Potatoes For Baby: How To Prepare & Serve (BLW)

Steamed, roasted, baked or mashed, potatoes can be served as first solid baby food beginning with six months of age. The potatoes can be cooked first and then mashed/pureed, or cut into large enough pieces so your baby could grasp them with his little hands – perfect for baby led weaning. You can make a large variety of potato baby food combinations and finger foods with different textures adjusted by age.

Potato For Baby

If making potatoes for babies know that you can use any potato variety such as white potatoes, red, yellow, blue/purple, fingerling or baby potatoes.

Just like baby led weaning with sweet potatoes, regular potato has a nice soft texture (when cooked) and is great served in a variety of ways, whether as fingers food or in other baby food recipes.

Potatoes contain moderate amounts of protein and fiber and are predominantly rich in starch – a complex carbohydrate. They also contain varying amounts of resistant starch (cooled potatoes have higher amount than hot potatoes), a type of fiber that feeds the friendly bacteria in the gut. 

Digestible carbohydrates are one of the main sources of dietary energy in infancy but there are also consequences of consuming excess carbohydrates. One of them is digestive discomfort and malabsorption. Recent studies suggests that infants have an inability to digest starch due to the delay in amylase (enzyme that digests starches) production and secretion. Especially those under 6 months of age. In fact it was observed that the activity of pancreatic amylase begins to increase at 7–8 months, and reaches adult levels by 5 years. And it is also quite variable from baby to baby.

Therefore don’t go overboard with feeding your baby with potatoes and try to rotate with other foods. It doesn’t mean eliminating starchy foods entirely, just keep an eye on baby’s digestive symptoms, if any discomfort occurs then reduce the amount.

How To Cook Potato For Baby

Potatoes can be cooked in a variety of ways from steaming to baking or mashing. You just need to peel off its skin (or you can peel the skin after the potato has been cooked), cut to age appropriate sizes and cook.

If you prefer you can cook first, and then cut (or mash).

Steaming Potato For BLW

Steaming is one of the best ways to prepare potato for baby led weaning. This method of cooking preserves the most of it vitamins as there is less contact with water and has a short exposure to heat.

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To steam you need to:

1. Peel the potato. Slice it into desired size pieces.
2. Bring 1 inch of water to boil in a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket and cover with a lid.
3. Steam on medium-low heat for approximately 15-20 minutes (it depends on the size) or until they are soft when pierced with a fork. Then you can cut into smaller pieces specific for your baby’s age and serve.

If you intend to serve with a spoon, mashed or make a potato puree, then you can steam the potato whole.

Baking / Roasting Potatoes For Babies

If you want to bake potatoes for your baby, you have two options: cut then bake, or roast first and then once soft cut into smaller pieces.

1. Chop the potatoes into desired size. I like to cut into wedges or strips (2-3″ long, 1″ thick). Or cut into cubes for babies that already developed the pincer grasp hold (around 9-10 months).
2. Drizzle with oil (healthier oil to use is olive oil, avocado oil or grape seed oil). Sprinkle some aromatic herbs (sage and rosemary works well) and season with garlic or onion powder (optional). You can add sea salt for babies 12 months+.
3. Spread the prepared potatoes on a parchment paper lined sheet (try not to use foil, aluminum when exposed to high heat can leach into food).
4. Roast until soft, approximately 30-40 minutes. Roast at higher temperature if you want a crust to form (400-415F) or lower temperature for a softer surface (375-385F).

Potatoes that are great for roasting: Yukon Gold, white and red varieties (waxy potatoes due to high moisture and low starch content, keep their shape well).

Boiling Potatoes For Baby

Boiling potatoes usually is the least preferred method if you need just plain soft potato pieces. The most nutrients will leach into the boiling water that you will likely discard. This method is best when you make soups and purees as you would keep the water with all the leached nutrients.

How To Cut And Serve Potato For Baby Led Weaning

You have two options:

• Peel and cut first, then cook OR
• Cook first (cut in half) then cut into smaller pieces and serve to your baby.

For a fun crinkle-cut shape use a crinkle knife. It’s quick to cut and easy for babies to hold with their little hands because it doesn’t slide off.

You can also cut the potatoes into other different shapes (cubes, strips, small sized half moon shapes, mashed with a fork, pureed or spiralized).

Mashed Potatoes For Babies / Baby Potato Puree (Stage 1)

You can make baby potato puree by itself with a very smooth and soupy texture. This is usually suitable for babies between 6-8 months of age.

Or make thicker mashed potatoes if doing baby-led weaning (for babies 6+ months).

How to make it: after steaming or boiling, you just take the soft flesh, mash and puree the cooked potato in a food processor or blender. It’s best to pulse gently, as overmixing creates a gummy consistency. Or use a fork to quickly mash it: it’s simpler and quicker.

Potatoes that are great for mashing: Russets (they fluff well due to high starch content) or Yukon Golds (yield a creamy consistency).

Baby Mashed Potatoes Add-ins To Improve Taste & Texture

• Breastmilk or
• Stock/broth
• For more flavor and fat you can add some butter.
• No salt or spices needed for babies younger than 10-12 months. Although you can add a bay leaf, an onion wedge and a garlic clove in the cooking water when boiling. Or cook the potatoes in the stock/broth itself.

Add as much liquid as you need to reach the desired consistency.

Potato Baby Food Puree Combinations (Stage 2)

After a while of stage 1 (single-ingredient purees), your baby will probably start expressing readiness for the next phase (stage 2 – typical for babies 8 months of age and older): more kinds of food, thicker textures and larger portions.

Potato puree combination you can try:

• steamed kale (or other greens like spinach, leeks, dill, parsley
• potato and cauliflower puree (or broccoli)
• potato and asparagus puree
• a mix of potato, carrot or sweet potato puree
• pureed potato and chicken or beef puree
• steamed apples (or pear) and potato puree
• mashed potato and beet
• steamed peas and potato puree
• mashed avocado and potato
• potato and butternut squash puree
• steamed zucchini and potato puree

FAQ

More Baby Potato Recipes

• Sweet Potato Baby Led Weaning: Ways To Serve
• Sweet Potato Fritters (Latkes) For Babies & Toddlers
• Sweet Potato Apple Broccoli Puree For Baby Stage 2 (6 month +)
• Beet and Potato Fritters

Need more baby led weaning recipes? Check out this baby food category for more ideas!

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