve been on a mission to think of healthy, nutrient dense, high-calorie toddler lunch ideas to serve him for lunch.
High-calorie food doesn’t have to be junk food, there are plenty of healthy options that are both mom and toddler approved.
You may also like these related posts for lunch ideas and high-calorie food ideas:
- High-Calorie Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
- 12 Dairy-Free Toddler Lunch Ideas
- 13 Toddler Meals in a Bowl
- High-Calorie Toddler Meal Ideas
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, but I am a mom of a low-weight toddler and want to share meal ideas that I actually serve to help him gain weight. Please consult your child’s pediatrician for questions you may have about your child’s weight.
High-Calorie Toddler Foods
Ideas for high-calorie foods to serve your toddler include healthy fats, full-fat dairy, and high-calorie fruit. I try to make sure there are at least of of these high-calorie foods at every meal. I don’t find it too difficult since there are so many to choose from and many are toddler favorites!
Toddler food ideas for these particular categories are below:
Healthy Fats
- Avocado
- Nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, ect)
- Coconut cream
- Eggs
- Olive Oil
Full-fat Dairy
- Whole milk string cheese
- Full-fat sour cream
- Grass-fed butter
- Cheese
- Cream sauce
High-Calorie Fruits
- Banana
- Berries
Adding Calories to Favorite Meals
Besides serving high-calorie foods at every meal, another way to create high-calorie toddler lunches is to add extra calories to your toddler’s favorite meals. This can be as simple as cooking their food in generous quantities of grass-fed butter or oil or adding a dip or spread that is high in calories.
Here are some of my favorite ways to add calories:
- Cook food in grass-fed butter or olive oil
- Add cheese to veggies
- Serve meals with high-calorie sides like avocado, whole milk string cheese, or banana
- Add peanut butter to fruit
- Use sour cream and coconut cream as a dip
Favorite Feeding Supplies
P.S. these are some of our favorite toddler feeding supplies!
Toddler Food Cutters: these are great for sandwiches or smaller foods like fruit and veggies. We love to use them for avocado!
Munchkin 360 Cup: our favorite cups for all ages! Both my 2 year old and 7 month old love these cups. Sippy cups can be bad for oral development, but these cups don’t have a sippy spout. They are a great open trainer cup and don’t leak.
Ingenuity Booster Seat: my toddler uses this seat for every meal. It works great at our counter-height table and is so easy to wipe down and clean.
Okay, now onto the fun part! Below you will see how I combine all of these tips into meal ideas for lunch.
High-Calorie Toddler Lunch Ideas
- Avocado Toast Bites: avocado is our favorite way to add extra calories to lunch and it also happens to be one of my toddler’s favorite foods! He loves avocado toast so I decided to make it a little fun and serve as bite-sized pieces. Added some extra calories to his side by adding cheese on the broccoli, and also a side of black beans.
- Cheese Quesadilla: tortillas are fairly high in calories and when adding cheese can become an easy high-calorie meal. We also sometimes add avocado to cheese quesadillas. Side of full-fat sour cream for dipping and black beans.
- Mac ‘N Cheese: another toddler favorite is also a great high-calorie toddler lunch idea. Mac ‘N cheese with peas added in. You can also add in avocado to add in every more calories.
- Broccoli Littles, Avocado, Bananas with PB: we love Broccoli Littles by Dr. Praeger’s brand. We served with high-calorie sides: banana with peanut butter on top and avocado.
- Pizza Pinwheels: lay out pastry dough, spread with marinara sauce and sprinkle with cheese, roll up and cut into pinwheels, bake as directed. If you have pizza-friendly veggies those can also be thrown in before rolling for some extra nutrients. These were a favorite of my toddler and my 7 month old! Side of avocado.
- Spinach Littles with Avocado and Fruit: we love Dr. Praeger’s Spinach Littles! Paired with a side of avocado (cut using these cute veggie cutters), strawberries, and halved grapes.
- Fettuccini Alfredo: choose cream sauce instead of red sauce to add extra calories to pasta. Here he had Fettuccini Alfredo with sides of mixed veggies and grapes.
- Avocado Chicken Salad: chicken salad made with canned chicken breast, avocado, and peas. Side of mandarin oranges.
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Bites: peanut butter and jelly made with Dave’s Killer Bread. You can also use other nut butter like almond or cashew butter. Side of banana and mixed veggies.
- Chicken Alfredo: chicken and broccoli with Alfredo cream sauce. Side of sweet potato fries made in the air fryer and halved grapes.
- Mini Breakfast Burritos: both eggs and tortilla can be a great high-calorie food for toddlers. I cut a tortilla into quarters and filled with scrambled eggs. Side of shredded cheese, hashbrowns with peppers, and full-fat sour cream for dipping.
- Avocado Pinwheels: lay out a tortilla, spread thinly with avocado, roll up tightly, and cut into strips to make pinwheels. Side of pineapple and mixed veggies.
13. Peanut Butter Pinwheels: pinwheels made with peanut butter and a tortilla. Side of strawberries topped with coconut cream for extra healthy fat. Also a side of mixed veggies.
- Avocado Grilled Cheese: take bread (we like Dave’s Killer Bread) and spread one side with grass-fed butter, place face down in your pan, top with cheese and avocado and another slice of bread to make a sandwich. Spread more butter on top. Flip after the bottom becomes crispy. Side of watermelon.
- Pasta with Butter: veggie flavored spiral pasta with butter and mixed veggies. Side of whole-milk string cheese and avocado.
- Cheese Roll Up: you can cook these in a frying pan or when you are short on time heat up in the microwave. Side of peas and strawberries and banana.
Thanks for stopping by!
You may also like these related posts for lunch ideas and high-calorie food ideas:
- High-Calorie Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers
- 12 Dairy-Free Toddler Lunch Ideas
- 13 Toddler Meals in a Bowl
- High-Calorie Toddler Meal Ideas
