Coming up with new and exciting ideas for food to offer your baby can be difficult when you’ve been at baby led weaning for a while. That’s why I love knocking up a simple meal of pasta and pesto for my babies.
Pesto doesn’t have to just be the traditional combination of basil and pine nuts. You can use all sorts of ingredients to make fun and healthy baby pesto recipes. I’ve created this post of all of my favourite pesto recipes for babies ideas to help you discover some gorgeous recipes that are super simple to prepare.
Still unsure if you want to offer pesto to your baby? Discover the most frequently asked questions about baby pesto below and put your mind at ease.
Can babies eat pesto?
When it comes to baby led weaning, your baby can have absolutely anything, with the exception of honey, whole nuts, too much salt and too much sugar.
As with everything, you need to ensure your baby eats a little of every food group in moderation. I wouldn’t offer my baby pesto every single day, but offering it as part of a healthy and balanced diet, once or twice a week, will not do your baby harm at all.
When can I give my baby pesto?
Your baby can eat pesto from six months onwards, just as they can with all table foods as part of their baby led weaning journey.
Is pesto too salty for babies?
Store bought pesto in a jar can contain a lot of sodium, but as long as you are preparing the pesto yourself, you are very much in control of how much salt you use – therefore your baby’s pesto could have absolutely zero salt in it!
The recipes I have shared below have been created specifically for babies, so they will contain low volumes of salt and be perfectly safe and healthy.
What’s the best blender to use to make pesto?
I use a 2 in 1 Kenwood Blender & Food Processor that makes batch cooking for baby super easy!
Not only can you make yummy smoothies for yourself, you can whizz up purees using the blender and then use the food processor to chop a whole host of veggies and make yummy desserts too!
What sort of pasta should I serve with the pesto
During my days of baby led weaning two babies, I think I’ve probably tried every common type of pasta including:
- Spaghetti noodles
- Tagliatelle
- Fusilli
- Penne
- Ravioli
- Lasagne
- Macaroni
- Tortellini
- Farfalle
My favourites types of pasta are spaghetti, fusilli and tortellini as they’re all easy to get hold of in the supermarket, easy for baby to self feed and don’t need anything special doing to them to make them baby friendly.
Baby Pesto Recipes
Discover healthy and delicious baby pesto recipes that the whole family can enjoy. Low in sodium and super yummy!
Create this nutrient-rich beetroot pesto in less than 5 minutes using a few key ingredients. The perfect throw-together dinner idea for babies and toddlers!
Yummy baby pesto recipe using green beans as the main ingredient.
A deliciously sweet red pepper pesto that is suitable for babies, toddlers and kids. An ideal baby led weaning recipe, and a healthy toddler pasta meal.
This healthy Spinach Pesto Pasta is a great way to help the kids eat their greens...and it's an a nutritious family meal ready in 20 minutes!
A delicious kid friendly Spinach Pesto Pasta recipe ready in just 5 minutes! No cooking required, perfect for a quick and easy family meal.
An easy and vibrant Basil Lemon Pesto, perfect for babies, that is so good you will want to put it into anything and everything you make!
If you are looking for a fast, fresh and flavourful meal then this Broccoli Pesto with homemade pasta ticks all the boxes. A delicious and healthy meal for your baby that can be eaten by the whole family!
Discover this delicious and healthy pea pesto baby led weaning recipe. Full of lovely nutrients for baby - the whole family can enjoy this variant on the pesto classic!