Baby food maker target

5 Best Baby Food Makers, Mashers, and Mills of 2023

Written by Jessica Booth

Updated February 1, 2023

While there’s nothing wrong with store-bought baby food, it’s hard to ignore the advantages of homemade baby food. It’s also hard to ignore how intimidating this can seem. Cooking up batches of your own baby food can seem like a frustrating, time-consuming experience, but the truth is that the right gear can make a huge difference. In the over-saturated market of baby essentials, it can be difficult to find the food maker that’s right for your family. To help you decide, we spent days researching and testing the most popular models, pureeing up six different fruits and vegetables any growing baby would love.

While there were plenty of great options, the Beaba Babycook 4-in-1 (available at Amazon) is our clear favorite. A convenient space-saver, it can steam cook and puree with ease. For a less expensive option, the NutriBullet Baby (available at Amazon) doesn't offer steaming capabilities, but its ease of use and included storage containers earned it our pick for best value.

Editor's Note:

The recommendations in this guide are based on thorough product and market research by our team of expert product reviewers. The picks are based on examining user reviews, product specifications, and, in some limited cases, our experience with the specific products named.

Credit: Beaba

The Beaba is an all-in-one steamer and blender that makes consistently smooth purees.

Best Overall

Beaba Babycook

The Beaba Babycook 4-in-1 is a compact all-in-one option that both steams and purees your food. It features a straightforward design that makes it very easy to use and was by far the quietest of the bunch when it came to the blending portion of the food making. It steams in minutes, and with a touch of a button, creates smooth and creamy purees in under one minute. You’re able to easily control the amount of water that goes into making your purees, which is a nice plus. You don’t need to figure out how much time to use, either—just add the correct amount of water, press the steam button, and it figures it out for you and alerts you when it’s done.

The Beaba is very easy to clean and most of the parts are dishwasher safe, although I will say that the biggest con for me is that you can’t see inside the water tank, which makes it pretty impossible to check if there's mold or bacteria growing inside. You can clean this out with a white vinegar descaling method, but still: I would feel more comfortable if I could get a glimpse inside. I found the manual to be almost too vague, although with a close look I was able to figure everything out pretty quickly. And while the steam basket isn’t quite as large as some other models, it makes a sufficient amount of food. I also love the aesthetics here: the Babycook is offered in a few different colors, like a rose gold model with gold touches that look surprisingly chic for a baby food blender. All in all, it makes excellent purees and doesn’t compromise on style, so it was hard to beat.

Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Baby Bullet produces smooth purees and is reasonably priced.

Best Value

NutriBullet Baby

The Nutribullet Baby is not an all-in-one food maker: it doesn’t steam cooky, it just purees it. That said, it’s still a terrific value thanks to all of the parts and pieces. It’s just a blender, but it also comes with a freezer tray with a lid, six storage cups, a short cup, and a recipe book. The compact design makes for easy storage, doesn't take up a lot of counter space, and the extra BPA-free containers are very helpful when it comes to putting away the food you just made.

Using it is very simple: you put the blender bowl on the power base, press down, and it blends. It’s fairly easy to clean and blends quickly. The purees from the Nutribullet certainly weren’t bad, but they weren’t very consistent: some were perfectly smooth, while others had some chunks of food in them, especially at the bottom under the blades due to the shape of the bowl. It holds a decent amount of food, the manual and recipe book were very helpful, and the containers made it easy to pack everything up.

Qooc 4-in-1 Mini Baby Food Maker

At first glance, the QOOC 4-in-1 Food Maker is remarkably similar to the Beaba Babycook, and that’s actually not an incorrect way to describe it. Compact and featuring a stylish, minimalist design, the QOOC shares many of the same features as the Beaba (for about $20 cheaper). It steams and purees in minutes, and works with just one button. It comes with a separate tiny “pitcher” to measure out the amount of water you need.

One of the best things about this one is that the water reservoir has a large opening that not only makes it easy to see inside, but also makes it easier to clean. The instructions were a bit confusing, though: for example, while the food guide inside says to steam fruits for 15 minutes, the button on the front shows that you should steam fruits for 20 minutes. It left me feeling slightly lost on what to do, so I just guessed. Still, the QOOC makes impressively smooth purees. Although, in some cases, they were actually a little soup-like, which wasn’t exactly what I was going for.

With some great features and its small size, the QOOC is a great model, as long as you’re okay with figuring out steam times on your own.

Baby Brezza Glass One Step Baby Food Maker

Featuring a large glass bowl, the Baby Brezza One Step Glass Food Maker is clearly one of the more sturdy and durable options on the market. It’s a bit on the heavier side, but is still pretty compact for the size of the bowl, and has little suction cups on the bottom so that it won’t budge on the counter.

Perhaps the best selling feature of the Baby Brezza is its Steam&Blend option, which allows you to add your food and press one button, then walk away while it seamlessly goes from steaming to blending. I was the most excited about this, but to be honest, was left disappointed: I found that a lot of the steamed water collected in the bowl with the food, so when it was blended, the puree was super watered down, sometimes (like with the blueberries) to the point where it was barely edible. You can choose not to use the Steam&Blend option (when I did this, purees were much better) and try carefully straining the excess liquid out of the food, but this is difficult without a steamer basket. Plus, that’s kind of the selling point of this, so it’s frustrating that it doesn’t work that well.

I also noticed that water was getting into some parts of the bowl that I couldn’t clean, no matter how hard I tried, and that made me worry about mold in the future. It was quite loud when blending, something I definitely wouldn’t do during naptime. Still, it’s worth pointing out that the digital interface is a really nice touch and it’s super intuitive to use.

Pros

Durable
Easy to use
Digital interface

Sage Spoonfuls Sage Baby Puree and Blend

The Sage Spoonfuls Sage Baby Puree and Blend stands out: it’s a stainless-steel immersion blender that comes with a batch bowl. It doesn’t steam food and is more of a hands-on option since you have to hold the immersion blender down. So, if you were thinking of making food while also holding your baby, you probably wouldn’t be able to accomplish that with this option.

There are still plenty of pros, though: the immersion blender worked just as well as the other blenders on this list in making smooth purees, if not better in some cases. Since it’s not a system at all, it’s smaller and easier to store, and doesn’t have to sit out on your counter. It’s easy to clean because there are so few pieces. It’s also very versatile: this is basically just an immersion blender, so you can use it for anything else, not just baby food. As for the cons? Aside from the fact that it requires two hands to use, the blender bowl is rather small and won’t hold too much food (although it’s worth noting you can use any bowl with this). Basically, there are no special features or add-ons to this one, it’s very straightforward.

What You Should Know About Baby Food Makers

Do you need a baby food maker?

Many new parents question whether they really need a baby food maker or not, and the answer truly depends on your lifestyle. If you know that you'll be making most, if not all, of your baby's food, then yes, a baby food maker may be worth investing in. If you know that you won't be making most of their food, then you might want to skip this purchase and opt for just using the blender or food processor you already own instead.

The benefits of a baby food maker

There are plenty of advantages to using a baby food maker. Making your own baby food can save you money in the long run, it can be the healthier option compared to some jarred baby foods, and it allows you to know exactly what is in your baby's food. Combination baby food makers that steam and blend your food make both cooking and cleaning easier and more convenient than using a separate blender and steamer.

What to look for when buying a baby food maker

A baby food maker should make cooking baby food more convenient, so look for a machine that is easy to clean, doesn't come with complicated instructions, and doesn't take up too much space in your kitchen. You should also read reviews and select the baby food maker that does the best job at quickly and effortlessly pureeing even the toughest foods out there.

How long you'll use it: You'll likely use a baby food maker once your baby is six months old and up until your baby is about 12-13 months old, at which point they'll probably stop eating purees.

Meet the tester

Jessica Booth

Contributor

Jessica is a freelance writer from New York who loves to write about travel, beauty, parenting, and food. She has also written for sites such as Refinery 29, Bustle, Parents, Romper, The Daily Beast, Insider, and Redbook. She spend most of her spare time on Instagram or in the kitchen cooking.

See all of Jessica Booth's reviews

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8 Best Baby Food Makers of 2023

We all want the best for our children—especially where nutrition is concerned. While store-bought baby food is not to be sniffed at, homemade meals offer a healthy, cost-effective alternative. But if you’re not a culinary whizz, don’t stress! A baby food maker can help. These nifty kitchen appliances vary in capability, but most models steam and blend ingredients to make fresh, tasty baby food.Not sure what features to look for? To help you make a smart choice, we’ve come up with a list of the best baby food maker options that make cooking for baby as easy as pie.

In this article:
Do you need a baby food maker
Benefits of a baby food maker
What to look for in a baby food maker

Do You Need a Baby Food Maker?

Decided to bypass jars and pouches in favor of homemade grub? In theory it may seem simple, but making food from scratch can be time-consuming (not to mention messy). Fortunately, the best baby food makers streamline the process. These multi-functional appliances have the ability to steam, chop, puree and warm food at the press of a button. On the other hand, if you’re a competent cook and already have a wide array of kitchen gadgets (think: a steamer, immersion blender and food processor), you may not need a baby food maker.

So when should you start introducing solids to baby’s diet? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of baby’s life. Once baby has doubled their birth weight (at around 4 months old) they may be ready to try solid foods. Remember to start slow and introduce ingredients one at a time. A baby food maker can help ease this transition, as you can whip up small batches of fresh, tasty purees in a flash.

Benefits of a Baby Food Maker

While a baby food maker certainly isn’t a necessity, these appliances do offer a lot of benefits to home chefs.

Cost effective. While baby food makers can be pricey, they can save you money in the long run. How? Store-bought baby food and delivery services are expensive, especially if you opt for organic products. By purchasing fresh, seasonal ingredients and cooking large batches of baby food at home (pop any you won’t use in the freezer) the cost per portion reduces dramatically.
You control the ingredients. By making baby food at home, you’ll have full control over the ingredients used. This is helpful if you are gradually introducing them to new flavors or if baby has an allergy.
Greater control over the quality and quantity. With a baby food maker you can serve up the perfect meal every time as you have full control over the settings. Plus, you can reduce waste by figuring out the perfect portion size for your little food connoisseur, and freezing any leftovers.

What to Look for in a Baby Food Maker

Not sure what to look for when choosing a baby food maker? Here are a few key features to keep in mind.

Easy to clean. Opt for a baby food maker with dishwasher-safe attachments as they’re easier to clean. Models with multiple parts may be harder to clean as food can get stuck in the nooks and crannies.
Settings. Choose a baby food maker that’s equipped for your family’s needs. Some high-end models can steam cook ingredients to preserve the nutrients, before blending, chopping or mashing them to your desired consistency. If you’re after a simple, budget-friendly device, manual food mashers and grinders work well.
Efficiency. Short on time? Some baby food makers work faster than others, but many options can prepare food in twenty minutes or less.
Cost. Baby food makers range in price from around $20 for a basic manual model to $180 for an appliance with all the bells and whistles. Before making a purchase, think about how often you’ll use it.
Size. Some baby food makers take up a lot of precious countertop space. Our advice? Check the dimensions and weight guidelines before you buy.

Best Baby Food Makers

Ready, steady, cook! Here find eight of the best baby food makers for every need, from manual models to take on the go to multi-functional countertop devices.

Overall best baby food maker

BEABA’s Babycook Solo

If you’re looking for a top of the line gadget, the Beaba baby food maker pretty much sets the standard. It steam cooks vegetables, fruit, meat and fish using a process that preserves nutrients, before blitzing the blend to your desired consistency. All in as little as 20 minutes! And thanks to the dishwasher-safe glass mixing bowl, there’s limited cleanup involved. What’s more, it can be operated with one hand for those days when baby won’t let go. Is it any wonder this pick is a Best of Baby award winner? Pro tip: Keep your eyes peeled for the new Beaba Babycook express, which prepares meals in 15 minutes or less.

What We Love

This device can be used to steam, blend, defrost and reheat baby food
Large 4.5 cup capacity mixing bowl is dishwasher safe
Pulse feature gives you greater control over food consistency

Things To Consider

High price point
Some parents report that small pieces of food get stuck beneath the food processor blades

Best one-step baby food maker

Baby Brezza Glass Baby Food Maker

Making healthy, home-cooked meals is a breeze with the Baby Brezza One Step Baby Food Maker. At the press of a button the Baby Brezza steam cooks and automatically purees your chosen ingredients, freeing you up to multitask. It has the capabilities to blend to a fine puree, thick mash or soft chunks, depending on where you are in the weaning process. The four-cup bowl is perfect for making a single meal or several servings at once. For the perfect portion size, pick up a set of the reusable pouches that make it easy to store leftovers.

What We Love

One step function, automatically steams and blends ingredients
Steam tank is fully accessible for easy cleaning
Bowl and blades are dishwasher safe

Things To Consider

Blender blades are very sharp

Best baby food blender

Nutribullet Baby Bullet Blender

For high-powered processing capability, nothing beats a NutriBullet. But did you know the iconic brand makes a baby food maker too? The Baby Bullet Blender makes quick work of the thickest, chunkiest fruits and veggies. (You’ll want to cook them first if baby isn’t ready for raw food yet.) This baby food blender comes with more than a dozen accessories, including a batch tray with lid, six date-dial storage cups and a recipe book. The best part? All components, bar the motor base, are dishwasher-safe for quick and easy cleanup.

What We Love

Powerful blending capabilities
Storage containers included

Things To Consider

No steam function

Best manual baby food maker

OXO Tot Food Masher

Is your toddler ready for grown-up food, but can’t sink their teeth in just yet? Make home-cooked food easier to digest with the OXO Mash Maker Baby Food Mill. It may be simple, but this manual baby food maker offers a quick and easy way to prepare chunky purees and finger food. The portable set includes a mashing tool with teeth designed to fit between the ridges of the matching bowl, so that you can extract every last morsel.

What We Love

Affordable price point
Masher collapses into two parts for portability
Teeth on edge of masher help scoop food out of bowl

Things To Consider

Not suitable for hard veggies or raw meat and fish

Best immersion-style baby blender

Sage Spoonfuls Baby Food Maker

If you’re short on counter space but still want one of the best baby food makers, consider this model by Sage Spoonfuls. The two-in-one immersion blender and food processor, is powerful enough to blitz fresh produce, meat, fish, nuts and grains—but small enough to tuck away in a kitchen cupboard. For fine purees or thick mash use the blender tool and for soft, chewable chunks try the food processor attachment. Either way, you can easily control just how chunky or smooth baby’s food is going to be.

What We Love

Affordable price point
Compact design
Blend single portions or use it to prep large batches of baby food

Things To Consider

No steam function

Best compact baby food maker

BabyCozy 5 in 1 Baby Food Maker

Next up on our list of the best baby food makers, is this smart gadget by BabyCozy. At half the size of a regular food processor, it takes up minimal space but still offers tons of great features. With two steamers (one layered on top of the other), you can safely cook raw meat and vegetables in separate containers at the same time. Better yet, you can use the steamer to gently warm milk or to make perfectly fluffy rice. Meanwhile, the four blade blender effortlessly cuts through food to create silky, smooth purees. And the self-clean function will save you from the tedious chore of washing the blender after every use. Bonus: You can even use it to make homemade nut butter!

What We Love

Auto-cleaning function
Dual steamers allow you to cook two ingredients at once
Smaller than most countertop food processors

Things To Consider

High price point
Not great for batch cooking

Best baby food maker for batch cooking

Babymoov Nutribaby Duo Meal Station 5-in-1 Food Maker

The Babymoov Nutribaby is another all-in-one workhorse that steams, blends, defrosts and even has an option to warm and sterilize bottles. It has a double steamer basket on one side and a high-powered, three-speed blender on the other. The best part? Thanks to a large capacity bowl, it can make up to one week of fresh and nutritious food in a matter of minutes.

What We Love

Large 9 oz. capacity bowl
Multi-functional model steams, blends and defrosts food
Doubles as a bottle warmer and sterilizer

Things To Consider

High price point
Large footprint

Best baby food mill

Green Sprouts Baby Fresh Baby Food Mill

Last up on our list of the best baby food makers is this manual model by Green Sprouts. A hand-turned crank squeezes food through a sieve separating seeds and skins, to make a yummy puree. To serve, simply scoop it out or dish it up directly from the wide-mouth bowl without taking the mill apart. It’s a great portable option if you want to make fresh food on the go.

What We Love

Separates skin and seeds
Made from food-grade material
Travel-friendly

Things To Consider

Not suitable for raw meat and fish or hard fruit and vegetables
Only makes a single serving

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Dos and Don’ts of Homemade Baby Food

Best Organic Baby Food

Best Baby Food: Jars, Pouches and Beginner Snacks

Trends in baby food packaging: packaging as a toy, a means of communication with parents and an element of eco-strategy

The choice of baby food in Russian retail is huge! Manufacturers are exercising original packaging solutions to attract young parents. The packaging of baby food has its own trends - it is with the help of packaging that brands develop children, conduct a dialogue with parents, or even prepare babies for adulthood.

Coming to the store, the buyer faces a large selection of goods. Packaging helps him make a decision. Often these criteria are standard - attractiveness and informativeness. As for baby food, for parents, the main indicators are the quality and safety of the product. But the convenience of packaging becomes its additional bonus.

We talk about Russian and international experience in attracting the attention of customers using the examples of several brands that produce baby food.

Packaging as a toy

The first thing to mention is the spiders. This is the most "fresh" innovation in the category of baby food, which appeared in Russia much later than in the West. The word “spiders” is still unusual even for experienced parents, and you can often hear the wording “soft packaging”. But now such containers are used in more and more categories, they are used for classic fruit purees, and for dry cereals. One of the main advantages of this package is that it is difficult for a child to get dirty or spill the contents. In addition, spiders are convenient for moms, they are light and compact, they can be taken for a walk or on the road.

All children love toys. Therefore, it is obvious to use this emotional component in the packaging of baby food. The FrutoNyanya brand followed this path when it offered toy covers to its consumers.

“Our pouch-packed fruit purees come with a special certified toy lid, thanks to which the child can learn colors and count, collect various figures, which in the end can positively influence fine motor skills. For our youngest consumers, we produce fruit-shaped pouch packs to introduce the baby to the first fruits,” says Anna Ivanova Marketing Director of PROGRESS JSC, manufacturer of the FrutoNyanya brand .

Such entertainment also brings up perseverance and independence, stimulates positive emotions. Frutolids are hexagonal with 2 and 3 notches on the sides. And thanks to these grooves, they interlock with each other quite tightly. They can be assembled not only in a plane, but also to build multi-level structures, developing the child's imagination.

Packaging as a tool for dialogue

The next trend in packaging is to communicate with parents. Now manufacturers are striving for the most open dialogue with the consumer. Full information about the composition is placed on the label inscription. In this composition, the consumer understands all the ingredients, there are no abbreviations.

Producers of baby food talk about the production, methods of growing vegetables and fruits, and their suppliers. This trend is also reflected in the packaging – the transparency of the packaging is becoming an important way of communication. For example, transparent labels, fully or partially transparent packaging.

Packaging as an element of eco-responsibility

Another important component of packaging is its tactile qualities, dullness, craft solutions. Consumers are increasingly interested in features that make packaging easier to recycle and reuse. For example, completely biodegradable materials or materials that can be used as fertilizer, or even edible materials. But this trend is still in its infancy in Russia, in the future we will see more completed projects.

An example here is the young British brand Little Tummy, which is based on the principle of sustainability. Even today, the plastics and papers they use are 100% recyclable and recyclable.

Going even further, Swedish brand Alex & Phil are committed to reducing the use of conventional plastic and gradually moving towards bioplastics and renewable resources such as sugar cane. Starting in 2019, they have switched to aluminum-free packaging, which is 80% bioplastic, and their caps are made entirely of this material.

See also: Retooling a business in times of crisis: 5 steps for a manufacturer

Packaging as Smart Entertainment very popular with consumers. Thanks to packaging, manufacturers can create games and competitions in augmented reality mode, quickly and easily redirect the consumer to the site.

For example, last year, in partnership with the popular Shazam app, the FrutoNyanya brand released a limited series of liquid cereals with a special QR code that allows parents and kids not only to eat healthy, but also listen to fairy tales at night using augmented reality.

Packaging as a guide to the world of "adult" food

The above trends relate to the Russian market. In the West, there are ways to attract buyers. In Europe and America, brands have long been offering their young customers an "adult" range of dishes. Of course, it meets all the standards of baby food, but in terms of taste it is close to the dishes of an adult diet. This trend can also be seen in the packaging of baby food. For example, the French baby food brand Bledina offers products packaged in an airtight plastic plate. Parents warm up the dishes and, without shifting from this plate, feed the child. The idea of this package is that serving a dish for little ones is no different from serving for adults.

In addition, in Europe, manufacturers of children's yoghurts and puddings only offer large packages. There are no such micro-jars as we have on store shelves. Only a large amount is offered in order for the child to get used to adult standards from childhood.

* * *

It has long been clear that when choosing a product, the buyer pays attention to the additional benefits that packaging can bring. Moreover, conceptual packaging useful for a child can increase the purchase intention. And when you work with children's goods, you need to ensure that both an adult buyer and a small consumer of the product are satisfied. Thus, every year manufacturers try to come up with more and more new approaches.

Ksenia Petrova
for New Retail

About the company - UEC LLC

Open Distribution Company was founded in 2013. The team was united by common ideas and values, because almost all of us are parents who care that their children's diet from a very tender age should include complete and high-quality nutrition. We understand very well the importance and relevance of this issue, since each of us, at one time or another, has gone through this difficult path. We “from the inside” know all the pitfalls that parents may encounter when solving the issue of feeding their beloved baby. For ourselves, we decided that we want to help you go through this thorny path with the least losses - that's why we decided to start this business.
During the formation of the company, we were engaged in the distribution of imported dry milk formulas for children and additional nutrition for pregnant and lactating women. Having achieved success in this area and inspired by the good reviews from our customers, we decided to go further.
At the end of 2016, we launched our own production of baby food in the Moscow region. And now at the plant in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region we produce mashed potatoes and juices for the little ones.

Open Distribution Company was the first baby food manufacturer to pay attention to the promising and growing segment of halal products. This is how the brand "habibi" was born, which offers halal products for the little ones. A serious production check was passed by experts from the International Center for Standardization and Certification "Halal" under the Council of Muftis of Russia. And now, at each habibi production, there is always an expert from the ICSC who confirms the observance of technologies and the use of 100% halal raw materials. The habibi trademark is registered in many countries and is owned by the "Open Distribution Company".
In 2017, the company launched a new trademark "Egor Ivanych" on the market. With this brand, we intend to take one of the leading positions in the market of Russia and the CIS countries. The peculiarity of the food "Egor Ivanovich" is that it is produced in accordance with GOSTs. The products manufactured at our plant are our pride, because they meet such criteria as naturalness, high quality and safety. The Egor Ivanych trademark is registered and owned by the Open Distribution Company.

We work not only with our own brands, but also produce private labels (PL) for many well-known chains such as Auchan and VkusVill. Moreover, the quality of goods produced for external customers is in no way inferior to our products.
The products of the "Open Distribution Company" can be found in various retail chains, their number is constantly growing. We are also working on entering the markets of other countries, both in the CIS and abroad. The high quality of manufactured goods allows the company to actively participate in government tenders for the supply of food to hospitals, dairy kitchens, kindergartens.
The company plans to launch new products in the baby food segment, including innovative ones. A large team of employees is working on this issue. All of them are high-level specialists with extensive work experience, who are united by a common goal - to help young parents raise healthy and wholeheartedly fed children.