We talk a lot about getting kids to eat healthy and one of our favorite ways to do this is to get them involved in the kitchen.
Kids as young as 3 and 4 can be involved in cooking and meal prep. Getting them involved teaches them about nutrition, food safety, and helps to foster a wider interest in food. It also helps them appreciate the food they eat and the effort that goes into creating a meal. Cooking also builds math, science, literacy and fine motor skills.
There’s only one downside. Meal prep might take a little a lot longer. Our Cooking with Kids series is going to make it simpler to get the little ones involved, because each post is chock-full of tips and ideas to support your kids on their quest to be the next MasterChef Jr.
ICYMI, the first part of our series helped kids prepare and serve their own salad course. Tonight, we’re turning up the beet and moving on to the main course. We’re making…
We’re just going to kale it like we see it; pizza is delicious, and kids love it. Plus, if you’re making individual, homemade pizzas, everyone can pick their favorite toppings. “Kids Make Pizza” Night is sure to be a family favorite!
Meal #2: Homemade Pizza
Always start with…
Clean hands! While they wash up (this could take a while if they get distracted by bubbles), gather all your ingredients for the pizza dough. We’ve listed them below for you.
Here we dough.
This 5-star rated “quick and easy” pizza dough is courtesy of Chef Rider on allrecipes. We love it because you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise…which means we don’t lose the little ones to the distraction of toys and games while they wait. You'll need:
1 (.25 ounce) package of active dry yeast.
1 tsp white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C, approximately)
2 ½ cups bread flour (but it’ll work with regular flour too)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Then, in a medium or large bowl, have your kids mix the yeast and sugar into the warm water until both are dissolved. Then let it stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. While you wait, you can start prepping your toppings – we’ll talk about those soon.
Step 2: After 10 minutes, have your kids carefully pour in the flour, salt and oil. Older kids should be able to measure and pour, but for our littlest chefs (3- and 4-year olds), you can premeasure and then help them gently pour the ingredients in.
Tip: We recommend using a larger bowl than you actually need when cooking with little kids. That way, if they get a little overzealous when mixing, it has a better chance of staying in the bowl than going all over your table.
Step 3: After your chefs add all the dough ingredients, beat until smooth. Kids + electric mixers = fun (and a mess, so stay close or even hands on!) Let the dough rest for just 5 minutes.
Step 4: Next, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. The idea is to make personal size pizzas and let everyone pick their own toppings; if you divide the dough evenly into 2-4 sections, your kids can pat and roll them into flat rounds. Focus on more on making sure they get the dough flat than perfectly round, so the pizzas at least cook evenly.
Step 5: Gently transfer your crusts to a lightly greased pizza pan or pizza stone. We suggest this pizza stone if you like a crispy crust (affiliate link, FYI) - the rectangle shape fits multiple individual pizzas better than a round pizza stone.
Time to get cheesy.
Step 6: We’re going to keep it simple here and spread your favorite store-bought pizza sauce over the center of those pizza rounds. If you pour some sauce into a wide bowl, it’ll be easier for your kids to spoon out than the jar. Have them spoon a pile of sauce into the middle, then use the back of their spoons to spread it out in wide and wider circles. Again, we’re not going for perfection here! We’re going to independence, confidence and fun! Try to remind them not to go right to the edge, though, so their pizza has a crust.
Step 7: After spreading the sauce, it’s time for cheese. You can have them sprinkle shredded cheese, or if you really want to elevate your pizzas, try fresh mozzarella cheese. A fresh mozzarella ball is soft enough that your kids can cut slices themselves and them layer them over the pizza. Much like our cucumbers from our Meal #1 salad, we challenge you to find two slices of cheese that are the same thickness! For kid safe knives that even 3- and 4-year old’s can learn with, we highly recommend this set (also an affiliate link, FYI).
Add the toppings.
Step 8: This is the fun part! There are so many fun – and healthy – combinations of toppings that kids will love (or at least love to try!) For some simple ideas, try slices of fresh tomatoes and bell peppers – both colorful vegetables that your kids can slice (mostly) themselves. We highly suggest putting out spinach and broccoli to first cut up themselves and add. Remind them they can always take something off if they don’t end up liking it on the pizza!
Want to really go all in and get your kids to eat lots of veggies? Make a rainbow pizza buffet!
Red – tomato or red bell pepper slices
Orange – orange bell pepper slices, shredded carrot, shredded cheddar cheese
Yellow – yellow bell pepper slices, pineapple
Green – spinach, broccoli, green pepper slices
Blue – hmmmm, blueberries??
Purple – eggplant, purple (vitelotte) potatoes, purple cabbage, plums
Let it cook, let it cook.
Step 9: While the pizzas bake for 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown), get those kids to set the table! Pass them dishes and utensils one or a few at a time, depending on age and ability to carry without dropping. If you still need to keep them busy while dinner is cooking, print out a couple of our coloring pages and let them sit at the table.
Feel like you’re going to be left with a big mess?
Nope! We are all about kids cleaning up their own messes. They can definitely put their bowl, mixing spoons and knife set in the sink or dishwasher and wipe down the counter to clean up the flour.
Plus, even 3 and 4-year-olds can carry their plates back to the kitchen after their meal and assist in loading the dishwasher. They get a kick out of dropping in the soap and pushing the buttons to turn it on, too!
Don’t forget the two P-eas.
Patience and Praise. According to the recipe, this meal takes 30 minutes, with only 10 minutes for prep. When mini-chefs are involved though, you’ll want to double – maybe even triple – that time.
That’s ok! Remember, it’s not about producing a restaurant quality dish. It’s about producing a healthy meal that your kids will be proud to serve and will actually eat. Just keep heaping on that praise, and you’ll have ready helping hands in the kitchen anytime you want them.
Your kids are a-maize-ing!
Maybe we’re a little corny about it, but we just get so excited when kids have fun in the kitchen learning and trying new foods!
Well, that’s all for meal #2 in our series! We did a have a few more puns…but they’re knead-to-know only. ;)