Simple and Healthy Homemade Baby Food Recipes

A HUGE benefit of making your own homemade baby food, besides the huge cost savings you’ll see, is that you can adjust flavors based on your kid’s own pallets. Plus, you know exactly what is in the food that you’re feeding them!

Can I just say that my little Skylar is an eater. As in, he eats everything, he likes just about everything… put it all together and he likes to eat a lot of everything. I’ve always enjoyed making baby food for my kids and when Skye was first old enough to start eating I was excited to go at it again… and then, he wouldn’t eat.

For about two months I slowly tried different things and with each and every taste and texture we tried, he didn’t want anything to do with it. At first, I started to worry, and then realized, again, that every child is different and is ready in their own time.

So we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, when I tried again (after noticing he was interested in what we were eating), he liked his food, and he hasn’t stopped eating since.

Sometimes we put too much pressure on us or on our kids for what we think they are ready for, when we just need to trust they’ll eat the right things in the right time, and keep giving them the opportunity to taste and try new flavors. 

WHY HOMEMADE BABY FOOD?

A HUGE benefit of making your own homemade baby food, besides the huge cost savings you’ll see, is that you can adjust flavors based on your kid’s own pallets. Plus, you know exactly what is in the food that you’re feeding them!

WHAT AGE SHOULD I START OFFERING BABY FOOD?

Now that Skylar is a year old, I thought it was time I shared a few of his favorite flavors and our easy homemade baby food recipes here. Of course, he eats plenty of meals with us now since he can chew and handle the many different textures of our food, but I still make some purees that he thoroughly enjoys.

I like to follow the old adage, “food before one is just for fun.” There isn’t a hard start time to when your baby should be eating food, as long as they’re healthy and thriving. Of course, mamas, trust your gut. 

This doesn’t mean that we don’t offer food before one year old. We absolutely do!

We like to let our babies experience and try the different tastes of fruits and veggies. The recommendation with first baby food recipes is to start with ONE food at a time, and then as you can see that their tummy can handle that food, you can begin to mix flavors.

I just use our blender to puree our little one’s homemade baby food, though a baby food maker or food processor works wonderfully as well. It’s easy to store a bit in the fridge for a couple of days, and I love having healthy options ready-to-eat when needed. If I need to store any food longer than a couple of days, I freeze it!

It makes it easy to use ice cube trays for this, and freeze the purees in 1-oz cubes.  Once frozen, pop out the cubes and store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

This makes it SO easy to grab one or two cubes (1-2 ounces of baby food) and either reheat when needed or put in a container to take with us for the day and by the time we needed to use it, baby’s food will be thawed and ready to eat.

While this is still a very convenient and cost-effective process, there are some other great options available now like these freezer storage trays and this set of trays (with pouches) that make the cube-making process simple… and cute too!

SHOP ALL OF OUR HOMEMADE BABY FOOD KITCHEN ESSENTIALS HERE.

It’s been fun trying new flavor combinations and finding some of Skye’s favorite homemade baby food.

I decided that I didn’t want to blend any meat into his purées, even though many do (or when you purchase baby food, there are meat versions).

We wanted to wait and introduce meats until he could eat them in small enough pieces, which he does now. If you’d like to add meats to any of these recipes, just make certain it’s cooked well beforehand.

HOMEMADE BABY FOOD RECIPES

For each “recipe” below, wash, peel and chop the produce, then either cook or use raw as noted. Many of these purées require a little liquid to get them smooth – add water to the blender a little at a time until the mixture is the consistency you’d like.

I didn’t list exact amounts for every ingredient… and you don’t have to worry about being overly exact. Play with proportions and taste, you’ll know when you get the right amount for you and your baby’s pallet.

For most of the recipes, I used one of each of the produce listed, except for the pineapple… I just used about a cup of fresh-cut pineapple, and added until we liked the taste.

So now, here are of some of our recent favorite homemade baby food combinations:

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Simple and Healthy Homemade Baby Food Recipes

A delicious selection of baby food recipes — some of our little one's simple favorites!

1. Sweet potato with apple and cinnamon

2. Spinach, pear and pea

3. Banana, avocado, pineapple and yogurt

4. Mango, kale and apple

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Sweet Potato
• 2 Apples
• 1 Pear
• 1 Bag Frozen Peas
• 1 Banana
• 1 Avocado
• 1 C Pineapple
• 1 Mango
• Handful Kale
• Handful Spinach
• 1 C Yogurt (Plain or Vanilla)
• Dash of Cinnamon

Instructions

Sweet potato with apple and cinnamon

Steam peeled apple. Place the sweet potato in the microwave until cooked through and fork soft, then cut in half and scoop the meat of the sweet potato out of the skin and place into blender. Add the steamed apple, a dash of cinnamon, and water as needed. Blend until smooth. Optional: You can use coconut water or non-dairy milk to create other flavor profiles.

Spinach, pear and pea

Peel the pear and steam. Steam the spinach. Cook peas according to package directions. Mix all in a blender and blend until smooth.

Banana, avocado, pineapple and yogurt

Place peeled raw banana, avocado, sliced pineapple and cup of yogurt in blender and blend until smooth.

Mango, kale and apple

Peel and steam mango and apple. Steam kale. Place in blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

The great thing about these recipes, is that you really don't need exact measurements! Use approximations, and adjust according to the texture that your baby needs and taste preferences.

When preparing food for your little one, make sure to wash hands and utensils before use, and if possible try to purchase organic for at least "The Dirty Dozen" – peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes (imported), spinach, lettuce, and potatoes.

Did you make this recipe?

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Oh, and my older kids like to swipe these packets from the fridge and suck them down. The good thing? At least I know exactly what’s in each pouch and that every bit is good for them. So if you’ve got kids that aren’t too keen on their veggies, maybe this is a good way to get them to eat some nutrient packed foods.

The sweetness of the apple and pear in the veggies recipes cuts the flavor of the vegetables and makes it more palatable for discriminating taste buds. 

Next up, we’ll be making some “purple” and “red” flavor profiles at the request of my son!

Some of our other mealtime essentials? Simple or a really cute printed option, like our bright herringbone bib (it’s so soft!), a great high chair (some of my fave high/low options are the , the and Ikea’s Antilop), and these and spatula spoons. 

Here are a couple delicious Wholesome Baby Soup Recipes!

Do you make your own homemade baby food purées for the little ones in your home? I’d love to hear if you try any of these!

Click here for the perfect Baby Food Gift Basket idea!