What Age Can My Baby Have Cottage Cheese

Make snack time easier with this Master List of Baby Snacks. You'll find the best easy and healthy finger foods for babies and one year olds that are simple to prepare and serve—and also super yummy!

Baby Snacks

Once your sweet baby has started solids, generally has the hang of things, and you're ready to add in some snacks…it can be hard to know what to offer. And this post is here to help! You will find easy baby snacks organized by food group, the best homemade recipes to try, and tips for serving food to this age group to ensure they are yummy and easy to eat.

TIP: Depending on the baby, how much they are nursing or drinking from bottles, and the schedule of your day, you may or may not have time to add in snacks. You can start them around 9 months or at 12 months—whatever works best for your family and the appetite of your child.

Snacks for 9 Month Old Babies

At about 9 months, babies develop the pincer grasp, or the ability to pick up small (think the size of a pea) pieces of food. This usually opens up a whole wide range of foods that babies can feed themselves—and that is primarily the types of foods you'll find in this post, along with some pureed options to round things out.

TIP: Find my Master List of Early Finger Foods to refresh your memory on all of the many food options you can serve at any meal to babies starting at age 9 ish months.

Sugar-Free Banana Muffin with Raspberries

Snacks for One Year Olds

Many one year olds from ages 12 months through 16-18 months are in this same category of eating small pieces of finger foods, so any of these foods are appropriate for them too. (Actually, they are of course appropriate for any age, though kids past that 18 month mark are more able to take bites from larger pieces of food.)

TIP: Find my One Year Old Feeding Schedule here.

Cheerios with Carrot Puree Pouch

Baby Snacks: Fruits and Veggies

These produce-based snacks are great options to have in the mix. I like to pair them with another food group if possible (though baby won't always eat perfectly balanced snacks and that's okay!).

• Baby Food Pouches
• Mashed roasted sweet potato, broken up into small pieces
• Warmed frozen peas
• Roasted Zucchini, diced small
• Diced Roasted Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash
• Fresh blueberries, cut in half or quarters
• Fresh raspberries, broken into small pieces
• Frozen fruit, warmed and fully thawed and chopped (such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or mango)
• Freeze-dried fruit (it dissolves very fast)
• Banana, broken into small segments (they are less slippery this way versus slicing them)
• Avocado, diced and mashed slightly (be sure it's ripe and very soft)

Baby peanut puffs with halved blueberries

Carbohydrate Snacks for Baby

Babies (and kids!) need carbohydrates in their diets, and we need to serve them often. Look for whole grains when possible to incorporate fiber and B vitamins. Combine with produce or protein at snack time.

• Spinach pancakes diced (these are great to freeze and pull out of the freezer to warm one at a time)
• Baby Puffs
• Peanut Butter Puffs
• Baby Banana Muffin
• O cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
• Chex cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
• Diced whole grain bread with applesauce or any fruit puree, or mashed avocado
• Baked Oatmeal, diced
• Leftover pasta, rice, or oatmeal
• Sweet Potato Teething Biscuits

Quartered grapes with shredded cheese

Protein Snacks for Baby

Incorporating protein and healthy fats into baby's food is a great way to help them find their food filling and satisfying until the next eating opportunity. Look for full fat dairy to ensure baby gets the fats they need for brain development and combine with another food group at snack time.

• Shredded cheese (thicker cuts are a little easier to pick up, mozzarella tends to be softest)
• Crumbled goat cheese
• Tofu, diced and sauteed lightly or steamed
• Lightly mashed or diced meatballs
• Shredded chicken, cut up finely (we love this Butter Chicken to share with baby)
• Ground beef, turkey, or chicken, cooked and broken into smaller pieces
• Lightly mashed beans
• Warmed frozen peas
• Scrambled eggs, broken up into small pieces
• Diced egg muffins
• Yogurt (plain whole milk)
• Homemade Yogurt Melts
• Cottage cheese
• Simple smoothie (made with plain nondairy milk or yogurt)

Snacks to Serve Baby in a Pouch

Reusable pouches are super handy for babies and one year olds (and older toddlers too!). We love the 3.5 ounce Squeasy Gear silicone pouch since it's virtually spill-proof. I started using it around 7 months with my kids to offer foods including yogurt, simple smoothies, warm (not hot) pureed soups, overnight oats, and all sorts of Homemade Baby Food Pouches.

The Wee Sprout BPA-free pouches are also great and are very easy to wash.

Peas and scrambled eggs

What's the right portion for my baby?

There's no "right" portion size, so my advice is to start with a very small amount to avoid food waste and offer more according to baby's hunger—which may be more or less than you expect. Follow their lead as they are very in tune with their own hunger and fullness cues.

When should I feed baby snacks?

Typically, babies eat every 2-3 hours, so you will want to work the meals in between nursing or bottle sessions and naps. This can be hard to do until baby is closer to the 12 month mark, just logistically speaking, so don't feel like you must do snacks if you can't find the time and baby is getting plenty of calories from milk feedings and other meals.

What are the best foods for snacks?

I like to think of snacks as mini meals and serve all sorts of foods. This can help ensure that the littles are being introduced to all sorts of foods throughout the day and makes it easier to use up leftovers!

Best Store Bought Snacks for Littles

In addition to the single ingredient foods you can buy at the store, these packaged snacks are convenient ones to have on hand for snack time.

• 12-Grain Mini Round Crackers from Trader Joes (these are softer than most other crackers)
• Amara Organic Smoothie Melts
• Baby food pouches
• Baby Yogurt (without added sugars)
• Baby Puffs
• Chex cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)
• Diced whole grain bread with applesauce or any fruit puree, or mashed avocado
• Freeze-dried fruit
• Peanut Butter Puffs
• O cereal (soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed)

TIP: The Amara Smoothie Melts are a brand new snack option. They're made with fruits and veggies and have a melt-in-the-mouth texture. My kids love them! (sponsored link)

Best Recipes for Healthy Baby Snacks

If you want to make some snacks at home that are a little more than just single ingredient foods, here are my top picks.

• Apple Puree
• Applesauce Overnight Oats
• Apple Yogurt
• Baby Food Combinations (any of these work!)
• Baked Oatmeal Bites
• Banana Yogurt
• Egg Muffins with Veggies
• Mango Smoothie
• Peanut Butter Puree
• Pear Puree
• 60-Second Scrambled Egg
• Simple Green Smoothie (use nondairy plain milk)
• Soft-Baked Granola Bars (closer to 12 months)
• Spinach Banana Pancake
• Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
• Sweet Potato Yogurt (with plain yogurt)

TIP: My favorite storage containers for kids snacks include the WeeSprout glass containers (shown below on the left with the colorful lids), the Beaba Clip Containers, and the Wean Green Storage Cubes.

Best Tips for Baby Snacks

• Aim to offer 2 foods (or more) from different food groups at each snack so baby has the opportunity to have a mix of nutrients.
• Aim for at least one of the foods to have fat and/or protein to help baby feel satisfied.
• If a food seems too slippery for baby to pick up or they're otherwise having trouble, put the food onto a utensil, cut it differently, or otherwise help them eat the food.
• Try to avoid serving meals or snacks when baby is tired or is specifically hungry for their milk feedings—it takes them a while to connect solid food as a way to satisfy hunger, so be patient with that process of learning.
• Start with small portions to avoid food waste and offer more according to baby's unique hunger.
• It can take kids time to learn to like a wide range of foods, so offer a range of foods throughout the week—and offer foods they didn't eat (making sure it's easy to eat and tastes good) so they have the chance to learn to like them.
• Keep meals free from pressure and fun without forcing baby to eat a certain amount of food.
• Sit with baby as you can and model eating so they have someone to copy—they are new to this and the more information they have (visual, verbal, etc), the better they can learn!

If you have any questions about feeding your baby or one year old, or any of these food suggestions, comment below and I will do my best to help!

Master List of Baby Snacks

Aim to include 2 foods from different groups below (or more) at snack time most of the time so baby has a mix of nutrients on offer. (If the food you're offering is something that already has more than one ingredient in it, like a pancake or a smoothie, you don't have to offer additional—the goal is simply exposure to a range of nutrients over the course of the day.) Nutrition info will vary.

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 0 mins

Total Time 5 mins

Course Baby Food

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Calories 85 kcal

Fruit and Veggie Snacks (start with 1-2 tbsp and offer more according to hunger)

• 1-2 tbsp Avocado diced and mashed slightly (be sure it's ripe and very soft)
• 1-2 tbsp Banana broken into small segments (they are less slippery this way versus slicing them)
• 1-3 ounces Baby Food Pouches
• 1-2 tbsp Blueberries cut in half or quarters
• 1 Clementine chopped into small pieces
• 1-2 tbsp Mango chopped into small pieces
• 1-2 tbsp Mashed roasted sweet potato broken up into small pieces
• 1-2 tbsp Peas
• 1-2 tbsp Raspberries broken into small pieces
• 1-2 tbsp Roasted Zucchini diced small
• 1-2 tbsp Roasted Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash diced

Carbohydrates (start with 1-2 tablespoons and offer more following baby's lead)

• 1 Baby Banana Muffin
• 1-2 tbsp Baby Puffs
• 1-2 tbsp Baked Oatmeal diced
• 1-2 tbsp Chex cereal soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed
• 1-2 tbsp Leftover pasta rice, or oatmeal
• 1-2 tbsp O cereal soften in nondairy unsweetened milk or yogurt as needed
• 1-2 tbsp Peanut Butter Puffs
• 1 Spinach pancakes diced these are great to freeze and pull out of the freezer to warm one at a time
• 1/4 slice Whole grain bread diced with applesauce or any fruit puree, or mashed avocado

Protein Snacks (start with 1-2 tablespoons and offer more following baby's lead)

• 1-2 tbsp Beans lightly mashed
• 1-2 tbsp Cheese shredded (thicker cuts are a little easier to pick up, mozzarella tends to be softest)
• 1-2 tbsp Cottage cheese
• 1 Egg muffins diced
• 1-2 tbsp Goat cheese crumbled
• 1-2 tbsp Ground beef turkey, or chicken, cooked and broken into smaller pieces
• 1-2 tbsp Hummus
• 1 Meatball lightly mashed or diced
• 1-2 tbsp Peas
• 1 Scrambled eggs broken up into small pieces
• 1-3 ounces Simple smoothie made with plain nondairy milk or yogurt
• 1-2 tbsp Shredded chicken cut up finely (we love this Butter Chicken to share with baby)
• 1-2 tbsp Tofu diced and sauteed lightly or steamed
• 1-2 tbsp Yogurt plain whole milk

• Choose 2 single ingredient foods (or more) or 1 food that is made from a mix of foods (like a pancake or egg muffin).

• Cut up into small pieces or mash lightly.

• Serve to baby, offering preloaded spoons as needed to help them eat. (It's okay if baby gets messy as they learn to eat, that's part of the process!)

• Start with a small portion and serve more according to baby's hunger—it's okay if they eat more or less than you expect!

• Offer water with snacks (and meals).

• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

• Aim to offer 2 foods (or more) for each snack so baby has the opportunity to have a mix of nutrients.
• Aim for at least one of the foods to have fat and/or protein to help baby feel satisfied.
• If a food seems too slippery for baby to pick up or they're otherwise having trouble, put the food onto a utensil, cut it differently, or otherwise help them eat the food.
• Try to avoid serving meals or snacks when baby is tired or is specifically hungry for their milk feedings—it takes them a while to connect solid food as a way to satisfy hunger, so be patient with that process of learning.
• It can take kids time to learn to like a wide range of foods, so offer a range of foods throughout the week—and offer foods they didn't eat (making sure it's easy to eat and tastes good) so they have the chance to learn to like them.
• Keep meals free from pressure and fun without forcing baby to eat a certain amount of food.
• Sit with baby as you can and model eating so they have someone to copy—they are new to this and the more information they have (visual, verbal, etc), the better they can learn!

Calories: 85 kcal Carbohydrates: 2 g Protein: 4 g Fat: 7 g Saturated Fat: 3 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 16 mg Sodium: 94 mg Potassium: 90 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 1 g Vitamin A: 173 IU Vitamin C: 2 mg Calcium: 110 mg Iron: 1 mg

Keyword baby snacks, one year old snacks

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Filder Under:Baby Food, Recipes, Snacks, Starting Solids

What Age Can My Baby Have Cottage Cheese

Source: https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/baby-snacks/

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