Homemade Baby Food Recipes: Avocado Puree
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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!
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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
Hey, I plan to serve avocado to my LO tomorrow, but afraid I dont have the freezing trays to preserve & it’s too late to get it. I plan to give it to him all 3 meals for 2 days atleast. Is there any way I can preserve the cut avocado & how big a piece do you suggest I serve him the first time.
Hi! You can cut the avocado into 6ths and give him 1/6th of it at each serving (so it will last two days). You can preserve it by not cutting and mashing the entire avocado at once — instead, just cut it in half and leave the pit in, scoop out about 1/6th of it, and then close the avocado back up and put a rubberband around it. That will help it to not oxidize as quickly!
Thank you.
Also, after adding breastmilk/ water, how long can I keep the puree out (before serving)?
I started weaning him about 2 weeks back, started with cereals, as thats what the ped suggested. 2-3days, 3 meals. Rice powdered at home (Kanji), Ragi, Barley, Carrots (he loved them), spinach, now starting with avocado, any suggestions on the road ahead? Haven’t tried fruits as yet as wanted to do few veggies first.
Can prunes be given as is, without combining them with anything else? What best do they go with?
He dint quiet enjoy powdered rice, I tried adding spinach puree to it, he barely ate it, he would take spinach puree as is, any suggestions??
No problem! I’ll answer your questions in order:
1) If you add breastmilk to your puree, you have to serve it within 4 hours (since breastmilk can only last at room temperature for 4 hours).
2) Great plan to do veggies first! I’d do as many veggies as you can green beans, squash, peas, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. are all great to try. When you start on fruits I’d do less sweet fruits: pears, apples, berries, stone fruits and I would do banana, pineapple, mango, etc — sweeter fruits last.
3) You can absolutely give prunes as is (just watch the portions since too many prunes can cause diarrhea!) If your son doesn’t like prunes as is, you can combine it with apples and serve it.
4) Rice cereal is one of the least nutritious items you can give your son – so if he doesn’t like it I wouldn’t push it at all. When he’s able to chew a bit better I’d move to less refined grains like quinoa, sprouted wheat, oats, barley, etc.
Hope that helps!
Hi , can I blend avocado and breast milk together in blender ?
Hi Divya! I wouldn’t recommend it – mainly because then you will shorten the shelf life of your breastmilk. I’d just add the breastmilk to the avocado right before serving and keep the two separate. Hope that helps!
I’m about to make this, can I thin it with breast milk before I freeze it?
Hi Tiffany! I wouldn’t recommend adding the breastmilk before you freeze, and instead just adding the breastmilk after you thaw it (right before serving). The reason I suggest that is for two reasons: 1) The puree will become thinner after you freeze and then reheat on its own (because of the ice/water content developed while freezing). And 2) If you don’t add breastmilk before freezing, you won’t have to worry about how you reheat the puree before serving. Hope that helps!
When can I start feeding avacado?? To my baby
Hi Rikta! You can start your baby on avocado as soon as they are ready for solids (ask your pediatrician when they recommend your baby start solids — typically the recommendation is between 4-6 months of age). Avocado can be your baby’s first food!
I will be trying this today. Thank you! Quick question. When can I start giving my baby oatmeal? Do you recommend rice cereal? Thank you!
Hi Sandra! You can give your baby oatmeal anytime after you start solids! It’s a really mild, allergen friendly grain (you can just get gluten-free oats to be safe). I wouldn’t buy pre-made baby oats/baby cereal – instead I’d get organic gluten-free rolled oats, grind them into a flour, and cook them they way you would regular oatmeal. Then I’d portion that out into ice cube trays and freeze them. I don’t recommend rice cereal – it’s super refined, often contaminated with heavy metals (even organic rice cereal has this problem) and it’s low in fiber. Oatmeal is much better if you do choose a grain!
Hi,
Regarding rolled oats can I cook them then blend them if I don’t own a grinder? My hubby does have one for coffee beans but I don’t think it’s a good idea , afraid of contamination with caffeine!
Makes sense! And yes you can cook them and blend them! You can also just grind them up while they’re still dry in a regular blender or food processor if you have that — that should work just fine. Hope that helps!
Hi! There were a few water droplets in the glass plate I was putting the avocado flesh in. Will it have an effect on my freezing? Will it ruin the storage process? Sorry, I’m a little paranoid. Thank you though!
Hi Tia! That should actually be fine! I wouldn’t worry about it 🙂
hi!
can you link what organic oatmeal you used?
Thank you!
Hi Jenna! I actually just used these organic rolled oats, and then ground it up into a “flour” like consistency, and then cooked it the way I would regular oats before mixing it with all of my purees! Hope that helps!