Make your own baby food at home from fresh produce

Prepare baby food at home by steaming or roasting fresh fruits and vegetables and blending them to the appropriate consistency. Homemade baby food gives you full control over ingredients, avoids added sugars, salt, and preservatives, and is more economical than commercial pouches.

How to Make It

1. Wash, peel, and chop fresh produce (sweet potato, carrot, peas, apple, pear, zucchini, butternut squash).
2. Steam until very soft (steaming preserves more nutrients than boiling). Most vegetables take 10-15 minutes.
3. Blend to a smooth puree using a blender or food processor. Add breast milk, formula, or cooking water to reach the desired consistency.
4. Portion and freeze: Spoon into ice cube trays, freeze, then transfer cubes to labeled freezer bags. Each cube is roughly 1 oz.
5. Thaw and serve: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight or warm gently in a water bath. Stir and test temperature before serving.

Tips

• Homemade purees keep 3 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer
• Never add salt, sugar, or honey to baby food; honey is unsafe before 12 months due to botulism risk
• Introduce single ingredients first, then combine flavors once each has been tolerated individually
• Gradually leave purees chunkier as baby develops chewing skills between 7-9 months
• Batch cooking on weekends provides a full week of variety with minimal daily effort