Starting solids with your bub is a momentous milestone. New tastes, new textures, and new levels of mess. But where do you start? Introducing finger foods is a great way to let your child explore this new culinary frontier and to help you out, we’ve collated a fab list of recipes that baby will love.
Baby finger food includes foods that have been cut or cooked into bite-size pieces that can be easily grabbed and handled by babies and toddlers.
Whether you decide to begin with baby purees and then move on to baby finger foods or get on the finger food wagon from the start, here are 18 baby finger food recipes and lots of ideas to get you started.
1. Getting started
Good ol’ mother nature offers up a wealth of baby finger foods perfect for introducing your baby to the world of self-feeding.
Aim for stick or finger shapes as this allows your bubba to grip the food in their fist (before they develop a pincer grip) while still leaving some food hanging out for them to munch on. Basically, you want to create a handle for your baby to hang on to.
The options are really endless. But here are some ideas to get you started.
Fruit
- Banana (leave a little skin on as the handle!)
- Apple (raw or steamed)
- Pear
- Nectarine
- Apricot
Veggies
- Cooked whole veggies (baby corn, green beans)
- Steamed cauliflower or broccoli ‘trees’
- Roasted or steamed fingers of sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, capsicum
- Raw cucumber (good for teething!)
And a handful of other non-fruit/veggie ideas:
- Toast soldiers or cruskits with avocado or cottage cheese
- Fingers of firm-ish cheese
- Strips of chicken, beef, lamb or pork
- Strips of omelette (well cooked)
2. Becoming more adventurous
While you don’t necessarily have to prepare special meals for your wee one (just watch the salt and sugar levels) we all need a little inspiration sometimes. So here we have collected 18 finger food recipes for babies that we think your tribe (and you) will love.
Nuggets of nutritious gold
Have you met a tot who doesn’t love nuggets? Try out these little nuggets of goodness with your little one – another great way to introduce meat.
- Chicken and veggie nuggets (via One Handed Cooks)
- Fish fingers (via Food4Tots)
- Broccoli and cheddar cheese nuggets (via Simply Recipes)
Egg-y things
Little ones can spot a green thing a mile away. But add eggs (and cheese!) and all of a sudden those green things are no longer the enemy. Yum!
- Broccoli and cheese frittata fingers (via My Fussy Eater)
- Baby frittata (via Weelicious)
- Mini pea and pesto frittatas (via My Lovely Little Lunchbox)
Have a ball
The close cousin of the nugget, these delicious ball-shaped baby finger foods are packed full of nutrition and will delight any hungry munchkin.
- Veggie quinoa bites (via The Veggie Mama)
- Spinach gnocc-wee (via Weelicious)
- Baked cauli tots (via Cupcakes and Kale Chips)
Dip it
We all know that dipping things makes eating way more fun (and delicious)! Try out these dips with the dipper of your choice (veggies, pita bread…) Your little minis will feel super sophisticated and love the different textures and tastes with these baby finger food recipes.
- Roast beetroot dip (via One Handed Cooks)
- Creamy yoghurt dip (via Real Simple)
- Chickpea hummus (via Bites for Babies)
Sweet treats
Sweet things come in miniature size too! Here are a few little somethings that will still pack nutritional punch for your little sweet tooth.
- Itty bitty bran muffins (via Family Feedbag)
- Ultimate Allergy Friendly Cookies (via My Kids Lick the Bowl)
- Fruit, oat and chia mini chews (via One Handed Cooks)
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