Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree

5 from 5 votes

Homemade Apple & Pumpkin Baby Food Puree

This homemade apple & pumpkin baby food puree is easy to make with 3 organic ingredients (pumpkin, apples & water). There's no preservatives, food coloring or additives and it tastes so much more delicious than jarred baby food.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: baby food, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 2 TBS portions

Author: Laura Sandford

Cost: $3

Equipment

Ingredients

15 ounces pumpkin puree* (1 small sugar/pie pumpkin, 1 ½ cups homemade puree)
3 pounds apples (peeled, cored & chopped - about 3 cups)
1 ½ cup water

US Customary - Metric

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 9x13” baking dish.
Pour water in the bottom of the dish until it fills the dish about ¼” 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 a high-powered 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 Tablespoon 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!

Notes

Ingredients

Apples. I recommend a sweet, flavorful apple variety like Galas, Honeycrisp or Pink Ladies. But any variety will do. If you already have homemade applesauce, you can use 1 ½ cups of applesauce instead of the 3 cups of cooked apples. Use organic apples and make sure to wash them thoroughly.
Pumpkin. I have included instructions to use freshly roasted pumpkin. But you can also use canned, organic pumpkin (my preference)
Water. Homemade apple cider or apple juice are great substitutes that add a little more flavor.

Store

Store in an glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Freeze

Transfer the puree to ice cube trays to freeze, or individual containers to store in the refrigerator. I love these silicone ice cube trays. they have a firm outer rim, making them easy to transport, and a lid for storage! The wells hold 2 Tablespoons of puree.

Once they are frozen, transfer the cubes to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheat

Reheat refrigerated puree until just warmed.

Reheat one or two cubes of frozen puree in a glass container in microwave for 40-60 seconds. You could also warm it on the stovetop or let it thaw at room temperature for several hours.

Nutrition