To think pasta pesto isn't a universal kid friendly meal?

[IHaveBrilloHair]

I often see this stated as a meal that all kids like, up there with pizza/nuggets/fishfishfingers, but I honestly don't know many kids who like it, and know more who wouldn't know what it is.
Dd's too old for playdates now but I'd never have served it, not in a million years, is it really universal kid food?
Admittedly we live in a small Scottish town but we have a Waitrose, and a Private school, it's not some weird backwater.

What does living in a small Scottish town have to do with not getting pasta and pesto as a kids meal?? Lol. My 19 month old loves it but he also likes olives and other strong flavours and wouldn't eat a chicken nugget. Meh depends on child oh and snap small Scottish town here too. Children's menus royally P me off.

My DD loves it. Hates anything breaded though including fishfingers and nuggets, which is seriously annoying. IME amongst our friends it is genuinely the most toddler friendly meal. I can't stand it so this baffles me.

It's a firm fav of all the children I've nannied

Either with chopped toms or sweet corn

My kids love it, but I wouldn't serve it to their friends on playdates as I too have my doubts about how they'd react to "green pasta."

I had one toddler that hated wet food so that standard pasta in tomato sauce was no good. Luckily he liked pesto so we had that as a quick, no brainer meal. Both kids love it and over the years we have created a variety of dishes which feature pesto. They're both at secondary day school and wanted pesto pasta tonight.

I never assumed that visiting children would like it though, it's one of those things that some people aren't going to like.

Breadcrumbs stick really well to pesto. Get chunks of chicken, coat in pesto, coat in breadcrumbs. Easier than that flour, egg palaver.

Isn't tomato-ey sauce pasta with cheese, or pizza the universal kid friendly meal?

No.

There is no universally kid friendly meal.

Mine love it but I find it hard to find a shop bought one or pine nuts without nut/peanut traces to make my own that are suitable for DS2 with an allergy. Pesto without is not the same.
I've only served it once to a visiting child as an alternative to the fajitas we were having as he didn't like spicy food.
It's a bit of a beans on toast meal for me, something quick to have if I can't be arsed cooking.

my 8 year old loves it - every saturday lunch pasta and pesto and cherry toms or some other veg. She can't get enough of it.

I'd have to agree that there is no universally kid friendly meal.

DS1 would have eaten nuggets, fish fingers, pasta (only plain), sausages or pizza. But virtually nothing else at all. Not even potatoes.

DS2 would eat pretty much anything except fish (including fingers) or baked beans.

DD won't eat pasta (no matter what's on it) or pizza.

None of them have ever tried pesto. I don't like it, I'm no huge fan of pasta myself but would rather make a low fat carbonara sauce or a tomato sauce over pesto.

I've never met a child who doesn't like it. I do it as a standard with a tomato and red onion salad. My daughter usually makes it, but I do keep a jar in just in case.

Or pasta arrabiata or pasta e broccoli...

Lots of pasta in our house..!

Easy and everyone likes it.

I've never bought chicken nuggets. I do have emergency fish fingers in but they tend to last a very long time. I don't understand the need to give children crappy food as standard, tbh.

My two toddlers love cold pesto pasta salad Particularly with frankfurter sausage.

Both mine love it but only the sun-dried tomato (red) pesto. I have served it when they have friends over but I'd rather knock up a quick tomato sauce.. Both hate chicken nuggets and baked beans though.

I would treat tomato sauce (from a jar) pasta and cheese as a meal most kids would eat and if really fussy they mostly will eat pasta with cheese. Only 2 of my 3 eat pesto.

Also pizza is my other go to meal that most kids will eat.

I have one out of five who would like it.

Three out of five who would eat it.

I have one that would probably not chosen it at a younger age, but would no doubt eat it now smothered in cheese - the other one would rather starve than eat pasta or pesto and that includes my DH also who won't bloody eat rice either

op do you live in Helensburgh??

mine loves it its his fave but its not that healthy really is it so we try not to have it that often. I think its fairly universally kid 'friendly' because its so quick and easy thats all.

I'm so jealous of you lot having children who eat all this food

Ds1 eats sausages or quiche Lorraine and ds2 eats quiche and sweet corn and that's it. Every. Fucking. Day.

I dream of them eating pizza or pasta.

My two kids (18 months and 5years) love it with a bit of cheese on top.

I haven't met a child yet who doesn't like pesto pasta. If I have a load of children round it's my go to meal because it's quick and easy! I sometimes make two pans of pasta though as some children have a definite preference for green or red!

Bolognaise is another thing most children eat ime but it takes a lot longer to make!

My extremely fussy dd's both eat pesto. It's not a favourite, but they'l eat it - which says a lot.

Yanbu. It was my ds first table food by accident. He was on my lap as a baby and dh and I were eating it. Ds grabbed the penne covered in pesto and shoved it in his mouth. Dh and I new parents were like, can babies have pesto? 🙄 Well he's 15 now and still loves it.

I wouldn't say it was kid friendly at All, it's so strong tasting - I put huge amounts of garlic in mine. I'd never serve it to anyone I knew that didn't love it for two reasons: one it's so strong tasting and two I make my own homemade from home grown basil, imported cheese and I even grind my own salt for it. Unless I know someone loved it it's too labor intensive and expensive to waste it on someone who might not like it - let alone a kid that might waste it!