Portable, squeezable and with lots of flavor options, homemade baby food pouches are easy to make and a great way to serve healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your little ones!
I made ALL of the baby food for both of my little ones. Which was no small feat because they were very hearty eaters. A good thing, but whew, kept me busy in the kitchen!
I always made big batches of purees, to knock out a bunch at a time, and inevitably, I’d be left with extras when they were moving onto finger foods and self-feeding.
So I started turning those purees into homemade baby food pouches.
(I also have tons of other ideas of ways to use leftover baby food – I didn’t want to waste a bit!)
You can of course buy squeeze pouches in the store. They have lots of different kinds of applesauce mixes, yogurt squeezies, and fruit and veggie combinations. But you can make your own so quickly, easily and for much less money. Plus, you can customize them to your little one’s liking and feel good that you’re controlling the ingredients.
My kids are older now – M is 5 next week (yikes!) and J is coming up on 3 – but they still love these squeezies. M says she has lots of friends who bring them for lunch, so she’s always asking for me to send them to school.
And I’m happy to. I love that it’s an easy way to ensure they are eating their veggies. They will take down one of these pouches in a matter of minutes but they don’t always dig into a big bowl of peas or a plate full of broccoli. #yet #Iwontgiveup
So today I’m giving you the run-down on what I use, how it works and five easy homemade squeezie combinations to get you started.
What I use: The equipment
I have the Infantino Squeeze Station and it’s been great. It’s the only specific baby food equipment I’ve bought and was definitely worth it.
You’ll also need to buy refill pouches (they come in batches of 50 and you will go through them!)
They have other accessories, but I’ve stuck to these basics so far.
You’ll also need an immersion/hand blender or regular blender to make the purees to put into the squeeze pouches.
How it works
You set up the squeeze station by inserting three pouches into the bottom (they fit through some grooves and sort of snap in.) Then you put the empty containers on top and screw them onto the bags.
Note: Be sure to write the contents and date on your bags before you start to fill them. Much easier than after they’re done.
Next, you spoon your puree mix into each container, filling it almost to the top. You use the press tool and push the puree down into the pouch. It’s a weirdly gratifying feeling.
If the mixture gets stuck or won’t push, you probably have a small chunk in your puree that got caught in the hole. Just unscrew your tube, dump the contents back into your blender and reblend (or pick out the offending piece if you see it).
After the bags are filled, unscrew the tubes and carefully pull the bags out. Twist on the orange top and voila! You can keep them in the fridge for a couple of days or pop them straight into the freezer to have on hand later.
It’s really easy and actually, really fun!
A few notes about these combinations:
- Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to all of these to help preserve them. The only exception is the pineapple-broccoli mixture. The citrus from the pineapple is enough on its own.
- You can keep the peels on the pears and apples, just be sure to puree them very well so pieces don’t get stuck and prevent the mixture from going into the squeezie bags.
- The vegetables and grains need to be cooked and soft, so plan ahead. Or use leftovers. These can be a great way to use up scraps and reduce food waste.
- If any of your mixtures seem too thick (because the water content of fruits and veggies can vary), just add a bit of applesauce or a splash of water to the blender until its thin enough.
- Each pouch holds about 4 ounces. Most of these batches for me make about 3 squeezies worth. You can of course always double up if you want to knock out a bunch. They freeze great, so you might as well!
Check out the recipes below and get to making some baby food pouches! Hope your little one enjoys!
(And let me know if you want to see another round-up like this – we have lots of other flavor combinations we’ve made over the years that I can share!)
XO,
Kathryn
Homemade baby food pouches
Portable, squeezable and with lots of flavor options, homemade baby food pouches are a great way to serve healthy fruits, vegetables and grains to your little ones!
Ingredients
For the apple-brown rice-spinach pouches
- 1 apple, core removed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves (raw)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
For the pineapple-broccoli pouches
- 1 cup cut pineapple (thawed if frozen)
- 2/3 cup cooked broccoli florets
For the mango-sweet potato-quinoa pouches
- 1 ripe mango, peeled, seed removed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup cooked sweet potato
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
For the banana-barley-zucchini pouches
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup cooked barley
- 1/2 cooked chopped zucchini
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
For the pear-peas-spinach pouches
- 1 ripe pear
- 1/2 cup cooked peas
- 1 cup raw spinach
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Make sure all of your grains and veggies are cooked, if indicated.
- Combine all ingredients for each pouch combination in a blender or immersion blender and blend until it’s a smooth, pourable consistency. (See notes.)
- Label your bags, set up your station and add the mixture to the squeeze station containers, filled to the indicated line. Push down with the press tool and fill each bag. Remove the bags from the station and twist on the tops.
- Store pouches in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, simply move the pouch to the refrigerator - it thaws in less than a day.
Recipe Notes
If your blended mixture seems too thick (because the water content of fruits and veggies can vary), just add a bit of applesauce or a splash of water to the blender until its thin enough.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 366kcal Calories from fat 20 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 2g | 3% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Sodium 43mg | 2% |
| Carbohydrate 86g | 29% |
| Dietary Fiber 13g | 52% |
| Sugars 42g | |
| Protein 8g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
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Wow. This is such a good idea! Impressive flavors too!
Thanks Serena! My kiddos love these squeeze pouches and it’s such an easy way to get healthy foods in them!
Wow this is amazing. I had never thought of adding rice to them. Thanks for sharing with us at Family Joy Blog Link Up Party.
Thanks Charlene 🙂
Boy and I can’t have children, so I won’t be making any baby food in this life time. But, my friend just had a baby and I know she is going to LOVE this post Kathryn!! Those squeezies packages are so cute!! Emailing her this link pronto! Cheers, friend!! <3
Well I didn’t know that Cheyanne – and I’m guessing your cute fur babies aren’t really interested in purees, haha 🙂 But you are a sweet friend to pass this along! XO
What a great idea! I’ve made all my kids’ baby food (baby #3 is finally one with purees praise the Lord! LOL)! But they’re always a pain to travel with! These would be so easy to grab and go, and even the older kids would love them!!
Yay for loving the purees! But you’re right, it can be tough to travel with baby food – we did a couple of week-long trips and I felt so loaded down with all the food I had made ahead to take! These squeezies are perfectly portable and yes, definitely work for older kids too! Good luck 🙂
I don’t have babies but this is brilliant! What an easy way to make sure you know exactly what your little ones are eating 🙂 Thanks for sharing with the Wednesday Showcase!
Thanks Cristina! I love being able to control the ingredients and quality of their food!
You inspired me to make some of these myself this week! I am tempted to buy the squeeze station, but I have refillable pouches already. They are just a pain in the butt to refill. 😛
So happy to hear that Rachel! I have really liked the squeeze station but those refillable pouches certainly have their appeal as well.
This is so helpful! I’m planning to make my own baby food once my son old enough. I love the idea of putting them in squeeze pouches. That makes it so much easier for when we are out and about! Pinning for when I need this.
That’s awesome Jenna! I have lots of resources (check the Resources tab at the top) for doing homemade baby food – it really is easy. You just gotta get in the habit! And yes, squeeze pouches are super helpful for on-the-go days! And later, for preschool lunches 🙂
My kids are 7 & 10 now, but I did make a lot of their baby food & Loved doing it!! this is a great post for new Moms, Pinning 🙂
Thanks so much Angela!
Hi I love these ideas. can I add meat to these recipes!
Hi Angela! I’ve always used these pouches for fruits, vegetables and grains, but I think you could add meat. If you wanted to add chicken, for instance, just make sure it’s fully cooked and very well pureed before you mix it in with your other ingredients and prepare it for the pouches. Any mixture you use needs to be thin enough to get into the squeeze pouch (and of course, for your child to squeeze back out!) Hope that helps!
I would love to see more of your recipes! These are great.
Thanks so much Ellie! I will have to put together another round-up of combinations we love!
I would love some more combinations as well! I actually just bought the infantino squeeze system this week and am very happy to have found your post!
I hope you love the Infantino system Kim! I’ve used it for years now and I’m a big fan. I just did a post on fruit-flavored applesauce, that I mostly pack into squeeze pouches for my kids. You can find that here: http://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/homemade-applesauce-5-fruit-flavors/ I’ve got tons of other combinations I’ve written down over the years so I’ll have to get another round-up post going soon!
Hey i tried the spinach apple rice recipe and it turned out really nice but when i freeze them and then defrost the fibrous stuff clumped together separately from the juices. It happened with other recipes i tried too. Did anyone else have this problem or know why that might happen?
I’m getting ready to start making baby food for my baby. How long can these be frozen?
Good for you Amanda!! I usually use mine in 3 months or so, but I think they’d be fine up to 6 months in the freezer. Good luck with baby food making and let me know if you have any questions!
You inspired me to trying making some homemade pouches for my little one. I tried the mango/sweet potato/quinoa and the pears/peas/spinach and unfortunately the 12 month old was not a fan of either! 🙁
Hi Megan – sorry your baby didn’t like the first couple of ones, but keep trying! Use whatever flavors he/she already likes and start with that. (Happy to give you some ideas for combinations based on those if you want!) Or go with a basic apple-spinach or peach-oats combo to start simple. Sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error, with squeeze pouches and just baby food in general, and sometimes it takes repeated exposure to get them to like a new flavor. Hope you stick with it!
Yay! Thanks so much for this!! Just ordered my maker and sip uevthese recipes!
So glad you found this useful Tatiana! I’m hoping to do another round-up of homemade baby food pouch ideas soon so stay tuned!
Hey Kathryn,
How long could you store in the fridge? could you vaccum seal the bags?
Hi Sharna! You can keep these up to 3-5 days in the refrigerator and up to 3-5 months in the freezer. I’ve never done vacuum sealing, so I’m not sure about that. Hope you try them!
I was on the site earlier in the week and pulled up the recipes. I was going to make them today but now I cannot find the recipes on here! Is there a link missing? Or am I missing something? Thank you!
Hi just wondering if you’ve used brown rice flour/barley flour or oatmeal in the pouches rather than cooking the rice ?
Hi Joanna! Yes, I have used oatmeal in squeezies but not brown rice flour or barley flour. I would imagine they would work just fine – just make sure to have them pureed well and add enough liquid to keep them liquidy. (I’ve found that cooked oats soak up tons of liquid so I have to add extra to keep it smooth enough to go into a squeeze pouch.) Hope that helps!
How old would you recommend the baby be to try these flavors?
Hi Beth! It varies a bit baby to baby… Both of mine were at least 10 months before they could do squeeze pouches (and at ages 3 and 5, they still love them!) but a little earlier might work if your baby is ready. Also, here’s my baby food introduction schedule (soon to be updated) if you want to check that for different foods at different stages: http://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/introducing-baby-food-schedule/ Hope that helps!
Hi there
Where do you get the pouches?!
Hi Rob! I bought everything on Amazon. Here’s my link from above for the refill pouches: http://www.amazon.com/Infantino-Squeeze-Pouches-50-Count/dp/B009IWNPXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425947647&sr=8-1&keywords=infantino+pouches Hope that helps!
Wonderful post! I made the Spinach, Pears and Peas one today and added in some quinoa – my 14 month old sucked it right down! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that – thanks for sharing! And my 4-year-old son STILL loves that combo! 🙂
I’m super excited to start this process this weekend! How long can you keep these in the freezer for and are these okay at room temp once thawed for at least 5 hours? Prepping for daycare so just curious how to handle. Thanks!
Hi Ashley! These should be OK in the freezer for up to 4-5 months. I always keep mine chilled once thawed (and use them within 2 days) to make sure they’re safe. I just put them in a lunch box with an ice pack. Hope that helps!
do you still need to use the lemon juice if you’re freezing them directly?
Hi Jen! I would recommend still using the lemon juice. I usually freeze most of mine directly, too, but I think the lemon helps keep everything fresh and from changing colors – both in the freezer and once you defrost it to use. Hope that helps!
Hi, I made these for my firstborn and am starting to make them for my second. My question is do you just give this to them cold or do you put in warm water to warm before giving to your little one? My oldest liked everything warm even when we got to milk. So just curious how you give to your little one.
Hi Kristin! I’ve also given these to my kids cold, straight from the refrigerator. You could certainly try heating them up – maybe by placing them in a bowl of warm water – but be sure to check the package carefully to make sure that’s safe. Hope that helps!
Hi! I am wondering how you travel with these.. do you thaw them and then put them in a bag with an ice pack to keep them cool or what? I love making them but haven’t tried using them outside the house yet.
Hi Leah! When I send these to school with my kids, they are in a lunchbox with an ice pack. When we take them with us out to lunch at a restaurant on the weekends, they’re also in a lunchbox with an ice pack. If you are traveling out of town or on a road trip, I’d suggest having them in a cooler. If you’re just running out to a playground or something, I think they would be fine for up to 45 minutes or an hour at room temp if it’s not a hot day. I hope that helps!