How to make baby food thicker

Making Your Own Baby Food

Read time: 7 minutes

What to know about making your own baby food

Advantages to making your own baby food purees
Supplies you need to get started
Cooking methods to make homemade baby food
Baby food puree recipes to get you started

Once your little one is ready to start solids, the next question often asked is: Do I make baby’s food or buy it? The store offers many baby food options, but making at least some of the food at home may allow for even more variety.

With a little bit of planning and use of some of the utensils you likely already have around the house, making homemade baby food doesn’t have to be as daunting as it sounds.

What are some advantages of making your baby’s pureed food?

Greater control over what you feed your baby: You can use a wider variety of ingredients that are not always available in store-bought baby food. ¹^,¹⁰
Money saver! Did you know the price of 2 to 3 containers of baby food is almost equal to that of 4 to 6 pears, which can create enough pureed food for 10 or more meals for your baby?¹
May help reduce picky eating: Repeatedly offering a greater variety of foods, as well as foods the family eats (with minor changes in textures and ingredients to meet your baby’s needs), may help make your little one a more adventurous eater, even into childhood.²

Read more: Introducing Solids: First Foods & Textures

You might be worried that you need an elaborate kitchen setup and all new kitchen tools to make your baby’s purees, but the good news is that you likely have many of the tools already needed to whip up some homemade baby food!

Here is a list of some of the tools that can be used to make homemade baby food:

Vegetable peeler
Pot for boiling or steaming
Sheet pan for baking
Steamer basket
Blender or food processor
Fork and knife
Food mill
Potato masher
Strainer
Ice cube trays

Let’s get cooking!

Food Prep

Following proper food safety is especially important when cooking for children and especially for baby’s first foods. ³ Babies are more prone to foodborne illness than older children or healthy adults, so always wash your hands, rinse the food items, clean your work area, cook foods to their recommended internal temperatures, and avoid cross-contamination.³

For more specifics on proper food safety protocols, see Food Safety for Babies and Toddlers

What cooking methods should I use when making baby food?

There are many cooking options available for pureeing food for your baby. Each method has pros and cons in terms of ease and retention of nutritional value:

Steaming: A very popular (and easy!) method, steaming allows for minimal nutrient loss and the leftover water can be used as stock for pureeing.⁴
Boiling or Stewing: While also convenient, this cooking method results in greater nutrient loss into the surrounding water. To recoup these nutrients, you can use the cooking water when you make a puree or broth. ⁴
Baking or Roasting: Great for making large quantities in the oven. Baked food items retain a good amount of their nutrients.⁴^,⁵
Microwave Cooking: Super easy but mainly best used for only small quantities. Be aware that microwaving may lead to uneven cooking and hot spots in the food or liquids.⁶
Pressure Cooking: This technique may require additional kitchen equipment but retains much of the foods’ nutrients because this method uses very little water and is fairly quick.⁵
Grilling: Babies and small children can eat grilled foods. When grilling, aim for a low temperature and avoid burning or charring meats.⁷
Sautéing and stir-frying: Another fast and flavorful option!

*Note that the longer you cook a food for and the higher the temperature used in cooking, the more nutrients may be lost. ⁵

What foods should I cook for baby?

Fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats can all be cooked and pureed into baby food. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics states there is no specific order that foods should be introduced.⁸

Some foods need to be avoided as they are choking hazards. Read more on Preventing Choking

Here’s how to prepare homemade foods for your baby:

Vegetables

Always cook vegetables before serving to your baby – steaming, roasting, or baking are the best methods. Once cooked, softer vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash need only be mashed with a fork or potato masher.

If the vegetable has a thick skin, like green beans or peas, push the cooked food through a strainer or sieve to remove the tougher parts. You can also just use a very powerful food processor or blender to puree the entire vegetable once cooked!

Try adding herbs such as oregano, rosemary, or dill; or spices such as cumin, ginger, or curry powder.

Try one of these vegetable puree recipes: Avocado and Pea Puree or Root Vegetable Puree

Fruits

Certain fruits, like avocados and bananas; or very ripe pears, mango, and peaches; require no cooking before feeding to your baby. Simply peel then mash them up with a fork or blend quickly.

Other harder fruits, like apples, firmer pears, and underripe nectarines and mangos can be baked or steamed to soften them up for a puree. Simply halve or quarter your fruit of choice, remove the skin, remove the core, pit, or seeds. Place the cut fruit in a shallow baking dish with about 1 inch of water in a 400F degree oven.

Bake for 20-40 minutes, or until fruit is tender, then allow to cool before pureeing in a blender or dicing for finger food.

You can even sprinkle the fruit with ginger, nutmeg, or cinnamon!

Fruit puree recipes to try: Orange Sunny Soup or Beet and Cantaloupe Puree

Grains and Cereals

You can make your own baby cereal at home using whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, or barley.

Finely grind the uncooked grain using a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. Then cook the powder in water for 15 minutes until you get a thin, soupy consistency. You can also cook the raw grain whole, as you normally would for yourself, and then puree or mash. But this method can sometimes create a pasty consistency.

Try one of these homemade cereal recipes: Whole Ancient Grain Baby Cereal or Strawberry Quinoa Cereal

Meat

Yes, you can even puree meat for your baby using a food mill or blender. Cook the meat to well-done before pureeing (but avoid luncheon, cured, and smoked meats at this stage due to the high salt and additive content).⁹

Try one of these meat based baby food recipes: Avocado and Chopped Chicken or Ginger Carrot, Sweet Potato Mash and Lean Beef

If you have questions on how to make these recipes, or are looking for more ideas, reach out to our team of registered dietitians and lactation consultants for free! They’re here to help on our free to live chat from Monday through Friday, from 8am–6pm (ET). Chat now!

Tips for preparing homemade baby food

Avoid adding salt or sugar to baby food

Our little one’s food preferences are formed early in life, so avoiding or severely limiting these strong added flavors before the age of one is important. In fact, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for American recommends no added sugar at all before the age of 2 years.¹²

Additionally, you want your baby to experience and get used to the true flavors of food so that they are more likely to accept them in the future!¹¹

For more on this topic, check out the following articles:

Introducing Solids – Signs of Readiness

Introducing Major Food Allergens

Introducing Solids: Baby Led Weaning

How to Make Baby Food Thicker – Baby Sensei

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Have you found the food of your baby becomes too runny whenever you make it at home? Most of the mother out there prefers to make the food of their baby with their own hands to ensure clean and healthy preparation. I am bit sure many of them find their fresh baby food to be too thin and liquid. Not only this but most of the times food if stored in the refrigerator tends to become even runnier.

There is a particular time when the babies want to have more textures in their food and also it is necessary as well as soon as the baby undergoes development. Therefore, if you are also looking for ways using which you can thicken the puree of your baby food a little more. Then keep reading along.

Table of Contents

Learn How to Make Baby Food Thicker

Thickening the baby food is not a complicated process at all; in fact, it is much easier and straightforward. There are a variety of foods which you can use to increase the texture in the diet of your baby. It doesn’t matter whether you do the process after or before freezing that is entirely your preference.

There is no particular or assured way to thicken the runny baby puree. But here, according to me, I would suggest thickening the baby food after it has been thawed. It works the best most of the times in many cases. And it is the fact that the thawed kid’s meal intends to be runnier then it was before getting freeze. Do you know why it happens; well, it is because the process of freezing tends to change the cellular structure of several foods that are used to prepare a portion of baby food.

Fruits and vegetables that tend to become runny

Many fruits and vegetables are used to prepare the purees for your babies. There are many of them out there that tend to become thin and runny in texture. Some of the most common items in that particular category are Mango, eggplant, peaches, plums, pears, papaya, summer squash, zucchini, melons, and blueberries.

Reasons behind the need to thicken the baby food purees

The main reason that strengthens the point of making the food purees is that the most of the mothers slowly want to introduce a little more textures in the foods of their baby to make him gentler towards the type of food texture. It will help the babies to adapt to the natural texture of food very comfortably as we eat.
Another reason is that if your baby knows to use the spoon and feed themselves by their own, then it is better to have the consistency of the purees a little bit thick making it cling to the spoon and allowing the kids to get the food in their mouths. Also, there will be less frustration for your kid to manage with the thick purees rather than the runny ones.

Now that we have already discussed every single detail about the thickening of the baby’s food, the only thing that is left is considering the list of ingredients that can be used to thicken the meal of your little creature in your house.

Things through which you can make the texture of the baby’s food a little bit rich

There is a list of ingredients that you can use to make your babies food thick. Also, as a mother, you may be worried about the unusual kinds of stuff but no need to worry because here we are only adding natural ingredients that you can add to the baby’s food. Some of these ingredients are reiterated below for you to have a look at:

Mashed potato: you can use any potato you want to, but my recommendation is to make the use of the sweet potato if you’re going to add more nutrition to the baby’s food. If you are interested in knowing why you can read about it here.
Pureed lentils or you can even use the beans: These are one of the best ingredients if you want to give your kid a dose of protein as the lentils and the beans are rich in protein.
Wheat germ: Wheat germ is one of the most uncomplicated ingredients to add in the meal of your baby but before, taking it into use make sure to contact a pediatrician. It is because it contains gluten, and it may be allergic to some child.
Yogurt: Yogurt is the best choice to introduce into the meal of baby as it contains a right amount of nutrients like protein, vitamin, and calcium in it that are necessary for your child’s growth. Also, it tends to thicken the food so that it won’t be runny anymore.
Cooked oatmeal or barley: Oatmeal is an excellent source of nutrients that the babies need in the development stages of the kids. On the other hand, if we consider barley, then it is one of the most versatile food ingredients that you can also use to make the consistency of your kid’s meal thicker.
Well, cooked egg: Eggs are also a good source of protein that tends to thicken the baby’s meal. But here make sure that you prepare the egg properly.

Try to mix the ingredient as mentioned above in the kid’s food to make the food thick as well healthy. You can also make the use of cottage cheese. If you are worried if cottage cheese can be provided to kids or not then no need to worry as they are safe, also I have discussed their pros and cons here.

That’s all for the ingredients that you can use to thicken the baby meals to proper consistency. Apart from all the above, you can also add grated raw potato to the puree and when you are cooking the stuff stir it 10-15 minutes prior finishing.

Final verdict

So, now you don’t need to worry about how to make baby food thicker as you have got a decent number of options for the particular purpose. Hence the problem of the runny and thin consistency is solved for the lovable mothers out there. Make the meal of your kid thicker using our mentioned products and give it a blast of nutrients and minerals as an advantage also.

How to make baby puree thick in consistency - Encyclopedia Baby food

Viktoriya Levchuk©

When you start preparing baby puree for the first feeding, it often turns out to be too liquid. It is very inconvenient to feed the baby with such food, so many mothers are wondering: How to make baby puree thick in consistency? I will try to answer this question.

Reasons to thicken baby food

Contents:

Some foods are too thin for baby food when cooked and blended.
Frozen baby puree may be thinner when thawed. It looked great when it was placed in the freezer, but for some reason the baby puree is now watery and unappetizing.
Also, baby food thickens as the baby grows, to make it harder to chew and swallow.
To put baby puree in a soft bag or pouch, puree that is too thin flows out faster and makes the baby dirty. As a result, instead of helping, the pouch brings additional problems.
When a child learns to feed himself with a spoon, he may have difficulty managing certain foods, such as soups. By thickening his food, we save him the trouble of working hard to get the spoon to his mouth only to find it's empty!

When the first acquaintance with vegetables occurs, the usual natural thickeners cannot be used, so vegetables must be cooked properly.

If we cook on fire in ordinary water, then we try not to digest the product, we take more pieces, the product is cooked longer, but it takes less water. Pour the vegetable broth into a separate cup, everything to the last drop. Then just beat the vegetables with a blender, and then, if the baby puree turned out to be very thick, then add the vegetable broth. We add a little bit so as not to overdo it. Otherwise, the puree will turn out to be too liquid and you can start over.

If the product itself turns out to be liquid, then it is better to bake it . Roasting in the oven removes extra moisture from the product, so the baby puree is thicker, richer in color and flavor.

For steamer , cut the product coarsely, then there will be less moisture, and the baby puree will be thicker.

And finally, liquid puree at the first feeding is even good. It is easier for a baby to swallow such a puree, it is flavored with a certain amount of liquid. The first meal should be slightly thicker than breast milk or formula. So do not thicken baby puree to lumps. The child is just learning to chew, he has little command of the language, and swallowing movements are still designed for liquid food, so the density of the consistency of baby puree should increase gradually as the child develops chewing and swallowing skills.

Please note: A doctor's consultation is required before introducing any new products. Please remember to only introduce ONE new ingredient to your baby at a time. If baby puree is being prepared for the first time for a baby, then it should be introduced into complementary foods separately, BEFORE mixing with any of the thickeners listed here.

Foods that can become runny

The most common fruits and vegetables that can become too runny are:

Tsukkini
Brumber
pears
Persics
Plum
strawberries
Cherry

How to thicken baby puree

This article offers natural thickeners, products that are easy to find in any kitchen. Again, I draw your attention to the fact that the thickener is a separate product that must be introduced into the baby's complementary foods. Therefore, many parents begin to use natural thickeners at the stage of the first change in consistency, about 7-8 months. By this time, most likely, several vegetables and 2 types of porridge have been introduced. Here is the first natural thickener introduced into complementary foods - this is porridge.

Rice flour is traditionally used to thicken any vegetable puree. Rice does not greatly change the taste of baby puree, giving it a little rice flavor, but any density can be achieved. But homemade rice flour needs to be cooked a little, so you need to have a little experience and a couple of spoiled baby purees. Rice porridge of industrial production is ideal, it was simply added to hot vegetable puree and stirred, here, the main thing is that lumps do not form.

The older the child gets, the more natural thickeners appear in the child's diet. We list the main natural thickeners for baby food and the approximate age of their appearance in the child's diet.

Cereal flour or flakes (Rice, oat). These are the best cereals for a more neutral flavor with a slight hint of rice or oatmeal, but other cereals can be added if desired. Until almost 12 months, parents are not very smart and use rice or buckwheat flour. After 12 months, as you get to know the new porridge, you can use other cereals.
Children's cereals without additives, industrial production.
Banana. After 8 months.
Biscuits. After 8 months.
Yogurt. After 10 months.
Curd. After 12 months.
Egg yolks (cooked - hard boiled or scrambled). Use after 12 months.
Pasta. After 10-12 months.
Bread. After 8 months.
Lentils or any legumes such as peas, chickpeas, beans. After 12 months.
White potato puree. After 7-8 months.
Wheat germ
Tofu. After 18-24 months.

To thicken baby soups or stews, you can try adding some grated raw potatoes - just add them about 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking time.

Thickening characteristics of frozen baby food

Frozen baby food sometimes becomes a bit runny when thawed.

Freezing changes the cellular structure of many foods, so that foods that were ideal before freezing become a different, more liquid texture when thawed. For frozen baby purees, it's best to use a natural thickener after thawing to get a baby-friendly consistency.

It is also important to have an approximate idea of the composition of the baby puree that is planned to be prepared. For example, only a banana can be added to defrosted strawberry cubes, thus thickening the puree. Or add thick yogurt and banana to thicken the baby puree. Or you can add a fresh pear or apple to defrosted strawberries, which will lead to nothing, the puree will remain liquid, so you have to add cookies or rice flour.

Thickening of baby puree in industrial production

It is difficult to write about natural thickeners in baby purees and not write about ready-made baby food. Manufacturers of baby food also faced the problem of liquid purees, which are not suitable for all children. Although ready-made baby food is much thinner than homemade, simply because it is homogeneous, without lumps and any texture. In general, this is very correct, since it is easier to adhere to certain norms in the industrial production of baby food, because it is almost impossible to please a changeable consumer.

But let's talk about thickeners. What do baby food manufacturers use to make baby puree thicker?

Many try to use the natural thickeners described above. More often and easier to use any cereal, for example, rice flour. It's not expensive and quite effective. However, you need to be very vigilant here, since rice flour can be added to ordinary zucchini puree, and 4+ months can be written on the label, and if the child is not familiar with zucchini or rice, then an allergic reaction can occur. I wrote about Hipp squash puree with rice flour. Of course, such a puree can be given to a child after getting acquainted with both products.

The list of thickeners used in finished baby food was taken from the product of the product of vegetable and fruit puree:

whole -grain flour
wheat claps
rice (although it is clear from the name that the puree should not contain rice)
rice flour (for consistency) (the puree is called Mashed potatoes with salmon in a creamy sauce, as you understand, there should not be rice here)
Rice flour (puree is called fish with potatoes)
wheat flour (puree is called potatoes with flounder)
gum wood (dessert from milk and berries)
Guar gum
pectins
and also E1411, and also E1411, and also E141 , E1413, E1414, E1422, E1423, E1440, etc.

That's why I will always write and repeat that we carefully read the composition, try baby puree before giving it to a child. These are the basic safety rules when using ready-made baby food.

I hope my article How to make baby puree thick in consistency turned out to be informative. Join me on Contact and Instagram!

Homemade baby puree: recipes

Homemade fruit and vegetable puree: cooking secrets

Vegetable and fruit puree is often the first meal of the baby after breast milk or formula, so many mothers prefer to cook it on their own. Although modern manufacturers convince us that baby food is devoid of preservatives and harmful additives, fresh vegetables and fruits are much healthier, especially when it comes to infant nutrition. Yes, and cooking baby puree at home is not so difficult.

Vegetables or fruits?

Let's try to make baby puree for our beloved baby. Despite the fact that pediatricians of the last century recommended starting complementary foods with fruits, it is better to first introduce the child to vegetables - modern doctors and nutritionists have come to this conclusion. Boiled vegetables do not irritate the gastrointestinal tract, are better absorbed, satisfy hunger, do not cause allergies and increased gas formation. In addition, vegetables do not contain fructose, which irritates the pancreas. And one more weighty argument in favor of the fact that it is better to start with vegetables - fruits are tastier, and if the baby tries them first, he will refuse vegetables, because they will seem to him more insipid.

How to prepare baby vegetable puree

What can baby puree be made of? The ideal puree for the first feeding is from cauliflower or zucchini. A little later, you can introduce pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, potatoes and green peas. Before cooking, vegetables are washed well, peeled, cut into pieces and cooked - steamed, in the oven or in the usual way, in water. The first two methods are preferable because oven roasting and steaming preserve the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and natural color in the vegetables. And most importantly - such vegetables are much tastier. Some nutritionists recommend boiling vegetables with their skins on before peeling them, so choose your own cooking method.

If you do have to cook vegetables in a saucepan, use an enamel pot, add less water and put the vegetables in boiling water. Boil until soft, but do not overcook vegetables and fruits, otherwise they will become tasteless and lose a lot of vitamins. Ready vegetables are chopped with a blender until smooth and slightly diluted with water, vegetable broth, breast milk or mixture to a gruel state, since the child does not yet know how to digest thick food. Small pieces of vegetables in puree sometimes cause the baby to refuse to eat, so the knives in the blender should be well sharpened, and if there is no technique, you can grind the vegetables through a sieve. Salt and spices are usually not added to baby vegetable puree, and if the baby is more than 6 months old, you can put a little butter in the puree.

A few rules for making baby puree at home

Use only fresh vegetables and fruits.
Water for cooking vegetables must be filtered or bottled.
If you are using frozen foods, choose only whole fruits and vegetables as they retain the most nutrients.
All utensils for preparing baby food should be perfectly clean, so if the knife falls on the floor, it should be washed well. Also, the presence of pets in the kitchen during the cooking process is not allowed.
Avoid vegetables and fruits high in nitrates such as spinach, lettuce, beetroot, melon, and watermelon in infants' diets.
Store-bought vegetables are recommended to be soaked in water to remove nitrates: 1-2 hours for this, up to 24 hours for potatoes.
Mix sour-tasting fruits and berries with sweet fruits - for example, blackcurrant goes well with banana or pear. Sour puree is unlikely to please the baby.
Give your child only fresh food, but yesterday's puree from the refrigerator is better to eat yourself.

DIY fruit puree for children

Children are more likely to eat fruit puree, as fruits are tastier and sweeter. Fruits contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fiber and antioxidants, so they are very useful for a growing organism. However, fruits are strong allergens, especially berries, bananas, pomegranates and apricots, so they should be given with caution, watching the child's reaction. The most low-allergenic fruits are apples and pears, so it is better to start complementary foods with them, and then introduce all other fruits. First, the baby is fed with a one-component puree made from only one product, and then you can mix different vegetables and fruits, and not only among themselves. Very tasty combinations of fruits and vegetables, such as apples and zucchini, pumpkins and pears.

Fruits must be of good quality, without damage, ripe and juicy, and the rules for preparing fruits do not differ from the rules for cooking vegetables. Naturally, fruit puree is not sweetened with honey and sugar - the later the child learns the taste of sugar, the stronger his health will be.

Aromatic pumpkin puree

Babies love to eat pumpkin because of its pleasant sweetish taste, besides pumpkin is very healthy. It contains a whole storehouse of various vitamins, including vitamin T, which normalizes the metabolism in the body. For pumpkin puree, small pumpkins are suitable, since large fruits are not as tasty and difficult to peel.

Cut the pumpkin in half, and then into small slices, one or two of which (depending on the appetite of the crumbs) cut into cubes. Boil the pumpkin in a double boiler or in water for 20 minutes, while warm, beat with a blender to a smooth puree and dilute if necessary with water or a mixture. Add oil and salt depending on the age of the child.

Gentle Broccoli Puree

One of my favorite homemade baby puree recipes is broccoli. This cabbage is extremely useful because it contains potassium, iron, calcium and other valuable substances. It has much more vitamin C than lemon, and the reason for its nutritional value is its high protein content.

Separate the broccoli into florets, wash thoroughly and steam for 20 minutes. Cabbage cooks faster in water - fresh broccoli will take 7 minutes, and frozen - about 15 minutes. Broccoli puree does not need much water, it should lightly coat the vegetables. After the cabbage becomes soft, chop it in a blender or pass through a sieve. If you're mashing for kids older than a year old, be sure to add butter - the little ones will gobble up broccoli on both cheeks!

How to make baby pear puree at home

Pear is a very delicate, tasty and healthy fruit that rarely causes intolerance. In addition to the high vitamin value, the pear has other beneficial properties - it facilitates digestion and removes toxins from the body.

For baby food, choose green pears to reduce the risk of allergies, which are rare among babies. Peel the fruits from the peel and core with seeds, and then stew the pear in a bowl with a thick bottom in a small amount of water for 15 minutes. Let the pear cool slightly and puree it in a blender with a little of the remaining pear broth. For large kids, fruits can not be boiled, but add half a teaspoon of natural honey to the puree.

Zucchini and apple puree

Little gourmets will love this delicious puree, besides, zucchini is considered the most hypoallergenic vegetables, which, due to their high potassium content, have a beneficial effect on the heart. Apples contain iodine, iron and phosphorus, and due to the high concentration of vitamin C, apples help in the prevention of colds and viral infections.

Wash the zucchini and apples well, de-seed them, cut into pieces and cook in a saucepan for about 20 minutes, considering that the zucchini will cook 5 minutes faster. By the way, apples are steamed for 15 minutes, zucchini - 10 minutes. Next, vegetables and fruits are chopped in a blender, mixed and brought to a boil. For allergic children, this is the best side dish!

Exotic mango

Sometimes you can pamper your baby with exotic fruits - for example, make mango puree. This is a very delicate fruit with an original taste, containing 12 amino acids and improving sleep.

Choose only ripe fruits that are soft and reddish-yellow in color. Peel the mango from a thick skin and a large bone, put the pulp in a blender, add 2 tbsp. l. water and mash it, and then heat it in a saucepan for several minutes. For a baby up to a year old, it is better to give mashed potatoes with heat treatment to facilitate digestion, and older children can be fed raw mangoes.

Carrot-Potato Puree

Make normal potato puree without oil. Peel the carrots, grate them and stew them with butter and vegetable broth - about 1 tsp is required for 200 g of carrots. butter and 150 g of broth. When the carrot becomes very soft, wipe it through a sieve, and then put it on a plate, put mashed potatoes on the second half. Let the child choose whether to mix two types of puree for him or eat separately!

Pumpkin and apple puree

This sweet, sugar-free pumpkin-apple puree made in a double boiler is suitable for children who are already accustomed to “adult” food and are able to perceive a new unusual dish.