Stuff We Like: 5 Free Cooking Apps for Kids

By Kaitlin Ahern February 9, 2015

As cooking shows on the Food Network gain popularity and more and more celebrity chefs become household names, it’s no surprise that kids across the country are suddenly fascinated with baking goodies in the kitchen. Making culinary creations together is a great way to bond with your child, but when Mom and Dad aren't around, kids can use their imaginations to create some delish digital treats. Cooking in cyberspace is a fun and safe way for kids to satisfy that urge to be creative in the kitchen – without setting off the smoke alarm. So what are the best phone apps for young, aspiring chefs? Your kids can channel their inner Marcus Samuelsson or Alex Guarnaschelli with these five free cooking apps for the iPhone.

Pizza Crazy Chef by TabTale What kid doesn’t love pizza? This creative app (now the No. 1 downloaded kids' app for the iPad) from TabTale taps into that insatiable enthusiasm for everyone’s favorite food. Put on your apron and get baking! Make the digital dough, create the sauce, and then go crazy with toppings. Choose from more than 100 toppings ranging from tried-and-true to downright wacky. Bake your creation, slice the pizza pie in your own pizza shop, box it up, and send it for delivery. Or sit back and eat your pizza creation after setting the table with a variety of colorful napkins, drinks, and straws. Want to share a photo of your pizza pie? You can serve it up and send it on to your family and friends.

Chinese Food! by Crazy Cats Wok on over to your mobile device and break out the chopsticks. We love this Chinese food app because you can fry your own noodles and rice and create the dishes you love. Customize your own Chinese dishes, create your own crazy fortune cookies, and even share your creations in classic Chinese take-out containers. This app is almost as good as your favorite local Chinese food joint.

Cake Pop Maker by Bake More Cake Maker With cake pops literally popping up in sweet stores all over, kids can learn how to make them digitally. This delicious food maker app lets you create the ingredients, stir the flavored batters, bake your pops, and put them on colorful sticks. Once you’ve baked your creation, it’s time to decorate your pop and add toppings. Give your pops some sprinkles, a face, or make them into cute animal friends. This app is popping with more than 4 million people playing this delicious game.

Cotton Candy by Bluebear Technologies Kids love fairs for the rides, the games, and of course, the food! With this app kids can make the best fair food of all: cotton candy. First, choose your candy sugar, mix it up and spin the cotton candy in the machine. Once you’ve made your creation, decorate it to your heart’s desire and add even more flavors. Not only can you make cotton candy in this app but it also has a hungry chef game where you move the device to feed the chef — just make sure he doesn’t get hit by a frog pot!

Pie Maker by Sunstorm Interactive In this delicious app, choose your pie crust and custom fillings, and then mix all of the necessary ingredients to make the best pie in cyberspace. The number of options in this app are great — the fillings range from blueberry to banana cream and kids can create their own pie party at a custom-set table! The only downside to this app? Your realistic looking custom-made pie will leave you dying to take a real bite. With additional games like “top chop” and “food challenge," this app has it all.

Also See: 15 Fun Recipes to Make with Kids

Cooking Tips and Shortcuts for Novice Chefs