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Sweet Potato Baby Led Weaning: Ways To Serve

If you’re planning to do baby led weaning with sweet potatoes, they make the perfect first solid baby food beginning with six months of age. The sweet 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. You can make a large variety of sweet potato baby food combinations and finger foods with different textures adjusted by age.

Sweet Potato For Baby Led Weaning

If making sweet potatoes for babies know that you can use any sweet potato such as red sweet potato, white sweet potato, purple sweet potato, Japanese sweet potato etc.

Just like baby led weaning with carrots or butternut squash, the sweet potato has a nice soft texture (when cooked) and is nutritionally dense with a good variety of minerals and vitamins – actually one of the best sources of vitamin A. Plus it’s rich in resistant starch and dietary fiber which helps in digestion.

Sweet potato for baby led weaning 6 months plus ways to cook and cut sweet potato for baby.
Ways to cook and serve sweet potatoes for babies.

How To Cook Sweet Potato For Baby Led Weaning

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

Peeling sweet potatoes on a board.

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

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How To Cut Sweet 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.

How to cut sweet potatoes for babies preparing for roasting or steaming.

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

Steaming Sweet Potato For BLW

Steaming is one of the best ways to prepare sweet 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.

Steaming sweet potatoes for baby food.

To steam you need to:

  1. Peel the sweet 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.
Cutting steamed sweet potato with crinkle cutter.

Baking / Roasting Sweet Potatoes For Babies

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

If you intend to serve with a spoon, mashed or make a sweet potato puree, then you can bake (or steam) sweet potato whole.

  1. Chop the sweet potatoes into desired size. I like to cut it in half before roasting. And then slice into smaller pieces after baking.
  2. Brush with oil (healthier oil to use is olive oil, avocado oil or grape seed oil).
  3. Spread on a parchment paper lined sheet pan (try not to use foil, aluminum when exposed to high heat can leach into food).
  4. Roast until soft, approximately 30-40 minutes. Then you can cut into desired shapes.
Steps to roasting sweet potatoes for baby led weaning.

Related: Sweet Potato Puree + Combinations | Babies (6 months+)

Also bear in mind that if you prepare the sweet potato as baby finger food, it should be cooked until tender but still firm enough to keep its integrity.

Boiling Sweet Potatoes For Baby

Boiling sweet potatoes usually is the least preferred method if you need just plain soft sweet 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.

Sweet Potato Finger Food Recipes For Baby

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

sweet potato for babies 6 months plus baby led weaning.

Sweet Potato Baby Led Weaning: Ways To Serve

ThrivingNest
Serve sweet potato as first solid baby food beginning wit six months of age. Cook by steaming, roasting or boiling, mashed or pureed, cut into strips or cubes – perfect for baby led weaning.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Baby Food
Servings 4
Calories 25.7 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 sweet potato (medium size, peeled)
  • 1-2 cups water (if steaming)
  • 1 tsp oil (if roasting)
  • dash of salt (for babies older than 12 months)

Instructions
 

Cut Sweet 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 cubes, strips, sticks or small sized half moon shapes, mashed with a fork or spiralized.

Steaming Sweet Potato For BLW

  • Bring 1 inch of water to boil in a saucepan fitted with a steamer basket and cover with a lid.
  • Steam on medium-low heat for approximately 15-20 minutes 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.
    Note: it should be cooked until tender but still firm enough to keep its integrity.
    steaming sweet potatoes for baby.

Roasting/ Baking Sweet Potato For BLW

  • Chop the sweet potatoes into desired size. I like to cut it in half before roasting. And then chop into smaller pieces after baking.
  • Brush with oil (healthier oil to use is olive oil, avocado oil or grape seed oil).
  • Spread on a parchment paper lined sheet pan (try not to use foil, aluminum when exposed to high heat can leach into food).
  • Roast until soft, approximately 30-40 minutes. Then you can cut into desired shapes. If I want soft sweet potatoes, bake at 380F, to get a caramelized, golden brown crust: 410-425F.

Boiling Sweet Potatoes For BLW

  • This method is best when you make soups and purees as you would keep the water with all the leached nutrients.
    Boiling sweet potatoes usually is the least preferred method if you need just plain soft sweet potato pieces. The most nutrients will leach into the boiling water that you will likely discard.
  • How To: Cut the sweet potatoes into small/medium cubes or sticks and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer (covered with a lid) until soft when pierced with a fork.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cooked potatoCalories: 25.7kcalCarbohydrates: 5.9gProtein: 0.6gSodium: 10.3mgPotassium: 135.4mgFiber: 0.9gSugar: 1.8gVitamin A: 34.2IUVitamin C: 6.8mgCalcium: 0.9mgIron: 1.7mg
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One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    As a busy mom of two with my youngest just turning 12 months old I’m looking for quick things I can give my baby that’s still ok to feed her because I don’t have time to make everything from scratch. Like are store bought sweet potato fries oven baked ok?

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