Last Updated on June 13, 2020 by Marie Bautista
Are you running out of ideas on how to entertain your very bored elementary child while on quarantine?
Time to get creative with her with these 17 Creative Fun Food Art Projects you can do with your little one!
It seems kind of weird especially since Mom always told us never to play with our food, but in this case, as a mom, I totally approve.
The ingredients are pretty simple. If you have these in your pantry, you are good to go:
- fruits
- veggies
- yogurt
- cheese
- eggs
- bread
Fun Food Art Project No. 1: Peanut Butter and Banana Bear Sandwich
Here is a simple food art, guaranteed to make your little one smile.
What your child need to do:
- Spread peanut butter on a slice of bread.
- Slice the banana for the bear’s ears and snout.
- Slice the grapes for the bear’s eyes’ outline.
- Put the currants for the nose and eyes.
That was easy (and fun!)
Food Art Project No. 2: Layered Cheese Heart-Shaped Sandwiches
Here is another simple fun food art, which is so pretty you can use it at your kid’s birthday party.
I love using these cookie cutters, by the way, since they are so kid-friendly.
Use cheese and cut out fruit shapes.
They look so pretty my child does not want to eat them!
Fun Food Art Project No. 3: Kiwi Turtles
Who would think getting creative with green grapes, kiwi, black food coloring, and a toothpick would turn out this adorable?
Fun Food Art Project No. 4: Grape Caterpillars
To make these cutie caterpillars, you will need a bamboo skewer, grapes,and a cherry tomato.
Helping your little one, carefully string the grapes on the skewer.
Turn each grape slightly as you skewer it to make it appear like the caterpillar is crawling.
Use the cherry tomato for the caterpillar’s head.
Use food coloring using a toothpick to draw on the caterpillar’s eyes.
Tip: I usually use a tiny bit of peanut butter for the eyes.
Fun Food Art Project No. 5: Watermelon Lobster
Your little girl will love this (especially if she is a fan of Ariel, the Little Mermaid).
Make the body of the lobster by carefully cutting the watermelon into these shapes.
Use Gorilla Munch Cereal for the “rocks” under the sea.
Cut celery or onion leeks into thin slices to resemble water plants
Use olive slices for water bubbles.
Fun Food Art Project No. 6: Funny Tortilla Faces
I got this great idea from The Decorated Cookie and this is really fun and will help your child discover a variety of veggies.
Here is hoping she likes them 🤞.
Regardless, the final food art project looks so pretty (and there is mom to eat them!)
What you need: small tortillas plus:
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Parsley
- Cheese slices
- Carrot slices
- Cucumber slices
- Cherry tomatoes
- Olive slices
- Snap peas
- Celery slices
- Grapes
- Beans
- Corn kernels
Plus anything you may have bought in your last grocery run.
She will enjoy making these dorky tortilla faces!
Fun Food Art Project No. 7 : Sweet Smelling Orange and Clove Air Fresheners
Your daughter will love doing these scenty creations. Place them over a lamp or a potpourri burner for its smell!
Make your child arrange the cloves in whatever way she may like. Poke holes on the orange using a toothpick to give your child an easier way to insert the cloves.
Fun Food Art Project No. 8: Flower Pepper Eggs
These flowers made from obviously, sunny side eggs and bell peppers are not only pretty. They are delicious, nutritious, and so easy to do with your little one. Make her serve these on Sunday brunch!
How to do: Slice a red/orange/green/yellow (her choice!) in one half inch thick rings. Preheat the frying pan and cook the bell pepper rings over medium heat. Carefully place one egg over the bell pepper ring. One egg would probable be too large for the pepper, so drain off a bit of egg white before placing it inside the bell pepper ring. If the egg overflows, just cut the excess off when you remove the eggs from the pan. Remove with a spatula and place on a plate. Use parsley leaves and stems to form your flower stems.
For frying, it is best to use a non-stick skillet. These are the top rated non-stick skillet pans on Amazon.
Fun Food Art Project No. 9: Valentine’s Hearty Fruit Salad
Dust off your heart cookie cutters!
And use them to cut out heart-shaped watermelon and cantaloupe. Add grapes and other berries for garnish.
You can finish it off with a string of watermelon hearts on a bamboo skewer. Cut out a triangle-shaped piece of cantaloupe to make the arrowhead and another triangle-like shape to make the fletching on the end. Sooo cute!
Fun Food Art Project No. 10: St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Platter
This one is so easy peasy! Arrange colorful fruits (and add some colorful veggies,too) into a rainbow and that’s it! Oh, don’t forget your gold chocolate coin at the end of the rainbow.
Take a nice photo before eating!
Here’s a guide for fruit and veggie variation:
- Red: strawberries, cherry tomatoes, sliced tomatoes, red peppers, watermelon
- Orange: orange peppers, orange slices, orange cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, carrots
- Yellow: pineapple, yellow peppers, banana slices, yellow beets, lemon slices
- Green: cucumber, green peppers, broccoli, celery, honeydew
- Blue, Indigo and Violet: blueberries, red grapes, concord grapes, red cabbage, blackberries, purple broccoli, eggplant
- Clouds: sliced egg whites, veggie or fruit dip cups, cauliflower, mushrooms, mini marshmallows, sliced bananas, bocconcini cheese
Fun Food Art Project No. 11: Easter Bunny Sandwiches
Here’s a quick and healthy Easter lunch from a heart cookie cutters which your kids will love!
Using a cookie cutter, cut out a piece of bread into a round shape. Slice your veggies for the face:
- Two cucumber slices, cut crosswise on an angle, so they look like ears
- 4 thin celery slices to form the whiskers
- 1 cherry tomato, cut in half for the nose
- Radish and olive slices for the eyes
- Peel thin strings off a parsley stem to form the mouth
Once your ingredients are ready, you can fry your egg. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium heat. Place a metal circle cookie cutter on the frying pan to make the round egg shape and crack an egg in. Cover with a lid until yolk is cooked to desired doneness and season with salt and pepper. Place the egg on the bread and assemble the other ingredients to form the face.
Fun Food Art Project No. 12: Fourth of July Yogurt Parfaits
Again, another simple and easy-to-make fun food art which you guys can do on the 4th of July!
Layer vanilla yogurt with blueberries and raspberries to create blue and red layers. Top with a sparkler and light for Independence Day!
Fun Food Art Project No. 13: Halloween Skull Vegetable Platter
This is one scary Halloween fun food art project.
The cauliflower skull in the middle of the platter is fashioned out of cauliflower pieces, held together with toothpicks. The teeth are cut from cauliflower stems and the eyes are made of radishes.
To make the skull mushrooms, use a paring knife to cut out the eyes and nose. Then cut about 3 thin lines into the mushroom stems to make it look like a set of teeth.
Fun Food Art Project No. 14: Halloween Watermelon Brain
Dress up your Halloween fruit plate with a creepy brain!
Peel the skin off the watermelon to expose the with part. Then, using a paring knife, cut deeper shapes to expose the red flesh.
Stick a plastic knife into the brain for extra creepy effect.
Let’s all eat some brain, you all!
Fun Food Art Project No. 15: Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich
Here’s another colorful sandwich that kids can assemble themselves! Here’s how to prepare the project:
- Using a round cookie cutter, cut bread for the main body shape.
- Cut a variety of fruits, veggies and cheese into leaf shapes. We’ve used apples, peppers, snap peas and cheese.
- Cut the wattle shapes from an apple or red pepper
- Have olive slices on hand for eyes
- Cut thin carrot shapes for the beak and legs
These would make a great light lunch before a heavy Thanksgiving dinner.
Fun Food Art Project No. 16: Hanukkah Menorah
This great idea comes from the PBS website, but we’ve made some slight variations.
What you need: You can make it with raw vegetables or steam them, like we have below.
To make this, you need:
- 9 thin green grape slices
- 9 asparagus spears
- Green beans
- Sliced carrots
- Slice of cheese cut into a Star of David shape
Start by placing the grape slices along the plate, putting the middle one slightly higher than the rest. Next, rest the asparagus spears, with the tips over the grape slices, to make the grapes look like flames. Fashion the bottom of the menorah with the carrots slices and beans. Finish with the star on the asparagus in the center.
Fun Food Art Project No. 17: Broccoli Christmas Tree
Idea #17: Broccoli Christmas Tree
Forget the Christmas cookies (okay, maybe not completely)!
Here’s a vitamin-packed Christmas themed snack. To make this broccoli Christmas tree, just arrange some asparagus stems to form the tree trunk. Then arrange broccoli florets into a tree shape. Decorate the tree with vegetables of your choice. We’ve used carrot slices, cherry tomatoes, olive slices and grapes.
Top with a star, cut using cookie cutters. We’ve used cheese, but you can use cantaloupe, yellow or orange peppers or anything you have on hand.
Serve with your favorite dip. It’s perfect for an office party or fun afternoon snack.
OK, so some kids won’t want to eat it…No worries, we adults love broccoli!