How to make homemade baby purées
Homemade purées are cheaper than pouches, easy to make in batches, and let you know exactly what is in the bowl. You do not need special gear or a cookbook. Cook something soft, blend it, loosen it, done. Here is the whole method.
The basic method
Steam or roast your fruit or vegetable until it is soft enough to mash with a fork. Steaming keeps more nutrients in and roasting brings out more sweetness, so pick whichever suits the food. Then blend it, adding a little water, breast milk, or formula to loosen it to a smooth, spoonable texture. That is the base recipe for almost everything.
Start smooth, then let it get lumpy
For the very first tastes, aim for a thin, silky purée. As your baby gets better at eating (usually within a few weeks), leave it thicker and lumpier on purpose. Moving the texture along is how you head toward finger foods later. See our guide to baby food textures for what to aim for at each stage.
Keep it plain
No added salt, sugar, or honey. Babies do not need seasoning, their kidneys cannot handle much salt, and honey is off-limits until age 1 because of the risk of infant botulism. The food already tastes like something to them, so let it. A little unsalted herb or spice is fine once you want to add interest.
Single ingredients first
Start with one food at a time and give it a couple of days before introducing the next. If a reaction shows up, single ingredients make it easy to figure out the culprit. Once your baby has tried a handful of foods on their own, you can start combining them into mixed purées. Good starters: sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, avocado, and pear.
Store it and batch-cook
Purée keeps in the fridge for about 3 days in a sealed container. To keep it longer, freeze in an ice-cube tray, then pop the frozen cubes into a labeled freezer bag. Each cube is a tidy single serving that thaws in minutes. This is the real time-saver: cook a big batch on the weekend, freeze it, and you have weeks of meals ready to go.
Related reading
See moving from purées to finger foods, baby food stages, and best first finger foods.
This is general information, not medical advice. Follow current local advice on introducing foods and allergens, keep honey out until age 1, and talk to your pediatrician about any reaction or feeding concern.
Frequently asked questions
What foods should I start with for homemade purées?
Single-ingredient purées that mash smooth: sweet potato, carrot, butternut squash, pea, avocado, banana, apple, or pear. Offer one new food at a time and wait a couple of days before adding the next, so if a reaction shows up you can trace it. Iron-rich foods like puréed meat or lentils are great early too.
How do I get baby purée really smooth?
Cook the fruit or veg until it is genuinely soft (steaming and roasting both work), then blend while it is still warm and add a little liquid to loosen it. A splash of water, breast milk, or formula thins it to the texture you want. A high-speed blender or an immersion blender gives the silkiest result; push it through a sieve for the very first tastes if you like.
How long does homemade baby purée keep?
In the fridge, about 3 days in a sealed container. To keep it longer, freeze it: spoon purée into an ice-cube tray, freeze until solid, then pop the cubes into a labeled freezer bag. Frozen cubes keep for a couple of months and thaw into perfect single-serving portions. Do not refreeze once thawed, and never save purée your baby has already eaten from.
Do I need to add water or milk to purées?
Usually a little, yes, just to reach a smooth, loosened texture at the start. Water, breast milk, or formula all work. As your baby gets the hang of eating, add less liquid and leave the purée thicker and lumpier on purpose, which helps them move toward finger foods.
Track it in Yummy Yucky
Log first tries, get nudged through the 3-day allergen watch, and keep every bite in one place you can share with your pediatrician.
Start tracking for freeHow we write these: from widely published pediatric guidance (AAP, NIAID 2017 guidelines, the LEAP study), with sources cited on every page. Pending review by a pediatric professional.
This is general information, not medical advice, and has not been individually reviewed for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.
Some links in our guides are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only suggest things we'd actually use, and it never changes our guidance.