The benefits of frozen baby food – plus homemade recipes to try
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Author: Jessica D’Argenio Waller, MS, CNS, LDN
Once your little one is ready to start solids, a whole new world opens up—for both of you. Suddenly, you’re embarking on a journey of exploring flavors and textures together—and all the prep, trial and error that comes with it. One way to make the process easier? Frozen baby food. Marrying both convenience and nutrition, frozen baby food is a smart way to simplify meal preparation while preserving essential nutrients, ensuring that your baby has all they need to thrive, with way less stress for you. Because of the satisfaction of being able to pull out a premade puree from the freezer before the baby’s next mealtime? Priceless.
In this guide, we’ll highlight the benefits of frozen baby food, the best way to make and store frozen baby food, what to look for in the store, and recipes to try at home.
What to know about frozen baby food
Frozen baby food is baby food that has been prepared and frozen for future use, then thawed in individual portions before serving to your little one. By freezing the food, you can ensure the nutrient quality remains high while setting yourself up for convenience later on.
There are several methods for making frozen baby food at home, including pureeing fresh fruits and vegetables, cooking and mashing them before freezing, or even freezing homemade baby food in ice cube trays for easy portioning.
In stores, you can find frozen baby food specifically tailored for different developmental stages. These may include a range of single-ingredient purees, suitable for babies who are just starting their solid foods journey; and multi-ingredient blends for older babies who are ready to explore a wider range of flavors and textures.
When you’re just beginning to introduce solid food to your little one, (typically between ages 4 to 6 months) purees made from single ingredients such as apples, pears, sweet potatoes, and carrots offer essential nutrients and can help familiarize your baby to new flavors in a smooth and palatable form.
Beyond 6 months, some babies may be ready to explore combination blends, like apple and spinach or sweet potato and chicken, and chunkier textures that can help develop their oral motor skills as they learn to chew and swallow more complex foods.
Benefits and considerations of frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable baby food
Should you opt for frozen baby food over refrigerated or shelf-stable options? Let’s take a look at the benefits and considerations of each choice but know that they can all be part of the full picture when it comes to your baby’s meals—you can rotate amongst all three categories.
Frozen baby food
Benefits:
- Because the freezing process can preserve nutrients in food, frozen baby food may have more vitamins and minerals than refrigerated baby food, which can start to lose nutrients over time.
- Convenient for meal preparation in batches that you can thaw out in single servings, saving time down the line.
- Offers control over ingredients, thanks to the nature of the freezing process (for both homemade and purchased purees), which doesn’t require any added salt, sugar, preservatives, gums or fillers, meaning fewer ingredients in the final product.
- Reduces food waste by preserving perishable ingredients for longer periods, and because you can thaw out only what you need for each meal (also making it a cost-effective choice!)
Considerations:
- Requires readily available freezer space.
- The need to thaw out frozen baby food means it may not always be immediately available in certain situations.
Refrigerated baby food
Benefits:
- Refrigerated baby food retains freshness and flavor.
- Convenient for immediate use without thawing.
- Provides a wide variety of textures and ingredients as compared to shelf-stable options.
Considerations:
- Shorter shelf life as compared to frozen or shelf-stable options.
- Requires consistent refrigeration to prevent spoilage.
Shelf-stable (ambient) baby food
Benefits:
- Shelf-stable purees have a long shelf life without refrigeration, making them ideal for on-the-go situations.
- Convenient for travel and emergencies—no need to thaw or keep it refrigerated.
- Provides a variety of flavors and textures.
Considerations:
- May contain added preservatives or binders to ensure freshness and overall texture.
- Lacks the freshness associated with homemade or refrigerated options.
How to make frozen baby food at home
Making your own frozen baby food at home can be a big timesaver. Here’s how to get started.
Ideas for frozen purees from fruit
Our best advice? Be sure to choose fruit that will generally retain its texture after freezing.
Single fruit purees to try:
- Banana puree
- Cooked pear puree
- Cooked apple puree
- Strawberry puree
- Mango puree
- Kiwi puree
To make a single fruit puree:
Combine 2 cups of fresh, frozen or cooked fruit of choice and add to a blender.
Blend until smooth, adding a little water if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Pour the puree into ice cube trays, silicone freezer trays or freezer-safe glass storage jars, leaving enough room for expansion.
Place the trays or jars in the freezer and freeze until solid.
Once frozen, transfer the puree cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag for storage.
Thaw individual cubes as needed and serve to your baby as a nutrient-dense snack or meal.
Fruit blend purees to try:
- Pineapple and banana
- Mango and peach
- Blueberry and banana
- Pear and cooked apple
- Strawberry and kiwi
To make a fruit blend puree:
- Combine 1 cup of each fruit of choice and add to a blender, for a total of 2 cups.
- Blend until smooth, adding a little water or breast milk/formula if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Pour the puree into ice cube trays, silicone freezer trays or freezer-safe glass storage jars, leaving enough room for expansion.
- Place the trays or jars in the freezer and freeze until solid.
- Once frozen, transfer the puree cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag for storage.
- Thaw individual cubes as needed and serve to your baby as a nutritious and delicious snack or meal.
Ideas for frozen purees from vegetables
Single vegetable purees to try:
- Pea puree
- Sweet potato puree
- Butternut squash puree
- Carrot puree
- Pumpkin puree
To make a single vegetable puree:
- Combine 2 cups of cooked vegetables of choice and add to a blender.
- Blend until smooth, adding a little water if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Pour the puree into ice cube trays, silicone freezer trays or freezer-safe glass storage jars, leaving enough room for expansion.
- Place the trays or jars in the freezer and freeze until solid.
- Once frozen, transfer the puree cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag for storage.
- Thaw individual cubes as needed and serve to your baby as a vegetable-rich snack or meal.
Vegetable blend purees to try:
- Sweet potato and carrot
- Pea and spinach
- Broccoli and zucchini
- Carrot and red pepper
- Carrot and sweet potato
- Carrot and pumpkin
- Zucchini and cauliflower
- Zucchini and pea
- Cauliflower and pea
- Bell pepper and tomato
To make a vegetable blend puree:
- Combine 1 cup each of cooked vegetables of choice and add to a blender, for a total of 2 cups.
- Blend until smooth, adding a little water or breast milk/formula (better for creamier blends) if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Pour the puree into ice cube trays, silicone freezer trays or freezer-safe glass storage jars, leaving enough room for expansion.
- Place the trays or jars in the freezer and freeze until solid.
- Once frozen, transfer the puree cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag for storage.
- Thaw individual cubes as needed and serve to your baby as a nutritious and delicious snack or meal.
Ideas for frozen puree blends from fruit & veggies
Veggie and fruit puree blends to try:
- Apple and kale
- Apple and spinach
- Sweet potato and apple
- Cucumber and kiwi
- Beets and blueberries
- Red pepper and strawberries
- Butternut squash and peach
- Carrot, apple, pear
- Zucchini, banana, strawberry
- Avocado, pear, apple
- Zucchini, kiwi, mango
- Mango, spinach, apple
To make a veggie-fruit blend puree:
- Combine 1 cup each of cooked vegetables and fruit (cooked, fresh or frozen fruit will work: it depends on the type) and add to a blender, for a total of 2 cups.
- Blend until smooth, adding a little water or breast milk/formula (better for creamier blends) if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Pour the puree into ice cube trays, silicone freezer trays or freezer-safe glass storage jars, leaving enough room for expansion.
- Place the trays or jars in the freezer and freeze until solid.
- Once frozen, transfer the puree cubes to a freezer-safe container or bag for storage.
- Thaw individual cubes as needed and serve to your baby at snacks or meals.
Check out our best fruit and veggie guides for every age and stage.
Serving and storing frozen baby food
Storing frozen baby food properly ensures its safety for your little one. The most important tip to remember is that once frozen, baby food should remain frozen until you’re ready to thaw out a portion and serve. Here are some tips on how to store frozen baby food and efficiently thaw it out before those hungry cries start.
Storing frozen baby food
- Once prepared, store baby food in clean, dedicated ice cube trays or silicone freezer trays (or try a silicone cupcake tray!) for convenient portioning and storage. Aim to fill containers ¾ full to allow for some expansion in the freezing process.
- Storing baby food in small portions can make it easier to quickly thaw portions and prevent waste.
- You can also use airtight containers or freezer-safe jars to store homemade frozen baby food.
- Once frozen, add the frozen portions to a freezer-safe bag or other container that you can then label with the date of preparation and contents to track freshness.
Thawing and serving frozen baby food
- Transfer frozen baby food portions you’d like to serve from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before serving to allow for gradual thawing. Let thaw out overnight in the fridge.
- For faster thawing, place sealed containers of frozen baby food in a bowl of warm water, stirring frequently to ensure even heating.
- It’s best to avoid thawing baby food at room temperature for extended periods to minimize the risk of bacterial growth. Discard any thawed baby food that has been left at room temperature for more than two hours to prevent foodborne illness.
- Be careful about thawing frozen baby food in the microwave, as it may create hot spots that could be unsafe for your baby.
- Refrigerate any leftover baby food promptly and use within one to two days or discard if not used.
Frozen baby food teethers
Frozen baby food can be an ideal home remedy for teething, as it makes a great natural baby teether to soothe those sore gums. Cold or frozen food can help ease teething aches and pain in your little one, providing a slight numbing effect.
Do note that frozen teethers may be too cold straight from the freezer, so before offering them to your infant, let them sit out for 2 to 3 minutes to warm up a bit first.
How to make frozen teether pops and bites with Little Bellies Organic Frozen Puree Cubes
It’s easy to make frozen baby food teether pops and bites babies who have already started solids. We recommend two methods:
Mesh teethers: The slightly thawed frozen cubes can be added to a silicone mesh strainer and offered to your baby to mouth on. As the cubes melt further, they’ll make a soothing treat.
Popsicle bites: Thaw ½ cup of puree cubes, then blend with 2 tablespoons of breast milk or unsweetened dairy-free yogurt. Spoon or pour the mixture into your freezing molds (we like small popsicle molds or silicone ice trays), filling about ¾ full. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours, then let sit at room temperature for 1-3 minutes before offering to your baby to enjoy.
Where to find store-bought frozen baby food
You should be able to find frozen baby food at local stores such as Target and Whole Foods Market, in addition to your local health food store. Be sure to check the freezer aisle for the organic and natural products section or look for a freezer case or shelves designated for frozen baby food. Both Target and Walmart offer convenient online ordering (ideal for busy parents!), which means you can quickly add it to your cart and pick it up at the store or have it delivered to your doorstep. When shopping for frozen baby food, be sure to check product labels for information on ingredients that fit your little one’s dietary needs, scan the nutritional content, and confirm that it’s age-appropriate for your baby.
Final thoughts
Whether you batch-prepare frozen baby food at home or pick up store-bought frozen baby food at your nearest store, frozen baby food can be a nutrient-rich and convenient choice for your baby’s snack and mealtimes—and one that saves you time in the long run. It’s a versatile and cost-effective choice that reduces waste and satisfies your little one’s taste buds—while also playing a key part in their journey to solid foods.
