Online Cooking Lessons Index

We've organized all our kids' cooking lessons into age-appropriate levels that grow with your child's skills. Each group introduces key kitchen tasks and gradually builds on those foundations as children gain confidence and experience. After completing the kids' levels, they move on to our basic cooking lessons, where they explore different ingredients and cooking methods. Below is a quick overview of all the lessons available- think of it as a one-year progressive cooking curriculum designed to help teach that kids can cook!
50 online lessons

One-Year (52-Weeks) of Online Cooking Lessons

Perfect for kids, families, or beginners of all ages. It follows a progressive structure with a balance of skills, techniques, food groups, international dishes, holidays, and fun themes. You can adapt it to our tiered curriculum for instructor/student format.

There are over 50 lesson ideas here but there are still more ideas available throughout the site that are not on this page. So don't forget ideas like

Feast on these ideas for an overview, but if you'd like an organized step by step method see our teacher curriculum complete set or kids cooking lesson book.

Foundations of Cooking

Start with these cooking lesson ideas. Basic foundations like clean hands, safety in the kitchen, halving and doubling recipes. Kitchen skills like pouring, spreading, stirring, whisking, mixing, cutting and stove top cooking.

Nutrition and Food Groups

Learn how to build a healthy plate, cooking with the food groups and basis of healthy eating.

Meal Planning and Meal Prep

Learn how to follow recipes from start to finish, create weekly menus, reuse leftovers and cook different meals.

Cooking with Appliances Online Lesson Plans

Baking Lessons

Online cooking lessons for cookies, bread, cakes, dough and pies. Try mastering these recipes.

Fun Cooking Lessons

Kids Cooking Lesson Plans

If you'd like an organized step by step method see our teacher curriculum complete set

Simple Techniques That Teach Kids Cooking Skills

The kitchen is more than just a place to prepare meals-it's a powerful classroom for life. Much like martial arts or scouting, cooking introduces children to a range of skills that strengthen their minds, improve motor coordination, and build awareness of themselves and their surroundings. Teaching kids to cook doesn't just fill their bellies-it nurtures confidence, creativity, responsibility, and discipline from the inside out.
teach cooking skills

Here are a few foundational techniques that help kids grow both in the kitchen and in life:

Knife Skills

Teaching knife skills at an age-appropriate level introduces more than just food prep-it's a powerful lesson in control, focus, and responsibility. Using a knife safely requires precision, patience, and respect for the tool. Demonstrating how a small, guided movement can slice through a soft tomato or a firm watermelon shows kids the balance of strength and care.

Understanding how to safely handle a knife fosters self-control. It teaches that even when you hold something powerful, it's your choices that determine the outcome. These lessons extend beyond the kitcheninto conflict resolution, leadership, and personal responsibility.

Tip: Start with kid-safe knives and use our Knife Safety Posters to reinforce safe habits visually. Hands-on guidance paired with clear visuals makes it easier for kids to remember and follow the rules.

See our kids cooking poster set for Knife Safety Skills Posters.

Cooking Styles: Exploring Creativity

Introducing kids to different cooking methods-like sautéing, baking, steaming, or roasting-is like handing them a box of crayons with unlimited colors. Each technique opens new doors for creative thinking. Teaching the difference between wet heat (like boiling), dry heat (like roasting), and combination methods (like braising) allows kids to experiment and find what works best in various situations.

Watching a child choose which vegetables to stir-fry first or figuring out how to get the crispiest baked chicken teaches decision-making and problem-solving in real time.

Explore More: Our Teacher's Curriculum Cooking Set includes age-appropriate cooking methods and tasks that allow kids to safely try new techniques as their confidence builds.

Clean-Up Skills: Practicing Foresight and Organization

Cooking isn't just about what you make-it's about how you manage your space. Teaching kids to clean as they go helps them think ahead. This builds critical organizational skills, encourages a tidy mindset, and helps prevent kitchen mishaps like spills, cross-contamination, or burned food caused by distractions. Something as simple as hand washing before and after handling food teaches hygiene, safety, and self-respect. Reminding kids to wipe surfaces, put tools away, and stack dishes neatly shows them how a clean space supports successful cooking and a successful life.

Add a Visual Cue: Use our Cooking Hygiene Posters for fun and friendly reminders about washing hands, cleaning surfaces, and keeping their space ready to cook!

Cleanliness also aids with organization skills, making it important to know where everything is located at all times and easy to get to. By keeping your area clean, you will not accidentally scald the milk because you were digging around for the cornstarch.

Online Cooking Lessons- Techniques Really Teach

Together, these techniques build a strong foundation-not just for future chefs, but for confident, capable individuals. So next time you're in the kitchen, invite your child in. Let them whisk, chop, stir, and clean with you. Talk them through what you're doing, and give them the chance to try. These moments are more than just mealtime prep-they're hands-on life lessons.

More Kids Can Cook Lesson Ideas:
See our 70 ways to cook with your kids list.
20 more ways to cook with your kids

How to Cook Q&A Forum
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Do you have an idea of an online cooking lesson we should add? Let me know.

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