Introduction
This resource provides recipe ideas for your 9 to 12 month old baby and the rest of your family.
Steps You Can Take
- Offer your baby up to three meals a day with one to two snacks, depending on their appetite.
- Continue to offer new foods and flavours to your baby.
- Give your baby foods with a variety of textures, including chopped, ground, mashed, soft foods and finger foods like toast and crackers or soft ripe fruit.
- Whenever possible, eat with your child. She learns to eat by watching you. Never leave a child who is eating unattended.
- By 12 months, most babies can eat many foods made for family meals, so you should not need to cook special foods for your child. You can try the recipes here for your whole family.
- Choose recipes that include foods from Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide.
Recipes You Can Try
Meat and Vegetable Stew | ||
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1 cup 1 ½ lb 1 2 2 ½ |
water can (14 oz/450 mL) can diced tomatoes stewing meat (beef, lamb), minced or ground potato carrots stalks celery small onion |
250 mL 1 225 g 1 2 2 ½ |
Combine water, tomatoes and meat in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, wash, peel and cube vegetables. Add to meat mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. |
Pasta with Vegetables and Cheese Sauce | ||
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1 ½ cups 1 Tbsp 1 cup 1 Tbsp 4 cups 1 ½ cups |
cheddar cheese, grated, firmly packed butter or margarine whole milk flour washed broccoli florets and/or cauliflower florets uncooked pasta |
375 mL 15 mL 250 mL 15 mL 1 L 375 mL |
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Cut broccoli and cauliflower into small pieces and steam over boiling water until soft, but not wilted, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in saucepan, melt butter or margarine. Add flour and stir until combined. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Stir so that lumps disappear and sauce is creamy. Add cheese and stir until melted and sauce thickens. Add cooked pasta and vegetables. Stir until combined. |
Dal (Lentil Stew) | ||
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1½ cups ½ cup 1 cup 2 ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ½ tsp 2 tsp 1 cup |
water dried red lentils, rinsed chopped onion cloves garlic, small, minced turmeric (optional) ground cumin (optional) ground ginger (optional) oil cooked rice |
375 mL 125 mL 250 mL 2 1 mL 1 mL 2 mL 10 mL 250 mL |
In medium saucepan, combine water, lentils, ½ cup onion, 1 clove garlic and spices (if using). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add remaining onion and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add sautéed onion and garlic to lentil mixture in saucepan and stir. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve dal mixed with cooked rice. |
Risotto | ||
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2 Tbsp ½ lb ½ 1 1 ½ 1 2 ½ cups 1 cup 1 cup |
oil ground chicken (optional) onion, diced small carrot, peeled and grated small zucchini, diced red pepper, seeded and diced stalk celery, diced homemade chicken stock (no salt) rice, rinsed grated parmesan cheese |
30 mL 225 g ½ 1 1 ½ 1 625 mL 250 mL 250 mL |
Heat 15 mL (1 Tbsp) oil in a large saucepan. Add chicken (if using) and cook thoroughly. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add remaining oil and onion. Stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetables. Stir and cook another 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add stock and rice to vegetables. Stir. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. When rice is cooked, add cheese and stir until melted. |
Keeping Food For Later
- Once you've prepared any recipe, you can store it in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.
- If there is more food than your baby can eat in 1 to 2 days, you can freeze any food in small portions. Freeze the food in an ice cube tray. Store food cubes in a freezer bag or container. Label the bag or container with the name of the food and the date and use within 3 months.
Additional Resources
- Baby's First Foods - HealthLink BC File #69c
- Helping Your 1 to 3 Year Old Child Eat Well - HealthLink BC File #69d
- Meal and Snack Ideas for Your 1 to 3 Year Old Child - HealthLink BC File #69e
Dietitian Services Fact Sheets available by mail (call 8-1-1) or online:
- Finger Foods for Babies 6 - 12 months
- Recipes for Your Baby 6 - 9 Months Old
- Feeding Your Baby: Sample Meals for Babies 6 to 12 Months of Age
Last updated: August 2014