How To Make Fajitas For Kids
As with so many other recipes for toddlers, making fajitas for kids is as much about how you serve them as what you serve. Forget authenticity; the focus here is on choice. Everything needed for the fajitas you know and love will, of course, be on the table—literally, it’ll be spread before the child. But we can only assure you that you will have fajitas; what ends up going into your child’s mouth, though, may just be some formative facsimile of, quite possibly including neither the meat nor the vegetables you associate with the Tex-Mex staple. That’s okay: you’re serving fajitas to build to…something. It’s dinner as opportunity, not obligation—a chance to introduce your child to future favorites that will define mealtime for years to come.
But what a great weekday dinner it is (now or later)! So many options and permutations to play with–and eat. All the cooking is done on a single sheet pan; prep is a breeze, especially if you buy pre-cut chicken and vegetables (which you should). The marinade adds a nice natural sweetness and zing; you can skip it if time is short and/or you’re feeling lazy. Just like your kid when you serve this, you’ve got options–make ‘em count.
- 12 oz Chicken Breast Tenderloins (defaulting to naturally thin and long chicken pieces; feel free to buy pre-cut poultry, as most grocery stores will have a “fajita” or “stir fry” option)
- 2 Bell Peppers (get multiple colors!)
- 1 small Onion
- 1/3 cup Orange Juice
- 1 Lime
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika (Note: if you can a premixed taco seasoning, you can use in place of paprika and cumin)
- Cumin
- Cilantro
- Small Flour Tortillas (often marketed as “street tacos”; figure 2-3 per adult + 1 for your child)
- Shredded
- Cheese
- Guacamole
- Black Beans
- Rice
- If not already pre-chopped, cut chicken, peppers, and onions into long thin strips.
- In a large Ziploc bag or sealable container, add the orange juice, juice of the lime, olive oil, several shakes of paprika and cumin (or taco seasoning), a shake or two of garlic powder and cilantro, and a pinch each of salt and pepper; blend. Add in the chicken pieces and marinate for at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375. Dump peppers and onions onto a large shallow-rimmed baking sheet; toss until coated, then spread around pan.
- Cook the peppers and onions for 15 minutes.
As the peppers and onions cook, do the following:
- On a separate pan, spread out chicken pieces.
- Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil.
- Assemble toppings and sides. (See our guacamole recipe for what to do with that avocado!)
- When the fifteen minutes are up, remove the pan with the peppers and onions; flip any large pieces on the pan over to ensure even browning. Return to oven.
- Add foil-wrapped tortillas and the pan with the chicken pieces to the oven and cook for five minutes. Remove from oven.
- Plate chicken; add a big squeeze of lime juice and any additional seasoning (cilantro, paprika, etc.) you desire.
As seen/suggested in the recipe photo, a good place to start is by putting all ingredients on the table on/in separate plates and bowls; we usually show our child how we like to assemble a fajita, then help him assemble one. (Pro tip: use a snack clip to hold one end of a folded tortilla in place to ensure filling does not spill out.) Don’t hesitate to build one out for your child if that works best for everyone; you can also serve the components individually, providing a sauce or two (e.g., barbecue sauce for the chicken, or ranch for the peppers) to nudge them on.
You can take the same approach with steak–just cook it an extra minute or two. If tacos don’t do it for your child, or if some ingredient is visually off-putting to your child, try putting the same ingredients in an empanada, frozen discs: we like to spread the dough with cream cheese, layer the ingredients, then top with cheese; air fry for 6-7 minutes on 375 for a crunchy and creamy handheld dinner.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
