Family food tours and cooking classes in Rome for kids you’ll love

My tried and tested shortlist of great family food tours and geat cooking classes in Rome for kids, based on our experience.

Eating local food is an important part of any experience in Rome and something you do not have to renounce because you have kids.

Even if you may find yourself with very discerning eaters, it is possible to tap into the fantastic food scene of Rome with them and there are so many options, you are sure to find one that suits you!

I am from Rome, I love to eat and cook and I have very very little tolerance (none, really) for sub par food experiences. I feel in Rome, with the ingredients and the food culture we have, there is no excuse to offer guests anything but an outstanding experience!

So with my kids, I have made a family game to go and try as many food tours and food experience as possible and this is now my tried and tested lists. I hope you enjoy it!

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Best family food tours and cooking classes for kids in Rome TL;DR (summary and booking links)

Self Guided Food Tour of Rome city center – budget, local option with kids printables!

An easy, inexpensive and fun way to explore the food scene of Rome with kids in tow is by following my self guided Rome city centre food tour (click for the link, it’s free!).

Rome city center is full of delicious food stops and if you don’t need to have in depth info about each place or what you are eating, there is no need have a guide to enjoy it, you can easily do it yourself! The advantage of this approach is that the itinerary is free, you can do it at your own pace and you only pay for the food you and your kids are going to actually try, so it is pretty much picky -eater proof!

I have chosen places that I personally love and eat and that I believe will give you the best experience na and overview of what Rome food is all about.

To keep the kids engaged, I like to equip them with these free Rome food printables so they can keep score of what they taste

Guided kid-friendly food tour of Rome City Center and Jewish Ghetto area by LivTours

If you prefer a guided experience, then my favorite kid friendly food tour in Rome is this one by LivTours >>> family food tour in Rome city center

We took this tour in the spring and had AJ as a guide, a lovely girl who was absolutely great with our kids! The tours started in Piazza Mattei and focusses on the Jewish area of Rome, which has incredible cuisine and is the home of the famous fried artichokes and then onto the area towards Campo de’ Fiori and the Pantheon, which are the very heart of Rome.

What I loved about this tour was that it was:

• Well paced, so the kids didn’t get tired
• Comprehensive, since it covered a large variety of foods and types of eateries (from take out to sit-down restaurants)
• Engaging for kids, as AJ made sure they were always involved and happy
• It had typical but kid-friendly foods such as pasta, pizza and suppli’, skipping more ‘difficult’ foods such as tripe which I know at least my kids would have most likely not tried at all!

Super kid-friendly pasta making class with Lucilla

Pasta (carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe…) is a one of the most famous dishes from Rome and taking child friendly class to learn to make is a fantastic way to get the entertained, learn something local and have a delicious meal you can also replicate over and over again at home.

We have tried several pasta classes in Rome and our very favorite for kids is by Lucilla Cooking Class. Lucilla is a local mama who does this classes for passion: she opens her home to guests and in a competent, informal and super welcoming way gets you to make pasta from scratch, teaching you all the tricks both for the pasta itself and the sauce.

She is spectacular with kids and got my two to make both long and stuffed pasta. It was a real hit for them!

I recommend this class for older kids if you take a group one or as a private activity if you have younger kids. Please note that while Lucilla can accommodate toddlers, this is only on a private class basis.

You can read here >>> my full review about our class with Lucilla and how to book

Pasta Making class +gelato making demo in Trastevere with Devour Tour

Another fantastic pasta making class we took with the kids is this one by Devour Tours, in a lovely cooking school in Trastevere.

The class is in a modern, custom made space and is a lovely group experience, perfect for families who are looking for a social class, during which you can meet other travelers.

I took this class with my 10 year old and we both loved it: the teacher got us to make several types of pasta, using different tools which was fun and engaging. The result was delicious too!

As well as making pasta, the class also included a demo on how to make gelato and I can tell you that the peach gelato we had was absolutely amazing!

The group setting was a nice change of pace for us, who usually do not do group activities, and made me think it would be a fabulous things to do with teens especially as they may really enjoy a buzzy group feel in such as fun neighborhood. You can read all about it and check prices here or you can read my full review of this experience here.

Kid friendly pizza making classes in Rome

Pizza is traditional from Rome (and Naples) so Rome is very much the place to learn to make it. Because of this, you’ll find a few experience teaching you how to make it.

Of course, I have my favourites!

A fabulous pizza making class is this one by Rome4Kids: this is the first pizza making class we took in Rome and it was perfect. We took this as a shared activity with only one other family and we had an amazing time: the kids made the dough, decorated the pizza and used the long pizza shovel to put in the wood fire oven – (safe and) exciting!

Another absolutely fantastic, super hands on pizza class in Rome for kids is this one by Devour Tours (yes, the same ones I mentioned for their fun pasta class!). Their pizza class is fun and upbeat, takes place n Trastevere which is a fabulous foodie area and a great nighborhood for nightlife (family friendly, don’t worry) and is it suitable for all ages!

Another fantastic pizza making class for kids is this one by LivTours. LivTours is one of my very favorite providers of tours in Rome and while I know they are often more pricey than others oh my!

Their quality of teachers, food and customer service is like no other so in my opinion, if budget stretches to it, it is a worthy investment! The only downside of this one is that is is not suitable for kids under 5 however, if you have an older sibling, ask them if the little one can tag along. If they can, they’ll do it for you on an ad hoc basis.

Gelato making class in Rome

Gelato was born in Florence, however, there is are also gelato shop in Rome that offers classes and that can be a fun local alternative.

The class takes place is a cute shop in Via Nazionale, it is short but sweet (easy to include in pretty much any Rome itinerary as not too time consuming or hard to reach) and teaches you the fundamentals of gelato, so you see how it comes together and also learn how to recognize the real thing! You can find exact details and book here

Other kid friendly cooking classes in Rome you may love

As well as these classes, which I consider my very favourites, there are some more excellent ones I recommend you consider.

These are:

Pasta and Tiramisu making class A really fun, upbeat class for kids in a local home and neighbornood

Pizza and Gelato making class Another fun group activity suitable for kids on Corso Rinascimento, a fantastic and easy to reach location just beside Piazza Navona.

Both these come highly recommended by the lovely parents in my Italy with kids Facebook Group, which you are very welcome to join too (it’s free!)