Free Baby Recipes

Free Recipes for Baby

Trying to decide what to feed your baby? This article is here to help with a number of free baby food recipes.

• Nutrition
• Children's Food

As well as the following free baby recipes you can also refer to our Baby Finger Food and Baby Solids for Each Age Group articles for more baby food ideas. 

4 to 6 Months Baby Recipes

Pureed Fruit
You can puree apple, apricot, peaches, or pears.

• Remove any skin, core, stalk, stone and pips.
• Slice finely, place in a pot, and cover with water.
• Bring to the boil and then simmer until fruit is tender.
• Puree the cooked fruit with some of the cooking liquid. Use a blender, food processor, or mouli.
• Do not add any sugar. If you want to thicken or sweeten the baby food, you can add some baby rice.
• You can freeze portions of this baby food for future use, please refer to our Preparing Baby Food article for more details.

Pureed Vegetables
You can puree butternut pumpkin, kumara, potato, or carrot. Carrot is quite a strong taste and is better mixed with potato or kumara.

• Remove any skin, stones, seeds, stalks, and blemishes.
• Cut the vegetable into 1cm slices, place in a pot, and cover with water.
• Bring to the boil and then simmer until the vegetables are tender.
• Puree the cooked vegetables with some of the cooking liquid. Use a blender, food processor, or mouli.
• Do not add any salt or sugar. If you want to thicken or sweeten the baby food, you can add some baby rice.
• You can also freeze portions of this baby food for future use.

6 Months Onwards Baby Recipes

Start mashing baby food rather than pureeing, and making mixtures a little thicker and lumpier.

Pumpkin, Parsnips and Green Beans

• Prepare the vegetables by washing, removing skin, seeds, and the bean's tops and tails.
• Place the pumpkin and parsnip in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer.
• Once the pumpkin is a little tender, add the beans and continue to simmer until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash or puree the cooked vegetables with some of the cooking liquid.

Lamb, Kumara and Courgettes

• Trim all fat and bone from the lamb, and then cut the lamb into small pieces.
• Place the lamb in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer.
• Prepare the vegetables. Wash the kumara, peel it, remove any blemishes, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1cm slices. Wash the courgette, remove any blemishes, cut the top and bottom off, and then into 1 cm slices.
• Once the lamb is cooked through (remove a piece and cut in half to make sure it is brown all the way through) add the kumara.
• Once the kumara is a little tender, add the courgettes and continue to simmer until all the vegetables are tender.
• Mash or puree the cooked lamb and vegetables with some of the cooking liquid.

9 Months Onwards Baby Recipes

Macaroni Cheese with Corn

• You will need - ½ cup macaroni, ½ cup creamed corn, ½ cup cheese sauce.
• To make cheese sauce melt 1 tbsp butter in a pot, stir in 1 tbsp flour until well blended, and add ½ cup milk and ½ cup grated cheese. Stir over a low heat until cheese has melted.
• Place macaroni in pot with 3 cups of water and boil until tender, and then drain.
• Add cheese sauce and creamed corn to the drained pasta and place pot back on stove. Simmer until the mixture is thoroughly heated.

Chicken & Bean Casserole

• You will need - 2 chicken breasts, 1 small onion, 25 grams of butter, ½ tbsp flour, ½ cup homemade chicken stock, 1 can tinned tomatoes, 1 small can kidney beans, and a small amount of oil.
• Remove any skin or bone from the chicken breast and dice.
• Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken until golden brown. Remove the chicken and place in a casserole dish.
• Slice the onion and cook with the butter in the frying pan until tender, and then stir in the flour.
• Slowly add chicken stock and bring to the boil.
• Drain the kidney beans and add to the frying pan along with the tin of tomatoes.
• Bring back to the boil and then pour over the chicken in the casserole dish.
• Cover and cook for 45 minutes at 180 C.

12 Months plus Toddler Recipes

Your baby is now a toddler and can eat pretty much the same foods as the rest of the family. You can now add whole eggs and cow's milk to the diet. It is a good idea to continue to restrict salt and sugar. If your family has a history of allergy to peanuts, avoid them until your toddler is 3 years old.

Fish Cakes

• You will need - 450 grams cubed potatoes, 450 grams tinned smoked fish, 1 chopped hardboiled egg, 2 tbsp chopped chives, salt & pepper, 2 tbsp flour, 1 egg beaten, 100 grams breadcrumbs, and oil.
• Cook the cubed potatoes in a pot with water. Once tender, drain and mash.
• Drain the tinned fish, and add to the potatoes along with a chopped hardboiled egg, chives, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Shape the mixture into even sized cakes.
• Coat each cake with flour.
• Dip each cake into the beaten egg.
• Cover with breadcrumbs.
• Cook in a frying pan with oil (almost 1cm deep.) Turn the fish cakes over so they cook evenly (about 3 to 4 minutes on each side). The coating should be a golden brown colour.

Ham and Tomato Omelette

• You will need - 1 egg, 1 tbsp milk, pinch of salt, 1 tsp of butter, 1 chopped tomato, small amount of chopped ham, ¼ cup grated cheese.
• Whisk the egg with 1 tbsp milk and a pink of salt.
• Place a teaspoon of butter in a small frying pan and heat until butter melted and sizzling.
• Add the chopped tomato and ham and cook for 30 seconds.
• Pour the egg mixture over the tomato and ham. Cook at a medium to high temperature until the egg starts to set.
• Sprinkle the ¼ cup of grated cheese onto the egg mixture.
• Lift the egg mixture up with your spatula so that the uncooked egg mixture can run underneath.
• Flip one half of the egg mixture onto the top of the other half so the cheese is in the middle of the omelette. Serve.

Chicken or Fish Fingers

• You will need - flour, egg, breadcrumbs, and either boneless fish or chicken.
• Put a bit of flour in one bowl, whisk up an egg in a second bowl, and put some breadcrumbs in a third bowl.
• Remove any skin or bones from fish or chicken. Cut into 2cm wide strips.
• Coat the fish or chicken with flour.
• Dip the fish or chicken into the egg.
• Cover with breadcrumbs.
• Cook in a frying pan with oil (almost 1cm deep). Turn the chicken and fish fingers over so they cook evenly. The coating should be a golden brown colour.

Looking for more children's food recipes? Check out the NZS.com directory.

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Family images from Flickr: Smiling Baby, Kids Classroom and Hands.