Easily turn chicken breast into healthy, nutrient rich, chicken baby food. This simple and tasty chicken puree for babies is a great start for introducing solids to your feeding routine.
Not only is making your own chicken puree a healthy option, it’s also economical and allows you to modify everything from flavor profile to texture. This helps you to determine how to best keep your baby’s belly full and happy.
We’re all cautious about what to feed our babies for maximum nutrition and healthy development. And one of the first solid foods many parents start experimenting with is chicken. Chicken baby food is a great, freezer-friendly option for hungry little ones because chicken is loaded with essential vitamins and minerals.
And it doesn’t have to be complicated or unappetizing! You might be on the fence about homemade baby food, especially anything that starts with raw meat, but we’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll show you exactly how to safely prepare chicken baby food in a way that’s fast, easy to make, and tiny taste bud approved.
Why homemade baby food?
Making your own food baby food recipes is definitely worth the effort! It helps you to:
- Plan meals in a cost effective way. Buying food in bulk, and separating it for meals is usually a much cheaper route. You can even look for sales, stock up when the food is extra affordable, and freeze the portion you’re not immediately using for later.
- Know exactly what ingredients are going into your baby’s food. By making your own baby food from scratch you can limit the highly processed ingredients, preservatives, dyes and added sugars. No ingredients are added unless you put them in yourself.
- Avoid excess waste. Buying individual baby food containers, especially those that are non-recyclable, carries a larger carbon footprint than making food yourself. Making your own food is a more environmentally friendly option.
- Control quality. If your family has decided to only use, organic, pasture raised chicken, for example, it’s much easier to know that your food was prepared with your preferred quality of meat if you make it yourself.
What you will need:
This pureed chicken is very easy to make! Here’s what you’ll need:
Saucepan: Any kind of saucepan will be fine for this recipe. You’ll just want to make sure it’s large enough to hold the amount of chicken you’re boiling with enough water to cover the chicken.
Kitchen knife/tongs: These tools are used for shredding the chicken after it’s cooked. A good, sharp knife and tongs are especially handy for this recipe because the chicken will be too hot to pick up or shred with your hands. A fork will also work in place of tongs.
Blender or food processor: You’ll want a high quality blender to get the baby food mashed up thoroughly. You don’t want any extra chunks or hard to chew pieces in the chicken puree.
Baby food jars: Glass jars are excellent for serving. You can portion out your chicken meat right after blending and store it in your fridge for short term meals.
For ingredients, you’ll need:
Chicken: You can’t make chicken puree without chicken, of course! For this recipe, we’re using boneless skinless chicken breasts. While white meat chicken breasts are a leaner cut, you’ll find more healthy fat and iron in dark meat cuts, like the chicken thighs.
Feel free to experiment with different cuts of chicken to discover which your baby prefers. Keep in mind that different cuts will yield slightly different textures in the final product. Regardless of which cut of chicken you use, you will absolutely want to make sure it’s boneless and skinless before starting this recipe. Bones and skin are not puree friendly and can leave you with large, un-mashed chicken chunks that can make your baby choke. If you don’t have skinless, boneless chicken on hand be sure to remove both yourself.
Broth: Chicken broth is the best way to flavor your chicken breast. For this recipe we’re using the broth that is created right in the pot when we boil the chicken. Alternatively, you can go with a store-bought broth or chicken stock, but you’ll want to use one made of simple ingredients and not too much sodium.
Benefits of Chicken
Chicken is a lean, affordable protein and one of the most popular meats in the world. Some of its benefits include richness in:
- Protein: supports healthy muscle development.
- Selenium: necessary for proper immune function.
- B Vitamins: Niacin, Vitamins B6 and B12 play important roles in energy production and brain health.
How to make basic chicken puree
1. Boil the chicken
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the raw chicken to a boil and cook for about 15 -20 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink. Be careful to not overcook the chicken or it will become rubbery and more difficult to chew. Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium sized bowl or cutting board, and do not pour out the broth.
2. Check chicken’s temperature
Using a meat thermometer, check the chicken’s internal temperature. Chicken must be cooked to at least 165° F to ensure that it’s safe to eat. If the temperature is any less than that in the center of the thickest piece, return the chicken to the saucepan and continue to cook meat until a safe temperature is reached.
3. Shred the chicken
Using a sharp knife and tongs, shred the chicken breast into bite sized pieces of about ¼” thickness. If you don’t have tongs, use a fork to help with shredding.
4. Place chicken in the blender, add the broth and puree
Place the shredded chicken into a blender or food processor and add 1/4 cup of the broth from the saucepan. When you boil chicken, some of the nutrients are drawn out into the water. Adding some of the broth back in helps preserve some of those vitamins and minerals.
Blend chicken for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Pulse slowly to evenly break up the larger pieces, then gradually increase speed. If the chicken appears to be too dry or has a grainy texture, more liquid can help. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of broth and continue blending until a smooth consistency is reached.
5. Transfer for serving and storage
At this point you can move the pureed chicken to bowls for serving and storage. Make sure the chicken has cooled to a safe to touch temperature before feeding it to your baby.
How to store chicken baby food
Chicken can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Using freezer-safe storage containers makes it easy to cook in bulk and save food that’s being stored long term.
Can I freeze baby food in glass jars?
No. Avoid storing baby food in glass containers. Frozen glass jars can crack and leave tiny shards of glass in your baby’s food. Filling ice cube trays with baby food and covering them in plastic wrap is an excellent, freezer safe alternative. These trays also allow you to easily keep track of portion sizes so when meal time comes, you can pop out the baby food cubes at your convenience.
How should I reheat baby food?
Remove the food from the storage container and reheat it on the stovetop. Microwaving can lead to overheating and splatter.
Remember to only reheat the food once. It is unsafe to freeze and reheat the same dish of cooked food multiple times because doing so supports bacteria growth.
If you feed your baby directly from a serving jar, it is also important to remember to throw away any leftovers from the same jar that came in contact with the serving spoon. Once the food is exposed to the bacteria from your child’s mouth through saliva, it can continue to grow in the jar while stored. A safer option would be to spoon a portion of the baby food into a separate dish and feed directly from that new dish.
When can my baby eat chicken puree?
Babies can start eating meat at any point after you start introducing solids. You will want to consult your pediatrician to make sure your baby is developmentally ready for solid foods. Some signs that it may be time to introduce solids include your baby’s interest in foods that you’re eating, his or her ability to sit up with no support and your baby’s willingness to try chewing.
We recommend introducing chicken puree at around 4 – 6 months. Check out our food introduction guide for more information about which foods are appropriate for which ages, from sweet potato puree to cooked apple, and more!
How do I introduce chicken to my baby?
Just like with all solid baby food recipes, you should begin introducing chicken gradually. The flavor of the chicken made in this recipe will be mild, which is great for early eaters. We’re focusing on the fuel itself before we add too many extra seasonings.
In time, you may want to experiment with additional seasonings, or blending the chicken with another food like sweet potatoes, apple puree, or carrots. Getting your baby used to different flavors is helpful in encouraging their desire to try new recipes.
You can also introduce chunkier chicken pieces for older babies by simply blending the meat for less time. Alternatively you can pulse it in a food processor once at a time until it reaches your preferred texture.
Want more baby food recipes?
Whether you’re starting to introduce solid foods, or just looking to add variety to your baby’s diet, we have plenty of recipes that babies love, just like this one:
- Inbound Link 1
- Inbound Link 2
- Inbound Link 3
Tips to make the best chicken puree for baby
- In order to reach the desired consistency of smooth and creamy puree chicken, you want to make sure that you don’t overcook the chicken breast. Keep a close eye on the internal temperature of the chicken. An instant read digital thermometer works best.
- Add the chicken broth gradually. Just as much as you don’t want a final product that’s too dry, you also don’t want one that’s too watery. You might not need very much broth, but adding it to a grainy puree 2 tablespoons as a time is a good starting point.
- If you’re concerned about feeding your baby the purest form of chicken, we recommend buying organic. According to the USDA, an organic label means that the chickens were not given any antibiotics and were only given food grown without pesticides.
Chicken baby food
Equipment
- Saucepan: Any kind of saucepan will be fine for this recipe. You’ll just want to make sure it’s large enough to hold the amount of chicken you’re boiling with enough water to cover the chicken.
- Kitchen knife/tongs: These tools are used for shredding the chicken after it’s cooked. A good, sharp knife and tongs are especially handy for this recipe because the chicken will be too hot to pick up or shred with your hands. A fork will also work in place of tongs.
- Blender or food processor: You’ll want a high quality blender to get the baby food mashed up thoroughly. You don’t want any extra chunks or hard to chew pieces in the chicken puree.
- Baby food jars: Glass jars are excellent for serving. You can portion out your chicken meat right after blending and store it in your fridge for short term meals.
Ingredients
- Chicken
- Broth
Instructions
- Boil the chicken
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the raw chicken to a boil and cook for about 15 -20 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink. Be careful to not overcook the chicken or it will become rubbery and more difficult to chew. Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium sized bowl or cutting board, and do not pour out the broth.
- Check chicken’s temperature
- Using a meat thermometer, check the chicken’s internal temperature. Chicken must be cooked to at least 165° F to ensure that it’s safe to eat. If the temperature is any less than that in the center of the thickest piece, return the chicken to the saucepan and continue to cook meat until a safe temperature is reached.
- Shred the chicken
- Using a sharp knife and tongs, shred the chicken breast into bite sized pieces of about ¼” thickness. If you don’t have tongs, use a fork to help with shredding.
- Place chicken in the blender, add the broth and puree
- Place the shredded chicken into a blender or food processor and add 1/4 cup of the broth from the saucepan. When you boil chicken, some of the nutrients are drawn out into the water. Adding some of the broth back in helps preserve some of those vitamins and minerals.
- Blend chicken for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Pulse slowly to evenly break up the larger pieces, then gradually increase speed. If the chicken appears to be too dry or has a grainy texture, more liquid can help. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of broth and continue blending until a smooth consistency is reached.
- Transfer for serving and storage
- At this point you can move the pureed chicken to bowls for serving and storage. Make sure the chicken has cooled to a safe to touch temperature before feeding it to your baby.
Notes
Chicken can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Using freezer-safe storage containers makes it easy to cook in bulk and save food that’s being stored long term.