Complete Guide on 6 Months Old Baby Food Recipes in 2022

By six months, babies show signs of readiness for solids. Six months is ideal to start introducing solids to the baby. This article covers the 6 Months Old Baby Food Recipes.

Remember that feeding solid food is not the replacement of breast milk or infant formula. As the age increases, your baby became more dependent on the food, and dependency on breast milk or infant formula is reduced. But keep continuing the breastfeeding till the age of 2 years.

What foods can be includes in 6 months of baby’s food recipes?

At 6 months, baby food should include all the food groups mentioned in the table. First, start with single-ingredient food and gradually mix other ingredients from each food group to make nutritious baby food.

Tools you need to make 6 months baby’s food 

• Steamer/ pressure cooker: To make the hard food soft.
• Chopping board and Knife: To cut the fruits and vegetables. 
• Blender: to blend the ingredients
• Masher: to mash the cooked food 
• Mixer/ Grinder: To make fine paste, powder
• Strainer: To remove seeds from lemon juice etc.
• Cooking utensils, bowl, spoon, and water cup 
• Storage Containers, Silicon ice cube tray for freezing food, etc.

6 Months Old Baby Food Recipes

Homemade food prepared from a variety of foods is often recommended by doctors and nutritionists because it is fresh and healthy. 

If you are purchasing commercial baby foods to avoid the time-consuming preparation of homemade food, then there is one solution – homemade instant food mixes. Yes, you can prepare it at home and store it in an airtight container and use it whenever required.

Its shelf life is not as long as commercial food. But you can easily store it for at least one month.  In this recipes section, we will provide you some instant food recipes also.

We categories the recipes into 3 types- single ingredient food (veg and nonveg), Mixed ingredients (veg and non-veg), and Instant food recipes

Type 1: Single Food Ingredient Recipes

1. Mango Puree 

Ingredient: Mango

How to prepare:

Wash the mango with water. Dry it. Cut into pieces. Remove the pulp with the help of a spoon and collect it in the clean utensil. Using a blender or masher, make a smooth paste. Add few spoons of water to adjust the thin consistency.

2. Pumpkin puree

Ingredients: Pumpkin

How to prepare:

Wash the pumpkin with clean water. Cut one small slice into pieces. Using a steamer, cook the pumpkin pieces till they become soft. Mash it with a masher or spoon. Add water or breast milk or infant formula to adjust the thin consistency.

3. Chicken stock

Ingredients: Clean Chicken pieces

How to prepare:

Wash the chicken pieces properly with water. Put chicken and water in a pressure cooker and cook it till it becomes soft. You can give clear stock of chicken or by using a grinder you can grind the pieces and stock in fine consistency. 

Note: Don’t make watery consistency. Start with thin consistency food and continue for one week. Then gradually make it thick.

Type 2: Mixed Ingredients Food Recipes

In this type of recipe, mix the ingredients from each food group mentioned in the table. You can start with adding two ingredients first and then add one from each food group.

4. Rice with peanut powder and carrot 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoon Rice, 1 tablespoon roasted and peeled peanut fine powder, ½ bowl carrot pieces, and 1 teaspoon ghee

How to prepare:

Wash rice and carrot and cooked them till become soft.  Mash it properly and add peanut fine powder and ghee and mix it well to make a smooth, thick consistency.

5. Rice with fish and amaranth 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon rice, 1 piece of fish, 1 small bowl of amaranth leaves, 1 teaspoon cooking oil

How to prepare:

Wash rice and amaranth leaves separately and put them in the utensil and pressure cook it.

Clean the fish properly with water and pressure cook by adding a small quantity of water. After cooling, separate the bones and grind them in the grinder. In this fish, paste adds cooked rice and amaranth leaves and again grind it till it becomes a fine paste. Adjust the consistency with water.

6. Semolina porridge with green gram dal, apple, and spinach 

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon semolina, 1 tablespoon green gram dal, ½ bowl apple pieces, ½ bowl spinach, and 1 teaspoon ghee

How to prepare:

Roast semolina and add ghee during roasting and pressure cook green gram dal, apple, and spinach in separate containers. Pressure cooked ingredients mashed well. Now add hot water in semolina and cook it covered. When semolina becomes soft, add some water and mashed ingredients. Mix it well and prepare thick porridge.

Type 3: Instant food mixes recipes

It is generally prepared by roasting and powdering staple cereals and pulses. The portion of cereal and pulses can range from 2:1 or 3:1. And these mixes can be stored in an airtight container for at least one month.

How to use instant mixes to prepare baby food?

Take 4 tablespoons of instant baby food mixes and add 100 ml hot boiled water and mix it to get thick consistency food.

You can add mashed fruits and vegetables, cooked and groundfish and meat, etc., and cooking oil or dairy products like butter, cheese in it to make the food more nutritious.

7. Wheat-based mixes

Ingredients:

25 gm whole wheat, 5 gm whole moong dal, 5 gm lentil dal

How to prepare:

Clean whole wheat, moong dal, and lentil dal properly. Roast these ingredients separately.

After cooling, grind it separately and mix it. Keep this instant mix in an airtight container.

8. Finger millet (Ragi) Based Mixes

Ingredients: 100 gm Malted ragi flour (It is prepared by soaking cleaned ragi in water overnight, covered the soaked ragi, after draining the water completely, transfer the ragi in clean white cheesecloth for sprouting. Tie the cloth properly. After 12 hours, you will find sprouted ragi. Sundry the sprouted ragi to remove moisture and after drying. After drying, roast the ragi and cool it and grind it to make malted ragi flour), 

40 gm roasted chickpea dal and 25 gm roasted groundnut

How to prepare:

Remove the peel of roasted peanut and grind it to make a fine powder. Grind roasted Bengal gram dal separately. Mix all three powdered ingredients and store them properly.

How much and how many times baby food should give?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends feed the solids 2-3 times per day, in addition to breast milk and formula to the babies of age 6-8 months.

At six months, start to give 2-3 tablespoons of enriched borbor twice a day. 

Important tips to prepare food recipes for 6 months old baby

• One size is not fit for all. So, if your baby is not showing signs of readiness at 6, wait for few days, and try again.
• Start with a thin consistency, then gradually shift to a thick consistency as your baby learned to eat. To adjust the consistency, add breast milk, infant formula, or water.
• Introduce one food at a time and continue for 3 days which will help you to find out allergic reaction or any discomfort to any particular food. Repeat the same process with new food.
• Allergen foods can be introduced from around 6 months of age. One at a time in a small portion can be helpful to spot any reactions.
• Once your baby familiarizes with single ingredient food, you can combine these ingredients and make baby food more nutritious. 
• Along with sweet vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, include vegetables that are not sweet, such as cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, etc. This will help your baby to be familiar with different flavors and tastes. Most of the babies tend to eat only sweet food and this makes them fussy eaters as they grow up.
• Don’t add salt, sugar, and spices in baby foods until the age of one year, as it puts unwanted stress on the kidneys.
• Prepare baby food hygienically. Maintain personal hygiene and sanitize the kitchen properly. Sterilize, dry, and keep covered the feeding bottles, bowl, spoon, and other utensils.

Read More:

• Guide on Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Conclusion

From 6 months, only breast milk is no longer supportive of a baby’s growth and development. Baby can get required nutrients in required quantity from different food items. You can prepare the different food recipes for a six-month-old baby by using local, seasonal, and economical ingredients.