20 Stage 3 Baby Food Recipes

Let’s talk about stage 3 baby food! What is it? How do you make it? When can your baby have it?

Plus I’m sharing my top 20 best stage 3 baby food recipes for 9-12 month olds!

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Stage 3 Baby Food

After reading reports of toxic heavy metals in store bought baby food I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster of a ride searching for the best foods to feed my baby.

I tried out a baby food delivery service and you can read about that disaster here. After that failed me I learned how to make stage 3 baby food because I felt that was the safest and most healthy option for our Hailee.

Before I share these recipes for stage 3 baby food let’s go over a few frequently asked questions about making your own baby food.

What is stage 3 baby food?

Stage 3 baby food is thicker puréed food with small soft chunks that are easy for baby to chew.

Stage 3 purées allow baby to safely explore new textures from the same foods they’ve been enjoying. These new soft chunks will helped further develop babies chewing skills to get them ready for finger foods.

These thicker mashed foods with a lot of texture also pack a blend of flavors due to their multi ingredient recipes.

What ages is stage 3 baby food for?

You’re probably wondering, when can I give my baby stage 3 foods? When is it safe for baby to start chewing soft chunks of food?

As always consult with your pediatrician and ask if your baby is ready for stage 3 baby foods first. This is usually between 9-12 months of age and around the time baby is able to crawl with their belly off the floor.

What is the difference between stage 2 & stage 3 baby food?

Stage 2 baby food is a little thicker than stage one. It also has two ingredients as opposed to one.

Stage 3 baby food is different because it’s even thicker than stage two and it has the small soft chunks. Stage 3 baby food also can have more than two ingredients to introduce your baby to a variety of different blends of flavor.

How to make stage 3 baby food?

Don’t know how to make stage 3 baby food? It’s actually very simple and similar to the first two stages.

Simply steam fruits and vegetables until they are very soft. Then put them in a blender until the consistency is thick and chunky. You can also add cooked grains like quinoa, amaranth, rice etc.

I used a steamer and my Cuisinart to make my stage 3 baby food. But there are baby food makers out there that can make things a little easier and faster.

20 Stage 3 Baby Food Recipes For 9-12 Months

You may notice that I didn’t include measurements for these recipes. This was my first time making homemade baby food and it was a trial and error process for me.

I added ingredients until I got the consistency I was looking for. I did list the ingredients in order of most to least. Definitely go very light on the spices.