Deciding what to feed your toddler every day can be a challenge. These sample toddler meal plans, feeding schedules, and information on what and when to feed should help eliminate some of the confusion.
To give you examples of what a toddler might eat in a day, I have 5 sample toddler meal plans from my own real life when my middle kiddo was 2 years old. These days represent average days and will show how an appetite might fluctuate and the diversity of foods that we can be offering to our toddlers.
The goal of sharing this is to provide examples of what a day of toddler food might look like with realistic options that don’t require endless time in the kitchen.
Toddler Food Basics
Each day, toddlers should have a mix of:
- Protein for kids from dairy, nuts/legumes (in forms that are safe for their age), meat, poultry, and fish.
- Complex carbohydrates for kids from whole grains and produce including sweet potatoes and squash.
- Healthy fats such as avocado, flaxseed, chia seed, hempseed, egg yolks, and nuts and seeds.
- Produce including fruits and veggies.
Toddlers also need iron-rich foods for toddlers and high-fiber foods for kids, which they’ll naturally get if they eat from a mix of categories above. It’s also a good idea to aim to serve them a wide range of foods to ensure that they’re getting the nutrition they need to grow—and to help avoid falling into a rut of picky eating.
This may sound overwhelming, but really, if you aim for at least 1 or 2 food groups at most meals and vary what you serve throughout the week, you don’t need to spend time tracking food groups or counting grams, promise.
TIP: Get a printable Toddler Daily Nutrition Chart to help, too.
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Recommended Amount of Daily Toddler Meals
Most toddlers will do well with three main meals and two smaller snacks a day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Tune in to your toddler though because they may prefer a snack first thing, then breakfast later in the morning at what is typically morning snack time. Many toddlers are also hungry for a dinner-size meal at 4 pm and would be satisfied with a smaller snack closer to bedtime. You can adjust as needed.
TIP: It can help to think of all of the food your child eats in one day as “mini meals” and to serve the same sorts of foods at each meal—instead of saving “snack” foods for just snack times. That can improve your kiddo’s disposition at all meals!
Recommended Time Between Toddler Meals
Depending on the age of your toddler and their activity level, whether they have a cold, and what you’re up to, etc., you can aim for 2-3 hours between meals and snacks. That window of time will give them plenty of time to work up an appetite, which can help them be more interested in eating what you serve them.
Having set meal and snack times is a good routine to aim for since it can set a cadence to your day and help your toddler know what to expect (i.e., try not to allow grazing on snacks all day since that is the fastest way to ruin an appetite for an actual meal!).
TIP: Learn what to do when your toddler won’t eat.
Toddler Feeding Schedule
Here’s a look at three sample options for toddler feeding schedules that might work for your toddler. These are not set in stone because I realize that everyone has a different daily schedule but are meant to be examples for you to consider and adjust.
- 7 am: Breakfast
- 9:30 am: Morning Snack
- 12 pm: Lunch
- (1 pm: Nap)
- 3 pm: Afternoon Snack
- 5:30 pm: Dinner
OR
- 6 am: Breakfast
- 9 am: Morning Snack
- 11:30 am: Lunch
- (12 pm: Nap)
- 2:30 pm: Afternoon Snack
- 5:30: Fruits and/or Veggies while waiting for dinner
- 6 pm: Dinner
1 Year Old Feeding Schedule
For a one year old who’s still taking two naps a day and having bottles or breastfeeding, here’s a look at what their schedule might be. (For more info on how to wean a toddler and gradually drop bottles or breastfeeding (if you want to), this post has all of the weaning info you might need.)
- 6 am: Bottle or breastfeeding
- 7 am: Breakfast
- 9 am: Morning Snack
- (9:30 am: Nap)
- 10:30 am: Bottle or breastfeeding
- 11:30 am: Lunch
- (1 pm: Nap)
- 2:30: Bottle or breastfeeding
- 3:30 pm: Afternoon Snack
- 5:30 pm: Dinner
- 6:30 pm: Bottle or breastfeeding
- (7 pm: Bedtime)
TIP: Find out more about 1 Year Old Feeding Schedules.
Toddler Meal Plan for a 2 Year Old
Here’s a look at a few sample toddler meal plans from real life with a 2 year old. This first was a weekend day and we typically go lighter on snacks to help our toddler have an appetite for her meals. She ate a solid breakfast this day so the banana was all she needed for her morning snack.
Sample Toddler Meal Plan Day Two
This toddler menu was another sample day in our life. On this day, my 2 year old ate more substantial snacks and didn’t eat all of her main meals, as sometimes happens.
- Breakfast: Breakfast Cookie, reusable pouch with plain whole-milk yogurt
- Morning Snack: Cheese stick, clementine
- Lunch: Butternut Squash Apple Soup, Veggie Straws, fresh snap peas with ranch (she didn’t eat all of this and mostly ignored the soup!)
- Afternoon Snack: oat cereal rings, kiwi, milk
- Dinner: Taco filling with ground beef, peppers, beans, and corn; cheese quesadilla (she mostly ate the quesadilla in this meal)
Sample Toddler Meal Plan Day Three
I love to make a batch of muffins on the weekend to have on hand for easy weekday breakfasts—and the Banana Oatmeal Muffins are always a hit with my kids.
Sample Meal Plan Day Four
This may or may not be the right amount of food for your child, so adjust what you serve based on their typical hunger patterns and allow more food if they let you know they’re still hungry.
Sample Meal Plan Day Five
We do oatmeal at least twice a week, and I’ve found that having it in a regular cadence each week increases the likelihood that my toddler will be happy to eat it.
TIP: My kiddo was on a cottage cheese kick on this day, hence having it twice.
How do I know if my toddler is eating enough?
If your toddler is healthy and is energetic, is meeting milestones and is gaining weight, you can trust them to eat as much as they need for their hunger assuming there are no medical issues at play. (If there are medical concerns, always check in with your pediatrician.)
To help them do this, try to:
- Limit distractions at the table, turning off screens so they can focus on their food.
- Sit with them while they eat so they start to learn table manners and can mimic what they see you doing.
- Don’t pressure them to eat more than they seem to want.
- Read up on the Division of Responsibility in Feeding to avoid power struggles.
- Set meal times and decide what to feed at each meal.
- Let the kids decide which of the foods to eat and how much.
- Aim to serve a variety of healthy foods throughout the week.
- Remember that just because a toddler refuses a food doesn’t mean that they don’t like it.
- Keep foods you want them to eat in regular rotation so they’re familiar.
- Serve small portions to avoid overwhelming the kids.
- Be patient, they’re still learning!
- Remember that appetites naturally fluctuate and that is not a cause for concern.
TIP: Learn more about normal picky eating in toddlers.
There’s No Such Thing as a Perfect Toddler Diet
And most of all, take images of meals that other kids are eating with a grain of salt. No two kids are the same. No two families are the same. There is not one perfect way to feed a toddler, but I hope that seeing some examples do help!
Click here for a printable Daily Toddler Nutrition Guide.
Related posts
I’d love to know how you approach toddler meals and timing in your house, so please comment below to share!
This post was first published February 2020.