The Best Baby-Led Weaning Foods and How to Introduce Them, According to Experts

Published on Aug 15, 2023 at 6:35 PM

Once your baby can sit upright with minimal support, hold its head steady, and put things in its mouth and is starting to show interest in food — it may be time to introduce them to solids. Back in the day, many parents would only feed their toothless little ones pureed food and baby-friendly rice cereal and oatmeal as their first foods. But over the last 15-ish years, parents have explored baby-led weaning as an alternative way to nourish their little ones.

If you're unfamiliar with the method, it essentially ditches spoon-fed meals and gives your little one more autonomy when it comes to choosing what they want to eat and when. Ahead, learn more about baby-led weaning and the best baby-led weaning foods to give your little one.

What Is Baby-Led Weaning?

"Baby-led weaning is a method of starting babies on complementary foods using finger foods of an appropriate size and texture from the family table, as opposed to starting with the parent-led spoon-feeding of purees," says Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, creator of the online course for parents Safe & Simple Baby-Led Feeding and author of the bestselling book "Simple & Safe Baby-Led Weaning." While there is no formal definition of baby-led weaning, many versions do not include any spoon-feeding. Instead, the child puts food in its own mouth.

When following baby-led weaning, although parents offer food, the child controls the weaning process. In other words, the infant decides what, how much, and how quickly they eat instead of being at the mercy of the puree-filled spoon that caregivers may "airplane" into a child's mouth. When practicing baby-led weaning, the infant is an active partner in the feeding process, and not a passive recipient.

Malkani explains that some of the potential benefits of baby-led weaning for infants "include earlier involvement in family meals; lots of exposure to different flavors, colors, shapes, and textures; more opportunities to practice fine motor skills during self-feeding; greater dietary variety early on; and more freedom and autonomy to follow internal cues for hunger and fullness." For caregivers, the benefits of baby-led weaning are pretty vast too and include spending less time, money, and energy on preparing food since babies eat what the family eats, and there is no need to make separate meals, aside from a few minor modifications.

Some data also suggests that baby-led mothers experience lower anxiety than traditional weaning mothers. However, baby-led weaning doesn't come without any risks. Hampton Vernon, MD, a Georgia-based pediatrician, cautioned that "there is an unknown choking risk" when following baby-led weaning practices. And Malkani addresses that "for babies with severe eczema who are at high risk for food allergies, there is a greater risk of allergen exposure through broken skin if the baby is self-feeding during the early introduction of allergenic foods." She advised that caregivers can help reduce this risk by applying a layer of protective ointment to the skin before meals and/or by choosing to responsively spoon-feed top allergens for at least the first few exposures.

Who Should Try Baby-Led Weaning?

Baby-led weaning can be appropriate for most babies who are developmentally ready to eat solid foods, typically around the six-month mark of a baby's life.

Babies who may tolerate purees better than finger foods (at least, at first) include "those with developmental delays or specific medical issues, some premature babies, and babies who require sensory or oral evaluations before table foods can be considered safe," per Malkani. "For babies who are at high risk for food allergies, allergists may recommend very early introduction of top allergenic foods like peanut and egg between four and six months to help reduce the risk of peanut and egg allergy. In these cases, purees are necessary, as most babies are not developmentally ready to start eating finger foods until closer to six months of age," she adds.

What to Know Before Starting Baby-Led Weaning

First, it is important to understand that while many families are adopting this way of feeding, some data suggests babies who are fed with the baby-led weaning approach may be more underweight than those who are spoon-fed. Baby-led weaning infants may be at risk of low iron intake because many foods offered to these infants are generally low in this mineral.

The good news is that "when caregivers are educated on safe food sizing and texture as well as how to offer balanced meals that provide key nutrients for babies such as iron and zinc, baby-led weaning does not increase the risk of choking or nutrient deficiencies," Malkani shares. So, if you are sold on the baby-led weaning approach, it is important to have a good understanding of how to build nutritious and balanced meals to avoid nutritional deficiencies. To do this, speaking with a registered dietitian and/or pediatrician with expertise on this topic may be valuable to keep your baby as safe as possible.

To be clear, even if you don't choose to follow baby-led weaning, "you can create great eaters with a variety of pureed foods," Dr. Vernon says. And combining principles of baby-led weaning with some spoon-fed purees can also be an acceptable feeding plan. "There is no evidence that using a combination of feeding methods (i.e., baby-led weaning plus the spoon-feeding of purees) is detrimental or confusing to babies as long as caregivers are using responsive feeding techniques (i.e., recognizing and responding to the baby's cues for hunger and fullness and creating mealtime environments that allow the baby to focus on eating)," Malkani shares.

Ultimately, as long as your baby is fed adequate nutrients safely, you are doing what you have to be doing as a caregiver. If you are ready to include some baby-led weaning foods in your baby's repertoire, keep reading for 10 of the best baby-led weaning first foods to nourish your baby and satisfy its needs safely.

Fruits

Avocado

"Ripe avocado is a great source of healthy fat, a key nutrient for brain development and overall growth. Wash the peel of the avocado, then slice into wedges and remove the pit but not the skin," Malkani says. To properly prepare an avocado for your bub, "gently cut away the peel from just the top half of a wedge. The peel on the bottom half will make it easier for your baby to grip and self-feed the avocado," Malkani tells POPSUGAR. "Alternatively, you can roll peeled wedges of avocado in ground seeds, nuts, breadcrumbs, shredded coconut, or fortified infant oat cereal to provide extra grip and a boost of nutrients."

Avocados are packed with healthy fats that may help support your baby's brain development. Specifically, avocados contribute 2.5 grams of monounsaturated fat and 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat per 25-gram serving to a child's diet.

Banana

Malkani says, "bananas come with their own convenient 'handle,' which is easy for babies to grasp. To prepare, wash the peel of the banana (so that nothing on the skin contaminates the inside when it is sliced), then cut the banana in half horizontally. Gently slice away the top half of the skin so that half of the banana flesh is exposed. Your baby can hold the bottom 'handle' and nibble on the fruit exposed at the top."

Bananas are a source of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants. And best of all? They are naturally sweet with no added sugar — perfect for tiny bodies!

SunGold Kiwi

SunGold kiwi, made particularly by Zespri, are a favorite of mine. They can be offered to a baby who is following baby-led weaning practices simply by peeling the top half of the fruit and leaving the bottom half with the skin intact. The skin can help the baby grip the fruit, and since the entire fruit is edible, and the sungold skin is hairless, gnawing on the bottom part is OK, too.

Kiwis are a great source of vitamins and minerals and can also be used as a natural meat tenderizer, thanks to a natural enzyme in the fruit called actinidin. If you are feeding your baby meat, you can help break down the connective tissue (ultimately making it more tender) by either marinating the meat in a kiwi juice marinade or rubbing the meat with kiwi skin (with the flesh side touching the meat). Not only will this method help make your meat more tender for your baby's enjoyment, but it will also give your dish some additional vitamin C!

Vegetables

Sweet Potato Sticks

"Sticks of sweet potato are a great length, shape, and texture for early eaters when baked, air fried, or roasted until tender," Malkani says. When prepping your sweet potato, peel it and cut it into 1/2-inch-thick sticks. If your potato is extra long, cut it in half before cutting your sticks.

While it is not recommended to add salt to an infant's food, unless there is an underlying medical reason to avoid them, adding age-appropriate spices to your potato (like cinnamon) can help expose tiny palettes to different flavors. Plus, sweet potato is a natural source of vitamin A, which may support baby's immune health.

Sautéed Spinach

Spinach may not be top of mind as a food that is ideal for new eaters. But when cooked, this veggie is quite simple to grasp, and it is soft enough for little ones to tolerate safely. To prepare, add the spinach to a food processor until it is finely chopped. In a medium pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil. Once sizzling, add a clove of minced garlic and sauté for three minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook until the veggies are soft, approximately five minutes. Once the spinach is cooked and wilted, allow the dish to cool completely before offering it to your little one.

Grains

Toast

Yes, a simple piece of bread that is lightly cooked until crispy is a-OK for little ones to enjoy. In fact, a lightly toasted slice of bread becomes less gummy when babies bite into it, resulting in a safer food option for bread-lovers everywhere (and who isn't a bread-lover?!?). Adding a light schmear of smooth nut butter that is not made with added salt, sugar, or honey can expose babies to different proteins and flavors, too.

Generally speaking, Malkani recommends sticking to whole-grain bread for babies, as this option tends to hold its shape better than white varieties. She also advises that there is no need to remove the crust. Toast should be cut into graspable strips, which is about the width of two adult-size fingers put together.

Pasta

Pasta is a unique carbohydrate because it is a lower glycemic option that contains a hefty amount of protein. Fortunately for babies (and caregivers), there is a slew of pasta varieties that are easy to grab and delicious for little ones to eat, like farfalle and penne. Just make sure that the pasta is cooked past the al dente mark to ensure it is soft enough.

You can serve it plain or add a touch of tomato puree, a hint of garlic, and various herbs and spices to expose your baby to new flavors. Just be sure to have a bib handy — this meal can quickly become messy!

Banana Pancakes

Pancakes are naturally soft and simple to make. Instead of using a boxed version of pancakes, you can easily make your own for your little nugget by combining one ripe medium-size mashed banana with one cup of oats and one cup of whole milk. Sprinkle some cinnamon into the mix if you want to add some additional flavor. Once you have your batter, you can make your pancakes as you normally do. We recommend either making smaller pancakes that are easy for babies to grab, or cooking ones that are larger in diameter and then cutting them into two-inch-wide strips. No need to offer maple syrup with these, as the banana adds natural sweetness with no added sugar.

Wondering if it's OK to add milk to this recipe for babies under the age of 1? While it's not recommended to offer this age group cow's milk, that relates to glasses of milk. Using milk in recipes when they're younger than 12 months should be fine, unless there is an allergy concern or an underlying medical condition.

Protein

Egg Omelet

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eggs as an important food for infants and toddlers. Eggs are a complete protein and have varying amounts of all key nutrients cited for brain development by the American Academy of Pediatrics, including choline. In fact, eggs are one of the most concentrated sources of choline, and just one large egg (with the yolk!) provides the daily choline needs for babies and 75 percent of the recommended intake for toddlers. Plus, the early introduction of eggs may also help reduce the risk of developing an egg allergy.

One of the easiest ways to feed eggs to babies when following baby-led weaning guidelines is to offer an omelet cut into easy-to-grab strips. To make a baby-friendly omelet, scramble an egg with a splash of formula or breastmilk. Heat a small skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt half a teaspoon unsalted butter in the pan and then add the egg mixture until it covers the bottom of the pan. Heat for two minutes and then flip like a pancake and heat the other side until it is cooked through. Remove from the pan and cut into one- to two-inch strips, depending on your child's needs.

Meatballs

Beef is a dynamite source of heme-iron, which is great for overall growth and brain development. A fun way to sneak in these nutrients is via meatballs.

Meatballs are a perfect beef-packed baby-led weaning dish that can double as an adult-friendly meal too. You don't have to make your meatballs with any special ingredients when you are preparing them for your baby. Just make sure they are cooked all the way through to avoid any potential foodborne illness. It is not recommended to use ingredients that contain salt or added sugar in a meatball recipe if it is offered to babies.