How to Make Baby Food From Scratch with Your Juicer (Yes, Really)

Making baby food from scratch has never been easier. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, with the right approach, you don’t even need a separate gadget. If you already own a juicer, you’re one step away from whipping up fresh, nutrient-packed purees that your little one will love. 

From smooth single-ingredient purees to nutrient-rich blends of fruits, veggies, and grains, a cold-press juicer goes beyond making fruit juice. In this guide, I’ll show you how to make baby food from scratch with your juicer and share simple recipes to get you started.

Can You Make Baby Food in a Juicer?

Yes, you can make baby food in a juicer, particularly a cold-press juicer that includes a sorbet or smoothie strainer. Many cold-press juicers make purees as well as juices, which makes them suitable for homemade baby food.

However, not all juicers have this feature, so check that yours can effectively puree ingredients. Once you know it can, you can adjust the consistency to match your baby’s stage.

Just make sure to prepare the ingredients the right way by steaming or boiling them. This makes them easier to digest and gentle on your baby’s stomach.

What Juicer to Use for Making Baby Food at Home?

Cold-press or masticating juicers can help make baby food, provided they can make puree. Many require a sorbet or smoothie strainer for this purpose. Centrifugal juicers, on the other hand, aren’t suitable since they only extract juice.

Hurom’s Slow Juicers can easily be used to make baby food. In fact, some Hurom juicers like the H400, H70, and H310 don’t even require a special strainer to make puree. You can steam fruits and veggies, add them to the juicer, and collect the puree in the pulp container. Other models, like the H320, have a coarse strainer that can be used to make baby food. 

How to Make Baby Food at Home with a Juicer?

It’s easy to make baby food at home with a slow juicer. Simply assemble your juicer with a sorbet or smoothie strainer, if it requires one. Then follow the steps below: 

• Wash the ingredients: Make sure the ingredients you’re using are thoroughly washed. 

• Prepare the ingredients: The next step is to steam or boil the ingredients to make them soft and cooked. Steaming is generally recommended over boiling, as it helps preserve nutrients, and the food doesn’t get too mushy or lose its taste.

• Feed ingredients into the juicer: Let the ingredients cool off for a bit. Then, place them in the hopper of your juicer or feed them through the feed chute. You may need to cut them down smaller depending on the feed tube and hopper size. 

• Make the puree: Run the juicer, and it will make the puree. If your juicer produces both juice and pulp/puree, you can mix them later. 

• Adjust consistency: You can adjust the consistency and texture of the baby's food with breast milk, formula, or water. Younger babies need more liquid baby food. 

• Cool before serving or storing: Let the puree cool off before feeding it to your baby. If you’ve made multiple servings, store the remaining in freezer bags. 

Stage-by-Stage Baby Food Preparation Guide

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. After that, you can start introducing pureed fruits, vegetables, and cereals. Your baby’s diet will change gradually as they grow, with food divided into clear stages from six months to one year. 

Let’s break down each stage and see how a juicer can help you prepare the right baby food.

How to Make Baby Food: Stage 1 (4-6 months)

At this stage, introduce solids with smooth, single-ingredient purées gently. This helps your baby experience new flavors and makes it easier to spot any sensitivities or allergies early on. 

Ideal first foods include carrots, pears, sweet potatoes, apples, and zucchini. Harder ingredients, such as carrots or sweet potatoes, should be steamed or baked until tender before running them through your cold-press juicer. 

If your juicer has a homogenizing or blank screen, use it for an instant purée; otherwise, combine the pulp and juice for a silky texture later on. 

To thin the mixture, add breast milk, formula, or cooled boiled water until it reaches a spoonable consistency. 

A few teaspoons are enough for early feeds. You can gradually increase the portion as your baby gets used to solids.

How to Make Baby Food: Stage 2 (7-9 months)

Once your baby is comfortable with Stage 1 foods, you may move toward thicker purées and simple combinations. At this point, your baby should be able to handle more texture and variety, so you can start blending two or three ingredients. 

Some good combinations include apple with carrot, banana with avocado, or pumpkin with pear. 

To make these, press each ingredient through your cold-press juicer and then mix the pulp and juice (if you don’t get the puree directly). 

Since your baby is ready for thicker food, add less liquid than before, and leave the purée slightly denser. 

Slowly introducing these pairings broadens your baby’s palate and helps them transition toward more complex meals.

At this stage, you can feed them 4-9 tablespoons in 2-3 meals a day. 

How to Make Baby Food: Stage 3 (10-12 months)

By Stage 3, the focus shifts to developing chewing skills. Offer chunkier blends, fork-mashed fruits and vegetables, or soft bite-sized pieces.

Ripe bananas, avocado, butternut squash, and steamed carrots or peas are some great options for stage 3. 

You can still use your juicer to prepare a smooth base, then stir in extra pulp or soft mashed pieces for added texture. Alternatively, you can directly feed hand-mashed foods, like mashed bananas or avocados.  

Besides the fruits and veggies, introduce some protein-rich foods at this stage, like well-cooked chicken, lentils, or beans. But, again, in a very soft, easy-to-chew form. You can mash these with a fork and add them to the puree. 

Also, you can begin giving your child small cubes of fruit or tender vegetables alongside purées to help your baby practice finger foods and chewing.

7 Easy Baby Food Recipes

So, how to make baby food puree at home with a juicer? Well, the recipes I’m sharing below will help you get started. Some ingredients, like bananas, can be prepared by hand with a fork. But if you own a versatile juicer like Hurom, it’s the perfect tool for creating smooth, nutrient-rich baby food.

Here are some popular baby food ideas to try: 

1. Apple Puree

Apple purée is one of the easiest and most well-tolerated Stage 1 baby foods. It’s naturally sweet, gentle on the stomach, and rich in vitamins. And apples are easily available almost everywhere. All you need is a reliable apple juicer to make this one. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium apple (peeled, cored, chopped)

Instructions:

Steam the apple pieces until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Run them through your cold-press juicer to make a puree. Add breast milk, formula, or water until you reach a smooth, spoonable consistency.

2. Pear Puree

Pears are mild, naturally juicy, and a good choice for easing digestion. They’re also less likely to cause allergic reactions. However, some pears can be hard, so you may need to steam them a bit longer. Begin with plain pear puree in Stage 1, then combine it with apple puree for Stage 2 meals.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe pear (peeled, cored, chopped)

Instructions:

If very ripe, pears can be juiced raw. For firmer pears, steam lightly until soft. Process through your juicer and collect the pulpy puree and any juice. Then adjust the consistency with the juice or another liquid, like breast milk or water. 

3. Green Bean Puree

Green beans introduce your baby to more savory flavors while providing fiber and vitamins A and K. I suggest introducing them a little later, at Stage 1 or even Stage 2. Also, they must be boiled or steamed before processing in a juicer. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh green beans (trimmed, chopped)

• 2–3 tbsp water

Instructions:

Steam green beans until tender (about 8-10 minutes). Run them through your juicer to create a smooth puree. Strain if necessary for an even finer texture. Also, you can thin with water or breast milk if it’s too thick.

4. Carrot-Sweet Potato Purée

This combo makes a naturally sweet, vibrant orange purée that’s loaded with beta-carotene and perfect for Stage 2. As both are hard root vegetables, you’d need to steam them long enough to soften them for the juicer. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium carrot (peeled, chopped)

• ½ medium sweet potato (peeled, diced)

Instructions:

Steam both carrot and sweet potato until fork-tender. This can take between 15-25 minutes. Run through your juicer and collect the puree. Add a splash of cooled water or milk to smooth out the texture.

5. Banana–Pineapple Purée

You’ll know if your baby has a sweet tooth, and if they do, you must give them this tasty combo. This tropical blend is naturally sweet and tangy. It’s best for babies closer to 8–9 months, once they’re accustomed to fruit combos. 

Ingredients:

• ½ ripe banana

• 2 tbsp fresh pineapple (peeled, core removed, diced)

Instructions:

Run the pineapple through the juicer. Mix the pulp and juice until smooth. Separately, mash the banana with a fork, then add it to the pineapple mixture. Thin with water or milk if needed.

6. Pea-Spinach-Avocado Purée

This green powerhouse baby food combination provides iron, healthy fats, and plant-based protein. The avocado balances the earthy taste of spinach and peas with creamy smoothness. Your child will get a well-balanced array of nutrients from this combo. It should be given at Stage 3. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup peas (fresh or frozen)

• ½ cup spinach leaves (washed)

• ¼ ripe avocado

Instructions:

Steam peas and spinach until very soft. Press through the juicer, then mash in the avocado by hand. Stir until creamy, adjusting with a splash of water or breast milk for the desired consistency.

7. Chicken-Pumpkin Purée

This protein-rich Stage 3 recipe combines tender chicken with sweet pumpkin for a hearty, nutritious meal. I’d recommend using this meal at the very end of Stage 3, after your baby has learned to chew a little bit. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cooked boneless chicken breast (well-cooked, chopped)

• ½ cup steamed pumpkin (peeled, diced)

Instructions:

Run chicken and pumpkin together through your juicer (or pulse in a blender if easier). You want to keep the consistency chunky. Add cooled boiled water, milk, or chicken broth (unsalted) to thin as needed.

Safety and Nutrition Tips for Homemade Baby Food

Making baby food at home is simple, but you must take extra care with safety and nutrition. Your baby needs balanced vitamins and minerals to grow well. So, make sure to keep these tips in mind when preparing purees with a slow juicer:

• Clean everything: Wash your hands well. Clean and dry your cutting board, knife, bowls, and all juicer parts that touch food.

• Prep the ingredients well: Wash thoroughly, peel thick skins, remove pits, seeds, cores, and tough stems. This is a no-brainer, as seeds and pits are a choking hazard. 

• Invest in a steamer basket: Steaming is the best method to soften ingredients and retain their nutrients, so get yourself a steamer basket that you can use with your existing pots and make baby food a breeze. 

• Juice in smart order: Alternate soft and firmer pieces to keep the auger moving. When adding ingredients to the hopper, start with softer, lightweight ones and then place the chunkier, harder ones on top.

• Portion the baby food and cool quickly: Spoon into sterilized ice-cube trays or 2-oz containers (each cube is about 1 tbsp / 15 mL). Cool in the fridge within 2 hours of making. 

• Store safely in sterilized bags or containers: If you want to make baby food in batches, store them properly. In the fridge, baby food can last up to 48 hours. In the freezer, it can last for three to six months. I recommend making a fresh puree every day, if possible, or freezing it in batches for later use instead of refrigerating it. 

• Test temperature before feeding: Check the temperature of the food on your wrist or by tasting it to ensure it’s cold before feeding it to your baby. 

• Introduce new foods with care: Only introduce new foods one at a time so you can easily track your baby’s tolerance. When introducing common allergens like egg or yogurt, start with very small amounts. 

• Steam longer if the puree is too fibrous: If your baby's puree looks too fibrous, you’re probably not steaming the foods long enough. 

• Add infant cereals or pulp to thicken: If the baby food you made with your juicer is too watery, you can add some baby cereal or more pulp to thicken it. 

Feed Your Baby Only the Best

Although store-bought baby food packets are convenient, homemade purées are fresher and give you full control over the ingredients. This way, you know your baby is getting the best nutrition possible.

And if you thought you needed a fancy baby food maker, you don’t. A cold-press juicer like Hurom can do the trick. All you need is the right juicer to make sorbets, purees, and baby food from scratch. 

Hurom Slow Juicers are versatile for that very reason. They’re designed to handle more than juice, easily preparing fresh sorbets, smoothies, and homemade baby food.

FAQs

What homemade baby food should I introduce first?

Introduce single-ingredient purees first, like mashed bananas, steamed carrots, or pureed sweet potatoes. If the baby is over 6 months old, start with iron-rich options, such as pureed lentils or peas. Introduce one new food every 3-5 days to watch out for any allergies.

What is the best way to make homemade baby food?

Make homemade baby food by steaming fruits or vegetables, blending until smooth, and storing in airtight containers. Use minimal water to preserve nutrients and avoid adding salt or sugar. You can use a blender or a cold-press juicer to make the puree. 

Is it better to make baby food at home?

Making baby food at home offers better control over ingredients, freshness, and nutrition. It avoids preservatives and allows customization for allergies or textures your kid may like better. However, it requires more time and proper food safety practices.

Is it better to steam or boil food for babies?

Yes, it’s always better to steam baby food instead of boiling it to preserve vitamins and minerals. Steaming retains nutrients better and prevents food from becoming waterlogged. You can use a steamer basket to cook evenly and easily. 

Do I need a separate attachment to make baby food in a juicer?

Some juicers require a separate attachment to make baby food, especially for thicker purees. Check your juicer's manual to confirm compatibility. High-end models often include a puree function or food processing. Hurom juicers may not require a separate strainer to make baby food.

Can I make baby food in a blender or juicer?

Yes. You can make baby food in either a blender or a juicer using soft, cooked fruits and vegetables. Blenders create very smooth purées, while juicers can remove fiber to produce extra-soft textures. This makes juicers especially helpful for Stage 1 or Stage 2 baby food.

What are the best first homemade purees for babies?

The best first homemade purees for babies include avocado, banana, pear, sweet potato, and steamed carrots. These foods are mild, easy to digest, and rich in nutrients.