Now that you know all about the process of introducing solid food to babies, it’s time we look into some delicious recipes. These solid food recipes for babies are from my own kitchen and approved by my three kids when they were babies. Well, they ate it without any fuss. That’s approval in baby language, right? Here are some tried and tested 6-month old baby food recipes! 

Apple oats porridge

 This recipe of apple oats porridge is delicious and perfect for when you are trying to introduce solid food to your baby.

Ingredients

• Oats (Steel cut oats preferred)
• Apple
• Water
• Cinnamon (optional)

Recipe:

• Ground the oats into fine powder in a blender. You can make enough to last for a week and store it in an airtight container.
• Peel and chop half an apple. Blend the apple into a mush.
• Cook the oats with water and add the apple mush once it’s cooked.
• Stir well. You can add cinnamon for taste if you’d like or serve it as it is.

Sweet potato and thyme mash

This puree is full of nutrition, sweet, and easy to eat. This was Chander’s favourite as a baby.

Ingredients

• Sweet potato
• Thyme
• Water
• Paprika or pepper (optional)

Recipe

• Rinse and boil the sweet potatoes until they are soft.
• Peel the potatoes and put them in the blender with water.
• Blend till it forms a creamy consistency.
• Add freshly chopped thyme to the mixture.
• You can also a pinch of paprika or pepper for taste.

Mashed rice with vegetable stock

This simple recipe is delicious and very easy to make. The broth is very rich in nutrients and can be stored for a week.

Ingredients

• Rice
• Vegetable broth (Boil all the vegetables in water for two hours, strain the water and use it as broth)
• Scallions

Recipe

• Cook the rice a little longer than you usually would for a soft consistency.
• Mash the cooked rice and add the vegetable broth to the rice.
• Garnish it with finely chopped scallions.

Avocado cilantro puree

Introduce your baby to the superfruit Avocado with this simple, yet delicious recipe.

Ingredients

• Avocado
• Water/Breast milk
• Cilantro
• Pepper

Recipe

• Scoop out the fleshy part of the avocado and mash it.
• Add water or breast milk to the avocado and blend it well.
• Add chopped cilantro. I would usually add a bit of pepper to the mixture for taste.

Pea purée with garlic

Baby food doesn’t have to be boring, the garlic in this dish adds the right amount of zing to the popular pea puree.

Ingredients

• Fresh peas
• Water
• A small piece of garlic clove
• Raisins

Recipe

• Boil the peas till they are soft.
• Add the mashed peas, piece of garlic clove, raisins, and water to a blender and blend well.
• Strain the mixture to avoid any lumps and serve it.

Rice porridge with dates

In my previous post, I spoke about this rice porridge recipe which was Krish’s favourite. The dates add the perfect amount of sweetness to this recipe.

Ingredients

• Rice cereal powder
• Water
• Dates paste
• Cinnamon

Recipe for dates paste

• Remove the seeds from soft dates and immerse them in hot water for about an hour.
• Mash the dates and put them in a blender.along with a little bit of the water they were soaked in.
• Blend until the dates reach a very smooth consistency.
• You can store this paste in the fridge for about a week.

Recipe for the rice porridge with dates

• Pour water to a pan and bring it to boil.
• Add the rice cereal powder to the water and stir continuously to ensure there are no lumps.
• You can add the date paste 30 seconds before switching off the heat and mix well.
• Sprinkle some cinnamon powder for taste.
• Feed it to the baby when the porridge has cooled down.

Indian recipes

Dal Khichdi with pepper

Knowing my kids will probably be taking Dal Khichdi for lunch twice a week when they grow up, I decided to get them used to it at a very young age with this baby-approved dal khichdi recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup daal
• Water
• Rice
• Carrots
• Garlic
• A few drops of ghee

Recipe

• Rinse the rice and dal and soak them in water for ten minutes.
• Add a few drops of ghee in a pressure cooker.
• Keep soaked rice and daal in a cooker along with chopped carrots and a clove of chopped garlic and mix them for 30 seconds.
• Add water to the mixture in the cooker and close the lid.
• Let the khichdi cook for 5-6 whistles.
• Once the khichdi has cooled down, add it to the blender and blend it until smooth.
• Add pepper to the blended khichdi and feed it to the baby.

Sweet potato poha with cinnamon

My babies loved these recipes and surprisingly, so did my husband. This recipe adds a sweet twist to the regular poha dish.

Ingredients

• Sweet potato
• Poha
• Cinnamon
• Water

Recipe

• Soak the poha in water until it’s soft enough to mash. Once they are soft, mash them.
• Cook sweet potatoes until they are soft.
• Peel the potatoes and mash the potatoes until they are creamy.
• Add water to a pan, add the mashed sweet potatoes and poha.
• Cook for 3 minutes on low flame and 2 minutes on medium flame.
• Add cinnamon powder or paprika and mix well. Serve when the porridge has cooled down.

Mushy pulao

I introduced this milder version of pulao to my babies when they were past 7 months. This green dish is packed with nutrition and fibre.

Ingredients

• Peas
• Rice
• Water
• Pepper
• Olive oil
• Spinach

Recipe

• Add rice and water in a cooker and keep it aside when it’s done.
• Steam spinach and peas until they are cooked.
• Add the cooked peas, spinach, and a clove of garlic to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Add half a teaspoon of olive oil in a Tawa and add the blended mixture when the oil heats up. Stir it for about three minutes.
• Add the cooked rice to the mixture and let it cook for another 30 seconds. Add pepper to taste.

My babies loved these recipes. Try to play around with the texture and taste of the dishes and add your own twist to it. I experimented with mild spices that made the dishes taste better. Do you know of any solid food recipes for babies that are an absolute hit? Let us know!