About 2 months ago, we gave Layla her first solid food: Avocado! Since then she has had a variety of fruits and veggies: Sweet potato, Butternut squash, Zucchini, Carrot, Fuji Apples, Plums, Pears, Bananas, Green Beans, Peas, Spinach, Broccoli, Pumpkin, Apricot… and we’ve also given her Oatmeal and Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt. She has turned into a wonderful eater! Gobbles up almost everything we give her (peas and green beans have to be disguised in yogurt with a little bit of pear, but then she downs them like you wouldn’t believe).
And since I’ve been making all of her food at home from scratch, I thought I’d start a Baby Food Recipes section on my blog!
I’ll be adding the baby food recipes in the order that we introduced them to Layla – to the extent that I can remember 🙂 Avocado was definitely first – because it was the easiest, and because it’s so nutritious for your little ones.
1/5th of an avocado has only 50 calories but 20 vitamins and minerals! Talk about nutrient dense. Avocados also contain:
- Folate
- Fiber
- Potassium
- Vitamin E
- Iron
- Healthy fats that help with brain and nervous system development
I mashed up the avocado raw, and fed it directly to her mixed with a little bit of breast milk (you can also mix it with formula or water to thin it out at first). Here’s how she reacted 🙂
The first time she was like “what are you giving me??” but soon she couldn’t get enough avocado. It’s definitely one of her favorites. And since avocado gets oxidized so easily, I actually tried freezing it and it worked great!
I used these Mumi & Bubi 
ice cube trays for freezing. I love them because they come with a cover, a recipe book, and the cubes are super easy to get out. One ice cube = 1oz of food. And once I started making this puree in bulk, I used a Vitamix to puree large quantities of it at the same time – which was super convenient!
Also, if you can afford it, I’d recommend using 100% organic ingredients for your baby’s food. That way you can leave the peels on various fruits and veggies (e.g. you won’t have to peel apples and pears before pureeing them), and it’s much more nutritious for your baby.
Of course, there will be times when you’re on the go and need a healthy pre-made option for your little one. And in those cases, I’d recommend buying one of the pouches on my list of the healthiest baby food pouches!
Below is my recipe for super simple avocado: a perfect first food for babies!
Looking for 150+ more baby and toddler food recipes? Check out my Baby Food Cookbook here!
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Or, are you looking for ideas for healthy, easy family meals that your little one can eventually help prepare in the kitchen? If so, pick up a copy of my newest cookbook: Kid Chef Junior (will arrive on your doorstep on October 9th 2018!)
Baby's First Food: Avocado Puree
Ingredients
- 1 organic avocado mashed
Instructions
If Serving Fresh / Immediately
- Mash the avocado with a fork or blend it in a food processor.
- Mix with breastmilk, formula or water to reach desired consistency.
If Freezing
- Mash the avocado with a fork or blend it in a food processor.
- Divide into ice cube trays, wrap/cover, and freeze.
- Thaw in the fridge the night before use, or thaw by putting the ice cube in a bowl over a bowl of hot water on the counter to defrost.
- Once defrosted, mix with breastmilk, formula or water to reach desired consistency
Notes
TAGS: baby food recipes
Great!! I will be following all the recipes! 🙂 My little one is 26 weeks and also starting on solids! Can’t wait for more and more baby food recipes!
Oh yay!! So exciting – starting solids was super fun 🙂 I’ll be posting sweet potato and butternut squash next – stay tuned!
My little one is almost year old but she is very picky eater give me some recipe so I can try new
Hi Mona! Feel free to email me at pickyeats@gmail.com and I’d be happy to work with you 1:1! There are tons of recipes on my blog in my healthy kids section that work well for picky eaters, as well as many strategies for dealing with picky eating in my baby and toddler cookbook. But if you’d like more 1:1, customized help, I work with families on an individual basis and can create a plan that fits exactly what you and your daughter needs! Hope that helps!
Yay! I love that you’ll be posting baby food recipes here! Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks so much Rebecca!
I tried this and my little Avery loves it. I was just wondering about how long is it good in the freezer for.
Thanks for the great easy recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! This will last 6 months in the freezer! 🙂
aww she makes such cute faces….you should be really proud of your little for eating healthy foods already :-))..i will be following all your baby recipes soon
Hehe thanks Jyo! Can’t wait to hear how your little one likes these recipes!
Does the avocado turn brown as it thaws?
Hi Katie! If you use it right after it thaws, it won’t turn brown. It will only turn brown if you leave it out, completely thawed, for a few hours. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the recipes! I just started my son on quinoa cereal and moving to avocado in the next day!! I will definitely be looking forward to your other recipes for starting off with solids! Do you suggest adding the breast milk to thin the consistency once thawed (since I’ll have to freeze, daycare!) or add it while I blend and mash up the avocado and freeze that way? Thank you!!
Hi Lauren! No problem at all! So glad these recipes are helpful! Regarding the breastmilk – I’d add it after thawing. The reason is — the purees always turn out a little thinner after you thaw them (because of the accumulated moisture after being in the freezer). So if you add it before thawing it might end up being too runny post thawing! Hope that helps, and I hope your son enjoys all of these recipes!
[…] This buttery treat is a wonderful “good fats” food for baby’s brain and physical development. Plus, the creamy texture of perfectly ripe avocado is one that babies seem to love. To help prevent browning, put the avocado pit in the puree when refrigerating. See More Details […]
[…] Read more this recipe […]
[…] 4. Avocado Purée This buttery treat is a wonderful “good fats” food for baby’s brain and physical development. View the recipe. […]
I recently discovered your site and I am loving it! The recipes are great. I will be coming back to your site pretty often – Thanks so much!
Thanks Megan! So glad you’ve been enjoying my blog!
[…] I wanted a more powerful blender with the ability to make food in bulk and with easier cleanup for making Layla’s baby food and 3) we finally had the counter space to store […]
i mixed it with banana for sweetness and she loved it
yay! That sounds like the perfect combo Barbara! 🙂
Baby Harrison got his first avocado tonight. Seemed to like it.
Awesome!! So happy to hear that! Layla loved avocado as her first food too 🙂
Interesting trick – thinning out with breast milk! Do you think this would work with other foods like carrots?
Absolutely! It’ll work with any puree! 🙂
Hi Anjali, my little one is also Layla! What happens if you mix the breast milk with the avocado and then freeze it? Or should it be done after you unfreeze the avocado?
Hi Sejal! Ha that’s awesome! So I’d recommend mixing the breastmilk with the avocado after you defrost it — mainly because you can’t heat breastmilk directly, but you can heat up the purees to defrost them (e.g. in the microwave). Hope that helps! And I hope your Layla loves this puree!
Thank you so much. I’m 5 month old baby Kalia s Great Gramma, and are for her while my Granddaughter is working.. I love to keep it natural, and this is the second d week of her first foods!!! Soooooooohhhh sweet. Mahalo for taking the time to share your experience.. Much Aloha
Thank you so much for your kind words Patricia!
I love your blog! From San Jose CA!
Thank you so much Jill! It’s so great to meet another Bay Area-an! 🙂
Thank you for your post! A couple questions- I’m a first time mom. 🙂
Do you serve the food warmed, cold, or room temp?
When you started, how much and how often did you feed your baby?
Thank you!!
Hi Megan! I serve the food at room temp, slightly warm (basically the temp breastmilk is when you pump). And when babies are first starting on solids they eat very little – like 1 tbsp per day (one meal per day). Once your baby tries a bunch of different purees you can start doing 2 meals a day, about 2 tbsp per meal. Eventually you work up to 3 meals a day, about 5-8oz of food per meal (see this schedule for details) – but that’s only once your baby is fully transitioned to solids! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi anjali…I am new to your blog and love it now..i have a 6 month old girl and started on solids 1 week ago..we started with some homemade banana powder..she hated it.. den i gave banana puree..she is not fond of it also..I didnt expect her to eat at the first go..but it is going to be a week…and im getting frustrated..any tips for me please..im a first time mom
Hi Shadia! Thanks so much for reaching out – I’m so glad you like my blog! Regarding your daughter — if she has only been on solids for 1 week it’s pretty common for her to reject foods at first. Often babies might need at least 40 tries of a food before developing a taste for it! If she doesn’t like banana you can always try other first foods like avocado, sweet potato, pear, green beans, etc. What I would do is puree the fruit or veggie until it’s super super smooth (no clumps) – initially it should be pretty runny so that it’s easy for her to swallow. Once she gets used to solid foods you can offer thicker purees. She may not have liked the banana powder because of the consistency (and depending on how thin your banana puree was that might have been an issue too). So those would be my suggestions: 1) Offer super smooth/runny purees in small bites 2) Keep offering the food even if she seems to not like it 3) Try other foods to see if she takes to any of those! Hope that helps, keep me posted on how it goes and let me know if I can help with anything else!
Just did this recipe with my baby and he loves it!
So happy to hear that Nina!
Hi my baby just turned 4 months. Can I start with avocado recipe or any other solid food?
Hi! You can definitely start solids at 4 months – pediatricians say anywhere from 4-6 months is ok to start solids. I’d recommend waiting until your baby shows signs of being interested in solids (e.g. watching you eat, opening his/her mouth, drooling, sitting relatively unassisted, etc.) – and once that happens you can start anytime after 4 months of age! I’d recommend starting with either avocado or sweet potato – since both are mild, non-allergenic, and not too sweet. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
great info. my little Elsie girl loved the avocado. Thank you for providing such good content.
So happy to hear that!! Avocado still continues to be one of my daughter’s favorite foods and she’s 4 now! 🙂
[…] Homemade Baby Food Recipes: Avocado Puree […]
Thank you very much for sharing this idea of your baby’s first food mine is 4 months now and am waiting for him to make six so that i also start giving him solid food
No problem at all! Depending on what your pediatrician says, you may not have to wait until 6 months to start solids. If your baby is showing signs of readiness for solids around 5 months and your pediatrician ok’s it – then you can try avocado then! Hope it goes well! 🙂
What is your opinion on using extra virgin olive oil in purées for babies first foods? Is there a digestive benefit? Our baby has struggled with gas issues up to this point.
Felicia & Monica (moms to baby Bella)
Hi Felicia! Adding extra virgin olive oil, ghee, grass fed organic butter, or coconut oil are all great options to add healthy fats to baby’s first foods! I usually recommend it when the baby needs to gain weight since it’s a very healthy way to add calories to your baby’s diet. The healthy fats are unlikely to help with gas issues unfortunately, since that’s more a function of the baby’s immature digestive system than anything else! You can try adding probiotics to your little one’s diet to help with gas. I like this one from Garden of Life. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
[…] Found on Picky Eater Blog […]
Hi love reading all ur blogs and info on food u have online. Gave baby avocado she’s almost 5months has reflux so we been taking it slow with the solids I was wondering do u think we could mix avocado with pear it’s gonna be third day with pear and she seemed fine with both but was wondering if they can be mixed???
Hi Nancy! Yes pear and avocado can absolutely be mixed – it’s a great combination! I hope your baby does well with it!
Your recipe looks delicious! I am wondering if I can feed this to my 4 months old? I am looking forward to introduce some solid into his diet. 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂 And yes absolutely, you can start this recipe as early as 4 months! I hope your little one enjoys it! 🙂
[…] first food for your baby, avocados are rich in healthy fats that help boost brain development. This avocado puree is simple to make and your little one will gobble it […]
Yay! My baby is 6months old today! I fed her with oatmeal and milk, I used the blender to achieve my desired consistency. She loved it! I will try this avocado later! Thank you. Will follow all your recipes.
Hi! That is the perfect way to make “baby oatmeal” – love that you started out with that! Can’t wait to hear how your little one likes the avocado!! Keep me posted on how it goes 🙂
Hi!
My little one just tried avocado and she loves it!
I am just trying to figure out how to freeze the avocado without it turning brown. Should I add breastmilk into the puree before freezing it or is it better freezing the puree alone?
Thank you!
Hi Sue! Yay!! I’m so glad she likes it! Avocado is still one my kids’ favorite foods. Regarding freezing it – if you make the puree and freeze it immediately, it shouldn’t turn brown. You can add breastmilk into the puree before freezing, but I always recommend freezing the puree alone and freezing the breastmilk alone. That way, if you end up thawing a puree but your daughter doesn’t end up eating it, you don’t end up wasting breastmilk along with the puree when you throw it out! So I’d freeze the avocado by itself, and only add the breastmilk in after your daughter has started eating (so you know that your breastmilk won’t go to waste 🙂 ). Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
My 7 month son loves avocado I’ve given it to him straight and I’ve also mixed it up with carrots, apples, pears and sweet potato and he loves it. He loves it so much I’m basically giving it to him twice a day mixed with other stuff is this to much avacado.
That’s great!! Avocado is a super healthy food for babies – so it’s wonderful how much he loves it! Twice a day is totally fine!
Thank you for the blog!!!! Extremely helpful with avocado’s!
Of course!! So glad it was helpful!
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