How to Get Cooking With the Kids

For many of us, spending time at home has reawakened our culinary pursuits as we dust off our favorite (or rarely opened!) cookbooks and search our creative concoctions online.

Cooking more at home is also a great opportunity for family time if you enlist your loved ones in meal prep. Even your young ones can partake in the process when you choose easy, kid-friendly recipes like these:

Scrambled eggs. It’s never too soon to help your child master the art of cracking an egg—just be patient and expect a few mishaps! Or, if your little one is too young to handle that task, let them be in charge of adding a little milk, salt and pepper, then let them whisk up the eggs in the bowl. Kids can also have fun tossing in their favorite additives to the beaten eggs—shredded cheese, cubed ham or maybe even spinach. With your supervision, your child can gently stir the eggs in the pan until scrambled to their preference.

Tacos. Get the whole family involved in preparing a taco Tuesday feast! This meal has something every aged child can participate in. Put older kids in charge of chopping onions, peppers and other veggies, have tweens shred cheese, and let little ones mash up avocados and spoon salsa and sour cream into serving bowls. All you’ll have left to do is cook up some ground beef or shredded chicken!

Grilled cheese. Making grilled cheese is not only a fun cooking activity to share with your kids, it’s an important life skill to teach them, as nothing makes for an easier, more satisfying meal! Keep it simple by showing your children how to layer their favorite cheese between two slices of their favorite kind of bed, slather the outside with butter, then slowly cook in a pan or on a griddle. Or, get more creative and encourage your kids to add some of their favorite ingredients, like ham, tomato, avocado and bacon. The sky’s the limit!

Oven fried chicken. Enlist the kids’ help in this healthier version of an American classic. Start by having your child place skinless chicken parts into buttermilk to marinate, then after 30 minutes, dredge them in breadcrumbs and place on a baking rack. After 30 – 40 minutes in a 425-degree oven, you’ll be ready to enjoy this crunchy chicken dinner, minus the additional fat and calories of frying.

The cooking skills your kids will learn during these shared meal preparations will be almost as invaluable as the memories you’ll create!