Getting kids cooking in the kitchen with quick and easy recipes, like this homemade salsa, is a great life skill to teach them.
Hey, Heather here! I strongly believe that teaching kids to cook is an integral part of their growing up years. Knowing how to cook as they go into adulthood helps them be better able to make healthier eating choices, budget their food better, and be self sufficient.
I have also found that when we let our kids help us pick fruits and vegetables out and be a part of the preparation process, they tend to eat better and be willing to branch out and try new things because they picked them. When it comes to cooking, I start them out with quick and easy recipes that don’t require a lot of work or actual cooking, like this homemade guacamole our whole family loves.
Get our best easy recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
When they make a batch of guacamole it is gone in no time flat and I love that they’ve just cleaned up a nice healthy snack. This homemade salsa is another great recipe to start kids on a good cooking path. It’s easy, it’s fresh, and most kids love salsa and chips or homemade tacos.
Now don’t imagine a 2 year old wielding a knife! Each child matures at a different age so there are no hard and fast rules I follow, but my 7 year old is great at peeling produce, dumping things into the bowl, and juicing the lime. When we make our salsa by hand, my older boys often get the job of dicing and chopping since they have been taught how to handle knives properly. I still mince the cilantro, peppers, and garlic since it is very small exacting work.
When we are in a hurry we don’t even do it all by hand. My boys cut the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic into smaller pieces, my daughter juices the lime, sprinkles in the salt, and throws in cilantro, and they all take turns hitting the food processor button. We have homemade salsa in under 10 minutes! Now if only I could find the recipe for a memory as good as theirs, because they definitely remember whose turn it is even weeks later.
If like you this recipe, make sure you sign up for It Is a Keeper’s email newsletter! You’ll receive a FREE Kitchen Cheat Sheet Printable as a thank you!
SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE PRINTABLE RECIPE.
For more recipe inspiration, be sure to check out these pages on It is a Keeper:
Homemade Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatoes
- 1 small onion, just bigger than a golf ball
- 1 inch jalapeno, 1/4 green bell pepper for no spice
- 1 clove garlic
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 sprig of cilantro
- 1 small pinch salt
Instructions
- Dice tomatoes.
- Mince onion, garlic, cilantro, and pepper.
- Put in bowl and add salt and lime juice.
- Mix and serve.
