Have you decided to try the Baby Led Weaning approach to feeding your baby solids? Here are some fantastic ideas for the best baby led weaning starter foods, and the how-to info on preparing them! While there are plenty of baby led weaning recipes out there, it’s best to start out with real, whole foods before moving on to combinations. If you want more information on looking for signs of readiness and more about what baby led weaning is, check out this post.
Starting at 6 Months, these foods are great ways to begin introducing solids to your babe.
Baby Led Weaning Starter Foods: Preparing Grains
Oats– Prepare according to package directions, and help baby by spoon-feeding or pre-loading a spoon and letting baby feed himself! These Oat Bars from Healthy Little Foodies are super simple to make and allow baby to feed himself without the mess.
Rice– Most of the teething biscuits on the market are rice based (see below for my favorite varieties). You could introduce rice that way with no fuss. You can also try Trader Joe’s Frozen Brown Rice, which is super sticky when prepared and serve plain. Another great idea are these Mini Salmon & Brown Rice Cakes from Little Grazers.
Bread – Toast and top with a bit of butter, nut butter or sunflower butter. Cut into “soldiers” or long strips so it’s easier for baby to grab. Opt for a whole grain variety and limit to one slice a day since it tends to be high in salt/sugar and may cause constipation.
Pasta– Pieces of pasta (cavatappi, rigatoni, penne) rather than spaghetti or linguine are easier for babies to grab. Choose whole wheat if possible for added fiber. I also love the protein packed varieties of pasta that are available these days, like Banza Chickpea Pasta
Teething Biscuits– Require no preparation and are perfect on the go! Some of my favorite brands are:
Baby Mum Mums
Happy Baby Organic Gentle Teethers
Plum Organics Baby Little Yums
Baby Led Weaning Starter Foods: Preparing Fruits & Vegetables
Fruits- The fruits I’ve listed in the graphic above are soft and really require no preparation at all, aside from peeling (banana, mango) or slicing (watermelon). Slicing them into pieces shaped like a french-fry spear can be helpful since it will make them easier for baby to grab, but it’s not necessary. These might be the easiest prep of all the baby led weaning starter foods I’ve listed!
I like to peel fruits that have an edible peel like apples and pears for baby since the peel can be tough for them to get through (especially without teeth) and can stick to the roof of their mouth causing unnecessary gagging. Harder fruits like apples are great steamed or baked for babies without teeth.
Vegetables– Steaming is the best method for prepping veggies for babies & toddlers since it retains the most nutrients of any cooking method. You want to cook them until you can squish a piece between your thumb and forefinger. Veggies like broccoli & cauliflower can be left a bit firmer so that baby can grab the stem and use it as a “handle”.
I recommend getting a Steamer Basket like this one
Baby Led Weaning Starter Foods: Preparing Proteins
Steaming is suitable for proteins like beef, fish and chicken and will retain lots of nutrients. Cut these into french-fry like spears or shred into bits for baby. You can use the Steamer Basket for meat too!
Eggs can be served scrambled or hardboiled. Beware of serving them runny since this heightens the risk of salmonella. Overcooking the scrambled eggs slightly so that they’re able to be cut into strips makes them easier for baby to grab. French toast is also a great option for incorporating eggs into your baby’s diet.
Yogurt – This one might require a little assistance from mom or dad and can be fed with a spoon. A pre-loaded spoon can also be offered to older babies to allow them to self-feed. I also love filling raspberries with yogurt to help baby develop his pincer grasp…plus it’s delicious!
Cheese – No prep needed. Buy pre-sliced cheese from the deli, shredded cheese or a block of cheese and offer large chunks to baby. Beware…shredded cheese will make quite the mess!!
I hope these ideas help you get started feeding your baby lots of different flavors and textures of food. Or if you’ve already started, what recipes or preparations have you used for your little one? Let us know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you) should you choose to purchase a recommended product.
I am really surprised you listed yogurt. As a grandmother, I was told when my kids were little no yogurt as their was a bacteria in it that could be harmful. I asked my daughter whether she had also heard babies could not have yogurt and she said they were told not to feed her babies yogurt.
Hi Julie- While it’s true babies under the age of 1 should not be offered cow’s milk, yogurt made with whole milk is perfectly fine and actually a great source of nutrition (high in protein & a source of probiotics). The bacteria in yogurt break down the proteins in milk that are difficult for babies to digest. Cheese is also acceptable from 6 months on. Let me know if you have any more questions, and thanks for reading!
They do sell a baby yogurt. Ow which is safe for the babies to eat. I find it at walmart.
You don’t even have to by the baby yogurt and spend the extra money. Just buy plain whole fat organic yogurt. If you want to flavor it just add a fruit puree or smash them and add it. A lot cheaper and the big tubs of plain yogurt last a lot longer.
It is also important to remember that the food guidelines for babies are constantly changing, such as the guidelines for eggs. Many doctors are now saying that as long as you don’t have a history of egg allergies in your family it should be okay to give your child the yolk and the egg white.
Hi,
I’ve just started weaning my daughter (she’s 6months) I’m constantly panicking she’s going to inhale the food and choke to death, e.g tonight I fed her some banana, she loved it, sucked away at it, suddenly a piece of it was missing and I was convinced she was going to choke on it. She was of course fine and thought i was mental whisking her out of her high chair. Any tips for the nervous mum?!
Thanks,
Alice
Hi Alice. First of all I want to say, it is totally normal to feel nervous. I’ll admit I was nervous when I started BLW with my daughter. As a first time mom, there wasn’t much I did with her that DIDN’T make me nervous! So, I hear you! But, keep in mind that because your baby is controlling the way she takes in her food, she is actually less like to choke than if you were feeding her purees. At 6 months babies have very few (if any) teeth which means the pieces of food they are able to gnaw off are extremely small and unlikely to cause choking. Also, make sure you know the difference between gagging & choking (check out my other post on BLW here. Gagging is a perfectly normal part of the process and actually helps baby learn to properly swallow food. Choking is obviously much more serious, but very rare. Also, be sure to offer her large pieces of food rather than tiny cut up pieces. Believe it or not this lessens the chances of choking since as I said above she will be gnawing off teeny pieces with her gums. Hope this helps, and thanks for reading!
I’m thinking of doing this with my baby (6 weeks now so I have time) but our pediatrician said eggs whites were fine after 6 months but to do them by themselves for 3 days (all the typical jazz for allergies). What type of yogurt do you use? We have always used 4% plain Greek yogurt and puree fruit to add some flavor and cut down on added sugar. This blog was awesome for ideas! Did you overcook your pasta or leave it Al Dente?
Hi Brianne- Yeah, egg whites are on the “likely to be allergens” list, so a lot of doctors say to avoid them before one year of age, but some docs disagree. We always have whole milk (4%) plain greek yogurt in the house. I like greek yogurt not just because of the higher protein content, but also because it makes less of a mess since it’s thicker and stickier. We sometimes add a fruit puree or some fresh berries for sweetness, but my daughter will eat it plain too. I cook pasta the same way for the whole family, a little bit al dente and have never had a problem. Glad you’re enjoying the blog!
In BLW there are no “starter foods”. Baby gets whatever the family is eating (cut into proper shape and size anyways).
I’m curious about how to introduce peanut butter to my little one?
Hi Annette- Thanks for reading! Some great ways to offer peanut butter to your baby are: on whole grain toast cut into fingers, mixed into oatmeal/infant cereal, or baked into a muffin. It’s not recommended to offer peanut butter on its own as some babies might choke/gag. It is, however, recommended to introduce peanut butter as early as possible. The latest research has shown early exposure might actually prevent allergy development. But, as always, check with your pediatrician first since all kids are different.
Do you by chance still have the recipe for the oat bars? It looks as though that blog does not exist anymore. I love your ideas. My 7 month old really hasn’t taken to spoon feeding. He just shakes his head and won’t open his mouth. I think maybe this approach would be better, but I’m scared of choking. Also, he just is not very oral. He doesn’t bring much to his mouth.
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for letting me know that link was broken. I wrote this post a while ago! I’ve replaced that recipe with a similar one from Healthy Little Foodies (https://www.healthylittlefoodies.com/porridge-fingers/). Super simple to make. FYI, “porridge” = oatmeal to us Americans. I hope you have fun trying BLW with your 7 month old! Any further questions, feel free to reach out to me via the contact page. Happy to help 🙂
I have tried a couple different solid foods for my child but he always tries to swallow the food and ends up choking does that mean he isn’t ready for solids and I should stick to purees or are there other things I can try? Thank you!
Hi Becca- It’s tough to say what’s happening from your description alone. I’d love to hear more about your child’s development and discuss this further. Feel free to email me via the contact page and we can figure it out together. Thanks for reading!
For the apples and pears, can I steam them then freeze them and or refrigerate them? If so for how long?
Hi Vicky- Sorry for the delayed response. I wouldn’t recommend freezing steamed fruit because it will be really mushy when thawed, though if baby likes it that way that’s totally fine. You could freeze for up to 6 months. Refrigeration is a better option as it will retain the proper texture. I wouldn’t leave it in the refrigerator for longer than 4-7 days. Just taste a piece before offering it to baby.
How often should we change foods. I was told with pureed to do it got 3 to 4 days or a week to make sure there isn’t an allergic reaction. I have my daughter a Chuck of banana then mashed and spoon fed her. I let her try to eat a steamed baby carrot and have her cart puree. I want to try to do more BLW then pureed.
There’s a new baby in the family, so I’m revisiting your site for a refresh and answers to my questions It’s fabulous and stands the test of time! Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.