Easy recipe on how to make the best blw broccoli (which is a superfood) for your baby - including images on how to serve for 6-9 month old, 9-12 month old and older.
Broccoli for baby
Broccoli is a perfect first food to start your baby with. It is a nutritional powerhouse and a great food to use to expose your baby to cruciferous vegetables.
You can really make it taste delicious, as hard as it may seem. Later on I have also added some broccoli recipes that your baby and the whole family will love.
A baby can eat broccoli as soon as they start to eat solid foods - which is when they are about 6 months old.
Health Benefits
Broccoli is a great veggie to include into your own and your child's diet because it is abundant in a whole variety of different nutrients. Because it is high in fiber it can help the digestive tract to do its magic and avoid any digestive issues.
Broccoli is also high in vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and potassium as well as nutrients that act as antioxidants and can help fight certain types of cancer.
How to prepare broccoli for baby-led weaning?
There are 2 methods of preparing broccoli for baby-led weaning - steaming or cooking. Steaming retains the most nutrients while boiling retains the least. We advise you steam the broccoli florets with the method below.
Steaming method of cooking broccoli
1. Wash broccoli and cut the broccoli florets so that there is enough of a stem on each floret that the baby can hold onto it.
2. Place water in a pot, add steamer basket with broccoli in it and bring to boil.
3. Cook for about 6 minutes. The broccoli is done when it is easily pierce-able with a fork.
4. Optional seasoning - If you want to season it, place it in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil (a or little butter), lemon juice and garlic powder.
5. Optional roasting - to make it even more delicious place them on a baking sheet and in the oven at 400°F/ 200°C for 15-20 minutes so they absorb all the flavors and become delicious. Make sure they are still squish-able between your fingers.
To make broccoli puree
1. Follow the same steps to steam the broccoli.
2. Place the broccoli florets in a food processor and process until you have a smooth puree. You most likely wont need any additional water because the broccoli will be moist but in case you do add it teaspoon by tsp.
3. Store in airtight container up to 3 days or in the freezer in ice cube trays.
How to serve broccoli for 6 month old baby
For 6-8 month old baby you can either do broccoli puree or baby-led weaning.
- Broccoli puree
- place on a preloaded spoon and let your baby bring the spoon to the mouth by themselves. It will be frustrating in the beginning with all the mess but with more practice the baby will develop their gross motor skills.
- Baby-led weaning
- steamed larger broccoli florets that the baby can hold by the stem. Soft enough that you can squish them between your fingers
- use broccoli in a variety of foods that are suitable for baby-led weaning (see recipes below)
9-12 months old baby
At the stage your baby should be developing their pincer grasp.
- cut u into tiny pieces and then folded into quinoa, pasta, rice
- cut into bite-sized pieces (for example quarter the broccoli floret you would serve for blw at 6 months)
- same as you would for 6 month old baby-led weaning
12 months +
- same as for 9-12 month old
Storage
- broccoli puree can be stored in fridge up to 3 days and in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw in fridge overnight and reheat on the stove if necessary
- cooked broccoli florets can be stored in fridge up to 3 days and in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat in oven with a drizzle of olive oil
FAQ
Broccoli is a great baby food for as soon as baby can start to eat solid foods. It is easy to prepare, can be added to a variety of recipes and is a nutrient powerhouse.
Coat them in olive oil, chopped garlic clove, lemon juice, a little butter, nutritional yeast or peanut sauce. Always make sure it is soft enough so that you can squish it between your fingers. Then you know it is soft enough for baby.
Broccoli is great for baby, kids and adults and whatever meal you make for baby you can also make for yourself. You can serve the broccoli with fish, shrimp for baby, chicken and then sweet potato, potato, quinoa, bulgur wheat, rice, zucchini.
Broccoli Recipes for Baby-led weaning
Here are some of our easy recipes that feature broccoli that you can make for your baby-led weaning baby.
More baby recipes
- Easy Cheese Quesadilla
- How to serve eggs for baby-led weaning
- How To Prepare Avocado For Baby (BLW, puree, mashed)
- When and how can babies eat shrimp?
If you've tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then please rate it and leave us a comment below!
Best Broccoli for Baby-led Weaning
Ingredients
- 1 whole broccoli
Optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Baby-led Weaning Broccoli
- Wash broccoli and cut the broccoli florets so that there is enough of a stem on each floret that the baby can hold onto it.
- Place water in a pot, add steamer basket with broccoli in it and bring to boil.
- Cook for about 6 minutes. The broccoli is done when it is easily pierce-able with a fork.
- Optional seasoning - If you want to season it, place it in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil (a or little butter), lemon juice and garlic powder.
- Optional - to make it even more delicious place them on a baking sheet and in the oven at 400°F/ 200°C for 15-20 minutes so they absorb all the flavors and become delicious. Make sure they are still squish-able between your finger
Broccoli Puree
- Follow the same steps to steam the broccoli.
- Place the broccoli florets in a food processor and process until you have a smooth puree. You most likely wont need any additional water because the broccoli will be moist but in case you do add it teaspoon by tsp.
- Store in airtight container up to 3 days or in the freezer in ice cube trays.
Notes
- for information on how to serve broccoli to baby see the post above with detailed explanations and images
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