Tons of ideas for easy homemade baby food combinations — both the basics for beginners and more interesting combinations for older babies and adventurous eaters!
Hi and welcome!
Whether you’re a first time visitor or you’ve already made your way through all of my beginner baby foods and quick + easy batch cooking recipes, I’m glad you are checking out these homemade baby food combinations!
I think this was my favorite part of making homemade baby food. I loved finding different ways to combine foods and figuring out what my little ones liked best.
I started slow and pretty basic but then I got more and more creative as I went, guided both by my own ideas, those I picked up from others and mostly by what each of my two kids would eat. Or not. Cause not everything will be a hit and that’s OK. Exploration is the name of the game.
(Patience is the other name of the game. As is BIG messes and lots of clean up. I highly suggest you invest in a dog. 😂)
I kept tons of notes when I made my kids’ baby food (and I made ALL of it — not a store-bought jar or squeeze pouch to be had) and I’m so glad I did because now I can share it all with you!
Some of these homemade baby food combinations sound scrumptious, some sound strange, and some may even seem a little icky. Just being honest. 😉
But all have been thoroughly taste tested and approved by little mouths at one stage or another.
Before we get to the lists though, a few overview notes for you.
Tips on making homemade baby food combinations:
- Most pediatricians and experts recommend introducing new foods one at a time, waiting a few days between new foods, to ensure there’s no allergy or reaction. (I’ve got a sample introducing baby food schedule if you want something for reference.) After you’ve got a few first foods under your belt, you can begin to combine those. And every new food you introduce can be added to the combination possibilities.
- In general, baby food grain or starch purees — such as oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, barley and couscous — are good in combination with pretty much any fruit or any vegetable.
- Grains and starches are also useful if you have a puree that’s very watery — such as green beans, zucchini or pears) and you need to thicken it up a bit so you can get it on a spoon. Mix and match textures as well as flavors.
- All of these combinations can be made into homemade baby food pouches – just follow my directions in the post and make sure you puree everything well. It’s a great way to start to transition your baby to finger foods!
- The list of ideas below is far from exhaustive. Use your imagination, try foods you pair together, try foods you would never pair together, browse the baby food aisle for inspiration and just play with it!
One final thing: Does your baby have an absolute favorite food? Something they always gobble up without fail? Use it to your advantage!
For my daughter it was pureed black beans and for my son it was mashed up banana. Anytime there was some homemade baby food they weren’t keen on, I would mix it with their favorite and it was gone in a flash! It’s a great way to ensure there’s no waste!
So without further ado, here are some ideas for beginner homemade baby food combinations as well as some more interesting baby food combinations for older or adventurous eaters.
Beginner baby food puree combos:
Peaches and pears
Broccoli and pineapple
Spinach and banana
Avocado and banana
Peas and carrots
Peas, pears and spinach
Green beans and barley
Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
Prunes with pears, banana or pumpkin
Butternut squash with quinoa
Sweet potato, apple and barley
Oatmeal with applesauce
Chicken and pears or peaches
Chicken, brown rice and zucchini
Black or pinto beans and rice or quinoa
Black beans and sweet potato
Black beans and broccoli or zucchini
Pumpkin with cinnamon
Roasted banana and pear
Potatoes, peas and corn
Applesauce with fruit mix-ins
Yogurt with fruit mix-ins (I also add spinach or kale to my fruit mixes for yogurt – basically a thick smoothie!)
Cottage cheese with peaches or pears or berry applesauce or fruit mix
Oatmeal with peanut butter and banana
Easy homemade hummus (leave out the salt for baby)
Roasted sweet potato and parsnips
Roasted zucchini and peppers
Chicken with broccoli and cream cheese
Sauteed zucchini and squash with onion and thyme
More interesting baby food puree combinations:
Okra couscous
Beet hummus
Spinach-artichoke hummus
Avocado hummus
Edamame hummus
Pea and parsley hummus
Guacamole (no salt added)
Tilapia with sweet potato and carrots
Salmon with butternut squash and parsnips
Chicken and roasted veggies (broccoli, yellow or butternut squash and/or carrots)
Chicken with sweet potato, broccoli and soy milk
Chicken or turkey with cream cheese and oatmeal or barley and broccoli
Pork, sweet potatoes and peas
Pork and applesauce
Ground beef with potatoes and peas
So there you are – tons of ideas to keep you sane and keep your baby happy and well fed. 👩🙌👶
I’d love to hear from you with your baby’s favorite foods and combinations! Comment below, shoot me an email or tag me on Instagram. 😊
(And head back to my homemade baby food landing page to explore tons more ideas, resources and recipes. I’ve also got you covered if you need ideas for using leftover baby food!)
Happy cooking!
XO,
Kathryn
Note: This post has been updated with new photographs and revised text. It was originally published in April 2015.
Catalina Kocherhans says
Thank you so much for all this super helpful information. My daughter just turned 6 months but is been eating purees since last month, but I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t made any of those food yet, i’very bought the organic jar baby food :(. I’ve been so anxious to start cooking baby food for some reason, but to all your information gave me strength to start doing it!! So again thank you
Kathryn says
I’m so happy to hear this was helpful Catalina! The hardest part is getting started – and then you’ll see how quick + easy it can be and you can add it to your routine as a supplement or replacement of store-bought baby food – just do what works for you! Also, I’m actually in the process of re-photographing and re-doing all of my baby food round-up posts and adding some more combination ideas – so stay tuned for updates! Have a good weekend – and hope that sweet baby girl gives you some full nights of rest 😉
Lesley-Anne says
Can all of these combinations be frozen?
Kathryn Doherty says
Yup! I pretty much froze all different kinds of combinations of baby food and it was always fine for me. I have some more information on storing (including freezing) homemade baby food in the Q&A part of this post if you want to check it out: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food/ Hope that helps!
Lesley-Anne says
Thank you so much! I have another stupid question…If I use frozen veggies to.make the purees can I re-freeze them for a later date? I have a baby bullet and I have been trying to meal plan for baby and us at least a week in advance.
Kathryn Doherty says
Not a stupid question at all! Yes, you can use frozen veggies to make baby food and then freeze the extra baby food. I did this a lot with frozen peas and frozen butternut squash, as well as others. And yay for meal planning – I think it makes a big difference! I hope that helps and good luck! 😊
Caitlin says
I picked up a good baby food making blender a few days ago (baby just started rice cereal last week) thinking to myself that while I wish I could be one of those moms who makes all their baby’s food, it was doubtful. That’s so much extra work. And those jars…you just pop them open…After reading many of your posts I’m now confident that I can do all his food myself! Unfortunately there’s so much information out there that I just didn’t know what to do or where to start. Thank you for compiling so much VERY helpful information in one place!
Kathryn says
Oh I’m so happy to here that Caitlin! I hope this does help and that you can at least get started making some baby food on your own so you can see how easy it is! Let me know if you have any questions!
Allisyn says
A combo I’ve found my 6 month old enjoys is carrot mango! I’ve mixed in prunes for an added laxative boost because he has been quite constipated since I started solids at 4 months.
Kathryn says
I love that combination Allisyn! I used prunes a lot too, especially with my son, because the constipation was a big issue for us too. I often mixed them with dried apricots (I’d soak each of them and then blend together for a puree). Also put them with bananas so they’d offset the constipation that bananas can cause! And when your son is a little older, the carrot mango, or carrot-mango-prune combo would be a great one for homemade baby food pouches!
Sindy says
Wow this is so helpful as a mom you always want to know new ways of mixing the good stuff for babies.
Kathryn says
I’m so happy to hear this is helpful for you Sindy!
Dana says
This is great! One question I have is do you mix the different foods together, put them in the pouches and freeze them together, or do you freeze each individual food in the pouches and then mix them once thawed?
Kathryn says
I’m so glad you found it helpful Dana! You can store each food individually, if you think you’ll be using them for several different combinations. But if you are planning to serve certain purees together as a mix or combo, I’d suggest mixing them together before storing/freezing – then it’s ready to go! Hope that helps!
Ashley says
Wow so much good info! Love all the easy combination ideas. 🙂
Kathryn says
Thanks Ashley! So glad it’s helpful! 😊
Samantha says
I’m so glad I found your website! We just started solids this week with my 6 month old daughter and so far have been making her baby food. One question I have is how do you thaw the frozen purees (i.e. one frozen cube)? Do you leave it in the fridge the night before? Do you ever microwave it? Thanks!
Kathryn says
Hi Samantha! So glad you found me too 😊 You can thaw the frozen puree cubes overnight in the refrigerator and then just stir them to get them smooth. But I’ve also used the microwave to do a quick thaw when I hadn’t planned ahead to take them out and that was fine, too. Just make sure to stir it well so there are no hidden hot spots in the food that could burn the baby’s mouth.
Melissa says
When defrosting in the microwave or warming up your baby’s food, what kind of dish do you use to warm it up in? I’m not sure if I should be microwaving any plastic.
Kathryn says
Hi Melissa! I would transfer the baby food to a small microwave-safe glass or Pyrex bowl to microwave it, to avoid using a plastic container. Hope that helps!
Antonella says
Hi Kathryn
Thank you so much for all these recipes. Just two questions please? How would you go about cooking the chicken? I once read that it’s best to bake to keep all nutrients but won’t it go dry since no water/sauce would be added to it while baking? Or would u just boil or steam the chicken?
Also are all these combos suitable from 6 months please?
Thanks loads.
Kathryn says
Hi Antonella! You can cook the chicken a couple of ways. I usually would boil it and use water from that to add to my blender as I puree the chicken, which helps retain some of those nutrients. You can also bake it. If you don’t overcook it, it shouldn’t get too dried out. You’ll still need to add water when you go to puree it.
As for the timing of when to start these, you need to introduce foods to your baby one at a time to watch for reactions or allergies and some foods aren’t appropriate for beginner eaters. I have a sample introduction schedule here that you can check out: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/introducing-baby-food-schedule/ Once they’ve had some of the early foods, you can start to combine them and add on from there. I hope that helps!
Stephanie says
Hi there. I see several recipes on the internet where the foods are mixed and pureed together, such as apricots and apples. Can I just mix foods together on the plate after they’re pureed or must I combine them into one puree as if I were following a recipe? Sorry if this sounds silly….I’m a total newbie and not the greatest cook either! Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Kathryn says
Hi Stephanie! Yes, if you have a puree of apples and a puree of apricots, you can just mix some of each together in a bowl instead of pureeing them together. I often did that — made each puree by itself and then mixed some together — so I could mix and match and see what my babies liked best. I hope that helps! You may also want to check out my introduction to homemade baby food post (https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food-101-introduction/) and my beginner baby foods, where I make 5-6 different individual baby purees, most in just about 20 minutes: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/category/beginner-baby-foods/ Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
lorna says
Hi
How do you cook the starches such as oats, quinoa etc. separate then blend together? or would you grind them first before cooking?
Kathryn says
Hi! I always cooked the starches first and then blended them into a puree (adding extra water or milk as needed) after they were cooked. You can grind them first, I just thought that was harder to do. Either way, once it’s cooked, you can combine it with whatever fruits or veggies you are planning to mix. Hope that helps!
Annmarie says
Hi!
I was wondering if using frozen vegetables and fruits worked as well as fresh? Things like peaches, pears, mangos in particular, but also veggies like green beans and peas.
I’m so glad I found this info, it’s been very helpful! It’s overwhelming to know where to start, but this helps so much!
Kathryn says
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely used frozen fruits and veggies – just make sure to thaw them out and/or cook them though, depending on what it is. You can check out my post here with lots of commonly asked questions about homemade baby food: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food/ And here’s where I have some tips on getting started: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food-101-introduction/ I know it can seem really overwhelming at first, but I promise you’ll get the hang of it in no time! Let me know if you have other questions and good luck!
Nidhi says
Hi
Thank you for such a helpful article. I am first time mom and was really looking for such ideas.
Can u suggest if fruits and vegetables specifically needs to be organic.
Thank you
Kathryn says
Hi, I’m so glad you found this useful! Buying organic is a personal preference, so if that’s what you want to do, go for it. I buy some things organic, some regular. Just be sure to wash your produce well!
Emily says
Any ideas for sweet cherries?
Kathryn says
You could use fresh sweet cherries in a smoothie or mixed with yogurt or applesauce. They also make a good finger food if you cut them up into small pieces. Hope that helps!
Genease says
Hi, Thank you got all the great ideas. You inspired me. Tonight i made apples,blueberries,strawberries and cherries purée. But it didn’t have a taste at all it was very tangy. What was I missing? I added brown sugar to give it some taste. I also made meatloaf that I was going to purée for the baby, what should I add with that?
Thank you.
Kathryn says
Hi there – good for you for trying out some fruit purees! I’m not sure whether you made those all together or in different combos, but either way, the sweetness will depend on the sweetness (which usually means the ripeness) of the fruit you used to make them. I will say, babies don’t have quite the sweet tooth yet like we do. I definitely did not add sugar or sweeteners to my baby’s food until they were about two and they woofed down pretty much everything! So even when it doesn’t taste sweet to us, it may be just fine for them. That said, if your baby doesn’t seem happy with it, you could try mixing it with some more ripe/sweet fruit to sweeten it up more naturally. Pineapple is a great one that usually adds a huge hit of sweetness. Banana and apples too. When my kids were older and their fruit mixes needed some sweetening, I sometimes added a touch of honey. (But please note that babies under age 1 cannot have honey.) I hope that helps!
Kathryn says
Oh, and as for the meatloaf – if it’s cooked and done, you can just puree it up for you baby. It would also make good finger food, crumbled up, for an older baby. (Though I would try to avoid using any salt for a baby under 1.)
Elizabeth Cox says
Hi Kathryn,
My son is 7 months old and my sons GI specialist recommended me to start making my sons baby food to help him with his digestive issues and honestly when I heard her say that, it was so intimidating and scary to think about lol but then I tried your recipes and now it seems funny that i thought it was going to be difficult.
So I’m confident in making the baby food but the switch from the store bought to the homemade for my son isn’t going great, also I just started so i haven’t introduced a whole lot of new homemade food yet, but what I have introduced he hasn’t liked at all!😑 like bananas by them selves, mixed berries, and mixing the fruit with his cereal.
So I was wondering if you had any tips?
Thank you for any help you can give!
Kathryn says
Hi Elizabeth! I’m so glad the recipes have been helpful – it really is easy, right?! As far as what he’s eating, I’d just tell you to stick with it. It’s completely normal for him to reject a lot, if not most, of the foods. Just keep offering (and use small amounts so your hard work doesn’t go to waste!) and trying different things – maybe sweet potatoes. Maybe oatmeal. Try some peas or avocado too – mix it up! I’m sure something will stick eventually. (For both of my kids, they each had a favorite and then I could mix that with pretty much anything else to get them to eat it.) Also, keep in mind that he’s still getting all of his nutrition from breast/formula milk, so the food is just for fun and just to start exploring flavors and eventually textures. No big deal if he doesn’t eat much. I hope that helps and I hope you find some things he loves! 😊
Roxy says
Hi,
How about barley and carrots? Would that be a good mix?
Kathryn says
Yes, Roxy! I think that would work well together!
Maria says
Please tell me about this fabulous handheld blender you are using!
Kathryn says
Oh I love it so much Maria! It was pretty much all I used for homemade baby food, but I still use it for simple sauces, smoothies, etc. It’s a hand blender/immersion blender and I have a Cuisinart one. You can check them out here: https://amzn.to/2CQOBgL
You can get all my baby food equipment recs here: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food-equipment/
Or shop my Amazon baby and kid products here: http://a.co/h3bmSfh
Hope that helps!
Phenix says
As for the meats- I’m big on cooking pork chops and chicken. How exactly should I be cooking them and feeding them to baby?
Kathryn says
Hi there! I have some information in this post about how to do chicken as a puree. It’s a great one to mix with sweet potatoes, grains and applesauce to get some protein. https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-baby-food-round-2/ (Basically, I boil them, then let them cool, roughly chop them and puree them with water or breastmilk/formula.) I gave my kids ground turkey and ground beef as finger foods – cooked and crumbled – once they were older. I did the same with pulled pork pieces. But you can also cook and puree turkey or pork with a good blender and use them to mix in with other foods for younger babies. I hope that helps!
Meggie says
These sounds great! Can’t wait to try some of these out! I feel like I’ve gotten stuck in a rut of the same 3 things. Can all of these be prepared ahead and frozen? I like to have a “baby food day” where I make a ton of baby foods, jar them up, and stock pile in the freezer. Also, how long will they be good frozen? Thanks so much!
Kathryn says
I kept this list when mine were little because I was always getting into a rut too! I hope this is helpful! And yes, these can all be prepped in advance. I was all about batch cooking too. (You can see some of my round-ups here. Most are 5-6 foods in about 30 minutes: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/category/beginner-baby-foods/) Also, you can refrigerate homemade baby food for up to 3-5 days and freeze it for up to 6 months. Just be sure to label everything and keep it tightly covered!
Robin says
This is great. I need to share with my sister. She makes her own baby food.
Kathryn Doherty says
Oh that’s so thoughtful! I hope she finds this helpful!
Mina says
My 2 year old is so picky and I feel like I should go back to making baby food because she will not chew on any veggies hopefully these work !!
Kathryn Doherty says
I feel your pain! Both my kiddos devoured their baby food – including any and all veggies – but became lots more selective once they started picking up foods. The picky part will come and go in phases so hang in there, appreciate anything she will eat, add veggies to sauces where you can and keep offering those healthy foods! Good luck!
Jenny says
Hi! This is super helpful, I love your site! I’m always looking for different combos for my 8 month old. We hit pause on the purées due to a stomach bug, but hoping to get back in soon! I saw the question about the starches. So you recommend cooking the starch, rice, quinoa, oats, etc. blending them separately and adding them to whatever mixture. Can you freeze the left overs? I feel new and so unsure how to work with starch! I love making food for her, I swear our freezer is now all baby food cubes! 🙂 thanks again for this awesome site and this amazing post with the combo ideas!!
Kathryn Doherty says
I’m so happy this is helpful Jenny! Yes, I think it’s easiest to make a big batch of the starch (rice, for example) and then puree it to have on hand to combine with other fruits, veggies, proteins, etc. If you are fixing rice and chicken at the same time, for instance, you can certainly blend some of those together to mix them. I just liked having single ingredients to have the option to mix and match as needed. And yes, you can definitely freeze the grains after you make them. Helps you prep once, feed baby lots. 🙂 Do keep an eye on the consistency though, as the starches will thicken up as they cool and again after they have sat in the fridge or freezer. You can either add water and reblend or mix them with a more watery puree (like zucchini or a watery fruit puree) to get them to your needed consistency. I hope that helps and good luck! 😊
Marjorie says
How did you make your spinach, lentils, and pineapple baby foods? Strawberries?
I’ve enjoyed making my own for Baby 3. 💕
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Marjorie! For spinach, I blend up fresh spinach leaves and pair it with another food – bananas or berries, or even chicken or rice or a combination food. It doesn’t affect the flavor so it’s a good veggie to add in. Pineapple and strawberries, you can use fresh or frozen and just blend them into a puree. They can cause rashes in some babies under 1, due to acidity, so I waited until mine were a year old, but then they make a great veggie to offer and to mix. I’m not sure I used lentils when either of mine were babies, but you would just need to cook then puree the lentils until they’re a good texture for your baby. They would mix well with fruits or veggies, just like other whole grains. I hope that helps!