With so many important firsts in a baby’s life, it’s easy to forget one of the most rewarding: baby’s first solid food. We’ve broken down those early foods into three categories, roughly correlated to a baby’s development (Stages 1, 2 and 3, also known as supported sitter, sitter and crawler on the packaging of premade foods). Of course, all babies develop differently: You’ll want to look for milestones — sitting up alone, grasping at the grape you’re eating — and consult your pediatrician as you embark on your baby food journey.
Stage 1 (4 to 6 Months)
When is your baby ready to eat solid food? It depends. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests 6 months, but some doctors say 4 months. In general, you’ll want to start giving babies simple purées when they start showing interest in what you’re eating, and when they can hold their heads up and sit with some support. Your pediatrician can confirm if your child is ready.
-
Try starting with sweet ingredients like apple and sweet potato, as babies take to them more easily than sour or bitter ones. During those first few weeks of solid foods, little ones will eat only a few tablespoons of the purées to supplement their breast milk or formula feedings. They may not like them at first, but introduce each purée over a few feedings until they adapt. As they grow, they will graduate to larger servings: 2 ounces, 4 ounces and more.
-
Fruit Purées
Apple: Applesauce at its smoothest, this recipe is a great first solid to give to your baby. You can treat pears, apricots and nectarines the same way.
In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup purified water to a boil. Add 1 peeled, cored and cubed apple and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender, add ¼ cup purified water and purée until smooth. Let cool and serve at room temperature or freeze for later use. Makes 1 cup.
As your baby grows older, you can make this sauce chunkier and add dried spices like turmeric, ginger and cinnamon to taste.
Prune: Babies get constipated. Prunes can help get their still-developing digestive systems moving, especially as they try new, unfamiliar foods.
In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup purified water and 8 pitted prunes to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a blender and purée until it reaches desired consistency. Let cool and serve at room temperature or freeze for later use. Makes ½ cup.
-
Vegetable Purées
Sweet Potato: Sweet potatoes are a wonderful first vegetable for baby, as they can be made sweet or savory. You can also swap in zucchini, squash, beets or pumpkin in this recipe. Roast them as you would for yourself, but discard skins, and keep in mind that these vegetables may roast in less time.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, roast a sweet potato until tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Cut in half and scoop out flesh. Place it in a blender with 4 ounces formula or breast milk and purée until smooth. Let cool and serve at room temperature or freeze for later use. Makes about 1¼ cups.
Here, as with the apple purée, you can add dried spices like turmeric, ginger and cinnamon to taste as your baby gets older.
Broccoli: Use this technique for other vegetables that you like steamed, too, like cauliflower, carrots or peas.
With a paring knife, cut off and discard the tough stalks of a ½-pound head of broccoli and divide into small florets. Place broccoli in a steamer basket over a large saucepan with a thin layer of boiling water. Steam, covered, for 6 to 7 minutes, until tender. Remove broccoli from steamer and let cool. Place broccoli in a blender with 6 ounces formula or breast milk, and purée until smooth. Let cool and serve at room temperature or freeze for later use. Makes about 1½ cups.
-
Grain Purée
Using a blender, pulverize 3 or 4 cups of brown rice, oats or barley to a fine powder. Reserve ¼ cup and store the rest of the ground cereal in an airtight container to make more purées later. In a saucepan, bring ½ cup purified water to a boil. Add reserved ¼ cup ground cereal. Simmer for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and let mixture cool slightly. Transfer purée to a blender. On a low setting, whir until smooth, adding ¼ cup breast milk or formula. Let cool and serve at room temperature. Makes about ¾ cup.
— Adapted from “The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet” by Karin Knight and Tina Ruggiero (Fair Winds, 2010)
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Stage 2 (7 to 9 Months)
As babies become more comfortable with solid foods and can sit on their own, their interest will grow, and you can introduce chunkier, more complex flavor combinations. Begin with pairings you enjoy, like bananas with blueberries or strawberries; peaches and pears; peas and chicken.
-
Green Purée
This fruit and vegetable blend is so tasty that you might find yourself drinking what your baby doesn’t. Pineapple is acidic, so if your baby doesn’t like it, substitute another fruit.
Put 1 packed cup fresh spinach leaves; ½ cup frozen peas; ½ of a medium pineapple, cubed (about 1½ cups); 2 skin-on pears, cored and cubed; and ½ cup purified water in a blender. Blend until the purée reaches desired consistency. The blend can be refrigerated for a day or frozen for up to a month. Makes 3 cups (about six 4-ounce baby servings).
— Adapted from “The Pediatrician’s Guide to Feeding Babies and Toddlers” by Anthony F. Porto and Dina M. DiMaggio (Ten Speed Press, 2016)
-
Red Lentil Purée
Loaded with protein and fiber, lentils are given a dal-like treatment here.
In a large saucepan over high heat, bring ⅔ cup dried red lentils, 8 ounces baby carrots sliced ½-inch thick, 1¾ cups purified water and ¼ cup unsweetened canned coconut milk to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils and carrots are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and mash the mixture with a potato masher until it has the consistency of porridge. Thin as desired with more water, breast milk or formula. Let mixture cool to room temperature before serving. Makes 2½ cups (about five 4-ounce servings).
— Adapted from “The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen (Sourcebook Jabberwocky, 2019)
-
Meat Purée
You can give a baby meat, and chicken purée is an easy first. Make sure to cook meats thoroughly, and be extra mindful of cross-contamination.
Trim any fat from a 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast. Place chicken breast in a small saucepan and cover with purified water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until an instant thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from water and allow to cool. Chop into large pieces and place in a blender. Add 4 ounces formula or breast milk, and purée until smooth, adding more formula as necessary to reach the desired consistency. Makes 10 1-ounce servings.
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Stage 3 (9 to 12 Months)
Once babies start crawling, they can probably tackle small bites, allowing you to show off your knife skills. Introduce some of the recipes you enjoy, modified with smaller dice and milder seasonings, but no salt, as babies’ developing kidneys are sensitive to it.
-
Snack servings should be about the size of a baby’s fist. (A lot of it may end up as a casualty.)
As babies approach their first birthdays, they are probably drinking less breast milk or formula and eating more solid foods. They can eat snacks now, which they’ll use to show off their newfound power of the pincer grasp.
Snacks can be as simple as small cubes of mild Cheddar, sliced and quartered bananas, blueberries, or some of your pasta. Keep pieces small (about ¼-inch dice): They shouldn’t be too hard to hold or chew, and portions should be about the size of your baby’s fist.
As for recipes, try the filling from chicken potpie, some turmeric rice or sweet potato hash. Make scrambled eggs, biscuits, broken-up meatballs or dal.
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Storage and Safety
You’ve done it! Either you’ve made lots of purée, or you’ve started to consider your baby’s first foods. Here are a few final things to keep in mind, whether you’ve made a ton of food and need help with the leftovers, or are just starting out.
-
Storage
You’ve made lots of purée, and your baby has eaten just 2 tablespoons of it. Freeze the rest. Fruit purées will typically last for two days in the refrigerator, and vegetable and meat purées a day, but all will last for a month in the freezer.
The easiest way to freeze purées involves a lidded ice-cube tray: Each cube from a standard tray holds about an ounce, making it easy to parcel out portions as your baby’s appetite grows.
Pour the purée into a tray and allow it to freeze. Then pop out the cubes into a resealable freezer bag for storage. Be sure to label the bag with the dish and the date you made it. Thaw a few cubes in the refrigerator or microwave, and serve the purée at room temperature.
For day-to-day needs, a few 2- and 4-ounce containers work just fine. And for thinner purées, try reusable, freezable sippy pouches. These silicone pouches are typically four ounces, so introduce them as your baby’s appetite grows.
-
Safety
Hygiene: Babies have weaker immune systems than adults, so break any bad kitchen hygiene habits before you start making baby food. Make sure everything is clean, and be sure to wash your hands thoroughly, meaning a vigorous 30-second scrub.
Water: Tap water can vary from city to country and wells in between. We call for purified water for these recipes, and you should simmer purées the full amount of time indicated in the recipes above.
Allergies: Food allergies are top of mind for any new parent. Introduce ingredients one at a time, and ideally over a couple of days, so if your baby has a reaction, you’ll know what caused it. Your doctor will tell you what to look for: It can be anything from a mild rash to red spots, sneezing or wheezing. Common food allergens are eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, sesame seeds, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat.
Food to Avoid: Honey and light and dark corn syrups have the risk of carrying a mild form of botulism. They can be introduced after 1 year. And avoid unpasteurized dairy, a.k.a. raw milk, which could carry salmonella, listeria or e.Coli. Similarly, be judicious when using salt. Some parents swear by feeding their babies well-seasoned foods, but you want to teach baby to like the way food tastes without it.
Non-Organic Produce: Pesticides can be found on many fruits and vegetables. It is better to buy organic when purchasing berries, stone fruits and vegetables whose skins you eat, like tomatoes and potatoes. Thicker-skinned fruits and vegetables like avocados and eggplant are less likely to have pesticide residue. For more information on dirty and clean foods, visit the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
And lastly, this process can seem daunting, but don’t stress. At the end of the day, your baby will grow big and strong whether or not you make all of their meals from scratch.
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
