Salsa Recipe for Kids Easy and Homemade: Tomatoes and Fruit

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Kid-friendly fruit and tomato salsa for toddlers and kids. This simple salsa recipe for kids is packed with flavor and nutrients. Salsa is a great way to get your kids eating more fruits and vegetables. Easy recipes are my go-to and you can make this recipe in only ten minutes. Just gather your fresh ingredients together and throw them in a blender (or food processor). And, you have the perfect salsa recipe for kids all from scratch and without any unnecessary ingredients.

Jump to the Salsa Recipe for Kids

Pure goodness! A healthy food made to your preference. Mix up the fruit and tomato combinations as you like in your salsa recipe for your kids. Adjust the consistency, sweetness, spiciness, or saltiness to your kids liking. Keep reading and I will tell you how.

I love a good salsa. Not only does it taste good but I love that it’s unbelievably easy. The focus is on fresh ingredients. Those fresh ingredients change throughout the year, creating lots of opportunities to develop different salsa recipes. At our home, our salsa recipe for kids evolves throughout the seasons based on what produce is in season.

Use this recipe as your blueprint for an easy blender salsa.

Also, salsas and smoothies are great “mama-make-do” recipes. Use what is available, what is in season, and what you can budget.

Do you have picky eaters?

Limit textures and aim for a smoother consistency

An easy way to decrease textures is by using a blender to make a smoother salsa. The chunkier the salsa, the more texture and the more sensory stimulation for your child. The blender helps you achieve that smooth consistency similar to restaurant style salsa.

Be careful to not pulse the blender too long because you will end up with a salsa smoothie.

Aim for sweet not bitter flavors

Also, kids naturally prefer sweeter flavors and are quite sensitive to bitter tastes. Traditional salsas include tomatoes, raw onions, bell peppers, garlic and cilantro. All yummy things but try to limit the bitter taste when cooking for kids. Also, green bell peppers can be spicy to little ones. Onions are great but strong. And, cilantro can sometimes taste soapy.

This easy fruit salsa is naturally sweetened with fresh produce but you could always add honey (for kids older than one year of age), brown sugar, or coconut sugar.

When making your kiddie salsa, I would recommend limiting the spicy peppers, cilantro, and onions. Rather, than using a half-cup of cilantro start with a tablespoon or even a teaspoon of cilantro.

Incorporate their favorite fruit

Often, kids love fruit. Allow your kid to choose a fruit that they love such as mangoes, strawberries, peaches, and pineapples. Those are some of our favorite fruit and tomato combinations. We have not tried apple, yet. Watermelon is a fun option but very juicy. We prefer just to eat watermelon.

Note: If replacing the fruit with strawberries, I recommended sweetening the salsa with honey (honey is not recommended for children under the age of one).

Offer new food with favorite food

Also, to improve your kid’s response to a new food, offer the new food with an all-time favorite food. My first kid started eating salsa with sour cream mixed into it. Oh, and you cannot go wrong mixing in Queso cheese.

How to get kids involved in the kitchen?

Are you nervous to let your kids get involved in the kitchen? Then, this is the perfect recipe to start. Kids are more likely to eat the food when they assist in the preparation.

There are just a few steps that require a grown-up to complete. If your kid is not ready for knife skills, please have a grown-up perform all chopping.

Kid jobs for making this salsa recipe:

Kids can:

• Assist with deciding on the combination of ingredients
• Wash all produce
• Add chopped produce to the blender
• Snip herbs such as Cilantro with scissors
• Push the PULSE button on the blender
• Pour servings into individual containers to serve to friends and family
• Wash dishes

Note: if your kid is sensitive to sounds, a blender can be loud and obnoxious when running. Explain the sound a blender makes and prepare them. Luckily, this recipe only requires you to pulse for 2-3 seconds.

Sing a song with them or do a count down while the motor on the blender runs.

Lessons in the Kitchen

Matter of fact, making salsa is a great opportunity to get kids learning in the kitchen and involved in the process of food preparing.

Here are some teaching ideas for making this salsa recipe for kids:

• Sort and group ingredients by colors
• Count the ingredients
• Measure out the ingredients to teach volume
• Use scissors to snip the herbs like Cilantro
• Pour ingredients to practice pouring skills
• Follow one-step to multiple step directions
• Self-care by learning to cook and prepare food
• Operate kitchen appliances like the blender or food processor
• Clean the kitchen properly

Ways to add Healthy Ingredients to your kid’s salsa

Vitamins and minerals are best achieved by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the week. Adding one clove of raw garlic packs your salsa with manganese, Vitamins B6 and C, and selenium. You can add avocado to increase healthy fats and to develop a creamier texture. Not to mention, the added benefits of an avocado such as Vitamins B, C, E, and K, folate, magnesium, and potassium. You can add spinach, ground ginger, and turmeric for even more nutrients and minerals. Choose a quality mineral salt to capitalize on mineral intake. Rather than sweetening with sugar, sweeten your salsa with honey (only avoid adding honey to salsa for children under one year of age).

What is a substitute for Tomatoes?

It is hard to achieve a traditional salsa without fresh tomatoes but that’s okay, salsa doesn’t have to be traditional. You could simply leave out the tomatoes. Especially, when making salsa with mangos and pineapples, you don’t necessarily need the tomatoes. As long as you are not avoiding tomatoes due to a food allergy, you could slowly increase the amount of tomatoes in your salsa. This will provide your child a chance to get use to the strong flavor of tomatoes.

If you don’t have fresh ripe tomatoes, canned tomatoes are a great option. I love using fire-roasted tomatoes. They really add a punch of flavor.

Simple and Easy Salsa Recipe for Kids

Equipment:

• blender (or food processor)
• cutting board
• knife
• airtight container for storing
• medium bowl for serving

Ingredient List:

• 4-5 tomatoes (quartered)
• 1 large mango (yields approximately 1 cup)
• 1 cup of roughly chopped pineapple
• 2-3 cloves of raw garlic
• 1-2 tbsp of lime juice
• sea salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp of cilantro * optional

Step by Step Instructions for Easy Homemade Salsa Recipe for Kids:

1. First, gather all ingredients. Clean and roughly chop your produce. (See “Important Note” below)
2. Then, put all ingredients into a blender. If you desire a chunkier salsa versus a smoother restaurant style salsa, then divide your tomatoes in half. Add half of the tomatoes and save the other half for step three.
3. Now, pulse the blender until you reach your desired consistency. I recommend pulsing for very short periods like 2-3 seconds. If you want a chunkier salsa, add the second half of tomatoes once you almost have the consistency that you want. Then, pulse for 2-3 seconds once or take the time to dice the tomatoes to your liking.
4. Lastly, enjoy this delicious salsa now or let the flavors marinate together for at least 30 minutes.

Important Note before Blending!

If you are unsure of the consistency of salsa you want, I recommend dividing your ingredients into two parts. Start by blending one portion and pour into a medium bowl. Then, blend the second portion and combine both portions into the bowl.

Recipe Notes for making this salsa recipe for kids:

• Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator 
• Freeze left-overs into serving size portions for up to 2 months
• Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, corn chips, or other favorite chips, veggie slices (such as sliced sweet peppers), veggie sticks, tacos, hot dog, fish, beans, salads, burrito bowls, breakfast tacos, on top of scrambled eggs, or as a side with your main dish.
• If you prefer very chunky salsa, only pulse for 2 seconds at a time until desired consistency. You do not want a salsa smoothie. Unless you do.
• Add spices as you desire such as cumin, Mexican oregano, Thai basil, parsley, cayenne, ground turmeric, ground ginger. Go for the flavor. 
• Want heat? Add one Jalapeño pepper (remove seeds and white membrane from the pepper). Add other peppers like a chili pepper or a Habanero pepper for some serious heat. Also, a dash of your favorite hot sauce is a great way to add heat.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Why is my salsa so watery?

Fresh tomatoes tend to have more water content. If you prefer to decrease the amount of liquid, just add a tablespoon of tomato paste. This will help you thicken your salsa without losing any of the flavor.

Should I remove the seeds from tomatoes when making salsa?

Not necessarily. If using fresh tomatoes your salsa will be more liquidly but just add a tablespoon of tomato paste. As a busy mom, I do not have time for the tedious task of removing tomato seeds. But, it would be great fine motor practice.

Do you have to peel tomatoes for salsa?

Nope. You do not have to peel tomatoes for salsa. Just chop off the stem. However, I do find that if I cut the tomatoes into fourths they fit better into my blender.

How to adjust the level of spiciness of salsa?

If you don’t like spicy, then do not add spicy ingredients like peppers. It should be noted that a green bell pepper does have a spicy flavor. Red bell peppers make a good alternative because of their sweetness. If you want more spice, add jalapeños (make sure to remove the seeds and remove the white membrane of the pepper). You could also add chili powder or cayenne. I love spicy food while my family does not. I always add a little hot sauce to my bowl of salsa. Cholula hot sauce is my favorite!

Can kids eat salsa?

Of course! Salsa is a great way for kids to add new foods to their diet and get more nutrients. It is recommended to introduce one food at a time to babies and young children so you can monitor their response and screen for food allergies. Be aware that kids naturally like sweet flavors and may not enjoy bitter flavors.

Finally, I want to thank you for stopping by! Please say Hi in the comment section. If you make this kid-friendly recipe, please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I would love to know the combinations your kiddo loved.

– With Great Joy, Katie

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