Making Your Own Baby Food:
Simple, Nutritious, and Cost-Effective

With a little planning and a few basic kitchen tools, families can easily prepare nutritious baby food at home. Using simple equipment such as a blender, fork, strainer, food mill, or baby food grinder, parents can create foods that are just as nutritious—if not more than store-bought options. Homemade baby food can also help reduce grocery costs while allowing infants to become familiar with the same healthy foods enjoyed by the rest of the family.

Puréed fruits and vegetables should be prepared without added salt, sugar, or fat. Some foods, like ripe bananas, can be mashed without cooking, while others may need to be cooked and puréed with a small amount of water, breast milk, or infant formula to reach the proper consistency. Canned or frozen produce may also be used if labels are checked carefully for added ingredients.

Common homemade baby foods include mashed bananas, applesauce, cooked prunes, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, asparagus, and green beans.

Between 8 and 11 months, babies can begin eating soft table foods as their feeding skills develop. Suitable options include mashed or diced fruits, soft-cooked vegetables, mashed egg yolk, strained meats, beans, cheese, crackers, bread, and breast milk or infant formula served in a cup.

Food safety is essential. Hands, surfaces, and equipment should be thoroughly cleaned. Foods should be cooked until tender, puréed until smooth, and tested for texture before serving. If not used immediately, homemade baby food should be refrigerated promptly or frozen in small portions.

Frozen baby food can be thawed in the refrigerator or microwave but should never be refrozen. Reheat foods gently on the stovetop or carefully in the microwave, stirring well and checking for hot spots. Babies’ foods should be lukewarm and free from added seasonings, salt, or sugar.

By LeeAnn Blevins
County Extension Agent - FCS
The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: LeeAnn Blevins
County Extension Agent - FCS
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
3 East 9th St. Mountain Home AR 72653
(870) 425-2335
lblevins@uada.edu

Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.