Last Updated on March 26, 2024
Making nutritious, balanced meals with wholesome ingredients that appeal to the whole family can be a challenge. Add to that the need to whip up said meals while balancing hectic weekday schedules, and you’re really in for it.
One solution: ButcherBox.
A monthly delivery of healthy meats that includes grass-fed beef, organic free-range chicken, and heritage-breed pork takes a big dent out of the shopping. These simple, kid-friendly meals come together quickly on a weeknight. There’s even make-ahead options, like sausage and veggie egg muffins for breakfast, or a big batch of salsa chicken for tacos and burrito bowls throughout the week.
From fruit, veggie, and steak kebabs to hidden spinach meatballs, these recipes for healthy meals for kids will please children and adults alike.
Pineapple-Steak Tip Kebabs
These pineapple-steak tip kebabs are a flavorful, balanced meal on a stick. With fruit, veggies and protein-packed steak, you’ll love that your kid is eating a colorful, nourishing meal, and your kid will love eating off a stick! Serve with your family’s favorite barbeque sauce as a dip.
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 lb. ButcherBox premium steak tips
2 ½ cups pineapple, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup orange bell pepper, chopped
Oil for grilling
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Barbeque sauce for dipping
Directions
1. Soak your skewers for 15 minutes in water. Discard the water.
2. Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Season your steak tips with salt and pepper. While your grill heats, assemble your kebabs, alternating between steak tips, pineapple, and bell pepper.
3. Lightly oil the grilling grate so that your kebabs don’t stick while cooking.
4. Grill for 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Serve with your family’s favorite barbeque sauce as a dip.
Baked Chicken Tenders
It takes 20 minutes to whip up these crowd-pleasing healthy baked chicken tenders; it takes at least that long to head to the drive-thru for chicken nuggets. Make this for your kiddos instead. Plus, ButcherBox chicken tenders are so juicy and, yes, tender, that they melt in your mouth. With the crunch of the well-spiced breadcrumbs, it’s a winning combination.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients
1 lb. ButcherBox chicken tenders
1 egg
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten-free panko breadcrumbs work too)
1 Tbsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a bag, combine panko breadcrumbs, paprika, salt, and pepper.
2. Whisk an egg.
3. Dredge your chicken tenders in egg first, then add them to the breadcrumb and spice mixture. Shake the bag until chicken tenders are evenly coated.
4. Bake chicken tenders for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through.
Sausage and Veggie Egg Muffins
These sausage and veggie egg muffins are as nutritious and tasty a breakfast as it gets. They’re super customizable, but this simple recipe combines eggs with ButcherBox breakfast sausage, bell pepper, seasonings and, of course, eggs. Whip these up on a Sunday and reheat them throughout the week for a family breakfast on the go.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
1 lb. ButcherBox breakfast sausage
12 eggs
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. pepper
Oil for greasing muffin tin
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Sautée ButcherBox breakfast sausage until browned and cooked through.
2. Allow pork to cool. In a bowl, whisk eggs and garlic salt. Once cooled, mix in chopped bell pepper and sausage.
3. Grease your muffin tin or line it with paper liners. Fill tin with egg mixture.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until egg is firm and cooked through.
Hidden Spinach Meatballs
Do you have a hard time convincing your little ones to fill up on veggies? These meatballs, full of iron-packed spinach, will do the trick. They’re easy to make with just a handful of ingredients and come together quickly in the oven. Serve them on a bed of pasta, zucchini noodles, or as a finger food with marinara sauce on the side.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Makes 24 meatballs
Ingredients
2 lbs. ButcherBox ground beef
1 egg
4 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup shredded parmesan
½ cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free breadcrumbs work too)
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tsp. pepper
Oil for greasing pan
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a bowl, combine ground beef, egg, chopped spinach, garlic, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper with your hands. Form mixture into meatballs.
2. Grease two sheet pans with preferred oil. Bake meatballs for 22 minutes.
3. Turn your oven’s broiler on. Broil meatballs in batches for 2 minutes each to give them some color. Serve meatballs in pasta, zucchini noodles or as a finger food with marinara sauce on the side.
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
This simple side dish is a great way to dress up vegetables for your kids. It adds the flavor of bacon, but there’s only a half slice per bundle, keeping it nutritious and delicious. Serve these alongside grilled chicken or any of your favorite proteins.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 pack ButcherBox bacon
1 bundle asparagus
Oil for greasing pan
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Trim tough ends off the asparagus. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Cut bacon slices in half. Take 4 asparaguses and wrap bacon around the center, forming a bundle. Repeat until you’ve used all the asparagus and bacon.
3. Grease your pans with oil. Arrange bacon-asparagus bundles across two pans. Bake for 15 minutes, until asparagus is tender and bacon is crisp.
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
It’s almost embarrassing to call this two-ingredient meal a recipe, but it’s an amazing, family-friendly way to use up ButcherBox boneless skinless chicken thighs. This is perfect for its easy meal prep, and can be made in advance for a variety of meals. Serve the salsa chicken in tacos with all the fixings, in burrito bowls, or plate style with rice (or cauliflower rice), beans and a salad.
Prep: 2 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes/4 hours
Serves: 6
Ingredients
3 lbs. ButcherBox boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 cups of your favorite salsa
Directions
1. For the Instant Pot: Combine chicken and salsa in the Instant Pot. Set your pot to cook for 20 minutes and let it do a natural release. Remove meat from pot and shred. Discard excess cooking liquid.
2. For the slow cooker: Combine chicken and salsa in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Remove meat from pot and shred. Discard excess cooking liquid.
Maple-Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin
This maple-honey glazed pork tenderloin is a quick, crowd-pleasing family meal. Your kids will love the sweet and tangy glaze, and you’ll love how well it pairs with the succulent heritage-breed pork. Serve this with your family’s favorite vegetable side — bacon-wrapped asparagus, anyone?
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients
1 lb. ButcherBox pork tenderloin
1 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. honey
6 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Season all sides of your pork tenderloin with salt and pepper.
2. Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a skillet. Brown the pork tenderloin evenly on each side, for a total of 6 minutes.
3. Bring the heat down to low. Cover the pork tenderloin, and cook for 15 to 17 minutes, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 155°F.
4. While pork tenderloin cooks, whisk together maple syrup, 1 Tbsp. honey (reserve the other Tbsp. for later), apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard.
5. Once pork tenderloin is cooked through, pour in glaze. Cook until glaze has thickened and coated the tenderloin, about 3 minutes.
6. Remove pork tenderloin and let it rest for five minutes. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. of honey to thicken glaze. Drizzle pork tenderloin with glaze before serving.
