56 Best Chopped Basket Ideas for Kids

Last updated on March 12th, 2024 at 11:00 pm

56 Chopped Basket Ideas Your Kids Will Love (And Adults Too)

On your marks, get set, LET’S COOK!

Your kids will love these chopped basket ideas that we have created just for you.

Cooking with kids can be a fun and educational experience, and a “chopped basket” challenge is a great way to get them involved in the kitchen.

If you are not familiar with the concept, a chopped basket is a collection of ingredients that challenge kids to create a dish using all the ingredients provided.

Just for a little background, I used many of these ideas in our cooking school for kids. We had a chopped camp where kids would come in and work as a team to create a dish.

Each team had to create a dish using the basket ingredients along with several “pantry” items that we picked out for them. SO MUCH FUN!

Here, you will find 56 basket ingredient ideas. These are focused more on appetizer and dessert baskets to include quick basket solutions. Get the list of 56 Chopped Basket Ideas as a PDF.

But First, let’s start with Tips for Creating the Perfect Mystery Basket Ideas.

Tips for Creating the Perfect Basket

When it comes to kids, they can have many variables in their experience with cooking. In order to err on the side of caution, it is best to create an environment that can be easily adaptable for everyone.

Here are some tips for creating a chopped ingredients basket for kids:

Tip #1 Use Ready-To-Eat Ingredients

The first tip is to use ingredients that are ready-to-eat. I know this sounds counter-intuitive when it comes to the challenge of the competition. However, this will save time and minimize the risk of injury in the kitchen.

If you have experienced kids or have adults working closely with them, then mix in some raw ingredients. Just remember that food safety comes first, so you have to watch for cross-contamination and that food is properly cooked.

Through working with kids and these baskets, the truth is that the kids will not mind if the food is pre-cooked, for example, chicken breast. They will be glad that they can get right to the prep without getting raw chicken on their fingers.

Tip #2 Use Ingredients That Are Easy To Chop

This tip for using ingredients that are easy to chop is ideal for kids and for less experienced participants. For example, there may be an opportunity to use nylon knives which cut soft fruit easily without a sharp steel knife. Additionally, consider using cutting gloves if you foresee a lot of cutting involved for less experienced chefs.

However, as with all of these tips, it depends on the skill level of your participants.

Tip #3 Age Appropriate Ingredients

Choose ingredients that are appropriate for the age level of the kids. For younger children, opt for simpler ingredients, while for older kids, you can include more challenging ingredients.

Tip #4 Baskets Can Range In Level Of Difficulty

Before choosing your ingredients, think about who will be the cooking. What is the age range and what is the experience level. Moreover, baskets can range in level of difficulty, so be sure to select ingredients that are appropriate for the level of experience of the group.

For example, if you have a group of experienced home cooks or chefs, your basket ingredients can be more challenging.

Tip #5 Allow For Creativity With Unusual Ingredients

When choosing ingredients, allow for creativity by including more “unusual” ingredients. This will challenge the kids to think outside the box and come up with new and interesting dishes.

Tip #6 Consider Including a Cheat Sheet In the Basket

If the group needs help, consider including a “cheat sheet” in the basket with ideas and suggestions. The cheat sheet is all in good fun. A cheat sheet is great for a party for the fun of it. However, disregard the cheat sheet if your groups want a serious challenge!

Tip #7 Consideration of Food Allergies

Be sure to reach out to your culinary guests for their food allergies. Keep this in mind when you are planning your chopped basket shopping list.

56 Chopped Basket Ideas

56 Chopped Ingredients Basket Ideas for Appetizer and Dessert Mystery Basket

We’ve put together simple basket ingredients that would be geared toward an low to moderate level of experience. Some of these baskets yield less familiar items for kids to learn to problem solve with new ingredients.

On the contrary, some ingredients appear to go together in common dishes. However, some ingredient groups look oddly matched, but that’s the challenge. Feel free to swap in or out your own ingredient ideas.

Chopped Appetizer Basket Ideas

Now, let’s take a look at some appetizer basket ingredients:

To make these ideas super easy to implement, these ingredients are grouped together by basket. However, feel free to mix and match if that works better for you.

Next to each item is a suggested amount to add to the basket. However, it really depends on how many people are participating.

Appetizer Basket Ideas #1

#1 Boiled Eggs (6 Eggs Peeled or Unpeeled)

#2 Bacon (Could be pre-cooked bacon) 6-8 strips

#3 Mayonnaise (1/2 cup is a good amount)

#4 Avocado (1-2 Ripe)

Appetizer Basket Ideas #2

#1 Boiled Rotini Noodles (1 bag or box boiled)

#2 Cooked Bacon (6-8 strips)

#3 Cream Cheese (1 block)

#4 Cherry Tomatoes (1 pint)

Appetizer Basket Ideas #3

#1 Shredded Colby Jack Cheese (2 cups)

#2 Cooked Boneless Chicken (4 Chicken Breasts or Thighs)

#3 Frozen Hash Browns (1 bag or 2 cups Shredded Potatoes)

#4 Flour Tortillas (6-8 Tortillas)

Appetizer Basket Ideas #4

#1 Fresh Broccoli (1 Crown)

#2 Shredded Cheddar Cheese (2 Cups)

#3 Frozen Hash Browns (1 Bag or 2 Cups Shredded Potatoes)

#4 Seed Butter (example, 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter)

Appetizer Basket Ideas#5

#1 Corn Tortillas (6-8 Tortillas)

#2 Canned Black Beans (1 Can)

#3 Fresh Cilantro (1 Bunch)

#4 Tofu (1 package)

Appetizer Basket Ideas #6

#1 Blueberries (2 cups)

#2 Fresh Spinach (1 bag or 1 bunch)

#3 Goat Cheese (1 4 ounce log)

#4 Frozen Phyllo Cups (1 package)

Appetizer Basket Ideas #7

#1 Bell Pepper (2 Peppers)

#2 Cooked Ground Beef (or cooked Ground Turkey) (1 pound)

#3 Brown Gravy Packet (1 Packet)

#4 Canned Mushrooms (1 small can)

Wow, these are some great ideas to get started on preparing your appetizer mystery basket. Feel free to mix up ingredients or adjust according to the group preferences or allergies.

These are just suggestions to get you thinking about items to select. Keep in mind, you will still need a “pantry” of items to use with the basket ingredients. The pantry items list can be as limited or expansive as you prefer. Reminder, you may need some refrigerated items for your “pantry” as well.

Chopped Dessert Basket Ideas

When you are planning your chopped at home basket ideas, use this list for your dessert basket.

Kids will love these ideas for your dessert basket. Moreover, these ideas are geared for chopped basket ideas for kids.

Here are some dessert basket ingredients:

Again, there are amounts for the baskets included next to each item. However, it depends on the number of participants in the challenge.

Dessert Basket Ideas #1

#1 Blueberries (2 Cups)

#2 Baguette (1 loaf)

#3 Nerds candies (1 Large Box)

#4 Pretzel Rods (1 bag)

Dessert Basket Ideas #2

#1 Baguette (1 loaf)

#2 Blueberries (2 cups)

#3 Marshmallows (3 cups)

#4 Mint Leaves (4-6 leaves)

Dessert Basket Ideas #3

#1 Angel Food Cake (1 prepared Angel Food Loaf, or half of a prepared bundt cake size)

#2 Canned Pears (1 can)

#3 Vanilla Yogurt (8 ounces)

#4 Graham Crackers (8 full-sized crackers)

Dessert Basket Ideas #4

#1 Brie Cheese (1 4 ounce wedge)

#2 Fresh Apples (3 apples)

#3 Potato Chips (1 bag)

#4 Brown Sugar (1/2 cup)

Dessert Basket Ideas #5

#1 Whipped Cream Cheese (4 ounces)

#2 Strawberry Preserves (1 Jar)

#3 Chocolate Chips (1 cup)

#4 Cooked Quinoa (2 cups)

Dessert Basket Ideas #6

#1 Strawberry Yogurt (8 ounces)

#2 Bananas (6 bananas)

#3 Cheerios (2 cups)

#4 Popcorn (4 cups)

Dessert Basket Ideas #7

#1 Cupcakes (Plain, No Icing) 6-8 cupcakes

#2 Maraschino Cherries (1 small jar)

#3 Oreo Cookies (10 cookies)

#4 Heavy Cream (1 pint)

These dessert basket ideas are sure to get your crowd excited. Again, as we said with the appetizer items, you are free to mix up ingredients and make adjustments where needed.

Dessert basked idea are suggestions to get you thinking about items to select. As you are making your list, think about what pantry items would be useful with your basket selections. For example, lemon juice pairs well with many items on the list as well as granulated sugar and corn starch.

You can choose to make the “pantry” items just as challenging as the ingredients.

With these 56 chopped ingredients basket ideas, your kids are sure to have a blast in the kitchen. Whether they are making an appetizer or a dessert, they will be challenged to be creative and think outside the box. Not to mention, they will have a lot of fun and learn valuable cooking skills along the way.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started on your next cooking party adventure today! Learn more about cooking competition parties. Find more tips on chopped baskets at home with adults here.

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