Yes, for the thing it is usually measured on. In the best-designed trial on the question, incorporating pureed vegetables into foods preschoolers already ate raised their daily vegetable intake by up to 73 percent, and the children rated how much they liked the food about the same as the unmodified version. What hiding does not do is teach a child to accept a vegetable they can see. Those are two different goals, and the research supports doing both.
What the trial actually found
Spill, Birch, Roe and Rolls at Penn State ran a crossover study with 40 children aged three to five, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2011. Each child was served all meals and snacks one day a week for three weeks. Across the three conditions, the entrees were the same dishes, but the proportion of pureed vegetable in them was tripled or quadrupled, which lowered the energy density of the food.
| Condition | Vegetable content of entrees | Change in daily vegetable intake | Change in daily energy intake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Unchanged | Reference | Reference |
| 85% energy density | Tripled | +52 g (+50%) | Not significantly changed |
| 75% energy density | Quadrupled | +73 g (+73%) | -142 kcal (-12%) |
Three findings from that study matter more than the headline number.
Liking did not fall. Children rated the modified foods about the same as the standard versions. Quadrupling the vegetable content of a dish did not make it taste worse to them.
It did not displace visible vegetables. The children ate the same amount from their vegetable side dishes across all three conditions. The hidden vegetables were additive, not a substitute.
They ate the same weight of food and fewer calories. Children ate a similar total weight across conditions, so raising the vegetable proportion lowered energy intake without anyone eating less food.
What the trial does not tell you
This is where most coverage of the study overreaches. The trial measured intake and liking of the modified dishes. It did not follow the children to see whether they later accepted broccoli on a plate. So the common claim that hiding vegetables builds acceptance over time is not supported by this evidence, and neither is the opposite claim that it harms acceptance.
What we do know about building acceptance comes from a different line of research: repeated, neutral exposure to the visible food. Birch and Marlin demonstrated that two-year-olds' preferences shift with repeated exposure. A puree stirred into pasta sauce cannot do that, because the child never encounters the vegetable as a vegetable.
The practical conclusion is that these are complementary tools solving different problems.
| Goal | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| More vegetables into the child this week | Hiding, blending, pureeing into accepted dishes | Works immediately and does not depend on cooperation |
| A child who will eat vegetables at twelve | Visible vegetables, offered repeatedly, no pressure | Exposure is the mechanism that shifts preference |
| Both | Do both, in the same meal | The trial found hidden vegetables did not reduce intake of the visible ones |
Is it dishonest?
This is the objection people actually have, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a dodge.
There is a difference between cooking with vegetables and deceiving a child. Putting butternut squash in macaroni and cheese is cooking. Denying that it is there when a child asks is something else, and it carries a real cost if discovered: a child who catches you is entitled to trust the next plate less. The version most feeding specialists are comfortable with is unremarkable honesty. You do not announce it, and you do not lie about it. "Yes, there is squash in it" is a fine answer, and by the time it is asked the child has usually already been eating it for weeks.
Worth noting that the Penn State children were not deceived in any meaningful sense. They were served ordinary dishes with more vegetable in them, and they liked them the same.
Where a blended pouch fits
Any vegetable puree works for this, and a batch of roasted and blended squash in the freezer costs almost nothing. The reason a shelf-stable blend gets used is that it removes the step most likely to be skipped on a weeknight, which is making the puree.
One SaladPower pouch is 8 oz of six whole organic ingredients: spinach, kale, carrot, broccoli, apple and lemon. It is about 90 calories with 5 g of fiber and no added sugar. Across 1,566 published customer reviews, 10.1 percent describe blending it into a smoothie and 2.0 percent describe mixing it into a sauce or soup, which is a small share of reviews but a large number of families arriving at the same idea independently.
It is a convenience, not a requirement. Frozen spinach and a blender do the same job.
Frequently asked questions
Does hiding vegetables in food increase how much children eat?
Yes. In a Penn State crossover trial of 40 children aged three to five, tripling the pureed vegetable content of entrees raised daily vegetable intake by 52 g, or 50 percent, and quadrupling it raised intake by 73 g, or 73 percent, compared with standard versions of the same dishes.
Do children notice or dislike food with hidden vegetables?
In that trial they did not. Children rated their liking of the modified foods similarly across all conditions, including when the vegetable content had been quadrupled.
Does hiding vegetables stop children from learning to like them?
The research does not show that, but it does not show the reverse either. The trial measured intake and liking, not long-term acceptance. Since preference is thought to shift through repeated exposure to the visible food, covert vegetables are best used alongside visible ones rather than instead of them.
Does adding vegetables to meals reduce how much other food children eat?
Children in the trial ate a similar total weight of food across conditions, and their intake of vegetable side dishes was unchanged. Because the added vegetables lowered the energy density of the entrees, daily energy intake fell by 142 kcal, or 12 percent, in the highest-vegetable condition.
Which vegetables hide best?
The ones whose flavor is mild and whose color matches the dish. Cauliflower and white beans disappear into pale sauces; butternut squash and carrot into anything orange or cheesy; spinach into anything already green or dark, including tomato sauce and chocolate-based baking. Strongly bitter brassicas like Brussels sprouts are the hardest to conceal.
Sources
- Spill MK, Birch LL, Roe LS, Rolls BJ. "Hiding vegetables to reduce energy density: an effective strategy to increase children's vegetable intake and reduce energy intake." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011;94(3):735-741. doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.111.015206
- Birch LL, Marlin DW. "I don't like it; I never tried it: effects of exposure on two-year-old children's food preferences." Appetite. 1982;3(4):353-360. doi.org/10.1016/s0195-6663(82)80053-6
- Dovey TM, Staples PA, Gibson EL, Halford JCG. "Food neophobia and 'picky/fussy' eating in children: a review." Appetite. 2008;50(2-3):181-193. doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.009
- SaladPower published customer reviews, n = 1,566, collected via Okendo, analyzed September 3, 2026.
- SaladPower Nutrition Facts panel, per 8 oz pouch.
More in this series: Why kids reject vegetables, and what actually works · How to hide vegetables in smoothies and sauces · Picky eating by age
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
