• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

JoyFoodSunshine

Recipes for real life.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Search

  • Home
  • About
    • About Laura
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Work With Me
  • Recipe Index
  • Moments
    • Pregnancy/Baby
      • Baby Registry List
      • Thriving Postpartum: What to Expect & Postpartum Essentials for Mom
  • Shop
    • Kitchen Tools (Must Haves)
    • Pantry Staples (Baking & Smoothie Making)
    • Food Photography Essentials
    • Baby Registry List
    • Thriving Postpartum: What to Expect & Postpartum Essentials for Mom
  • Instagram
You are here: Home / Baby Food / Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food

Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food

Last updated on September 5, 2020. Originally published September 18, 2017 18 Comments

Jump to Recipe

This Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree is an easy & healthy recipe to feed your baby this fall! Only 3 ingredients (pumpkin, apples & water) means that it’s naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, & vegan with no preservatives, food coloring or additives!

Front view of two jars of Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food

This post is sponsored by my friends at Vitamix. As always all opinions are my own! 

We try to eat seasonally as much as possible around here! We rely on farmer’s markets, produce stands, and our own garden for fresh, locally-grown produce.

Since seasonal eating is important to me when it comes to feeding my older kids, I adopt the same principles when feeding my babies. This Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree takes the best of fall produce and combines it into a delicious puree that your baby will love to eat!

Front view of a vitamix blender with Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food puree inside

Even though my sweet Mara just recently started her journey with solid foods, I’ve been feeding my babies homemade purees for over 6 years now. I have made just about every baby food combination under the sun, and this is one of my {and my babies’} favorites.

I don’t know what it is about the orange veggies, but all four of my kids have loved them. First I introduce sweet potatoes, then move on to carrots and pumpkin. The problem with pumpkin is that most of my kids haven’t loved it on its own.

That’s understandable right?! Have you ever cracked open a can of pumpkin puree and dug right in? {Me neither}. That’s why I love adding apples to bring a little sweetness to the pumpkin party in this Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree!

overhead view of Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food in a vitamix

An important note about combination purees.

 Always start your babies on single-food purees.

This is important to ensure that your sweet baby is not allergic to the foods you feed her. If you feed her a combination of foods, like this Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree and she has a reaction, you will not be able to decipher which food caused it.

So, before you feed this Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree to your little one, be sure you have introduced her to both apples and pumpkin, separately!

front view of two jars of Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food puree

I told you all the reasons why I make my own baby food in this post…so I won’t go there again. However something I will note is how much I love whipping up a large batch of baby food, like this Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree, and freezing it to use whenever I need to.

How to freeze homemade pumpkin baby food

I have two different silicone trays that I use to freeze purees. When my babies are younger I use this individual silicone brownie pan, because each well holds 1 TBS of puree. The downside to this pan is that it doens’t have a lid, so you have to be careful when you put it in the freezer.

I recently purchased three of these silicone ice cube trays and LOVE them {pictured below}. Two specific features that absolutely rock about these are: 1) they have a hard outer rim which makes it easy to lift & move even when it’s full. and 2) they come with lids! Each well also has a larger capacity of 2 TBS, so they’re perfect once your baby develops a larger appetite!

Overhead view of silicone trays filled with Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food puree

Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food: Substitutions

There are only two ingredients in this recipe, {well 3 including water} but here are a few notes about each!

  • Apples. I recommend a sweet, flavorful apple variety like Galas, Honeycrisps or Pink Ladies. But any variety will do. If you already have homemade, unsweetened applesauce on hand feel free to use 1 1/2 cups of applesauce instead of the 3 cups of cooked apples.

Can I use canned pumpkin to make baby food?

  • Pumpkin. I have included instructions to use freshly roasted pumpkin. I love doing this. But the answer is YES! You absolutely can use canned pumpkin puree. Please stick with an organic variety that has one ingredient – pumpkin!

Use a Vitamix!

A question you might be asking yourself is, “If I use pumpkin puree and applesauce (instead of whole apples and freshly roasted pumpkin), do I still need to blend them together?”

The answer is YES! You want your Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree to be as smooth as possible. Plus blending ensures that both the flavor and texture are consistent throughout the mixture! There’s no better way to make homemade baby food than in the Vitamix!

Overhead view of frozen cubes of Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food

IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM JOYFOODSUNSHINE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE AND  TWITTER FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO OUR EVERYDAY LIFE!

Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree

Laura
This Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree is an easy & healthy recipe to feed your baby this fall! Only 3 ingredients (pumpkin, apples & water) means that it's naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, & vegan with no preservatives, food coloring or additives! 
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course baby food, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 16 2 TBS portions
Calories 21 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree* 1 small sugar/pie pumpkin or 1 (15 oz can organic pumpkin puree)
  • 3 medium apples peeled cored & chopped (about 3 cups)
  • 1 cup water

Instructions
 

Homemade Pumpkin Puree:

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Remove the stem from the pumpkin, cut it in half and remove the seeds.
  • Place both halves of the pumpkin flesh side down in a 9x13ā€ baking dish.
  • Pour water in the bottom of the dish until it fills the dish about Ā¼ā€ high.
  • Cover pan/pumpkins with foil and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the pumpkins are soft to the touch (the skin depresses when pushed).
  • Set pumpkin halves flesh-side up to cool.
  • Once cool, remove pumpkin flesh from the skin and measure out 1 ½ cups.

Cook apples:

  • Place peeled & chopped apples and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft (about 10-12 minutes).
  • Remove from heat and let the water and apples cool (do not discard water, reserve it to use in the baby food).

Make the puree:

  • Add ½ cup of the water used to cook apples, cooked apples and pumpkin to the container of your Vitamix blender.
  • Turn the machine on and slowly increase the speed to high, blend until smooth
  • If necessary, add up to an ½ cup more water and continue blending until mixture reaches desired consistency (younger babies (4-7 months) need thinner purees, while older babies (8+ months) can handle a little bit of texture)!

Freeze/store:

  • Freeze in 1-2 TBS portions using an ice cube tray or silicone mold.
  • Once frozen, remove cubes from tray/mold and transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer.

To Reheat:

  • Place desired number of cubes in a microwave safe container and warm for 30 seconds per cube. Check to ensure they are not too warm before feeding to your baby!

Nutrition

Serving: 2TBSCalories: 21kcalCarbohydrates: 5.3gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.1gSodium: 0.9mgPotassium: 27.7mgFiber: 1.6gSugar: 3.4gVitamin A: 2825IUVitamin C: 2.3mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.2mg
Keyword baby food in the vitamix, baby food recipe, homemade baby food, pumpkin baby food
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Overhead view of a spoon scooping out some Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food from a glass jar

Seriously this Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree is so delicious I even take a few tastes as I whip up a batch! All of my little ones have gone crazy over it, and I’m sure your sweet baby will too!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase a product through a link you clicked on here, I receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting JoyFoodSunshine! 

You might also like:

Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks (with Whole Fruits & Veggies)
Moments 03.2019
Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie

Filed Under: Baby Food, Eat Seasonal, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Pregnancy/Baby, Pumpkin Recipes, Recipes, Vegan, Vitamix Tagged With: apples, baby food, pumpkin, vitamix

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment and review below, then take a picture and tag @joyfoodsunshine #joyfoodsunshine on Instagram so I can see it! Sign up here to receive weekly e-mails!

Previous Post: « Homemade Sweet Potato Baby Food
Next Post: Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Estie

    January 16, 2021 at 8:24 am

    I tried this recipe and my baby loved it!! He’s not a big fun of solids since he started but this was taken within minutes and had to add more! So thankfuk!!!

    Reply
  2. Mark Jerry

    January 1, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    5 stars
    I love your recipes! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Md Nur Hossen

    September 2, 2020 at 12:13 pm

    Thank you very much. Also many thanks for informative content share with us. Baby food is very important for baby’s health. Children need nutritious food to grow.

    Reply
  4. Mc

    May 4, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    5 stars
    We had canned organic pumpkin and unsweetened organic apple sauce.. it’s covid and I didn’t want to go to the store.. I did the same portions but less water and my. Baby loved it!! 7 months old it’s Sweet so I might sneak some spinach or kale in for extra nutrition!

    Reply
    • Laura

      May 5, 2020 at 2:57 pm

      Love the idea of sneaking in some greens!

      Reply
  5. Kiesha Josef

    June 2, 2018 at 12:38 am

    5 stars
    An Awesome Healthy Recipe! My baby is 3 years old. I’m thinking- She’ll like to eat this. After a preparation, I’ll try to make this as your instructions. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Neve

    May 2, 2018 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    Beautiful! I’m a Vitamix girl too and have been hunting for a decent pumpkin baby puree recipe. They are good for sleeping better (which my little one needs!).

    I’m gonna try this one today.

    Thx Laura.

    Reply
  7. Alvina Emmy

    November 3, 2017 at 9:02 am

    Just love this article.People will learn many things from this informative article.

    Reply
  8. Melissa

    September 27, 2017 at 5:01 am

    I love your recipes! Where did you get your cute little jars?

    Reply
    • Laura

      September 27, 2017 at 7:52 am

      I got them here! https://food52.com/shop/products/2640-vintage-french-bell-shaped-glass-jars

      Reply
  9. Emily Swanson

    September 21, 2017 at 2:17 am

    I love the idea of adding apples for a bit of sweetness, and the color of pumpkin is such a beautiful one especially for some fall baby food. I could definitely dig a spoon into this!

    Reply
  10. Alisa Fleming

    September 20, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Making your own baby food is so much healthier and cheaper than store bought! So glad you are posting on this.

    Reply
  11. Kristina @ Love & Zest

    September 19, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    What a great baby food combo! I will be needing some of these recipes before I know it!

    Reply
  12. Taylor Kiser

    September 19, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    This is such a great way to ensure healthy eating right at the start! Love it! And it really is so easy to make your own baby food at home for your little ones.

    Reply
  13. Maria

    September 19, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    saving this for when I have babies! nothing better than homemade baby food šŸ™‚

    Reply
  14. Sarah

    September 18, 2017 at 7:22 pm

    This has me wishing my girls were little again and I could make them baby food. So fresh, easy, and healthy I love it!

    Reply
  15. Rachel

    September 18, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    I used to make my own baby food but this was before Vitamix was a “thing” so I had to use a crappy old blender. It turned out pretty good, but I imagine my broccoli baby food would have been better in a Vitamix!

    Reply
  16. Jessica @ Small Bites by Jessica

    September 18, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    How fitting for fall! This color is absolutely stunning! šŸ˜€

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Laura

 

Hello I’m Laura! I am a former chemistry teacher turned wife and mom of five beautiful babies with one on the way in 2021! I’m a green smoothie addict, lover of the outdoors, and a peanut butter & nap enthusiast! Click here to read more >>

Let’s Be Friends!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Sign Up to Receive Weekly Emails!

Popular Recipes

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

Pumpkin Smoothie Recipe

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese

Spaghetti Squash Mac and Cheese

Brussel Sprout Salad

Homemade Pizza Sauce (Video)

Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe (5- Minutes)!

Copyright © 2021 JoyFoodSunshine.com
5.0Kshares
  • 80