101 Baby Led Weaning Recipes
Image Credit: Viviana Rishe
By the time that your baby reaches around six months old, it is time to think about offering solid food in addition to the milk that they drink, either from breastfeeding or a bottle. Traditionally this process, usually called weaning, has meant that parents will begin by trying to offer their baby some food on a spoon and putting the food in baby’s mouth.
However around 2001 the term baby-led weaning was introduced by Gill Rapley and it refers to the concept of allowing baby to try feeding themselves right from the start rather than having food introduced by an adult.
What Is Baby Led Weaning?
Baby–led weaning refers to an unstructured process of allowing a baby to try to feed themselves from its very first introduction to anything other than milk. The main advantages are thought to be that as the child is in control it can make them more adventurous in what they will eat and less likely to become picky eaters. Also because they only eat as much as they want, they are less likely to become overweight.
The main disadvantage of baby-led weaning is that it is very messy, especially at first when baby may lack the co-ordination to get the food in their mouths, or simply want to play with the food rather than eat!
What Makes A Recipe Good For Baby Led Weaning?
Baby-led weaning recipes generally avoid the purees and mashed up foods that are the most common weaning foods for babies. Instead they jump straight to soft finger foods and whole foods such as vegetables and fruit so that baby can eat the same foods as the rest of the family.
This collection of baby led weaning recipes is divided into three categories:
- Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 6 Months Old
- Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 6 to 9 Months Old
- Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 9 to 12 Months Old
You can click these links to jump to the section that you need.
Of course whether you are wholeheartedly jumping into baby-led weaning or are just looking for some tasty recipes to make for your little one, this list of weaning recipes is full of great ideas for things to fed your baby between the ages of 6 months and 1 year.
Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 6 Months Old
Image Credit: Thought Catalog
These are recipes that are perfect to start weaning your baby, selected to be easy for babies with no teeth, and to start getting them interested in solid food.
- Baby Pasta Sauce
- Parmesan Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
- Simple Applesauce Muffins
- Instant Pot Sweet Mashed Potatoes
- Hash Brown Potato Cakes
- French Toast for Baby Without Milk
- Air Fryer Carrots
- Easy Kids Omelette
- Baked Cheesy Polenta Fingers
- Overnight Weetabix
- Homemade Yogurt Melts
- Roasted Vegetable Finger Foods
- Spinach Muffins
- Cauliflower Cheese Cakes
- Roasted Courgette
- Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bites
- Ice Lollies
- Easy Baby Pasta Sauce
- Apple and Cinnamon Wedges
- Homemade Baby Puffs
- Zucchini Slice
- Broccoli and Carrot Tots
- Spinach Apple Baby Puffs
- Chickpea Fritters
- Blueberry Muffins for Baby
- Apple & Cinnamon Pancakes
- Veggie Pasta Sauce
- Broccoli and Courgette Savoury Muffins
- Roly Poly Sandwiches
- Sweetcorn & Spinach Fritters
- Raspberry Muffins
- Pasta With Avocado & Pesto
- Butternut Squash Creamy Pasta Sauce
- Frittata with Avocado
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Banana Toast for Babies
- Lentil and Spinach Pancakes
- Spinach, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Sausage Rolls
- Broccoli Tater Tots
- Vegan Muffins
- Sweet Potato and Lentil Hearty Family Soup
- Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Kale Patties
- Spinach Fritters
- Child Friendly Easy Vegetable Curry
- Fish Pie Bites
- Flourless Sweet Potato Muffins
- Blueberry Yogurt Drops
- Rainbow Vegetable Fritters
- Beetroot Pasta Sauce for Babies
- Sweet Potato Frittata Fingers
- Banana Oat Pikelets Recipe
- Beetroot, Spinach, Feta and Quinoa Burgers
- Apple And Cinnamon Pancakes
- Tofu & Veggie Bites
- Banana Waffles
- Quinoa, Zucchini and Feta Fritters
- Sweet Potato and Kale Croquettes
- Pea Fritters
- Broccoli, Chicken & Potato Bites
- Mango Overnight Oats
- Baby Omlette
- Superfood Veggie Croquettes
- Baby’s First Bolognese Sauce
- Healthy Banana Bread
- Pizza Muffins
- Butternut Squash Creamy Pasta Sauce
- Mini Chicken & Carrot Meatballs
- Banana Oat Zucchini Waffles
- Salmon & Broccoli Croquettes
- Baby Food Popsicles
- Super Healthy Baby Doughnuts
- Easy Turkey Meatballs For Baby
- Easy Baked Avocado-Turkey Meatballs
- Popeye Pasta
- Baby Chicken and Veggie Burgers
- Marinara Sauce and Italian Meatballs
- Sweet Potato, Kale and Black Bean Patties
- Mini Baked Salmon Balls
- Lentil Bites with Yogurt Dip
- Tuna, Sweet Potato and Spinach Burgers
- Chicken Meatball
- Vegetable Muffins
- Yoghurt Pancakes with Berries
- Mini Beef Meatballs with Carrot & Apple
- Curried Lentil Bake
- Baked Mushroom Risotto
- Spiced Meatballs
- Mini Tuna and Sweet Corn Quiches
- Creamy Chicken, Leek & Spinach Puff Pastry Pies
- Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
- French Toast With Berries
- 3 Ingredient Spinach and Banana Pancakes
- Dairy Free Cinnamon Waffles
- Fish Goujons with Avocado Dip
- Baked Beef & Veggie Rissoles
- Spinach and Feta Frittata
- Mini Energy Balls
- Strawberry Pancakes
- Fruity Chicken Curry
- Tuna Fish Cakes
- Pasta and Pea Pesto
- Sweet Potato Meatloaf Boats
- Mini Chicken Balls with Apple & Carrot
- Beef and Bean Taco Platter
Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 6 to 9 Months Old
Image Credit: Stephen Andrews
Once your baby is getting more interested in food, confident about eating and maybe has some teeth, here are some recipes suitable for this age range.
Baby Led Weaning Recipes For 9 to 12 Months Old
Image Credit: avitalchn
By now your little one should be able to eat a lot of the same food that the rest of the family are eating, so here are some recipes perfect for babies approaching one year old, including some that all the family will enjoy.
If you are finding that baby-led feeding can get rather messy, here are some tips for messy mealtimes, on how to protect your child and your home from food mess while your baby learns to feed themselves.