Puree for Babies

Fruit & Vegetable Puree makes babies first food. Learn how to start first solids for babies in this post. Healthy and nutritious baby puree for babies which is packed with nutrients just like baby porridge.

Baby Puree Recipes

When my kids where little I used to feed them with variety of fruits and veg purees daily. I have documented all the recipes in this blog in number of posts. Later this year I decided to combine all the post in a single blog post so it will be helpful for many new mothers out there.

About Baby Puree Recipes

Learn how to make vegetable puree for babies, Fruit puree for babies, apple sauce and dal puree for babies.

Certain vegetables and fruits makes best first food for babies. Baby Puree Recipes made with Apples, carrots can be given for baby from 6 months. They are packed with nutrients and tasty too. So babies will love it. I love to include exotic fruits like avocado and muskmelon to babies as well.

Introduce solid food to your baby

Don't stop Breast Feeding even if you have started solid food. Continue breast milk with other food too.

When you can start giving Solid Food?

1. Your baby's head is steady and when she can sit upright with a support.
2. She starts grabbing things and your plate when you are eating.
3. Breast milk is not sufficient for her.
4. When you see that your baby is getting interest in other foods.
5. When she always stares at you when you are eating. Eyeing your bowl of food, and keep looking as the food travels from the bowl to your mouth.

Before you start feeding your baby

• The first thing you have to remember is, start with mild non allergenic food. 
• Start with less portions, initially your baby need only 3 to 4 spoons of the food. So don't make an entire bowl of food and look for your baby to empty the whole thing. Gradually increase the portion size.
• Never force feed your baby. This will make your baby get a bad feeling about food and she will start refusing all foods and go wild during feeding time.
• Give breaks between each spoonful of feed. I usually leave a couple of mins break between each spoonful and show her toys or make funny faces, so she gets into jolly mood and enjoy the next spoon of food.
• Let your baby swallow each mouthful properly before the next spoon. 

After you finished feeding your baby

If you are introducing a new food for your baby, continue that for 4 to 5 days or even a week. Don't introduce new foods each day, so your baby gets to know about the food herself with that taste.

Don't introduce more than one new food on a single day. This may cause problems in her digestion. If your baby doesn't like some food, try that food some other time.

If you find that your baby has some symptoms like vomiting, constant crying, diarrhea and something which makes you think that it is not right with your baby, you have to stop giving the particular food immediately. Give some water after giving solid foods.

Beetroot Puree

Beetroot Puree for babies is more healthy and nutritious for babies. This has amazing colour, it is rich in anti-oxidants,folate, manganese, potassium, vitamin -A and many other properties. After having this puree, your baby poop will be red in colour. Don't panic seeing that, it is because of the beets.

Ingredients

• ½ Beetroot (peeled and grated)
• ½ cup Water

How to Make Beetroot Puree

1)You can peel the beetroots, grate them using a fine grater. I find this is easy and takes less time to cook the beetroots. Instead of grating, you can cube them and cook them in a pressure cooker for 3 whistle.

2)Add water to the beetroots. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

3)Take the cooled beetroots in a blender.

4)Puree till smooth. Thats it beetroot puree is done. Beetroot puree is ready.

Banana Puree

In our place we get a banana called as Matti Pazham. It is small in size and easy to digest for baby. You can feed any small variety banana for your baby in there raw form. But nendra pazham which is called as ripe plantain should be steamed.

Ingredients

• Banana (I used matti pazham)
• water as needed

How to Make Banana puree

1)I am using small variety banana.

2)Peel the banana, and take it in a blender.

3)Add in little water.

4)Puree till smooth. Banana puree is ready to serve.

Green Gram Puree

Instead of giving the same veg and fruit purees, you can start adding dals to veggies or make simple dal purees for her. Green gram is very healthy for your babies, you can feed this 3 to 4 times a week. Pressure cook dal with garlic, cumin seeds and mash them.

Some times I give sprouted green gram mash to her, it is even more healthy. You can check this recipe for making sprouts and follow the same procedure as this, but use sprouted green gram instead of normal ones.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Green gram
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup to ½ cup water

How to make green gram puree

1)You need green gram, garlic and cumin seeds.

2)Take all of it in a pressure cooker, cover with water.

3)Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistle until cooked. Let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker.

4)Mash the green gram really well using masher or spoon.

Guava Puree

Guava puree for babies is very good in vitamin C and helps to improve immune system. This makes a great baby food.

Ingredients

• ½ Guava
• ¼ cup water

How to make guava puree

1)Use ripe guava and make sure you remove the seeds from it. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds from them.

2)Peel the skin from guava, chop it and remove the seeds.

3)Take chopped guava in a sauce pan. Add some water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

4)Pierce with a knife to see whether it is cooked. If you goes in easily then it is cooked.

5)Take this in a blender and puree till smooth. Guava puree is ready.

Carrot & Potato Puree

Potatoes are usually bland by their nature. So i love to add other sweet veggies to it to make it more tastier for babies. Normally I add some sweet carrots to it, even you can add a piece of beetroots too. Potatoes makes this puree more creamy and carrots add a natural sweetness to this puree too.

Ingredients

• ¼ potato (peeled and cubed)
• ½ carrot (peeled and cubed)
• ½ cup water

How to make carrot potato puree

1)I used a small piece of potato and carrot. peel them and cube them. Take in a sauce pan.

2)Add a splash of water and cook till potatoes and carrot is tender.

3)Puree the veggies using a hand blender.

4)All pureed. carrot potato puree ready to serve.

Papaya Puree for Babies

Papaya is one of the super fruit to give babies. It helps to boost digestion and improves it. It has lots of vitamin A, C & E, rich in beta carotine, fibre and folic acid. But i would never suggest giving papaya in the early stage. You can start giving this after 10 month. 

Ingredients

• ½ cup Papaya (peeled and cubed)

How to make papaya puree

1)Peel papaya, remove the seeds and cube them.

2)Take papaya in a blender.

3)Papaya puree is ready to serve.

Avocado Puree

Avocado is a great first food for babies. You can start feeding it as soon as your baby starts their solids. Since it is easy to digest, they are great weaning food. Avocado is rich is omega 3 which helps in brain development in babies. You can add some banana to this puree, it adds potassium too. 

Avocados are high in monounsaturated fat, that’s the good kind of fat! A medium size avocado contains approximately 322 calories and up to 30 grams of fat – WOW. 1 cup of avocado puree contains almost 700 calories as it would take approximately 2 avocados to make a cup. The benefits of avocados far outweigh the “risks”.

Ingredients

• ½ Avocado
• Sweetener of choice optional

How to make Avocado puree

1)Take ripe avocado.

2)Remove the flesh from avocado using a spoon.

3)Mash it roughly using a fork and serve.

Dates Puree

Dates are a healthy dry fruit that is high in essential minerals and nutrients, making them a superfood for babies and growing children. Natural sweetness also makes them an excellent sweetener for baby food and a healthy alternative to sugar.

1)You can mix dates puree in fruit purees which you make.,
3)For older babies, you can give 1 spoon of this puree daily.
4)Use this in milkshakes to sweeten it.

Ingredients

• 10 Dates
• 1 cup Water

How to Make Dates Puree

1)Remove seeds from dates. take them in a sauce pan.

2)Boil dates with little water for 10 mins till soft.

3)now dates is cooked and turned soft.

4)Cool it a little and puree till smooth.

5)Strain the puree if required.

6)Heat dates puree and boil till thick.

6)This steps makes the puree thick. Cool and store in a clean dry bottle in fridge.

Spinach Puree

Spinach puree for babies is a healthy way to include spinach in your kids diet. It is very recently i discovered this method. What i do is, as soon as i buy a bunch of spinach. I wash them well in several changes of water. Drain them and cook them down. I then puree them and store them in fridge. They stay good for 5 to 7 days. I use them throughout the week. add them to dosa batter, chapati batter, curries.

I add this to dosa batter mainly and feed my 1 year daughter daily morning. She seems to love it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Spinach ( I used palak)
• ¼ cup water

How to make spinach puree

1)Take cleaned spinach leaves in a sauce pan.

2)Add a splash of water and cook for 5 minutes.

3)Cool spinach and blend till creamy.

Cauliflower Puree

Cauliflower is packed full of phytochemicals which are said to help prevent cancer. Just one cup of cauliflower is packed with Vitamin A, Vitamin C and even calcium. It is a great addition to a healthy diet but it causes many people to be a bit gassy.

Cauliflower is a little gassy vegetable, so you have to introduce it to babies after 8 months.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cauliflower
• ¼ cup water

How to make cauliflower puree

1)take cleaned cauliflower in a pot.

2)add a splash of water. Cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes till cauliflower is cooked.

3)Take cauliflower in a blender.

4)Puree till coarse. cauliflower puree is ready.

Sweet Potato Puree

Sweet Potatoes are such a wholesome food to give for babies. It has so many health benefits. I give maha normal potato mash often, but sweet potatoes i give occasionally. But she loves this a lot because of the natural sweetness it has. I boil sweet potatoes and feed her, but to bring out the maximum sweetness from them, it is best to oven roast them, just slice them in half, wrap them in foil and roast it for 40 to 45 mins. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet potato (peeled and sliced)
• ¼ cup water

How to make sweet potato puree

1)Peel and slice sweet potatoes.

2)Take it in a sauce pan. Cover with a splash of water and cook. Instead of boiling, you can steam cook sweet potatoes too.

3)Cook till tender.

4)Puree till smooth.

Muskmelon Puree

Melons are such a wonder food for your babies during hot summer days. Since they are filled with lots of water content, they make a yummy dish for your baby, plus you don't have to cook them. These melons are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium. It is rich in beta carotene which is good for your babies vision. Choose melon which smells sweet and feed melons which are sweet, because some tart melons can cause rashes in babies. 

Ingredients

• ½ cup Muskmelon (peeled and cubed)

How to Make Muskmelon puree

1)Take peeled muskmelon in a blender.

2)Puree till smooth. Serve.

Pear Puree

Pears make a great baby food. I give apples one day, pear puree the next day and i mix them and make apple pear cinnamon puree and feed her. Add a dash of cinnamon to spice it up.

Pear makes a great first food for babies since it is less allergenic and it easily digest. Your baby will love it for sure.

Ingredients

• 1 Pear (peeled and cubed)

How to make pear puree

1)Take pear, peel it and deseed. Chop them into small pieces.

2)Place it in a bowl and steam cook for 5 minutes.

3)Take cooked puree in a blender.

4)Puree pear till smooth. Serve.

Carrot, Potato & Beetroot Puree

For a variation i added some beetroots in the puree as well. So it is more healthy and nutrition. Beetroots has not only the amazing colour, it is rich in anti-oxidants, folate, manganese, potassium, vitamin -A and many other properties. These carrot, potato beetroot puree for babies.

Ingredients

• ½ carrot
• ¼ cup beetroot
• ½ potato

How to Make Carrot, potato and beetroot puree

1)Take the vegetables. peel off the skin and cube them into small pieces.

2)Take the vegetables in a sauce pan.

3)Cook till veggies is cooked.

4)Now vegetables is tender.

5)Puree till smooth and serve.

Apple, Pear & Cinnamon Puree

Apples and Pears make a great baby food. Pear, Apple and Cinnamon is cooked together and pureed.

Ingredients

• ½ Apple
• ½ pear
• 1 dash of cinnamon

How to Make Apple, Pear & Cinnamon Puree for babies

1)Take your ingredients.

2)Peel skin from pear and apple and take it in a sauce pan. Add a dash of cinnamon. Pour a splash of water and cook till tender.

3)Puree till smooth.

Carrot Puree

Carrots form a best first food for babies. These are rich in Beta Carotene and has tons of Vitamins. Since the veggie is sweet, babies love it so much. This is the first vegetable which i gave maha. The second veggie which i introduced her is beets. But she loves carrots more than beets.

I boiled carrots and pureed it with palm candy water (panangkarkandu) which adds a sweetness to the puree and it clears cough and cold in babies.

Ingredients

• 1 carrot peeled and cubed
• water as needed

How to make carrot puree

1)Take carrots in a bowl.

2)Cover and steam cook for 10 minutes.

3)Take the cooked carrots in a blender and puree.

4)carrot puree is ready to serve.

Apple Puree

If you are planning to start your baby with solid food, i recommend you to start with apples. Because apples are non allergenic fruits and there are packed with tons of nutrients which is a perfect fruit to include in your babies diet. So my first baby food recipe is going to be apple puree, also known as apple sauce.

Ingredients

• ½ Apple

How to Make Apple Puree for babies

1)Steam cook apple in a bowl. Place half an apple in a bowl, place it inside a pressure cooker with some water in the bottom. Pressure cooke it for 2 whistle.

2)Apple is pureed.

3)Peel off the skin and mash it roughly.

4)Apple puree is ready.

Potato Puree

The other food which is rich in carbohydrates are potatoes and sweet potatoes. Potatoes are really good for your babies. They have few vitamins in them but they are mainly rich in carbohydrates and starch. I added some milk in this mash to make it more creamy, but you could simply leave it out and add warm water. Never add cow's milk until your baby is 1 year old.

You can even add carrots in this and make it as a double veggie mash. Carrots give a lovely sweetness to the mash and it will be a different food for your baby.

Ingredients

• ½ Potato (peeled and cubed)
• milk a splash
• water as needed

How to make potato puree

1)Take peeled potatoes in a sauce pan.

2)cover with water. Cook till potatoes is tender.

3)Add a splash of milk and mash the potatoes.

4)Potato puree is ready

Steamed Mashed Banana

Bananas are high in potassium. In our place we get a type of banana called as "matti pazham". It will small in size and smells so sweet. We mash them up and feed babies. You don't have to steam them. It is really good for babies. But i have heard that you cannot find it in many places. But i am sure that nendran pazham is easily available in all places. And it makes a great baby food. But i prefer to steam it and feed baby, so it is easily digestable. Plus it is a great food for weight gaining in babies.

Ingredients

• 1 Nendrapazham (kerala banana)

How to Make Steamed mashed banana

1)Take nendrapazham. I used kerala style banana.

2)Cut banana in half, place in a steamer and cook for 10 mins.

3)Take peeled steam cooked banana in a blender.

4)Puree till smooth. Steamed banana puree is ready.

Pomegranate Juice

It is absolutely crucial to feed as much liquid food to your baby either as water or in form of juices. Health packed fruit which is pomegranate, It cures digestive problems in babies, intestinal worms, controls fevers and has lots of liver protection problems.

Ingredients

1 cup pomegranate seeds

How to make Pomegranate Juice

1)remove seeds from pomegranate.

2)blend the seeds in a blender with little water if needed.

3)strain the juice.

4)Pomegranate juice ready to serve.

Watermelon Juice

Watermelons are a healthy fruit to feed your baby during summer times because this fruit is packed with a ton of water content.

Ingredients

• 1 cup watermelon

How to make watermelon juice

1)Take watermelon in a blender.

2)Puree till smooth.

3)pass through a strainer.

4)Watermelon juice ready to serve.

Expert Tips from a Mom of 2

• Texture of the puree depends upon you, i would recommend you to make the puree smooth.
• Your baby wont empty the whole bowl all at once, start with few spoons then increase it gradually as days pass by.
• I don’t prefer freezing purees. make it fresh everyday. But if you are busy or find difficult to get time, then freeze it in individual containers and thaw it overnight in fridge.
• Feeding your baby can be quite messy and takes lots of time. So don't be in a rush when you are feeding. Spend lots of time in feeding.
• Don't give chopped fruits or veggies, even it is cooked. Always puree them or mash it completely.
• Don't add too much salt or sugar in your baby foods.
• Always make your own baby food. Don't give store bought or packaged foods.
• Prepare your food in a hygienic way. Always sterilize the vessels you use for your baby.
• Wash your hands thoroughly before you start making baby foods.

Frequently Asked Questions

1)From which month you should start solids?

Start giving food when the baby is 6 months. Give always homemade food. Don't give ceralac,farex etc. So kids won't love homemade food when they grow.

2)What is the best nutrition food for babies?

• Food should contain 5 star qualities.
• Cereal like rice/wheat/ragi etc.
• Pulse like toor dal etc.
• Should be solid.
• Contain sweet.
• contain fat like ghee, butter oil. Best example: Sweet Pongal - Worst example: Rasam Rice

Time Intervals for Feeding Baby Foods?

Leave intervals between each feed, at least 2 hrs. Then only baby will get hungry. Split the day into 5. like 8.30am, 11 am, 1 pm, 4pm, 7pm

8.30am, 1 pm, 7pm - give heavy feed
11am, 4pm - Give light feed
in between breast feeding

How to properly feed babies?

When you are feeding the baby don't show TV. You can feed them showing crow, trees like our grandma do. I know it is very difficult. But you can do it. Eating is like a prayer, so the kid should see the plate and the food.

If she is not ready to eat, DON'T FORCE. Offer some other food, if she refuses then the baby is not hungry. so don't force feed.

How to properly wean a baby?

Start with semi solid, then solid. By the age of 1 she should eat what u r eating. On her 1st birthday, she should sit and eat with you. So give all food including non veg. This will help the child come out of allergy.

Treat your child like an adult. She knows what her stomach knows better than you. So let her decide the food and time of feeding.

How to sterilize baby feeding bowls?

Start by sterilizing the bowls and spoons which you are going to feed your baby. Take the bowl and spoon in a large saucepan, cover it with water and bring them to a boil. Boil it rapidly for 5 mins. Now you can turn the heat off and leave them stay in the hot water till use. 

📖 Recipe Card

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Leaving you with a picture of me with my daughter - Aarthi