Best Healthy Baby Snacks

6 month old baby snacks

At 6 months old a baby is just starting to explore and learn how to eat solid foods. At 6 months old the main nutrition is still breastmilk/formula and they will start having one or two solid meals a day. There is no need for snacks and any time you would want to give a snack, you would still be giving the baby formula/breastmilk.

If you are worried whether your infant is eating enough you can check by reading the Meal Plan for 6 month old baby or the 7 Month old baby food or 8 month old baby food chart.

Snacks for 1 year old

At 12 months old your baby will most likely be served 3 solid meals and 2 snacks per day. These snacks can still be breastmilk or full-fat dairy products plus they can be an additional wide array of easy healthy snacks.

The softness of food will depend on your baby but most babies can manage harder foods.

Click here to print the baby-meal planner for free.

Homemade baby snacks

Homemade baby snacks are great because you know exactly what what goes in them and make sure they don't have any nasty preservatives, colorings and such. The majority of these can be frozen so you can make a big batch and thaw as needed.

All of these are refined sugar-free, sweetened just with fruit finger foods.

• Boiled egg with cucumber spears
• Nut butter or seed butter on bread or pancakes
• Healthy Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies - 3 ingredients - banana, applesauce and oats
• Banana Spinach Pancakes - don't taste like spinach
• Zucchini Cake - easy, filling and delicious
• 10 min no bake energy bites - one of our most shared recipe
• Spinach Cornbread muffins - wholewheat flour, olive oil , yogurt, spinach and cheese - filling and nutrient-dense
• Apple Pancakes
• Baked Spinach and Ricotta Fritters
• Smoothies such as Mango Pineapple Smoothie or Incredible Apple Banana Smoothie

Baby-led weaning snacks

Once baby has developed pincer grasp you can still continue to offer bigger chunks or food as you did at the start of baby-led weaning, or cut them up into small pieces (as long as they are soft).

• Baked apples with cinnamon
• Mashed avocado with flaxseeds on wholemeal bread
• Think nut or seed butter on soft bread
• Half a banana and yogurt
• Grated or slivered cheese with crackers and cucumber spears
• Quartered tomato and pitta with hummus
• Toast with cream cheese or nut butter and fruit
• Freeze dried fruit
• Kale chips - wash and dry kale leaves and place in oven on a single layer at 275 °F/ 135 °C
• Sweet Potato Pancakes
• Mini Zucchini Pizza Bites
• Easy Cheese and Egg Quesadilla
• Homemade Vegan Nutella with Dates on wholewheat bread or crackers
• Cheesey Broccoli Bites
• Smoothies

Teething snacks for babies

Teething can be very painful for babies and you will see them want to put anything they can find in their mouth. My biggest win was a pacifier that I took out of the freezer and baby could suck on. But if you want some teething snack options here are a few that would work for a teething baby

• soft, cold foods that baby can suck on like blueberry yogurt popsicles, mango popsicles and smoothies
• frozen fruit in mesh feeders
• cold applesauce
• cold yogurt
• teething biscuits

Dairy-free baby snacks

If your baby has a dairy allergy, or you just prefer to offer dairy-free food to your baby then here are some snacks that may work. However, keep in mind that if you are not nursing and offering dairy-free snacks you need to make sure your child is still getting enough calcium in their diet.

• Boiled eggs with cucumber spears
• Crackers and peanut butter or seed butter
• Hazelnut butter on toast
• 10 min no bake energy balls
• 3 ingredient oat banana pancakes
• Smashed avocado on wholewheat bread
• Half a banana and coconut yogurt
• Fruit and nut butter on corn cakes
• Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy bedtime / evening snacks for babies

Usually at such an early age the baby still gets breastmilk/formula (or full-fat milk if over 1 year old) in the evening before bedtime. However if you find that your baby needs more food best is to offer high calorie dense foods, high in carbohydrates and fats such as:

• Nut butter or seed butter on toast
• Hummus on wholewheat crackers
• Banana with full fat yogurt
• Blueberry Pancakes
• Chia pudding
• Apple Banana Oatmeal
• Healthy French Toast
• High calorie smoothie such as this Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Best store-bought snacks for babies

I try my best to offer fruit, veg or homemade snacks when I can but it is not always possible.

When buying processed snacks I want to make sure they are the healthiest they can be, with no or minimal sugar, no artificial ingredients, nasty preservatives and what not.

So here is my well researched list of snacks I would give to my baby (if you have recommendations please list in the comments below so I can add them to the list, thanks).

• Triscuit Crackers Original Flavour (other flavors have sugar and more processed ingredients)
• Made Good Crackers - made from cassava and oat flour
• Trader joes freeze-dried strawberries
• Bare Chips - Apple chips and Banana chips
• Larabars - Peanut Butter Cookie, Cashew Cookie, and Pecan Pie are our favorites as they are made from just dates and nuts
• Yogurt with no added sugar like this one (any flavored yogurt usually has sugar added)
• Canned chickpeas with no added salt; mix with some cumin and olive oil; smash them and serve
• Dried seaweed

Organic Snacks for babies

Yogurt snacks for babies

Most yogurts have added sugar, so in order to be sure you are getting the least processed kind of yogurt you can just buy plain yogurt. If you want to make it flavored you can add some homemade strawberry puree. Best options include:

• Siggi's plain yogurt
• Homemade flavored yogurts such as Banana Yogurt, Mango Yogurt or Vanilla Yogurt
• Drinkable yogurt (only found this nonfat verision but if most things you give to your baby are full fat then this high protein, high carb yogurt will still be good for them)
• Yogurt melts
• Yogurt berry healthy kids snack
• Frozen blueberry yogurt popsicle

Read more here on how to choose the best yogurt for your baby and toddler.

Tips

• between age 9 - 12 months offer 3 meals per day + 1-2 snacks
• serve meals/snacks at roughly the same time each day so baby has a predictable day; it will be easier for both you and the baby as you will know why they are getting moody
• food should still be mashable between your thumb and forefinger and cut into tiny pieces
• offer fruit if main meal is soon
• aim to have a snack 1.5-2 hours before main meal so the child comes to the main meal hungry and eats a proper meal
• if baby needs bedtime snack offer either breastmilk/formula or a heavier fat and carbohydrate snack such as peanut butter toast in order to keep them full (if not homemade, make sure store-bought peanut butter is 100% peanut butter with no added ingredients such as salt or palm oil)
• keep meals pressure free and avoid forcing baby to eat a certain amount or certain food
• always offer at least 1 food you know they will like
• the more you offer different foods the more likely the baby will develop a varied healthy diet
• sit with baby and model so they can learn how to use utensils, cups and eat in general
• teach them signs for "more", "water" and "all done" as it will be easier to understand them
• baby's appetite will vary from day to day so if they eat nothing one day and loads on the other this is completely normal
• beware of store-bought snacks as most are high in sugar, salt and artificial ingredients - always check ingredient list
• avoid honey, fruit juices, smoked and cured meats, unpasteurized products, low fat milk or dairy products
• avoid child eating while crawling, walking, running or sitting in a moving car as these pose choking hazards and are also not the best way to introduce healthy eating habits

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