Although Cinco de Mayo is a much bigger holiday here than it is in Mexico, it’s a lot of fun to celebrate! Here are some easy kid friendly recipes you can make with or for your kids.
Cinco de Mayo popsicles by Sue at TheViewFromGreatIsland.com
Ingredients:
lime stripe
- juice of 4 limes
- 2-3 tsp sugar, to taste
- a drop of green food coloring (optional)
coconut stripe
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1-2 tsp sugar to taste
strawberry stripe
- about 10 large strawberries
Directions:
- To make the green layer, place the lime juice in a glass measuring cup. Stir in the sugar to dissolve, and then add enough water to make 1 cup. Taste it to make sure you have got a good balance of sweet and sour, and adjust if necessary,
- pour the lime juice about 1/3 of the way up into each of 10 popsicle molds. Freeze the molds until the layer is almost frozen solid, then remove and place a stick into each mold, anchoring it into the lime layer. Return the mold to the freezer and freeze until completely solid.
- To make the white layer, whisk together the coconut milk and the sugar until smooth. Pour the coconut milk into each popsicle mold, filling it another 1/3 of the way. Return the mold to the freezer and freeze until completely solid, about 2 hours.
- For the last layer, whiz the strawberries in a small food processor. Add a little bit of water to make about 1 1/3 cups.
- Top off each of the molds with the strawberry mixture, and return to the freezer to finish freezing.
- When ready to eat, unmold the pops by filling your sink with hot tap water and immersing the mold up to, but not over, the top lip for about 15 seconds. Remove the popsicles and eat immediately, or wrap in waxed paper and place in freezer baggies to store for later.
Walking Tacos by Dusty Hutchins-McNutt at CookingMamas.com
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
- 1 (1 oz.) pkg. taco seasoning mix
- 6 (2-2.5 oz.) bags corn chips Fritos, Doritos, Sun Chips, any flavor
- 3 c. shredded lettuce
- 2 tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- Additional toppings: Black beans, olives, onions, or pickled jalapenos
- Dressings: Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or ranch salad dressing
Directions:
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain off excess grease. Mix in taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions.
- With the bags un-opened, gently crush the corn chips. Using scissors, cut open the bags.
- Spoon equal amounts of the taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese into the bags. Allow guests to add additional toppings and dressing. Serve in the bags with a forks.
- Cook’s Note: Use your favorite chili in place of ground beef and taco seasoning.
Churro cupcakes by Aubri and Amber at TheDIYLighthouse.com
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
- 1 cinnamon cake box mix + ingredients listed on the box
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 1 tub vanilla (or cream cheese) frosting
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (optional)
Directions:
Cupcakes
- Make cake mix according to the directions on the box. I used something like these foil cupcake liners. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- Coat your cupcake tops with the cinnamon sugar mix by first melting the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. In another small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Dip a cupcake face down into the butter, and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture. This should coat your cupcake top nicely. Coat all of your cupcakes like this.
Frosting
- To make the frosting, mix a teaspoon of cinnamon into the vanilla (or cream cheese) frosting. If you want a thicker frosting mix in the powdered sugar too until you get your desired consistency. Using a piping/icing bag + tip (this jumbo closed star frosting tip is my favorite), put a big swirl of your frosting on top of each cupcake. If you don’t have an icing bag or a coupler attachment piece, I recommend getting these. I use them often and it helps the frosting experience go a lot smoother!
Individual seven layer dips by Christy Denney at TheGirlWhoAteEverything.com
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
- 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning
- 1 cup guacamole or make homemade guacamole
- 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
- 1 cup chunky salsa or pico de gallo; or make homemade pico de gallo
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- 2 Roma tomatoes , diced
- 1/2 bunch of green onions , sliced
- 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced olives, drained
- 8 (9 ounce) plastic tumblers
- tortilla chips
Directions:
- In a small bowl mix taco seasoning with refried beans. Some people prefer to mix their taco seasoning with the sour cream layer but I wanted a bright white layer so I did it with the beans.
- Here’s how the layers are assembled:
- Layer 1: beans and taco seasoning; Layer 2: sour cream; Layer 3: guacamole; Layer 4: salsa or pico de gallo; Layer 5: cheese; Layer 6: tomatoes; Layer 7: green onions and olives
- In each plastic glass, layer about 2 Tablespoons of the beans, followed by 2 Tablespoons of sour cream, 2 Tablespoons of guacamole, 2 Tablespoons of salsa or pico de gallo, and 2 Tablespoons of cheese. Make sure you drain your salsa or pico to get the excess liquid out before you pour it on. Then top with about 1-2 teaspoons of tomatoes, olives, and green onion (If making ahead of time, wait to add these toppings until shortly before serving).
- Garnish with one tortilla chip. Store in the refrigerator until serving and serve with chips. Makes around 8 individual dips.
Cinco de Mayo taco treats by Sandra Denneler at SheKnows,com
Ingredients:
- 12 Golden Oreo cookies
- 10 – 15 peanut butter candy melts
- 1/2 cup chocolate frosting
- 1/2 cup crushed chocolate Oreos
- 1/4 cup coconut
- Green food coloring
- 24 – 30 Hot Tamale candies
- Orange Airhead candy and banana Laffy Taffy
- 1/4 cup white frosting
Directions:
- To make the “ground beef,” mix the chocolate frosting with the crushed chocolate Oreos.
- To make the “lettuce,” add 2 drops of green food coloring to 1 teaspoon of water. Put the coconut into a zip-close bag, and pour the green liquid inside. Mix, and toss well.
- To make the “cheese,” flatten an orange Airhead candy and a banana Laffy Taffy. Cut them into tiny pieces with scissors.
- To make the “cherry tomatoes,” cut off the rounded ends of the Hot Tamale candies.
- To make the cookie taco shells, remove the top and bottom wafers of the Golden Oreo cookies, and scrape off the filling. Using a sawing motion with a serrated knife, carefully cut each Oreo wafer just above the Oreo logo (about 2/3). Align the cut wafers inside a mini cupcake pan to form the angled shape of a taco shell. Align the cut wafers inside a mini cupcake pan to form the angled shape of a taco shell.
- Melt the peanut butter candy melts in a microwave (three 30-second intervals, stirring between each heating), and pour the liquid into a piping bag or plastic zip-close bag. Cut off the tip, and pipe the melted peanut butter candy between the cut Oreo wafers.
- Smooth out with a toothpick. Allow them to cool a few minutes. Turn the cookie taco shells over, and pipe more peanut butter melt on the bottoms, smoothing the gap shut and securing the two wafers together.
- To assemble, add the chocolate “ground beef” first.
- Pipe a small line of white frosting down the center, and sprinkle the coconut “lettuce” on top. (The frosting helps keep it in place.) Add a few more dabs of white frosting, and sprinkle the candy “cheese” on top. Add two or three dabs of white frosting to secure the candy “cherry tomatoes.” Add more white frosting for “sour cream,” if desired.
Mexican street corn (elotes) by Marzia at LittleSpiceJar.com
Ingredients:
- 3 ears sweet corn
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (ancho chile powder works too) (see note)
- 1 lime, quartered
Directions:
- If you are going to bake the corn, leave the husks on. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the corn covered in husks directly on the oven rack and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the corn is tender and juicy. If you are going to grill the corn, you can leave the corn husks on or take them off for some pretty grill marks.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic powder with the mayonnaise. Place the cotija cheese in a shallow baking dish or a plate. When the corn is done, remove husks and brush the corn with the garlic mayonnaise. Roll in the cotija cheese and sprinkle with cilantro and chili powder. Serve with the lime wedges to squeeze over the corn.
Cinco de Mayo fruit kabobs by Kelly at KellyLeighCreates.com
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Toothpicks
Directions:
- cut fruit into bite sized pieces
- skewer fruit on toothpick in following order: grape, banana, strawberry. Repeat
