Looking for a hands-on, screen-free activity that sparks creativity and boosts early learning skills? This adorable visual recipe activity is such a hit with kids!
With simple materials like cardboard pots, paper spoons, bottle caps, natural treasures, or cut-out fruits, you’ve got the perfect setup for a pretend cooking game that mixes play with learning.
It’s great for preschoolers and early elementary kids (around ages 3 to 8), but older kids will enjoy getting involved too, especially if they help set it up!
How to Set It Up
Start by making your “cooking pots” from corrugated cardboard. Each one is a different size, and you can make matching cardboard spoons to stir the “ingredients.”
You can skip this and use ready made pots and pans if you prefer – either real ones or from the pretend kitchen.
Then, create a recipe card using cardboard and a marker. Draw a pot, followed by the sequence of items needed to “cook” a recipe.
You can make different sets depending on your theme, like colorful bottle cap recipes, nature-inspired soups with pinecones and nuts, or fruity mixes using paper-cut fruit shapes.
We also have some free printable recipe cards you can use if you prefer.
Lay out the pots in a row, and set out your ingredients underneath.
Kids read the recipe, gather the items, and place them into the matching pot. It’s like pretend soup-making, with a dash of scavenger hunt and a sprinkle of sorting and sequencing thrown in!
This is great to use in a mud kitchen!
Why This Activity Is Great
This kind of play is packed with learning! Kids get to:
- Practice visual matching and following sequences
- Boost their fine motor skills as they handle small items and pop them into pots
- Explore themes like seasons, nature, colors, and food in a hands-on way
- Engage in pretend play, which helps build language and storytelling skills
- Strengthen their memory and focus while staying active
Learning to visually follow instructions is not as easy as it might look, and this is such an important skill for kids for their future learning, so this activity is really helpful to lay that foundation.
You can theme the recipes however you like:
- Color matching with plastic caps (great for learning primary and secondary colors!)
- Nature sorting with acorns, leaves, and pinecones—perfect for autumn walks
- Fruit salads using colorful paper fruits for a healthy eating theme
- Or even a mix-and-match potion lab for a fun twist on magical play!
Perfect for Home, Preschool, or Nature Table Fun
This activity works brilliantly at home with siblings or as a quiet table activity in preschool and reception classes. It also makes a lovely addition to a nature-based classroom, forest school, or Montessori shelf. Use real nature finds after a walk, or recycle bottle caps and scrap cardboard from your home for a low-waste learning game.
Printable Recipe Cards for Kids Play
You can make your own simple cards by drawing the items, or using dot stickers for simple color recipes and so on. But we also made some printables if you’re in a hurry.
Here are the pages included
Simple Color Recipe Cards for Kids Play
and another color way
Fruit Recipe Cards for Kids Play
Nature Recipe Cards for Kids Play
Pictures to Print
If you dont have the objects to hand, print extras of these pictures and cut them into little cards. You can also find corresponding play fruit in your pretend kitchen and use those – whichever you prefer!
Related: Bubble wrap fruit and veg craft
Download Your Printable Recipe Cards
Want to save time setting up? Grab our ready-made recipe cards to go with your cardboard cooking pots! Just print, cut, and play — perfect for a quick setup at home or in the classroom.
Terms of use: These free printable recipe play cards are free for personal use and classroom use only. Not for commercial use. To download, click the pdf file right below here. If you see a locked content widget from Grow, put your email address right there and the file will display here in your browser.
So Much Fun, Again and Again!
Kids LOVE repeating the recipes and creating their own. Once they’ve mastered the given combinations, they’ll start inventing new ones, setting up “meals” and even serving them to family or toys. It’s the kind of play that really grows with them – simple to set up, but so open-ended.
Whether it’s a rainy day activity, a nature unit, or just a quiet afternoon craft, this recipe sorting play setup brings joy, learning, and lots of pretend fun.
More Pretend Play Printables for Kids
Love this kind of imaginative play? We’ve got even more printable sets to spark creativity from fun food themes to magical potions and playful shop roleplay. Perfect for hours of screen-free fun!
- Pretend Play Ice Cream Shop Printables
- Free Printable Pretend Play Grocery Store For Kids
- Preschool Sports Camp Printable Pack
- Flower Shop Dramatic Play Free Printables
- Free Printable Farmers Market Dramatic Play Pack for Kids
- Apple Orchard Dramatic Play Printables Pack
More Fun Hands-On Activities for Kids
Looking for even more ways to keep little hands busy and brains buzzing? We have loads of creative ideas that combine learning and play in fun, engaging ways.
- Flower Vases Nature Craft Activity
- Butterfly Nature Art Frame Outdoor Activity
- Egg Carton Nature COLOR Hunt Activity for Kids
- Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin
If you enjoyed this activity, we’d love it if you could share this blog post with your friends or on social media. Every share helps us bring more creative ideas to more families!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.