Best Baby Food to Introduce Baby to Solids
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Choosing the best baby food for your little one can be confusing. These days, there are so many different kinds of packaged baby foods on supermarket shelves — from traditional jars and cups to pouches and make-your-own kits — that it can be difficult to decide which store-bought brand is right for your baby.
When should you start buying baby food?
Before you start buying baby food for your little one, you'll want to make sure she's ready for solids.
Introducing your baby to solids is an exciting milestone, but the process can also be a little confusing. Most babies are ready for solids between 4 and 6 months, but many experts suggest waiting until closer to month 6 — and individual development plays a role, too, so what's right for your child could be different.
Some parents also choose to try a practice called baby-led weaning, which involves introducing babies 6 months and older to solids in the form of finger foods instead of purees.
Check in with your pediatrician to make sure your baby is ready to start eating solid foods before making the switch. Cereal, milder vegetables and easy-to-digest fruits are usually the first foods pediatricians recommend.
You’ll also want to talk to your doctor about food allergies. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now says that allergens can be introduced to babies at the same time as other foods, around 4 to 6 months.
“If there is no special reason to be concerned that your baby is at increased risk for food allergies, after a few first foods have been tolerated, you can start to introduce the more highly allergenic foods — milk, egg, soy, wheat, peanut, tree nuts, fish and shellfish," says Natasha K. Sriraman, M.D., associate professor of Pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Still, talk to your pediatrician before introducing allergen foods to make sure your baby doesn't have a higher risk for developing allergies. For example, babies with eczema are more prone to allergies, particularly peanut allergies.
What is the best store-bought baby food?
Keep these things in mind when shopping for packaged baby food:
- Make sure it's age-appropriate. “When choosing from store-bought foods, it is important to buy the appropriate portion size and consistency for the child's age,” says Gary Kramer, M.D., a pediatrician in Coral Gables, Florida. You can find that information by reading labels closely.
- Consider ingredients. “Many people are looking at organic options and food with minimal preservatives,” says Dr. Kramer.
- Look out for choking hazards. The AAP suggests avoiding the following foods: hot dogs, nuts and seeds, chunks of meat or cheese, whole grapes, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter, raw vegetables, fruit chunks and sticky candy. A good rule of thumb: “Make sure that any foods which are not pureed and may not easily dissolve in the mouth are smaller than the diameter of the baby's pinky finger,” says Dr. Kramer.
- Skip honey and cow's milk. Avoid any packaged foods that contain honey (it can have a bacteria that is harmless to adults but can cause botulism, a serious illness, in babies) and cow's milk until your baby is at least 1 year old.
Here, the best store-bought baby food brands for your little one.
Beech-Nut Naturals
Beech-Nut covers all the bases — it’s widely available and easy to find in stores, as well as organic and all-natural. Each jar has a short list of real food ingredients and doesn't contain any artificial colorings or flavorings. The product line is vast, too, with single-food purées for the youngest eaters to blends of vegetables, fruits, grains and more for babies with more developed palates and greater caloric needs.
The brand is best known for their jarred baby food, but they also sell pouches and snacks like puffs.
Earth’s Best Organic Baby Food
Available in three age stages — stage 1 to 3 — Earth’s Best is not only affordable, but also organic, unsweetened and unsalted, and contains no artificial colors or flavors. Basically, this baby food is a no-brainer.
Stage 1 starts out with single food purées. As baby graduates to stage 2, he'll enjoy new flavor combos, while stage 3 changes texture to a chunkier purée that's appropriate for older babies.
In addition to the purées, Earth's Best Organic has infant and toddler formula, pouches, and a variety of snacks for bigger babies and toddlers (think bars, puffs and cookies).
Serenity Kids
There are plenty of baby food brands contain fruits and veggies, but what about those all-important proteins? If you’re on the hunt for quality purées made with meat, try Serenity Kids. The resealable, ready-to-eat pouches combine organic fruits and veggies with better-for-you proteins, like grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild-caught salmon, pasture-raised turkey, uncured bacon and even grass-fed bison.
Little Spoon
Fresh, organic baby food is sent straight to your door every other week with this system. Over 80 organic ingredients are used in different formulas to expose baby to a wide range of flavors, textures and colors — and help her get a balanced diet. Plus, did we mention this baby food is delivered to you? We did? Well, as any busy parent knows, that’s a big deal.
MeWe Baby
If you’ve received the all-clear to introduce your baby to common allergens like peanuts, MeWe can help take the guesswork — and stress — out of the equation. These squeeze packs, which are about the size of a large ketchup packet, contain a blend of real fruits (bananas, apples and berries) along with peanuts. They're both delicious and easy to swallow, whether you serve right from the pack or mix with other foods.
Ella’s Kitchen
These organic baby food pouches are perfect for little ones 6 months and older, and can be enjoyed as a meal or a snack, depending on your child's age. Each one holds 3.5 ounces of purée.
Ella's Kitchen products contain veggies and fruits that are blended with nothing else for awesome taste — and no additives. The pouches are available in a slew of flavors, such as apples, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and blueberries.
Mama Bear Organic
Turns out, you don’t have to pay a convenience upcharge for quality pouches. Though you’ll spend about 50 cents less per pouch with this Amazon brand baby food, you’ll still get quality purées for your little one. Each pouch is formulated with USDA-certified organic and non-GMO ingredients, plus contains no artificial colors or flavors. Mama Bear Organic also makes infant formula.
Once Upon a Farm
If you typically avoid store-bought baby food because you prefer fresh produce, give Once Upon a Farm a chance. These pouches have to be refrigerated, but the reason is valid — each packet contains organic, cold-pressed ingredients for a fresher product.
Baby Mum-Mum
This brand is known for their teething products. These rice rusks are perfect for teethers, since they dissolve easily and are easy for little ones to hold. They’re free of common allergens and contain no artificial ingredients or preservatives. They are available in banana, among with other fruit and veggie flavors.
Happy Baby Organics
In addition to being organic and non-GMO, this top-rated and bestselling cereal is enriched with iron for a whopping 45 percent of baby’s daily requirement to help with development. It also contains 10 percent of baby's vitamin C requirements. You can mix it with breast milk, formula or water. The brand's product line also includes formula, jarred baby food and pouches, and snacks for toddlers and bigger kids, too.
Gerber
Your little one is in for a real treat with these easy to transport puffs — and you are, too, since they're a good source of vitamin E and iron without any artificial flavors or colors. Plus, there are plenty of delicious flavor options, including banana, apple, apple cinnamon, strawberry apple, sweet potato, blueberry, vanilla, cranberry orange and fig berry. These puffs are appropriate for babies 8 months and older, and the brand also offers a variety of purées and other older baby snacks.
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