Nachos for Kids

Nacho Usual Chip Container

Got a picky eater in your household? Want an easy dinner plan that will please everyone, and let each family member customize their own meal without you becoming a short order cook? Whip out some chips and your preferred toppings and let kids assemble their own nachos. 

This meal plan works best if everyone has their own oven-safe container. I highly recommend cake pans (like these on Amazon). Lots of people have two or more cake pans to make tiered cakes. We happen to have four tins, plus several glass pie plates. All these work great doing double-duty as nacho containers. 

Lay out the chips, cheese, any meat you want, beans, corn, peppers, and whatever other ingredients you’d like warm. Stick them in the oven around 350 degrees for a few minutes, until the cheese gets melted but before the chips start to brown. (My kids won’t touch a “burnt” chip.) Once they come out of the oven, make sure kids know not to touch the hot containers. We use potholders as placemats to protect the table surface.

Let kids add any other accouterments, like tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, or sour cream, then feast. Each plate of nachos only takes a few minutes to heat in the oven, so this meal can be ready in next to no time. The oven can hold multiple rounds at once. If kids need more to eat, they can easily assemble a second round. Plus this meal plan puts kids in charge of their own plate and lets them experiment with different combinations.

If you need a fast and easy meal plan sure to please the entire family, try some nachos at your next Taco Tuesday, or any day of the week.