Printable Baby Food Chart Blw Purees Finger Foods

Baby Food Chart

Starting solids with a baby can be so fun and often a little challenging—but this baby food chart is here to help. I’ve compiled my best ideas for which foods to serve based on age and development of the baby to make it easy for you to make decisions in the kitchen. This infant feeding chart is meant to help remind you of options you have at each age. It is not meant to add any pressure or function as a checklist of foods you have to serve (unless you want to do that!). TIP: Access your free printable baby food chart to make this even easier.

What baby foods should you start with?

Whether you are starting solids with homemade baby food purees or baby led weaning first foods, starting with flavorful and nutrient-dense foods is a simple way to think about introducing foods to a baby. I love simple foods like sweet potato baby food, avocado baby food, banana puree, and apple puree as first foods for a baby. Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox. Remember that a first food is just that—a first food. It is not going to be the sole thing that determines how your child likes all foods. It can be sweet or savory, or from a variety of food groups. I would make sure the food is easy to eat, has some flavor, and offered in an environment free from pressure and maybe even joyful!

What age should baby start eating foods?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting to start solids until a baby is 6 months and to go with wide variety of foods introduced one at a time. But many pediatricians still say it’s OK to start rice cereal at 4 months. If your pediatrician recommends this at the 4-month check up, ask their thoughts on the recommendation from the AAP. TIP: Learn more about starting solids.

How much food should I feed my baby?

The best way to know the right amount of food to give to a baby is to follow their lead. It should be very clear when a baby is done eating—they will close their mouth, turn their head, and generally make it very hard to feed them. (They may also play with their food, which is a fine way for them to interact with the foods at this early stage.) It’s OK if baby eats very little to start. It’s also OK if they surprise you by being very interested in food! TIP: Access your free printable baby food chart.

6-Month Baby Food Chart for Purees

If you’re ready to start solids with your baby, here are some foods you may want to start with. This list is perhaps more broad than you expect, but more recent research shows it’s a good idea to introduce potential allergenic foods earlier and that lots of flavor is a great way to set up baby for eating a range of foods as they grow. Don’t feel like you need to serve all of these foods (you 100% don’t!), but it should give you a range of ideas to consider based on season, availability, and your own preference.

Almond butter puree Apple puree Avocado puree Banana puree Baby oatmeal Bean puree Butternut squash puree Egg yolk puree, hard-cooked mashed with water Green bean puree Melon puree Pea puree Peach puree Peanut butter puree Pear puree Pumpkin baby food puree Sweet potato puree Whole-milk plain yogurt Other single-ingredient baby food

6-Month Baby Food Chart for Baby-Led Weaning

If you decide to use the baby-led weaning feeding method, you’ll want to cut these foods into the shape of a finger or larger. The foods should also be soft and easily squishable between two fingers—like the texture of a roasted sweet potato wedge or ripe avocado. You don’t need to feel like you have to serve all of these foods by any means, but it should give you a range of ideas.

Apple, sliced and baked for BLW Avocado spears BLW banana cut into a finger-size piece Beef, ground (large piece) Beef hamburger patty (sliced) Boiled beets, or roasted Roasted broccoli florets Cauliflower florets, roasted/steamed Chicken for baby, shredded Cucumber slice Boiled green beans, or roasted Egg, hard-cooked Eggs for baby, in an omelet Figs, halved Lamb Mango slice Meatball Melon slices Peach, very ripe slice Pear, very ripe slice Potato, roasted wedges Steak slice Sweet potato baby food, roasted as wedges Toast for baby with mashed avocado Toast for baby with mashed sweet potato Toast for baby with light smear of peanut butter Toast with mashed hard-cooked egg Watermelon for babies, sliced WiId salmon for babies, in a large piece

TIP: Find my Ultimate Guide to Baby-Led Weaning to help.

7-Month Baby Food Chart

With a 7-month old baby, you can add in a few more foods including those with more acid like citrus. Continue serving the foods on the 6-month list, or introduce ones that you didn’t get to in that first month.

Baby rice crackers Bean puree Beets baby food Brussels sprouts, pureed (or large piece for BLW) Guacamole Kiwi puree (or large piece for BLW) Hummus Mango puree Baby Food Combinations Oranges for baby, segment for BLW Pineapple puree (or large piece for BLW) Prune puree Strawberry puree (or large strawberry for BLW) Spinach puree Kids smoothies Tomato sauce Tomato sauce with ground meat

TIP: Try my 10 easy No-Cook Baby Foods.

9-Month Baby Food Chart

As a baby nears the 9- and 10-month mark, they will begin to be able to pick up small, pea-size pieces of foods with their fingers. This development of the “pincer grasp” means they are ready to start sampling table foods. A good rule of thumb is to cut foods to about the size of a pea and to serve them very soft and easily squishable between your fingers. Bread-like textures in foods like pancakes and muffins may be difficult for your child, so you may want to moisten them with water, applesauce, yogurt, breastmilk, or formula. Remember that babies learn to eat a variety of paces, so follow the lead of your baby and avoid pressuring them to eat foods or amounts of foods that they aren’t ready for. If a baby turns their head away, closes their mouth, shakes their head, or cries, they are done with food and it’s OK to end the meal.

Continue serving foods from the previous months. And try adding:

Banana, diced and mashed slightly as needed Barley, cooked until very soft Beans, slightly mashed Beef, ground Blueberries, diced Cheese, shredded Chex cereal Chia seed in smoothies, yogurt, or oatmeal Chicken, ground Chicken, shredded and chopped into small pieces Clementines, diced (you may want to remove the slightly tough membrane) Cottage cheese Flaxseed in smoothies, yogurt, or oatmeal Goat cheese, soft crumbles Grapes, diced (never whole) Kefir, plain Healthy meatballs, diced Muffins, diced (moistened if needed) Millet O cereal Oatmeal with fruit Overnight oats with applesauce Baby Pasta Petite peas Potatoes, roasted or mashed Baby puffs Raspberries, diced Baby Pancake, diced (moistened as needed with applesauce) Quinoa Baby Food Cheesy Rice Salmon, small pieces Tofu, diced Tomatoes, fresh Tilapia, small pieces Turkey, ground

TIP: Find my best Finger Foods for Baby, which will cover this stage and early toddlerhood.

Best First Finger Foods for Baby

I put together my go-to first finger foods for babies, which may help you narrow down which foods to start with. Each of these is a nutritious whole food that’s soft and easy for baby to eat. It’s helpful that many of these foods are ones that us grownups like, too, so it should make meal planning and prep for the little ones easier on you!

Printable Baby Food Chart

Grab your free copy of my printable Baby Food Chart, which comes with access to my entire Resource Library of printable charts by signing up for my newsletter.

ABC Baby Muffins Master List of Baby Snacks Extra-Veggie Baby Soup Sweet Potato Teething Biscuits Master List of Baby Food Recipes

I’d love to hear your feedback on this chart, so please comment below! I always love to hear from you guys.