Mexican Cooking for Kids

Flour Tortillas

Homemade flour tortillas take a little muscle work to roll out, but they taste fresh and are perfect for tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, and wraps. See our making homemade tortillas tutorial.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Kids can help mix the dough, count dough balls, and roll tortillas with supervision.

Cheese Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a simple tortilla-and-cheese dish kids can help assemble. This easy version uses flour tortillas, cheese, green onion and mild green chilies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Mexican or Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon canned chopped green chilies, or to taste
• 4 eight-inch flour tortillas
• Olive oil for brushing or oil for skillet cooking

Directions

1. Place one flour tortilla on a baking sheet or skillet.
2. Sprinkle cheese, green onion, and chilies over the tortilla.
3. Top with a second tortilla.
4. Brush the top lightly with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, or cook in a skillet with a little oil.
5. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream, salsa, or tomatoes.

Variation: Make chicken quesadillas by adding chopped cooked marinated chicken with the cheese.

See more quesadilla recipes for kids.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Kids can sprinkle cheese and help choose fillings.

Taquitos

These baked taquitos are filled with seasoned beef and cheese, then baked until crisp.

Ingredients

• 1 pound hamburger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 teaspoons chili powder, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Flour tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Oil for brushing

Directions

1. Brown hamburger with chopped onion and garlic. Drain.
2. Stir in salsa, chili powder if using, salt, and pepper.
3. Warm the flour tortillas.
4. Place beef mixture and shredded cheese on one end of each tortilla.
5. Roll up tightly and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet.
6. Brush the tops with oil.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. Serve with guacamole, sour cream, or salsa.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Kids can help spoon filling onto tortillas and sprinkle cheese before an adult rolls and bakes them.

Sheet Pan Fajitas

Sheet pan fajitas are made with sliced steak, peppers, onions, and simple seasonings roasted together on one pan.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak, sliced into thin strips
• 1 pound mini sweet peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons mild chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 large lime, sliced
• 1 large avocado, diced, optional
• Corn tortillas or large lettuce leaves, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine steak, peppers, onion, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and red pepper flakes.
3. Season with salt and pepper and mix until everything is well coated.
4. Spread the steak and pepper mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
5. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the steak reaches the desired doneness and the peppers are soft.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cilantro and lime juice.
7. Serve with diced avocado, corn tortillas, or lettuce wraps if desired.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Leave out the cayenne and red pepper flakes for a mild version. Kids can help measure the seasonings and arrange the peppers on the sheet pan.

Empanadas

These baked empanadas use a simple homemade dough and a beef and cheese filling.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• Salt, pepper, or taco seasoning, to taste

Directions

1. Brown ground beef and onion together in a skillet.
2. Season with salt, pepper, or taco seasoning. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a mixing bowl, add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir together.
5. Add softened butter and blend together.
6. Slowly add milk until dough forms a ball. If dough is sticky, add more cornmeal.
7. On a floured surface, roll out dough and cut 3- to 4-inch circles.
8. Add cheese to the beef mixture.
9. Place 1 teaspoon of beef mixture in each dough circle.
10. Fold each circle in half and seal edges with a fork.
11. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Variation: Try ham and cheese, pizza toppings, or fruit filling for a different empanada idea.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Kids can cut dough circles and press the edges closed with a fork.

Churros

This churros recipe makes sweet fried dough sticks sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• Pinch of sugar
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 whole eggs
• Oil for frying
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a saucepan, heat water, butter, and sugar until butter has melted and sugar is dissolved.
2. Add flour and blend together.
3. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring, until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the pan.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and egg yolk.
5. Remove dough from heat and slowly stir in beaten eggs.
6. Allow dough to cool.
7. Place dough in a zip-top bag or pastry bag. Clip a small hole in the corner if using a zip-top bag.
8. Squeeze dough into long sticks.
9. Adult Step: Carefully fry the churros in hot oil until golden brown and crisp.
10. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Adults should handle the hot oil. Kids can help sprinkle powdered sugar after the churros cool slightly.

Baked Not Fried Ice Cream

This simple dessert coats vanilla ice cream in crushed cornflakes, freezes it, and quickly broils the outside before serving.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cornflakes, crushed
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions

1. Place cornflakes in a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet.
2. Scoop vanilla ice cream into small scoops and roll each scoop into a ball.
3. Coat each ice cream ball with crushed cornflakes.
4. Place on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
5. Freeze several hours.
6. Adult Step: Just before serving, place the frozen ice cream under the broiler for about 30 seconds, watching constantly, until the cornflake coating is lightly browned.

Kid-Friendly Tip: Kids can crush the cornflakes and roll the ice cream in the coating. An adult should handle the broiler and hot baking sheet.