The best episodes of MasterChef Junior
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
In the next mystery box challenge, the junior home cooks must create a dish using "food kids hate," including liver, sardines and blue cheese. The winner of the challenge earns a sweet advantage in the next round. Later, in the elimination round, the kids have 90 minutes to create an impressive layer cake with at least three layers. Find out which desserts impressed the judges.
- 02
In the season's first field challenge, the remaining six kids split into two teams to take over the kitchen at a fine-dining restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. The two teams have limited time to prep, cook and serve a three-course meal for a packed room of diners, who are unaware that pint-size cooks are preparing their meal. The judges will determine the winning team based on their performance in the kitchen, as well as the diners' and head chef's feedback. Find out which contestants impress.
- 03
The top four cooks create dishes featuring chicken, with the cooks of two best dishes moving to the final round.
- 04
The two remaining cooks prepare three-course menus; the winner is chosen.
- 05
On the Season Two premiere of MASTERCHEF's "Junior Edition," America's first-ever MASTERCHEF JUNIOR, Alexander Weiss, returns to the kitchen as a special guest. Alexander presents the mystery box challenge, and the 16 junior home cooks will be tasked with preparing impressive dishes using the special guest's favorite ingredients, including pork chop, pork tenderloin, green apples, hazelnuts, Brussel sprouts, filo dough, fingerling potatoes, wild rice, whole grain mustard and artichoke. The winner of the challenge will have a significant advantage and select which of the judges' favorite proteins the remaining contestants will prepare in the elimination round. Later, the 12 junior home cooks with the best dishes will advance in the competition.
- 06
In a flipping awesome pre-challenge, the junior home cooks will race to see who can flip and stack the most pancakes, and the winner will put the judges in a very sticky situation. The judges then task the kids to create their best citrus cream pie. Find out which kids make the most successful cream pies and advance to the next round.
- 07
The kids pair up in a three-legged challenge to create a delicious box of 12 cupcakes. Later, Gordon's mom visits the MASTERCHEF kitchen as a special guest judge, and the remaining junior home cooks will have to prepare their own versions of one of Gordon's favorite dishes growing up. Find out which kids impress the judges and advance to the next round.
- 08
The remaining eight junior home cooks will have 10 minutes to fry as many perfect sunny side-up eggs as possible. Later, the kids dream big and imagine owning and running their own restaurant. With only one hour, they will prepare their signature dishes that will one day anchor their menus. Find out which six junior home cooks advance to the next round.
- 09
The remaining six junior home cooks split into teams and compete in the first-ever "Junior Edition" restaurant. The team that wins the challenge will advance into the semi-finals, while the remaining home cooks will have to face elimination. Find out which four junior home cooks advance to the next round.
- 10
The Top Four junior home cooks are tasked with breaking down an exquisite Alaskan King salmon and cutting as many perfect filets as possible. The winner of the challenge will get an advantage in the next round, when the contestants will have a limited number of ingredients to prepare a restaurant-quality salmon dish using the filets from the previous challenge. The two contestants with the most impressive dishes will earn a coveted spot in the exciting MASTERCHEF JUNIOR finale.
- 11
In the exciting season finale, the two finalists will compete head-to-head and prepare the most important three-course menu of their lives. Find out which talented junior home cook will earn the MASTERCHEF trophy and a $100,000 prize.
- 12
On the all-new "Junior Edition" of MASTERCHEF, America's Top 19 junior home cooks are introduced to their first mystery box challenge, in which they must make a complete restaurant-quality dish using any of the ingredients they are given. The winner of the challenge will have a significant advantage and select which of the judges' favorite pastas the remaining contestants will prepare in the elimination round. Later, the top junior home cooks with the best dishes will advance in the competition.
- 13
Before the next challenge, three of the junior home cooks will face a sweet competition as they race to see who can top all of their pies with whipped meringue first. The winner of the challenge will not only get a major advantage in the next challenge, but also help the judges get a slice of victory. After a fun and messy competition, the judges task the kids with their first team competition, where each pair must create their own sausage dishes.
- 14
The remaining 12 junior home cooks face a giant mystery box challenge that delivers the shock of the season. The pint-sized cooks must prepare restaurant-quality dishes using ingredients that get better with age, and the winner of the challenge will have a significant advantage in the next round. Later in the elimination challenge, the contestants come face-to-face with the most dangerous protein in the history of MASTERCHEF.
- 15
Before the next elimination challenge, the winners from the previous challenge will face off in a MASTERCHEF JUNIOR pantry hunt. The junior home cook who correctly matches the most ingredients in the allotted time will win a significant advantage in the next challenge. Later, the remaining 10 junior home cooks will compete in a fishy tag team pair challenge, during which each pair must successfully complete an elaborate sushi dish.
- 16
In the next mystery box challenge, the eight remaining junior home cooks will create unique banana dishes. The junior home cook who most impresses the judges will win a significant advantage in the next elimination challenge. Later, special guest and Gordon Ramsay's daughter, Matilda Ramsay, will introduce the home cooks to their next elimination challenge dish, a Ramsay family favorite, Salmon en Croute.
- 17
In one of the toughest challenges of the season, the six remaining junior home cooks face the restaurant takeover challenge. The contestants will split into two teams and take over a real Los Angeles restaurant. Find out which team is victorious and who will advance to the Top 4.
- 18
The competition heats up as the 4 remaining junior home cooks must prepare 20 crème brulees. The home cook who successfully brulees the most cremes in the allotted time will earn a significant advantage in the next elimination challenge. Next, the junior home cooks will have to each make a complex raspberry dessert dish. The two contestants who impress the judges the most will earn their spot in the finale and be one step closer to the MASTERCHEF JUNIOR title.
- 19
In the exciting season finale, the two finalists competes head-to-head and prepare the most important menu of their young lives. Find out which talented junior home cook earns the MasterChef trophy and a $100,000 prize.
- 20
Sixteen of the country's finest junior home cooks compete for eight of the Top 20 spots on this season's MASTERCHEF. After being split into four groups, each with a distinct signature dish, the kids get started. Only two contestants from each group will find out if they will succeed in moving on to the next round of challenges.
- 21
The remaining junior chefs compete for the final 12 spots in the Top 20. Making dishes ranging from cupcakes, to steak and lobster, the young chefs are tested to their limits and will find out if they will move on to the next round.
- 22
Celebrity chef Aarón Sánchez steps into the MASTERCHEF kitchen as a guest judge. The Top 20 young chefs will face their first mystery box challenge of the season, during which they will have to put their own spin on the most commonly eaten crop in the world – rice. Later in the kitchen, Chef Gordon Ramsay teaches the kids how to make his signature hand-roasted sea bass, which they must replicate.
- 23
The cooks split into two teams and compete to prepare corn dogs; the contestants must prepare a juicy burger; guest judge Mayim Bialik.
- 24
The Top 16 face off in their first team challenge, during which they cook lunch for first responders. Each team will have to create a dish featuring a delicious filet mignon and the guests will vote on which is better – the team with the most votes will win the challenge. Then, it's up to the judges to determine which two cooks from the losing team will head home
- 25
The Top 14 junior home cooks receive a mystery box challenge inspired by the White House garden from former First Lady Michelle Obama. The young cooks must come up with an original recipe that is both healthy and presidential worthy, and the winner will receive a special once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! For the next challenge, Julie Bowen ("Modern Family") steps into the MASTERCHEF kitchen to watch the kids make a dish in honor of their moms. Then, it's up to the judges to decide which contestant will go home
