Quick Meal Ideas for Infants and Toddlers

Tons of quick nutritious meal ideas for infants and toddlers including different methods and gadgets to help prepare food for the kids on the busiest days.

It is an exciting time when babies begin to venture into the world of solid foods. It can also feel a bit overwhelming as you add another task to your already lengthy list of parenting duties. We have discovered that a little bit of prep work can go a long way when it comes to baby food. Now we spend a few hours doing meal prep at the beginning of each week and have nutritious and easy to re-heat meals for Bibi for an entire week.

There are many benefits to preparing meals ahead of time: you control the ingredients and know they are fresh and nutritious, there is less stress getting baby’s food ready at mealtime and best of all bulk preparation will save you loads of time. Today I will share with you our favorite quick meal ideas for infants and toddlers. At our home we do a mixture of baby-led weaning (BLW) and spoon-feeding, so the following ideas will work for both of those methods.

Meal Prep for Baby with Freezer

Your freezer is an excellent tool to use when preparing baby food in large batches. Since babies eat relatively small amounts of food you will save time and effort if you cook more than one serving of fruits, vegetables, pasta or meat and then freeze into baby-sized portions.

Not only is freezing baby food convenient, but it can also help lock in important vitamins and nutrients. Freezing fruits and vegetables at their peak ripeness will help retain those important nutritional elements. Meats and pasta also retain their protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Frozen foods that you prepare for your baby can be quite healthy when done correctly, here are some scientifically backed tips.

We also love the versatility of cooking several different foods and freezing them. Sometimes we freeze all of the meal elements together (vegetable sauces + meat + pasta) to make super quick meals. You can also freeze them separately to create “mix and match” meals catered to baby. This is helpful when baby is going through a phase where they refuse to eat certain foods. You can simply substitute with a portion of different frozen food causing less waste. Mix and match meals are also helpful when you are focusing on giving baby certain nutrients or excluding or adding portions in certain categories.

Frozen Meal Ideas for Baby

Here are some of our favorite mix and match baby foods for quick meal prep. You can make quick, custom meals for baby by freezing these ingredients together in meal form or storing them in separate containers.

Ground Meats

Brown a whole batch of meat, drain the fat, and freeze flat in a freezer bag for quick meal prep for baby.
It is simple to take as much or as little as you need for the day’s meal by breaking off a frozen portion, and defrosting the part you need for baby’s meal.
Ground meat is easy to reheat by steaming or sauteing in a pan for a few minutes. Avoid using the microwave as small portions of meat tend to dry out.
For those who prefer a higher quality ground meat, choose your favorite cuts and ask the butcher to grind it for you.
Ground turkey, chicken, pork and beef all freeze equally well, so you can add a large variety of proteins to your baby’s menu.

Frozen Vegetables & Sauces

Pre-packaged frozen vegetables are very convenient and easy to prepare. Some of Bibi’s favorites are peas, corn, beans, and carrot mixes. This is a simple way to add variety and include different colors of vegetables in baby’s diet.
Corn is especially kid-friendly, it is sweet, perfectly sized for tiny fingers and fast to prepare. You can steam small frozen vegetables, or put them in a cup of warm water to defrost them.
Spinach is a nutrient power-house. Full of fiber as well as high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium, spinach a wonderful vegetable to store in your freezer for feeding baby. By itself, spinach might not be baby’s favorite taste, but it works well in smoothies and is also easy to steam and add to eggs for omelets. Omelets are one of our favorite meals for baby-led weaning. They are quick to prepare, full of protein, easy to chew and babies love them.
Another BLW favorite is frozen cubed squash. Squash is mildly flavored, very nutritious, and easy for baby to pick up and eat. They are also simple to prepare by steaming them for a few minutes.
Preparing and freezing vegetable-based sauces in individual packets or serving sizes is a huge time saver. Some babies have a difficult time breaking down fibrous foods. Vegetable-based sauces are a great way to make the veggies easier to eat. This recipe for a sweet tomato sauce packed with veggies can be easily frozen to individual serving sizes by using a baby food portion freezer tray like this one.

Toddler Meals that Freeze Wonderfully:

Pasta & Rice

Pasta CAN be cooked ahead of time and frozen. The trick is to cook the pasta just before the recommended al dente time, rinse the noodles and then store them in portion-sized containers or bags. Thaw frozen pasta in the microwave or defrost it by adding it directly into a heated sauce.
There are many nutritious pasta variations including pasta made from whole wheat, chickpeas, lentils and einkorn.
Pasta is ideal for BLW especially shapes like rotini and fusili.
Rice can also be made ahead of time and frozen. After cooking, put the container of cooled rice in the refrigerator overnight so the individual rice granules don’t clump. Then put the rice into your desired portion size and freeze. To reheat, put the rice in a covered bowl to retain moisture and microwave.

Meatballs

Babies love meatballs because they are delicious and naturally easy for them to hold for BLW.
Freeze pre-made meatballs and re-heat them for quick meals on the go.
Meatballs are also quite versatile. You can add veggies like carrots, zucchini and spinach to homemade meatball recipes. These “hidden” veggies make the meatballs nutritious, delicious and an excellent way for babies to get all of the food groups in one tasty food. Here is a Baby Led Weaning Meatball recipe you might like.

Fresh Quick Meal Ideas for Baby

You can also use fresh ingredients to prepare nutritious and quick meals for baby. We try to have these ingredients in our refrigerator for speedy meal assembly. The following are some of our favorites:

Eggs

We always have eggs on hand for a quick and healthy protein element.
You can cook hard-boiled eggs in advance for a snack or on-the-go protein.
Adding vegetables and cheese to eggs for omelettes is a quick and healthy meal for baby.

Cheeses & Yogurt

Cheese is naturally a kid favorite, but it is a good idea to limit cheese intake as some types have high salt content. Blue, Romano, Parmesan, Roquefort, American and feta cheeses are high in salt. Swiss and fresh mozzarella are good lower sodium options.
Cheese is a perfect fit for BLW as it is easy to hold and perfect to pull out for a snack. However, it can also be a choking hazard so be sure to keep a close eye on baby while they are eating it.
With a high amount of protein, cheese is great for meals or snacks as it helps keep kids satiated.
Avoid processed cheese as it is usually higher in sodium and less nutritious.
Also, avoid unpasteurized cheeses like brie or camembert as they may contain Listeria bacteria which is very harmful to young children and pregnant women.
Yogurt is a healthy and easy to eat food to include in baby’s diet.
Mix plain yogurt with fruit or fruit puree.
Greek yogurt will add more protein and help keep baby fuller for longer.

Tofu

Tofu is a vegetarian protein made from soybeans. It is very nutritious but may be hard for some babies to digest. Some doctors recommend waiting until baby is 8 months old before introducing it.
It is a wonderful alternate source of protein.
Cut firm tofu can be into cubes for BLW.

Beans

Beans are a great cook ahead food for baby. We prepare a batch, rinse and let cool. Dry with paper towels and then refrigerate or freeze in portion-sized containers.
Beans are high in fibre and B vitamins and add variety to baby’s food.
They are a vegetarian protein
Depending on the size, beans can be good for self-feeding. Mash up larger beans like Great Northern, Lima or Navy beans to make them less of a choking hazard yet still easy for baby to handle
Using an Instant Pot is a very efficient way to prepare a batch of beans ahead of time.

Fruits

Fresh fruits provide a variety of nutrients and are a very enjoyable part of a baby’s diet. They are a great source of fibre and nutrients that kids actually enjoy.
Some of Bibi’s favorites include blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, cut-up grapes, peaches, plums, pears, strawberries and avocados. It is fun to introduce baby to many different types of fresh fruits. They are also soft and a wonderful fit for BLW.

Vegetables

There are also fresh vegetables that are easy to include in quick meal prep for baby.

Cut up cherry tomatoes can be into smaller portions for a simple and juicy snack. You may need to try these a few times before the baby enjoys the taste.
Prepare and steam broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots and sweet potatoes ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator for a quick meal component.

Snacks

Snacks can help provide extra nutrition when baby is going through a growth spurt or when you are on the run. Some of our favorites include:
Peanut butter with vegetables or toast is nutritious and filling snack
Make whole wheat muffins in bulk and freeze them in individual bags. This no sugar added banana oat muffin is one of Bibi’s favorite foods. Grab a muffin for a quick and nutritious snack for baby when you are out and about.
Hummus is another snack option you can keep handy in your fridge. Baby will enjoy hummus with vegetables or spread onto toast or for toddlers used to eating harder foods, hummus on a homemade sourdough cranberry cracker.
Fruit/veggie smoothies are a delicious way to incorporate baby’s nutrients into a snack they will love. We love to include bananas, strawberries and spinach.
Spread a layer of freezer paper onto a cookie tray and drop spoonfuls of baby’s favorite flavor of yogurt to create a delicious snack. Once frozen, put the yogurt bites into a bag and pull one or two out for a sweet treat that is also soothing for babies that are teething. Make sure to make the bites tiny (think chocolate chip-sized) so they are not a choking hazard.
Frozen bananas or berries in a silicone pouch are another soothing snack for babies that are teething. Cut the bananas to size before placing them in freezer bags.

Other Quick Ways to Prepare a Meal

Sous Vide machines are a great way to cook a meal passively. In 1-2 hours, you can fully cook frozen fillets in a hot water bath. This method of cooking is convenient when you need to step out of the house with baby and want to come home to a hot meal. Another great thing about sous vide cooking is the reduced kitchen cleanup when cooking raw meat from frozen. Bonus: chicken breast fillets are delicious when cooked with a sous vide machine and are great for BLW. This is the sous vide unit we use at home. We pair it with a sous-vide safe/food-safe grade silicone bag to hold the food.
A steamer with a delay-timer is great for heating up baby food in advance. If you’re out at the park for an hour, you can load it with baby’s meal and then set it to warm up by itself. Once you get home, take it out to cool off, this will give you time to give baby/little ones a bath or prepare your own meal.
Use a Crock Pot to cook veggies, fruits, meats with sauces, or simple soup recipes ahead of time. You can pre-make several meals and freeze them in freezer bags. This makes it very simple to dump the bag into the slow cooker in the morning and enjoy a warm meal with very little work that night.
An Instant Pot is a huge time saver for quick meal prep for baby. We use ours to prepare beans, shredded meat, and veggies. You can even use it to make homemade yogurt! If you want to focus on spoon feeding, the IP can steam several different types of veggies in one batch by using individual ramekins. You can put the food into freezer bags for later use or in portion size containers in the fridge for a whole week’s worth of baby food. This is the Instant Pot model we use at home. We have the 8Q and love the big size for preparing bulk meals.

Feeding your baby and toddlers healthy and delicious foods can be done easily with a little bit of prep work and ingenuity. I hope this information about quick meal prep for babies and toddlers has given you plenty of great ideas to keep those little tummies full and happy.

XOXO,
Mimi

Quick Meal Ideas for Infants and Toddlers

Meal Prep for Baby with Freezer