Recipes with baby food as an ingredient
Clever Ways How To Use Up Leftover Baby Food
Baby food can be so convenient when your baby will gobble it down. But what can you do with that leftover baby food they don't like or have outgrown? Well, don't throw it away! We've got some clever ideas to share.
Most people have a love/hate relationship with baby food. It's so dang easy when your baby loves the food and can't get enough of it! But by some miracle, it also seems to multiply in the pantry. What on earth do you do with that leftover baby food?
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Well, if you've been asking yourself this question, then consider it your lucky day! We're going to share some out-of-the-box ideas for storing and using up all that goodness. Have we piqued your interest? Keep on reading to find out more!
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER BABY FOOD
What should you do if you have dozens of baby food jars cluttering up your pantry but you're not quite ready to use them? Well, you've got options! You could keep them in the jar for a while and call it a day (that stuff basically lasts forever), but we've got a few other ideas we think you'll love. These are perfect for those half-eaten jars, too!
- Ice Trays – Did you know you can freeze baby food? Oh, yes, you can! Our favorite way is to scoop those purees into ice trays, then pop the cubes in a plastic bag. This way, you can use the cubes for cooking or drop them in a smoothie.
- Cookie Sheet Blobs – Looking for another way to freeze that food? If you have a cookie sheet, you're golden. Just scoop blobs onto that baking sheet (think cookie dough), then freeze and place in plastic bags.
- Cupcake Liners- One more freezer trick! Spoon that food into cupcake liners for freezing. Muffin trays work, too!
- Plastic Pouches – If you're packing for a trip or just looking to save space, you can transfer baby food to plastic food pouches for safe-keeping. Serving the food to your toddlers or babies that way prevents messes, too! If you ever ended up with a spoonful of peas all over the wall, then you know what we're talking about.
If you open and refrigerate leftover baby food, be sure to use it within 48 hours. Ready to use the food you froze? Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and use it within two days. Now that you're up to speed on baby food storage let's chat through some ways to use it!
THE BEST WAYS TO USE UP LEFTOVER BABY FOOD
These ideas are going to rock your world! We bet you'll be excited you have some leftover baby food hanging around by the time we're done. And mama, you can just sit back and smile as you watch your family gobble up that food with hidden fruit and veggies in it! 😉 Your secret's safe with us!
HIDE THOSE FRUITS AND VEGGIES IN THEIR BREAKFAST
We call these breakfast, but you may call them lunch, dinner, or snack. We won't judge! Just throw some leftover baby food in them and call it a day.
- Pancakes – Have leftover baby oatmeal? Make pancakes with it! Bonus points if you add some fruit baby food to it, too!
- Waffles – Add any fruit baby food you have to your homemade waffles to make them extra tasty! Whip that batter up, let the waffle maker do all of the work, and call breakfast good.
- Muffins – Did you know you can add leftover fruit or veggie baby food to muffins? They turn out so moist and delicious! Perfect for toddlers or any member of the family, really. You can also sub out part of your flour with baby oatmeal!
- Topping for Toast – Fruit baby food makes for the best toast topping! It's delicious for the whole family, including baby.
- Oatmeal – You can mix fruit or sweet veggies, such as sweet potatoes or carrots, to plain oatmeal to give it some extra flavor.
- Yogurt – If you have plain yogurt, add some leftover fruit baby food to give it some extra flavor. You can also do the same to plain, unsweetened applesauce!
- Cottage Cheese – Love cottage cheese, but out of your favorite fruit to mix with it? Try adding fruit baby food to it! It's still just as delicious and you don't have to worry about running to the store to get any fruit.
Are you a baby food believer yet? If you liked those ideas, then you're going to love what we have in store for you next!
USE LEFTOVER BABY FOOD IN DINNER
Ramp up your dinner game by sneaking veggie and meat purees into your meals! Your family will be none-the-wiser.
Try one of these:
- Mac and Cheese – You can add sweet potato or carrot baby food to the next batch of macaroni and cheese you make! Yummm.
- Casseroles – Throw any leftover veggie purees in your next casserole you make! It'll help to hide those not-so-appetizing veggies (we're talking to you, peas!) while also getting the great nutrients from them.
- Soup – You can make your soup extra creamy and protein-packed by adding those unfortunate meat purees to your next batch of soup! You can also add veggie purees to your soup if you need to eat them.
- Fruit Salad – You can also add any leftover fruit baby food to our favorite cool whip fruit salad! It'll just make it that much sweeter and delicious. We'll just call this a healthy side since it has dairy and fruit in it, mkay?
So simple and so tasty, right? Pat yourself on the back for getting your family to eat those meat purees.
Is your mind blown? Now you have some of the best ideas for using up leftover baby food without it going to waste!
What's your favorite way to sneak veggies into your kids' food? Let us know in the comments!
Wanting more great ideas for leftovers?
- Learn our best tips to take you from hating your leftovers to loving them!
- Do you always think that leftovers just heat up weird? Maybe that's because you've been doing it wrong! We've got the best ways to reheat those leftovers like a pro.
- Tired of eating the same thing two nights in a row? Repurpose your leftovers into something new!
Now, go eat some baby food!
8 Surprisingly Scrumptious Recipes Using Baby Food
What’s a mom to do when your little one graduates from baby food to table food and you still have a pantry full of puree? Sure, you could donate it to a food bank or a parent with a young tot—or you could cook up some delicious dishes using that leftover baby food. Yep, you read that right: There are lots of tasty, adult-friendly recipes that use baby food as a (super-convenient) secret ingredient. Here, we’ve rounded up some scrumptious recipe hacks using infant oatmeal, rice cereal and fruit and veggie purees.
Image: Courtesy Crafty Cooking Mama
Spice Cake
Amanda at Crafty Cooking Mama conjured up this cake recipe as a result of her extreme distaste for wasting food. She was able to pack three different flavors of baby food into this one fluffy, moist cake, and finishes it off with flavors of cinnamon and vanilla.
The recipe does call for a lot of butter and sugar, so consider pulling this one out of the oven after bedtime for an adult-only treat.
Image: Courtesy Busy Mom's Helper
Strawberry-Lemonade Donuts
Using Lil’ Bits Strawberry Banana Oatmeal baby cereal, Danielle at Busy Mom’s Helper created these clever strawberry-lemonade donuts, beautiful and bright enough to be the star of the dessert table at a baby shower or tea party. (You probably won’t hear any complaints from your family if you serve them for breakfast, either!)
Image: Courtesy Reel Mama
Butternut Squash Soup
You only need four ingredients to pull off this show-stopper of a soup, and yes, one of them is butternut squash baby food. It’s the perfect savory addition to any dinner party menu—and it’s ready in just minutes. Add a hearty bread and you’re set; the recipe from Reel Mama calls for sage crostini for an upscale twist, but any thick-crusted bread will pair well.
Image: Courtesy Adventures of Mel
Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal Crepes
Crepes and baby food are the perfect partners in this delectable recipe from Adventures of Mel.
She artfully uses single-grain baby oatmeal to pull together some of the most drool-worthy crepes we’ve ever seen. Fill them with her delicious filling and top with fruit, and bam—breakfast is served.
Image: Courtesy Moments with Mandi
Glazed Peach Donuts
Mandi at Moments with Mandi has created an ace in the hole with these glazed peach donuts, which use a yogurt-based baby food for the dough and a fruit puree in the glaze. This recipe is simple enough that you can even get your toddler to help out with the baking.
Image: Courtesy Busy Mom's Helper
Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles
Homemade popsicles make for an easy, tasty treat for kids and parents alike—and it just so happens that yogurt-based baby food is the perfect ingredient for whipping up these frozen desserts. Danielle at Busy Moms Helper offers creative recipes for peach lemonade and mixed fruit popsicles using leftover baby food. Simply mix, freeze and enjoy!
Image: Courtesy Must Have Mom
Fruit Leather
Yes, you can puree your own fruit for this homemade fruit leather recipe, but why bother when you can make it with ready-to-go baby food? This recipe from Must Have Mom works best with fruit-only purees or fruit-and-veggie combos, so skip anything that includes oatmeal, rice or yogurt.
This fun fruit leather tastes exactly like the store-bought version! Serve them as an afternoon snack or roll them using parchment paper and secure with a pretty bow for a party treat.
Image: Courtesy Busy Mom's Helper
Multigrain Chocolate Donuts
We’ve certainly established that baby food can be used to make delicious donuts, but we just couldn’t leave these delectable chocolate versions off our list. Made with multigrain baby cereal and drizzled with a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate glaze, these donuts are easy to make and quick to disappear! Get the full recipe at Busy Mom’s Helper.
Published January 2018
Plus, more from The Bump:
11 Packaged Baby Foods Tots (and Moms!) Will Love
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