🥗Rainbow Pasta Salad
Pasta shapes tossed with cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, cucumber, peas, sweet pepper and little cubes of cheese in a mild lemon and olive oil dressing. Bright, crunchy and happy to sit in a lunchbox all morning.
🥗 Nutrients per child portion
Estimated — % of what a 1–3 year old needs in a day
📚 Official guidance we checked it against (10)
- AAP — Choking prevention (HealthyChildren.org)
- CDC — Choking hazards
- CDC — Four steps to food safety (safe internal temperatures)
- CDC — Added sugars (children under 2: none)
- FDA — Food allergies (major allergens)
- FDA/EPA — Advice about eating fish
- NHS — Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS — Salt: the facts
- NHS — What to feed young children
- WHO — Healthy diet fact sheet
Last checked 2026-10-17. Estimates, not medical advice.
⚠️ Safety tip: Quarter the cherry tomatoes for every age in this group (not just halved), cut cucumber, pepper and cheese into pieces no larger than ½ inch, and watch how your child chews. Cook the pasta in unsalted water and don't add any salt to the dressing for children in this group - serve them only the plain, no-added-salt dressing; adults can add salt to their own already-plated portion at the table instead.
Contains: Milk · Wheat
🌱 How it helps them grow
This salad gives little hands small cubes of cheese and small pieces of vegetable to pick up, which helps practise self-feeding and hand-eye coordination. Mixing tomatoes, corn, peas, cucumber and pepper brings different colours and textures to the plate, which can help children get used to a varied diet. The cheese adds calcium and protein, which help build strong bones and support growth.
🤓 Did you know?
Did you know? An ear of sweetcorn almost always has an even number of rows of kernels running down it - usually 16!
Tell your little one at the table 🍽️
👶 How to serve it by age
🍼 1–2 years
Quarter the cherry tomatoes, cut cucumber and pepper into pieces no larger than ½ inch, lightly mash the peas, cut the cheese into small cubes no larger than ½ inch, and leave out all added salt - use only the plain no-salt dressing for this age.
🧸 2–3 years
Quarter the cherry tomatoes and cut cucumber, pepper and cheese into pieces no larger than ½ inch; skip the added salt completely for this age too, using only the plain no-salt dressing.
🎒 3–5 years
Still quarter the cherry tomatoes rather than just halving them, and keep cucumber and pepper pieces no larger than ½ inch, with cheese cubes no larger than ½ inch too. Use only the plain no-added-salt dressing, the same as the younger ages, and keep watching how they chew.
🛒 Ingredients
Tap each one when you have it ready ✓
👩🍳 Step by step
1Step 1 of 5⏱️ 10 minCook the pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, no salt added. Add the pasta and cook for the time on the packet, about 9-11 minutes, adding the frozen peas for the last 2 minutes.
- 200 g pasta
- as needed water
- 80 g frozen peas
✅ Done when: pasta is tender but still firm, peas are bright green and tender
2Step 2 of 5Cool it down
Drain the pasta and peas, then rinse under cold running water until completely cool. Shake the colander well so no water is left clinging to the pasta.
- all cooked pasta and peas from step 1
- as needed cold water
✅ Done when: pasta feels cool to the touch and no water drips when shaken
3Step 3 of 5Make the dressing
In a big bowl, whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together until combined. This is the shared dressing - do not add salt to it.
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
✅ Done when: mixture looks smooth and slightly thickened
4Step 4 of 5Mix the rainbow
Add the cooled pasta and peas, tomatoes, corn, cucumber, pepper and cheese to the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently until every piece is coated and shiny. Serve the children's portions as they are; adults can add a little salt to their own plated portion at the table.
- all cooled pasta and peas from step 2
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 80 g sweetcorn
- ½ cucumber
- ½ bell pepper
- 80 g cheese
- all dressing from step 3
- to taste salt, for adults only at the table
✅ Done when: every ingredient is evenly coated and glossy
5Step 5 of 5Pack
Spoon the salad into lunchbox pots and keep it cold with an ice pack. It keeps for 2 days in the fridge.
- all pasta salad from step 4
🩺 Foodie Mini follows WHO, AAP and NHS guidance for children aged 1–5. It doesn't replace your paediatrician: check allergies and textures with them.