Nine month baby food recipes
18 Stage 3 Baby Food Recipes (Easy + Delicious)
Home » Feeding Style » Baby Food Purees » Stage Three » 18 Stage 3 Baby Food Recipes (Easy, Delicious + Homemade)
These 18 Stage 3 Baby Food Recipes are easy to make, delicious for baby to eat and completely homemade! They are combination purees with soft chunks that will get baby ready for the next stage – finger foods. Great for babies 9-12 months.
Medically reviewed and co-written by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).
Stage 3 Baby Food RecipesNow that your baby has mastered Stage 1 as well as Stage 2 baby food purees, it’s time to move on to the last phase of their puree journey – Stage 3!
Stage 3, or Chunky Purees, is the last stop of the puree culinary adventure for baby – the next phase is finger foods.
What exactly are Stage 3 Baby Purees? Well, put simply, Stage 3 baby foods are a puree with small chewable chunks inside. Having small manageable chunks in a puree gets your baby ready for finger foods by having them explore similar tastes that they are used to but with completely different texture profiles.
Baby has to learn how to move the chunks around their little mouths, how to chew on those chunks and finally they have to learn to swallow them without gagging or choking. It’s a sensory and exploratory practice that takes some time, but trust me, baby will learn how to do all of these things in no time at all.
Looking for even more baby food ideas? You can also check out my best-selling cookbook for even more information and recipes.
Reasons to Love these Homemade Stage 3 Purees- wholesome
- delicious
- freezer-friendly
- nutrient-dense
- full of whole grains – millet, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, etc
- great ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinners
- can be made slightly chunky or really chunky depending on where baby is at with this stage of purees
- baby doesn’t have to have teeth for these chunky purees – they will be able to gnaw at any of these chunks with their gums
Frequently Asked Questions
When can you introduce baby to stage 3 purees?
You can introduce Stage 3 purees to your baby around 9 months of age.
You will want your baby to have had a great deal of practice eating smooth combination purees before you serve them chunky purees.
What are Stage 3 Baby Foods?
Stage 3 baby foods are a thick puree with soft chewable pieces of food inside.
What is the difference between Stage 2 and Stage 3 baby foods?
The only difference between Stage 2 and Stage 3 baby food is that Stage 3 baby foods are slightly chunkier than Stage 2 purees. Traditionally, Stage 3 baby foods are meant to be the last step in the puree process before you start your baby on finger foods. You are giving your baby some time to practice mouthing and chewing on small pieces of cooked foods before handing them solid foods. Of course, you can always introduce finger foods at the same time as Stage 3 purees.
Why are Stage 3 Baby Foods Important?
Stage 3 baby foods are important because they will help teach baby what to do with small chunks of food in their mouths, how to move the chunks around their mouth, how to “chew” these chunks as well as how to swallow them.
This stage is important because you are exposing them to a ton of different textures and taste sensations.
How to Make Stage 3 Baby Purees
You can make any homemade Stage 2 baby food puree into a Stage 3 baby food simply by not blending the produce into a smooth puree.
- Cook the fruits, veggies, grains and meat according to the recipe.
- Place in a food processor or blender.
- Pulse the puree in 5-10 second intervals until you have small ‘pea’ size pieces and everything is incorporated.
- Serve to your baby.
Yes, you can start finger foods at any age! This stage is all about texture and taste exploration, so the more you introduce to your baby now, the easier it will be for them when they start eating table foods. You can read my Ultimate Guide to Finger Foods for more information.
HELPFUL TOOLSThese tools will make it a lot easier to make homemade baby food purees.
For more of my favorite kitchen tools make sure to check out my shop.
- blender or food processor
- baking sheet
- saucepans
- knives
- veggie peeler
- spatula
- freezer tray
- storage containers for fridge
- stasher bag
- reusable pouches
- baby food maker
Every recipe below has specific instructions on how to store that particular puree, but these are the general guidelines.
REFRIGERATORYou can store the puree in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
FREEZERMost homemade puree can be frozen for up to 4 months.
- Spoon puree into a freezer storage container. Do not overfill.
- Place the lid on the storage container or cover with a piece of saran wrap, and label with the date and recipe name.
- Place the tray into the freezer and let it freeze completely — preferably overnight.
- Pop-out the baby food cubes and place them in a ziplock baggie or stasher bag. Don’t forget to relabel the baggie or stasher bag for future reference.
Need more information on how to store your baby foods? Head over to my Best Baby Food Storage Containers – Plus 6 Tips on Freezing and Thawing post!
FEEDING TIPS
- Have a spare spoon (or three!) – even very young babies often want to be involved in feeding themselves as much as possible. Giving your baby an extra spoon to hold can be helpful in giving her a sense of control and also promotes hand-eye coordination. Allow your baby to use spoons as a teether during the meal. There are many great options out there but a few we particularly love include the Olababy 3 Piece Set, the NumNum Pre-Spoon GOOtensils, and the ChooMee FlexiDip Baby Starter Spoons.
- Purees are great to keep in your baby’s regular rotation of foods – but if you start feeding with traditional weaning using purees, make sure to progress beyond eating ONLY purees.
Once your baby can safely and comfortably swallow purees (usually by 7 or 8 months) it’s time to introduce other textures, such as teething biscuits and soft-cooked finger foods. Moving onto additional textures in a timely manner may help prevent feeding difficulties at a later age. - Throwing spoons is a common phase that all babies go through at one point or another. One of the best ways to handle spoon throwing is to ignore it and keep feeding your baby as usual (with an extra spoon you already have at the table). If your baby ends up also throwing back up spoons #2 AND #3, simply encourage your baby to eat with their hands until they appear to be finished with the meal. ***Give baby plenty of opportunities to practice putting items in and taking items out of containers outside of mealtimes.
Chunky Summer Veggie Pasta
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This Chunky Summer Veggie Pasta for Baby and Toddler combines all the flavorful tastes of summer into one bite-size dish!
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Blueberry Chickpea with Rosemary Baby Food Puree
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This puree is packed with antioxidants, fiber, Vitamin A and C from the blueberries and protein, zinc, manganese, folate and iron from the chickpeas. All of that goodness packed into a super simple and delicious puree!
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Avocado for Baby – Puree & BLW
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Avocados are a superfood and great first food for babies 6 months and up. Serve them pureed, smashed, or as a finger food for baby-led weaning.
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More Recipes Baby will Love- 8 Baby-Led Weaning Meal Ideas for Baby + Toddler
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- 2 cups sweet potato, peeled and chopped (roughly 2 small sweet potatoes)
- 2 cups strawberries, trimmed and chopped
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup cooked farro
Steam: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil.
In a steamer basket add the sweet potatoes, cover and steam for 15 minutes. Add the strawberries and sprinkle with cinnamon and steam for 3 more minutes. Let cool slightly. Reserve steamer water.Blend: Transfer the cooked sweet potatoes and strawberries as well as the cooked farro into a blender or food processor. Pulse in 5-10 second increments until all of the ingredients are combined and you have small pieces of food.
Eat: Serve to baby and enjoy.
Age: 8+ months
Yield: 20 ounces
Storage: Fridge – store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezer – can be frozen for up to 4 months.
Notes on Strawberries: in the spring time when strawberries are not at their juiciest, I find that giving them a quick steam helps make their flavor more impactful.
If you are making this at the height of strawberry season and your strawberries are bursting with flavor, feel free to skip the steaming step and you can add them straight to the blender before pulsing.
Blender
Reusable Pouches
Bumkins Baby Bowl
NumNum Pre-Spoon GOOtensils
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Baby menu at 9 months
6-12 months
Article
5/5 1 reviews
Although breast milk or formula remains the mainstay of infant nutrition at this age, a 9-month-old baby's menu becomes more varied with new complementary foods. The correct diet of the child is the basis of his harmonious development, good health and good mood. But how to organize a diet, what can be given at this age and how much should a child eat at one meal?
8 min. for reading Feb. 17, 2022
The correct diet for a nine-month-old baby includes 5 meals: a day the baby receives liquid food twice and thick food three times. This is due to the fact that mashed potatoes and cereals take longer to digest than milk, so they give the baby a longer energy supply.
Feeding is usually carried out at intervals of 4 hours. If the baby asks to eat 2-3 hours after liquid food, offer her a baby snack, fruit or vegetable (in small pieces or in the form of a puree).
A 9-month-old baby's daily diet includes many healthy foods and drinks that provide essential nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals. In addition to milk and infant formula, the following foods can be given to a child:
- Fruits and vegetables in the form of puree (apple, pear, cauliflower, etc.)
- Fruit juices and compotes without sugar.
- Meat in various forms.
- Fish.
- Kashi from various cereals.
- Chicken or quail egg yolk.
- Children's fresh cottage cheese.
- Children's low-fat kefir.
- Children's cookies, croutons, bread.
Read also: The baby refuses new products
According to WHO recommendations, by the 9th month, all of the above products should already be on the menu.
If something from the food is still unfamiliar to your child, it is recommended to gradually add it to the diet.
Start with smaller portions and see how your child reacts to the new food. If there is no allergic reaction to the product, you can increase the volume and add it to new dishes. New complementary foods are recommended to be introduced at intervals of 5-7 days. An indicative table for one day will help to create an optimal diet for health. It also shows how much formula or milk the baby should eat per day.
* infant formula.
**Dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or infant formula given to the baby. Milk porridge is diluted with water.
| I feeding 6 hours | Breast milk or formula for infants with cow's milk protein intolerance | 200 ml |
| II feeding 10 hours | Dairy-free porridge* | 180 g |
| Vegetable oil < | about 1 tsp | |
| Fruit puree (apple, pear) | 70 g | |
| III feeding 14 hours | Vegetable puree or pureed soup | 180 g |
| Vegetable oil | about 1 tsp. | |
| Meat puree (rabbit, turkey) | 50 g | |
| Fruit juice | 70 g | |
| IV feeding 18 hours | Fruit puree | 50 g |
| Vegetable puree or dairy-free porridge | 180 g | |
| Vegetable oil | about 1 tsp. | |
| Meat puree | 50 g | |
| V feeding 22 hours | Breast milk or formula for infants with cow's milk protein intolerance | 200 ml |
*dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or it is safe for children with allergies to cow's milk proteins.
** you can eat porridge or vegetables, so you can eat grass - porridge with vegetables.
1st day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Buckwheat porridge with pumpkin, juice |
| Lunch | Pumpkin steam cutlets, veal puree |
| Snack | Rusks or baby biscuits, yoghurt |
| Dinner | Cauliflower puree |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
2nd day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Oatmeal, berry juice |
| Lunch | Steamed fish, rice, fruit compote |
| Snack | Vegetable puree |
| Dinner | Vegetable puree |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
3rd day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Semolina porridge, quail egg yolk |
| Lunch | Steamed zucchini, boiled veal, apple compote |
| Snack | Pumpkin and apple puree |
| Dinner | Curd casserole with carrots |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
Fourth day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Rice porridge, fruit puree |
| Lunch | Mashed potatoes or turkey meatball soup |
| Snack | Carrot Apple Juice |
| Dinner | Kefir |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
5th day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Oatmeal and apple puree |
| Lunch | Cream soup with chicken and vegetables |
| Snack | Carrot juice |
| Dinner | Cauliflower puree, crackers or bread |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
6.
Sixth day | First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Rice porridge, half yolk (chicken egg) |
| Lunch | Vegetable soup with chicken breast, juice |
| Snack | Baked apple |
| Dinner | Spinach mashed potatoes |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
Seventh day
| First breakfast | Breast milk or formula |
| Second breakfast | Millet porridge, croutons |
| Lunch | Steamed chicken cutlets, vegetable puree |
| Snack | Apple juice |
| Dinner | Curd with fruits |
| Second dinner | Breast milk or formula |
Parents need to gradually accustom the child to eating solid foods, because now he is moving to a new level of development: more teeth appear, so the baby can now chew food.
If this is not done in a timely manner, a baby may refuse solid food in a year. Changing the consistency of dishes favorably affects the development of the digestive system.
No need to grind fish and potatoes in a blender - just put the food on a plate and mash well with a fork. Meat can be offered in the form of meatballs to develop chewing skills. It can be turkey, rabbit, veal, beef, chicken. The norm of meat for one meal is 60-70 g.
It is quite normal if at first large pieces in a dish cause discontent in a child or even a gag reflex - he will soon get used to it. Sometimes it happens the other way around - the baby willingly tries the pieces, but refuses pureed food. Treat your baby with apple slices, bread, crackers or baby snacks. But the meat is still better to grind thoroughly.
At this age, consumption of mother's milk or adapted formula decreases. There are only two feedings per day - in the morning and in the evening. Everything else is "adult" food.
Ideally, the baby should sleep through the night and get up at 06:00-07:00. If the little one wakes up at night, it is already possible to gradually wean him from feeding at night (provided that he is gaining weight normally). You can consult with your pediatrician about this.
Please note that uneaten food (already cooked) must not be stored and reheated. It is also not recommended to add sugar and salt to the dish.
If you give your child ready-made baby puree, we recommend that you do not feed him immediately from a jar, but pour the right amount onto a plate. In this case, the rest can be stored in the refrigerator for another 24 hours.
Find out more: Baby Portion
Pay attention to the quality of food you cook: appearance, smell and expiration date. It is better to use seasonal vegetables and fruits, and shop in trusted places.
Wash food thoroughly under running water before cooking. You can also use special children's products for washing fruits and vegetables.
All products must be brought to full readiness, and then thoroughly crushed to the desired consistency, so that the baby can comfortably chew small pieces. After eating, wash the dishes with a special detergent.
How to properly feed a 9-month-old baby if he refuses food and does not eat the foods you suggest?
Poor appetite is one of the indicators of a baby's health. The problem may concern the digestive tract, glucose levels, central nervous system. The feeling of hunger appears when the level of sugar in the blood decreases. But for this you need to take breaks between meals. Also, the smell of food affects the appetite - it causes the release of gastric juice.
How to regain your appetite:
- observe the diet;
- develop a delicious menu for a baby at 9 months;
- Serve dishes beautifully and set the table;
- ventilate the room before eating;
- let your baby use cutlery.
See also: The baby does not eat well, how to feed?
In order for the baby to eat willingly, he must be in a good mood.
Try to avoid stressful and nervous situations, feed him in a calm, comfortable atmosphere.
If the baby refuses to eat or eats very slowly, do not rush or force him to eat. Also, do not force the little one to eat foods that he refuses. Otherwise, in the future, he will have a negative attitude towards the feeding process, refuse to eat any food at all. He can even feel sick and vomit only with one kind of food.
Important
Games and cartoons during meals do not really improve appetite. On the contrary, in this way you only teach the baby to eat without noticing the dishes.
With the help of our tips, you can create a menu for a child at 9 months for every day, which will meet the requirements of a healthy diet and preferences of the baby
1. What should not be given to a child at 9 months?
It is not recommended to give cow's milk until the age of one. It contains too much calcium, which overloads the kidneys, and protein, which is poorly digested.
Also be careful with foods that can cause allergies or contain a lot of sugar
2. Should oil be included in a baby's diet?
A 9-month-old baby's menu should include animal and vegetable oil, as it contains many vitamins, proteins and fatty acids necessary for the proper development of the baby. Among the useful products of plant origin, it is worth noting olive, corn, sesame or linseed oil.
3. Can a 9-month-old baby be given fish?
Low-fat white fish can be a healthy addition to your baby's menu. It is recommended to give fish 1-2 times a week instead of a meat dinner - flounder, cod, hake or pike perch are suitable. If the baby responds well to the product, try making fish cakes or meatballs.
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Baby food up to a year - this is one of the most important questions that mothers have in the first year baby's life. According to WHO recommendations, complementary foods should be introduced from 5 months, if the child is bottle-fed and from 6 months, if the child is breastfed.
Products to follow enter in the following order: vegetable mono puree (zucchini, broccoli, colored cabbage, carrots), dairy-free cereals (corn, buckwheat, rice, oatmeal), fruit purees. From 8 months, you can start introducing meat purees (rabbit, turkey, veal) and egg yolk.
When injected a new product should be monitored for the reaction of the child's body.
When allergic reaction, contact your pediatrician for advice.
After introduction vegetables, cereals and fruits, you can cook vegetable puree soups, fruit purees, cereals with fruit purees.
From 8-10 months soups and vegetable purees can be given a less tender consistency by grinding them through sieve or mash well with a fork. From 10 months, the child can be offered a finger complementary foods - small pieces of well-boiled vegetables and ripe fruits without peels (broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini). So baby will learn to eat in pieces and develop fine motor skills of the hands.
Meals for children up to a year should be boiled, baked or steamed, without adding salt and seasonings.
On our website you you will find many options for what you can cook for a child up to a year old for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon snack or snack. There are simple, tasty and healthy recipes for cereals, dishes from vegetables, meat and fish. Our recipes are very simple and quick to prepare, because a child under one year old needs constant supervision and care.
