Italian Theme Dinner Ideas for Kids

Turn dinner into an Italian night with homemade pasta, pizza, bruschetta, colorful salads, fresh bread and other kid-friendly Italian foods. An Italian theme dinner is an easy way to combine cooking, family dinner and a little cultural learning in one fun activity.

Kids can help knead and cut homemade pasta, assemble appetizers, make pizza or set the table like a little Italian restaurant. You don't need an elaborate menu—choose a few foods your family enjoys and let everyone help prepare part of the meal.

Italian theme dinner ideas for kids with pasta and Italian food

Easy Italian Dinner Formula

Choose one pasta, pizza or Italian main dish + one appetizer or salad + fresh bread + one simple dessert. Let kids help make at least one part of the meal.

Want to turn dinner into a cooking lesson? Visit our Italian Cooking Lesson for more Italian recipes and ideas for cooking with kids.

Kids Cooking Activities Teaching Materials

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On This Page:

Set Up an Italian Dinner Table
Build an Italian Theme Dinner Menu
Italian Appetizers & Side Dishes
Quick Caprese on the Go
Olive Salad
Homemade Pasta
More Italian Main Dish Ideas
Italian Bread
Italian Dinner Activities for Kids
More Theme Dinner Ideas
Italian Theme Dinner Questions

Set Up an Italian Dinner Table

A few simple details can make an ordinary family meal feel like a special Italian restaurant night. Kids can help decorate and set the table while the food is being prepared.

Use red and white: Try a red-and-white checked tablecloth, placemats or napkins.
Add bread to the table: Place a loaf or basket of fresh Italian bread in the center for everyone to share.
Decorate with fruit: A bowl or bunch of fresh grapes makes an easy edible centerpiece.
Eat outside: When the weather is nice, set up your Italian dinner on the patio or at an outdoor table.
Add a little restaurant atmosphere: Older kids can help set the table neatly and create handwritten menus or place cards.

Candle Safety: For the candlelight atmosphere suggested for an Italian dinner, battery-operated candles are an easy choice when younger children are helping at the table.

Build an Italian Theme Dinner Menu

An Italian dinner doesn't have to include lots of different dishes. Pick one idea from each category, or keep it even simpler with a main dish, bread and one side. The goal is to give kids something they can help prepare.

Appetizer or Salad
Start with bruschetta, Caprese, olive salad or Italian bread salad.

Main Dish
Choose homemade pasta, homemade pizza, lasagna, eggplant Parmesan or another favorite pasta dish.

Bread
Serve Italian bread, garlic bread or breadsticks alongside pasta, soup or salad.

Dessert
Finish the meal with fruit, gelato or ice cream, cookies or another simple Italian-inspired dessert.

Easy Italian Dinner Menu:

Bruschetta + homemade pasta with tomato sauce + fresh bread + grapes or a simple dessert makes an easy Italian dinner that gives kids several ways to help.

Italian Appetizers & Side Dishes

Start your Italian theme dinner with one easy appetizer or salad. These are good jobs for kids because they can help wash produce, tear basil, stir ingredients and arrange food on a serving plate.

Bruschetta
Top toasted bread with tomatoes and simple Italian flavors for an easy appetizer.

Italian bread salad for an Italian theme dinner

Italian Bread Salad
Combine bread and fresh vegetables for a colorful Italian side dish.

Quick Caprese with tomatoes basil and cheese

Quick Caprese on the Go
Mix tomatoes, basil and cheese for a fresh side dish kids can help assemble.

Quick Caprese on the Go

Recipe contributed by Cameron, USA

This quick Caprese-style snack is light, fresh and easy for kids to assemble. Cameron shared it as a portable snack for karate practice.

Quick Caprese with tomato basil and cheese

Ingredients

1/2 Roma tomato, chopped
1-2 tablespoons finely shredded basil leaves
1/2 cup cottage cheese or 1 slice mozzarella cheese
1-2 tablespoons pesto or olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Add the chopped tomato and basil to a small bowl or leak-proof container. Add the cottage cheese, or tear or chop the mozzarella into bite-size pieces and add it to the bowl.
Drizzle with pesto or olive oil.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Stir gently and serve right away, or cover and keep chilled until ready to eat.

Kid Cooking Tip: Younger kids can tear the basil and add the ingredients to the bowl. Older kids can help chop the tomato with supervision.

Easy Olive Salad

This simple olive salad combines beans, tomatoes, garlic and a quick olive-oil-and-balsamic dressing. It works well as a side dish with pasta, pizza or fresh bread.

Olive salad with garbanzo beans and tomatoes

Ingredients

Olives
Garbanzo beans, drained
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

Add the olives, drained garbanzo beans and halved cherry tomatoes to a serving bowl.
Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Add the minced garlic.
Season with salt and pepper.
Toss gently until everything is coated.

Easy Variation: Use another type of bean or your family's favorite variety of olives.

More Italian Recipes for Kids

Make Homemade Pasta with Kids

Homemade pasta is a perfect hands-on activity for an Italian theme dinner. Kids can help measure the ingredients, mix and knead the dough, roll it out and cut it into noodles. You don't need a pasta machine-a rolling pin and pastry cutter or knife work just fine.

Easy Homemade Pasta

Homemade pasta for an Italian theme dinner

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs.
Add the olive oil and water and mix until the ingredients come together into a dough.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for about 5 minutes.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Roll the rested dough out with a rolling pin.
Use a pastry cutter or knife to cut the dough into strips for fettuccine-style noodles.
Place the cut noodles on a baking sheet and sprinkle them lightly with flour so they don't stick together.
Let the noodles dry for several hours before cooking, gently separating them occasionally with your fingers.
When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Taste a noodle to check for doneness.
Drain and serve with homemade tomato sauce or Alfredo sauce.

No Pasta Machine Needed: Roll the dough thin with a rolling pin, then cut it into strips. Kids can make wide or narrow noodles depending on the shape they want.

How to Make Homemade Pasta

These photos show the basic process from mixing the pasta dough to cutting and drying the noodles.

1. Mix the Dough
Make a well in the flour, add the eggs, olive oil and water, and mix until a dough forms.

2. Roll the Dough
After kneading and resting, roll the pasta dough out into a thin sheet.

Cutting homemade pasta dough into noodles

3. Cut the Noodles
Cut the rolled dough into strips using a pastry cutter or knife.

4. Let the Pasta Dry
Place the noodles on a baking sheet, dust with flour and gently separate them as they dry.

Turn Pasta Making into the Activity:

Let kids experiment with different noodle widths and shapes. Younger children can help sprinkle flour and separate noodles, while older kids can help roll and cut the dough with supervision.

Have a Homemade Pasta Party More Easy Pasta Recipes

More Italian Main Dish Ideas

Homemade pasta is a fun centerpiece for Italian night, but there are plenty of other kid-friendly Italian meals to try. Choose one main dish and keep the rest of the menu simple with salad, bread or vegetables on the side.

Eggplant Parmesan for an Italian theme dinner

Eggplant Parmesan
Practice coating and breading while making a classic Italian-inspired main dish.

Homemade pizza for an Italian theme dinner

Homemade Pizza
Let everyone help shape dough and choose toppings for an easy hands-on Italian dinner.

Lasagna Recipes
Layer noodles, sauce and cheese for a family-style Italian dinner.

Pasta Fagioli Soup
Serve a warm pasta-and-bean soup with bread for a simple Italian meal.

Let Kids Choose the Menu:

Give kids two or three main-dish choices and let them vote on what to make for Italian night. Older kids can help read the recipe and make a shopping list before cooking.

Easy Pasta Recipes Italian Cooking Lesson

Make Italian Bread with Kids

Fresh bread is an easy addition to an Italian theme dinner and gives kids another chance to practice measuring, mixing, kneading and working with dough. Serve it alongside pasta, soup, salad or your favorite Italian main dish.

Make It Part of the Theme: Put the finished loaf or sliced bread in a basket in the center of the table. Kids can help set out the bread, olive oil or butter before dinner.

Italian Bread Recipe Video

Learn How to Make Homemade Bread

Italian Dinner Activities for Kids

Make Italian night about more than just the meal. Add one simple cooking or table activity so kids can help create the experience as well as eat the food.

Make Pasta Shapes
Give kids a small piece of pasta dough to roll, cut and shape. Compare wide noodles, thin noodles, twists and other shapes before cooking them.

Open a Family Restaurant
Let kids name their Italian restaurant, write a simple menu, set the table and take everyone's dinner order.

Have a Pizza-Making Night
Set out dough, sauce, cheese and a few toppings and let each child create a personal pizza.

Decorate Italian Placemats
Before dinner, kids can make paper placemats using red, white and green or draw pictures of their favorite Italian foods.

Learn a Few Italian Food Words

Add a little learning to dinner by introducing a few simple Italian food words. Kids may recognize some of them from recipes, restaurant menus and grocery-store packages.

Try These Italian Food Words:

Pane - bread
Formaggio - cheese
Pomodoro - tomato
Pasta - pasta
Pizza - pizza

Try a Pasta Shape Challenge:

Before cooking, look at several pasta shapes and compare them. Which are long, short, twisted, hollow or flat? Younger kids can sort dry pasta by shape while older kids can learn the names of a few different varieties.

Let Kids Help Run Italian Night

Give each child a dinner-night job based on age and ability. One child might set the table while another prepares an appetizer, mixes salad, shapes pasta or helps assemble the main dish.

Keep the Theme Easy: You don't need to make every dish from scratch. Choose one special hands-on activity-such as homemade pasta or pizza-and use simple sides to complete the meal.

More Ways to Explore Italian Cooking

If your kids enjoyed Italian night, continue with more Italian recipes and cooking skills. The Italian Cooking Lesson includes additional dishes that can be used for another family dinner, a cooking lesson or an Italian-themed activity.

Plan a Homemade Pasta Party Explore the Italian Cooking Lesson Make Homemade Pizza

Cooking Around The World

Italian Theme Dinner Questions

What foods are good for an Italian theme dinner?

Pizza, homemade pasta, lasagna, pasta fagioli, Eggplant Parmesan, bruschetta, Caprese, Italian bread and simple salads all work well for an Italian theme dinner. You don't need to make everything—choose one main dish, one side or appetizer and bread or dessert to complete the meal.

What Italian foods can kids help make?

Kids can help make homemade pasta, pizza, bruschetta, Caprese, salads and bread. Younger children can wash produce, tear basil, sprinkle cheese and arrange ingredients. Older kids can measure, mix, knead dough, roll pasta and help chop ingredients with supervision.

How do you decorate for an Italian theme dinner?

Keep decorations simple with a red-and-white tablecloth or placemats, a basket of fresh bread and grapes or other fruit as a centerpiece. Kids can make menus, place cards or red, white and green paper placemats. Battery-operated candles can add a restaurant-style atmosphere.

What is an easy Italian dinner menu for kids?

An easy menu could include bruschetta, pasta with tomato sauce, fresh bread and fruit or a simple dessert. Homemade pizza with a salad is another easy choice. Pick one food for kids to help make rather than trying to prepare an elaborate meal.

What activities can kids do for an Italian dinner night?

Kids can make pasta shapes, build personal pizzas, create restaurant menus, decorate placemats, set the table or sort different pasta shapes. Making one part of dinner together can also be the main activity for the evening.

Make your own Theme Dinner Party page.

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