Homemade Baby Food Recipes: Pea Puree
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Full disclosure: pea puree has to be one of Layla’s least favorite purees. I made a bunch of it and then decided to just start mixing it with fruit, because she did not like it. The fruit + peas was more palatable though 🙂
Peas are a great source of Vitamin K, which is important for maintaining bone health. They also contain folic acid and Vitamin B6 which are good for heart health.
Another little tip for cooking green veggies – it’s key to not overcook them. All of your green veggies should remain bright green after they have been cooked. It’s all about saving the chlorophyll in these vegetables. If the veggie is exposed to heat over too long a period, the chlorophyll spills out of the vegetable (you’ll notice that the cooking water turns green) – and if that happens you lose a lot of the nutrients in the veggie. Two ways to ensure you don’t overcook: 1) steam the veggies for just 3-5 minutes or 2) if you’re cooking them in water, cook for 3-5 minutes and then “shock” the vegetables by dumping them into a bowl filled with cold water and ice.
Kitchen Tools I Used for This Recipe:
- Durable, covered, ice cube trays for freezing. I like these from Mumi & Bubi because they come with a cover, a recipe book, and the cubes are super easy to get out.
- A great blender. I used our Vitamix to puree large quantities at the same time – which was super convenient. You don’t need a “baby food maker” – any great blender will do. And if you have a Vitamix you can use it for so many other things besides baby food!
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.
Here is my recipe for pea puree – simple, easy and a great source of nutrients for your baby!
Homemade Baby Food Recipes: Pea Puree
Ingredients
- 2 bags organic frozen peas usually about 2 lbs
- 8 oz water
Instructions
- Steam your peas for 3-5 minutes
- Once the peas are green and soft, pour them into a blender and add 8oz water. Puree until smooth.
- Pour into ice cube trays, allow to cool, 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.
Hi was wondering if you had any good fruits that went together with peas? My little one did not like peas alone and I want to continue to give to him maybe disguised. Thanks.
Hi Kim! My daughter loved pea puree + whole milk plain yogurt (I have no idea why haha but it worked!). You can also try mixing peas with a sweeter fruit like pears or apples. Those would be my first suggestions, and if that doesn’t work you can try mixing it with a few other veggies and fruits like squashes and apples/pears!
Firstly, I hope this message finds you well. Your blog has been so incredibly helpful on my baby food journey. I did not even know where to start before finding you & you’ve become my go-to resource. I really appreciate how you make everything so simple and every recipe has turned out great!! I have one question- our frozen veggie selection has been very slim since the pandemic. Would you recommend making my own non-organic pea and green bean purées or opt for organic pre-made until I’m able to get organic frozen veggies? I’m a bit torn & would appreciate your input. Thank you!
Hi Katy! Thanks so much for reaching out and I’m so glad my blog has been helpful for you! 🙂 To your question – totally hear you on the frozen veggies right now. You can use non-organic peas for your pea purees — peas are on the “clean fifteen” list so non-organic is ok! Green beans, unfortunately are on the “high in pesticides” list according to EWG, so I would go with organic pre-made for green beans puree until you are able to get organic frozen veggies. Or you can use organic fresh green beans as well in the puree and follow the same directions as if they were frozen! Hope that helps!
Great! Thank you so much for the helpful response!
No problem at all! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes. I do have a question about storage. The only organic peas and green beans I was able to find were frozen. Once cooked and blended can I re-freeze to store it? I’ve always heard you can freeze something twice. Thank you!
Hi Sandra! In the case of frozen vegetables, it’s totally fine to cook them and then re-freeze them. The “no-defrost-then-refreeze” rule mostly applies to meat, dairy, etc. So yes, should be fine to cook, blend and then re-freeze the organic beans and peas!
What vitamix container do you recommend for making baby food? The 64 ounce seems to require I make too much.
Hi Cherry! I would just recommend the standard Vitamix container – you don’t have to fill it up (in fact, you can literally just blend a couple ounces in the container if you wanted to!
Hi I love your recipes! I will be making homemade food for my 5 month old soon. I have a baby bullet ( not opened yet) What other blender do you recommend For making baby food purée? I’m debating whether or not to use the baby bullet.
Hi Sonia! Honestly, I wouldn’t use a baby bullet — I’d get a really awesome blender like the Vitamix which makes super smooth baby food purees, but that you can also use for a variety of other things (smoothies, soups, baking/pancake mixes, etc.!) The baby bullet is basically useless after you’re done making purees — and since you need purees for only about 6 months, I don’t think it’s worth it. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
Dear Anjali! I have been following your site and doing your recipies since my daughter was 7 months old. You have helped me so much to make my baby girl real food. But i have a question. Soon she will be 1 year old and I will be very happy if you have also recipies for babies over 1 year. Thank you very much, Amanda
Hi Amanda! I’m so happy my recipes have worked well for your daughter! 🙂 Here is a list of 30 recipes that work well for kids age 1 and up. And if you’re looking for even more recipes including toddler finger food ideas, check out my cookbook (which has over 150 recipes for kids aged 1-4!) Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
I tried making the peas for my 4 and a half month old and the shells of them did not blend smooth enough for a brand new eater. Any tricks? Or is this recipe not good until they are older?
Hi Tova! There are a few ways to get the puree super smooth: 1) Boil/steam the peas first until they are super super soft (think: overcooked) 2) Blend the peas in a really high powered blender like a Vitamix 3) If, after blending, it’s still not super smooth (although it should be), you can strain the puree through a strainer if you want to remove any small bits that didn’t get fully pureed. As they get older though, you don’t have to have the puree be super smooth and you can leave the chunky bits in. Hope that helps!
Hi Anjali,
So do we have to boil whole peas along with pod all together and blend it to smooth paste?
I’d recommend using frozen peas so that they are already out of the pod, and then yes – steaming those and blending them is perfect!
Are the frozen organic green peas with salt OK to give my baby? She is 7 months old 🙂 From what I can find, the bags do not state “no added salt”.
Hi! Good question! Until your baby is 1, I’d avoid giving her food with added salt wherever you can help it, since babies only need a tiny amount of salt in their diets, and that need is generally met through breast milk or infant formula. Adding too much salt to a baby’s food can be harmful to their immature kidneys, which might not be able to process the excess salt. Most frozen organic vegetables don’t have salt added. I’d just buy a brand that either says “no salt added” on the front of the bags, or look for a brand where the ingredients list just lists “organic frozen green peas” on it (and doesn’t list “salt” as an ingredient). Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
wow you are such a great mom…you seem to be making baby food on your own….such an inspiration for soon to be mom’s like us….I will definitely be trying these out when my little one is out….still 6 weeks to go….
BTW when did u start giving solids to layla, at which month??
You are very sweet Jyo! Oh you have a lot of time until you start solids — we started with Layla around 5.5 months. Wishing you all the best with the rest of your pregnancy and the start of new motherhood! 🙂