Chicken For Babies, Ways To Serve & Cook (BLW)

Introducing chicken to babies can be a great option as first baby food starting at around 6 months of age, when they are ready for solid foods. Whether you choose purées or the baby-led weaning method as finger foods, there are plenty of chicken baby food recipe ideas to choose from.

The tips below (with pictures) can help you determine how to cook and serve chicken to babies at different stages, plus a few ideas of baby food recipes with chicken and possible combinations. You can start with chicken soup and purees, meatballs, crepe rolls or salads.

Is Chicken Good For Baby?

Poultry meat is a valuable food for a healthy infant development, it provides energy, digestible protein, B-group vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and copper. As a matter of fact, the introduction of meat as an early complementary food for exclusively breastfed infants was associated with improved zinc intake.

Additionally, for infants the protein intake from meats has an important role in regulating growth.

Of course all these benefits are dependent on protein quality, so make sure you feed your baby with organically grown animals.

Ways To Cook / Prepare Chicken For Babies Including Baby Led Weaning

When introducing chicken to baby, many parents choose to cook the meat in a stock. And this is probably the easiest, fastest method and it renders a juicer cooked meat when compared to roasting. Whether you use the chicken breast or the other parts (legs and thighs) with darker meat it makes an ideal choice when introducing the first meat into baby’s diet.

Poached Chicken

Heat some broth/stock, bring to a boil, and add the chopped chicken meat and cover with a lid. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes until is cooked through inside. The smaller the meat pieces the faster they will cook. You can also use water instead of stock, but you might need to add aromatic herbs and vegetables like, onion, garlic, celery, parsley and black pepper in order to flavor the chicken meat.

What’s the difference between boiled and poached chicken? Poached chicken is very gently simmered in liquid, just until cooked through. This cooking method yields moist and tender chicken meat. When aggressively boiled, the proteins from chicken contract and tighten squeezing out the moisture and you end up with hard rubbery meat.

Roasted Chicken

Preheat oven to 425°F | 220°C. Line a baking pan with parchment/baking paper, or use glass / ceramic baking pans. Place the chicken breasts (or other chicken parts, equal sizes) in the pan and toss with the desired seasonings and drizzle with olive or avocado oil (high heat resistant). Rub the seasonings all over to evenly coat. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes, or until internal temperature is 165°F (75°C) using a meat thermometer. To avoid crust forming, cover with foil while baking or keep the skin as a shield.

Crockpot Chicken

Here you can use larger pieces (and even the whole chicken). Add the chicken to the crockpot, cover with stock and set to low. You can also add some lemon juice and seasonings. Simmer for 4-6 hours. If using whole chicken cook for about 8 hours.

How To Introduce / Serve Chicken To A Baby

Chicken may be introduced to baby’s diet as soon as your baby is ready to start solids and served along with other foods. Meats are generally great for 6-7 month old babies, as they support the micronutrient levels necessary for adequate child development. And it’s a far more superior source of nutrients than any artificially fortified infant food.

Ways To Serve Chicken To Your Baby:

• Chicken Puree: It’s great as stage 1 baby food and easy to make. You can use the poached chicken method described above and then use the meat and a little bit of pre-made chicken stock (in which the chicken was cooked) and blend in a blender or food processor until you reach the desired consistency, slowly adding more stock if needed. Serve the chicken puree as it is or added into another puree. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for longer periods.

• Make Soft Chicken Meatballs with ground chicken – suitable for babies 6 months+, toddlers and baby led weaning method (BLW).

• Chicken Soup – serve as it is or puree it to a smoother consistency. This recipe is suitable for babies 6 months+, toddlers and older kids.

• Shredded/ cut/ cubed chicken meat – cook the chicken with a slow cooker, poached or roasted. Breast and thigh meat both work well and you can use either or a combination of both. Shred the chicken using two forks (or your hands) while it’s still warm. You can also slice or cube the meat according to baby’s age. 

• Chicken Salad – shredded cooked chicken, avocado, soft boiled egg and diced onion – suitable for babies 10-12 months and older.
• Chicken Cutlets – thinly slices chicken breast with a crisp, breaded exterior or egg covered exterior. These are suitable for older babies (as it requires frying) as finger food.

• Chicken crepe rolls – crepes filled with chicken and mushroom paste, baked or pan seared. This is a great lunch box option for kids and toddlers, as well as finger food for kids 9 months old and up.

Chicken Puree Combinations

• Apple sauce
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Peas
• Carrots
• Avocado
• Pears
• Cauliflower
• Butternut squash
• Pasta
• Rice

How To Cut / Prepare Chicken For Baby Led Weaning

Each baby develops at his own pace and it’s impossible to tell exactly when a child will learn a certain skill. There are many ways to cook and serve chicken as baby led weaning finger foods, here is approximate timeline that you can use as a guide:

• 6-8 months: serve larger size meat, 2-3 inch strips (your finger length size, 1-2” wide). A drumstick will also work, the bone works as a handle that your baby can hold onto and takes bites out of. Just make sure to remove the loose cartilage and skin. You can also serve ground chicken meatballs or patties at this age. They should be soft and easy to chew with gums.

• 8-10 months: at this age babies should be able to bite and tear food and also develop their pincer grasp (pick things up and feed themselves). So you can serve thinner slices (about the size of your pinky finger), shredded chicken and then progress to smaller cuts as cubes.
• 10-12 months and older: You can incorporate finely shred or ground chicken into meals (like chicken soup or chicken salad or mixed with other veggies in casseroles).

Chicken For Babies FAQ

More Meat & Chicken Recipes For Your Baby

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