Green Bean Baby Food (and how to get your little one to eat it!)

Green bean baby food is a great first veggie for your little one.

My son has begun transitioning to solid food, and I’ve been documenting my homemade baby food adventures here. If you’d like to check out some other posts in this series, click here! Last week, I started him on homemade green bean baby food. It was rocky at first, but now he loves it!

The first time he tried green beans, my son made a hilariously upset face. Then he spit the whole thing out. We tried a few more bites this way, and he kept spitting out entire mouthfuls. This was the first time that he’s completely rejected a food, but rather than give up, I decided to keep at it. I made one little change, and now he eats his green beans with gusto. The change was….

mixing it with sweet potatoes

Right now, I’m mixing his green beans 1:1 with sweet potato baby food, and my plan is to back off on the sweet potato gradually until he gets used to the taste of veggies. The rule of thumb when it comes to introducing new foods to you baby is to give it at least 10 tries before giving up. It took Darrol Henry about five tries to get into the sweet potato-green bean baby food mixture. The point here is: don’t give up! Sometimes it takes babies a little while to get used to new textures and flavors.

Making green bean baby food is very easy. Here’s how to do it!

Green Bean Baby Food

The instructions below call for optional straining. Green beans are pretty fibrous, so if you’re having trouble getting a smooth consistency you can strain out the skins. What worked in my blender was adding the reserved cooking water 1/2 ladleful at a time until it blended to a smooth consistency.

Ingredients and Supplies

• green beans
• water
• small saucepan
• ice cube tray – Want to keep it plastic free? Check out this stainless steel ice cube tray that one reader pointed us to!
• freezer bags or freezer-safe glass container

Directions

1. Clean and snap the ends off of your beans.
2. Boil green beans in enough water to just cover. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
3. Let the beans cool, then use a slotted spoon to transfer the beans to your blender. Reserve the cooking liquid, and use this to thin out the mixture until it’s nice and smooth.
4. Strain through a sieve or just pour the mixture into your ice cube trays.
5. Freeze, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag or freezer-safe glass container.

To do the 1:1 mixture, I just pop a green bean cube and a sweet potato cube into a small mason jar or old baby food jar and let it defrost overnight in the fridge. By morning, it’s thawed and ready to stir and serve. You can heat your baby food up in a bottle warmer or the microwave (not too hot!), but so far Darrol Henry has been content to eat his cold. Hurrah for one less step!

Have you guys made your own green bean baby food? Is your method similar to mine, or did you try something different?