Tapas are becoming a popular restaurant choice. What’s fun about tapas is they are meant to be shared and small enough so that you can eat a variety.
It’s almost like having a whole meal of appetizers.
You can prepare and serve tapas for an appetizer right in your own kitchen. But another kid-friendly idea is to make a table full of tapas dishes and then to have your family meal by taking samples of each.
Your kids can help you prepare the meal by putting together bacon-wrapped figs or cucumber tapas. For an authentic Spanish flavor, try the tortilla tapas, chicken empanadas, or roasted red pepper and olive tapas.
For a quick dish to serve while you’re preparing the other small plates, try these bacon-wrapped figs from Kraft. Cut figs and then fill them with a little bit of goat cheese – then wrap with bacon. Broil until the bacon is crisp. If your kids don’t like goat cheese, try a milder one like feta or even cream cheese.
Tortilla Tapas
These aren’t like Mexican corn tortillas. Instead, Spanish tortillas are made with potatoes and eggs, almost as though you were making a crustless quiche.
After these tortilla tapas from BBC Good Food cooked through and cooled, cut into small, bite-sized pieces.
Cucumber Tapas
While kids may shun other vegetables, cucumbers are usually a favorite.
For example, these cucumber tapas from Martha Stewart, start with peeled cucumbers that are then filled with feta cheese and diced cucumber pieces that are tossed in olive oil, vinegar, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Nutty Pimiento Cheese Balls
These nutty pimiento cheese balls from Eating Well are easy to make and to pop into your mouth.
Mix cream cheese with shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses along with mayonnaise and chopped pimientos. Refrigerate the mixture, roll into balls and then in chopped pecans.
Almost like an Italian calzone, these small-sized chicken empanadas from Spanish Sabores have only a few ingredients.
Dice up chicken pieces and mix with shredded mozzarella and caramelized onions. Then place in empanada dough – premade piecrusts work just fine, too. Brush each one with beaten egg so that the empanadas have a shiny sheen once baked.
Roasted Red Pepper and Olive Tapas
Slice pieces of baguette-style French bread 1/2-inch thick. Saute diced onions, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives and Balsamic vinegar.
Toast the bread slices and then top with the onion mixture. This easy roasted red pepper and olive tapas from Pillsbury come together in 25 minutes or less.
This post was originally published in 2015 and is updated regularly.
