I started making my son cheesy rice balls because every time we ate rice he looked like he walked through a rice explosion! It didn’t look like he got much, if any, rice in his mouth. I thought the cheese would hold the rice together enough for him to eat it– not wear it. He loves eating these cheese balls and has a blast making them too.
To make them, spread rice on a plate, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and microwave for about 20-25 seconds. If I am using hot rice I just stir cheese into the hot rice and this works without the microwave.
Cooking with Kids
When stirring, it forms almost a dough consistency and it is easy to roll into little balls.
Then I hand them over to my one year old who will pop a few in his mouth and mush a few with his hands. It’s a great sensory experience– the warm rice “dough”.
A fun variation would be to flatten the cheesy rice on a plate and cut shapes with a cookie cutter! I imagine a picky preschooler would love to eat some rice shapes they’ve cut out themselves!
For a nutritional boost and a little color try brown or red rice, or mix in some quinoa or wild rice!
**Check out the other ways we make cooking with kids fun!**
Written by Adrianne