🎃 Jack-o'-Lantern Quesadillas

Jack-o'-Lantern Quesadillas for kids: the whole recipe

Let's carve a jack-o'-lantern face into a tortilla and fill it with melty cheese! This easy Halloween treat is for ages 7 to 12 (grades 2nd–6th), takes about 20 minutes and serves 2. Crumb, our tiny chef, reads every step aloud with a picture, so a child can follow along, and every hot or sharp step is marked for a grown-up.

Ingredients

• 4 tortillas (or corn tortilla)
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 2 teaspoons butter (or oil)

Tools

A cutting board, A toothpick, A sharp knife (grown-up), Measuring cups, A frying pan, The stove (grown-up), A flat spatula, A plate.

Steps

1. Wash your hands with soap for twenty seconds.
2. Lay out 4 tortillas in pairs: one for the bottom, one for the face.
3. Scratch a face on each top one with a toothpick: eyes, a nose and a big smile.
4. Grown-up step: A grown-up cuts out the face with a sharp knife.
5. Sprinkle 1 cup of grated cheddar over the bottom ones, right to the edges.
6. Lay a face on top of each one and press it flat.
7. Grown-up step: A grown-up melts 2 teaspoons of butter in a pan over medium heat.
8. Grown-up step: A grown-up cooks each one 2 minutes a side, flipping it with a spatula.
9. Wait two minutes: the cheese inside is very hot.
10. Look at that orange face glow! Tear off a piece and taste.

Safety notes

• Sharp! A grown-up does this part.
• Hot! A grown-up does this part.
• Contains milk, wheat. Tap "Allergies?" on the Kitchen's front page and the swaps fill themselves in where there is one.
• Read the label on packets for allergies.
• A bit messy.

Kitchen science

Orange cheddar gets its colour from annatto, a plant seed, and it glows through the cut-out face like a lit pumpkin.

Make it your own

• Carve a cat face or a ghost face instead.
• Add a spoonful of beans for a bigger lunch.
• Dip the pieces in salsa or guacamole.

More Halloween treats for kids

• 🍞 Ghost Toast (breakfast, 10 minutes)
• 🍕 Mummy Pizza (lunch, 20 minutes)
• 🎃 Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (snacks, 50 minutes)
• 🧁 Pumpkin Muffins (baking, 40 minutes)
• All 14 Halloween treats for kids, with party food ideas
• All our easy recipes for kids and no-bake recipes