The ultimate list of 106 Baby Finger Food Recipes. Weaning your baby is a major milestone for both Mom and baby. Baby is entering the world of real food, and Mom is slowly backing off as her sole food provider!! Weaning in most places follows nearly the same pattern – starting with smooth purees, to textured mashes and then on to finger foods as baby’s fine motor skills improve and she masters the pincer grasp.
Although I followed the traditional weaning pattern for my daughter as well, we started off on baby finger foods fairly early – right at 6 months! During this process, I collected a long list of finger foods for babies and toddlers which I’ve decided to share with you, my lovely readers! If you’ve been a longtime reader of this blog, you probably know that I’ve shared a list of 50 Fruit and Vegetable Finger Food Recipes earlier. The list below is going to be a master list of Baby Finger Food, including those recipes as well as some new ones.
If you and your baby are beginners in weaning, you can read our guide on How to start finger foods for Babies? to get started.
If you are practicing baby led weaning, then you can start off with the baby finger food recipes listed here as early as 6 months.
106 Baby Finger Foods
Finger Food Ideas for Beginners
When your baby is beginning solids for the first time, his aim won’t be too accurate since his muscles aren’t fully developed. So, longer pieces of food offer him a better grip than short ones. To begin with, an approximate length of 2 inches will work perfectly for your baby to hold and gnaw upon, and you can adjust the length according to how your baby manages to eat. The list of baby finger food recipes 6 months below are the very first finger foods to introduce to your baby, after which you can move on to more complex recipes.
Steamed Vegetables
- Carrot
- Pumpkin
- Parsnip
- Sweet Potato
- Potato
- Zucchini
- Florets of cauliflower or Brocolli
Mildly Roasted Vegetables
Cut the vegetables into thin long pieces and roast them slightly in a wok with ghee or butter. You can also sprinkle a few spices like cumin for more flavor. Ideal as baby finger foods 7 months.
- Carrot
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Pumpkin
- Parsnip
- Potato
Baked Vegetables
Wash, peel and cut the vegetable of your choice into thick sticks and drizzle a few drops of oil (vegetable or coconut). Season with spices of your choice.Cook in a preheated oven for at least 20 minutes on each side, turning the sticks midway during cooking. The seasoning can be any one or a combination of pepper, cumin and cinnamon. These baked vegetables make ideal baby finger food recipes 8 months
Vegetables that can be baked are:
- Potato
- Carrot
- Beetroot
- Sweet Potato
- Parsnip
- Broccoli
Fruit
Peel fruits and cut them into sticks; they can be eaten either raw, baked or roasted. The following fruits are ideal for first finger foods:
- Apple
- Pear
- Avocado
- Banana
- Peach
- Mango
- Watermelon
- Muskmelon
Cooked Meat
Chicken is a great way to start eating meat and it can be given to baby as a strip of meat or on a leg bone. Ensure that it is washed well and cooked thoroughly before feeding it to your baby. You can also opt for red meat that is minced or turkey, cooked well till soft.
Boiled Pasta
If you are adventurous, you can introduce boiled whole wheat pasta to your 6 month old as well. Ensure that the pieces are not a choking hazard.
Finger Food ideas for Older Babies/ Baby finger food recipes 12 months
Once your baby is used to the first level of finger foods, he can move on to the next level with more complex textures and flavors. This will usually be around the age of 9 or 10 months, but follow your baby’s cue before introducing any new dish. Here is a list of finger food recipes for babies 9-12 months.
Patties & Fritters
- Sweet Potato Lentil and Carrot Croquettes made with veggies, lentil and cheese
- Curd Fritters with hung curd and vegetables ( skip the salt for babies)
- Chickpea, Carrot Feta Fritters (from Crate&Kids)
- Veggie Cakes (from andawaywego)
- Banana Oatmeal Fingers
- Spinach Nuggets
- Pumpkin Sooji Fingers
- Spinach Fritters
- Sweet Potato Corn Cakes (the corn can also be mashed with the dough )
Rolls & Balls
Ideal baby led weaning snacks
- Beetroot Rolls
- High energy Protein Balls (from Happy Healthy Mama)
- Apple Sauce Bites
- Dry Fruit Balls (for Toddlers)
- Ragi/Finger Millet Ball
- Sorghum or Jowar balls
- Whole Wheat Vegetable Momos
- Cheese Balls (Whole wheat flour can be used instead of all purpose flour and can be cooked in an Appe instead of deep frying)
- Arbi/Colocasia Fingers
- Baby Cakes (from Family Feed Bag)
Bread & Pancakes
- Banana Pancakes
- Eggless Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes
- Veggies Pancakes (skip the salt and milk if feeding babies under 1 year)
- Whole Wheat Pancake
- Banana Toast for Babies (from One handed Cooks)
- Baby Friendly Waffles
- Semolina Toast
Meat & Fish
- Crispie Chicken Nuggets (from Annabel Karmel; suitable for babies above 9 months)
- Chicken Quinoa Bites
- Salmon Balls
- Tuna and Vegetable Patties (from OneHandedCooks; for Toddlers)
- Oven Baked Fish Fingers (from Food 4 Tots; for Toddlers)
Pasta & Pizza
- Vegetable Pasta for Kids
- Creamy Vegetable Pasta
- Baby’s First Bolognese (from Annabel Karmel, for babies above 9 months. Can also use minced chicken or lamb)
- Confetti Pasta (from Tesco Real Food)
- Quinoa Crust Pizza Cheesy Garlic Bread (from Wholesome dish. The quinoa can be substituted with Rajgira or you can buy Quinoa online here)
Bars & Biscuits
- Sugar Free Flapjacks Recipe (with oats, banana, dates and apple juice)
- Maple Oats bar (for babies over 10 months)
- Fruit and Nut Granola Bar (for Toddlers)
- Fruit Oat Mini Chews (for babies over 10 months)
- Homemade Cheez-Its (from Do Not Waste The Crumbs; the all purpose flour can be substituted with whole wheat)
- Cheddar Carrot Coins (from Mamacheaps)
- Homemade teething Biscuits (from Imprintalish)
- Wheat Paneer Biscuits
No time to prepare these teething sticks at home? Don’t worry, we prepare it hygienically and ship it to your doorstep.We DO NOT add Maida, baking powder,sugar, additives.
Cookies
These work good as baby finger food recipes 10 months babies.
- Ragi/Finger Millet Cookies
- Banana Oats Cookies
- Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Frozen Apple Sauce Treats
- 2 Ingredient Cookies
- Sweet Potato Cookies
No time to make these healthy Cookies? Don’t worry, we prepare it hygienically without any addictives, without maida and ship it to your doorstep
Cakes and Muffins
- Carrot Oats Muffins
- Whole wheat Banana Cake (sugar can be skipped)
- Mini Veg Quiches
- Apple Muffins (You can skip the baking powder or baking soda)
- Whole Wheat Cake (for Toddlers)
- Wheat Eggless Apple Cake With Pomegranate (Sugar can be skipped for babies below 1 year)
Finger Food Dips
- Tofu Cashew Mayonnaise (Salt and sugar can be skipped for babies)
- Tahini Paste
- Apple Jam
- Apricot Jam
- Kid friendly Hummus (You can skip the salt here)
- Sugarfree Tomato Sauce
Remember that no two kids are alike; just because your older one was feasting on chicken at 8 months, doesn’t guarantee that your younger one will do the same! Give your baby a variety to choose from, so that he gets the chance to try out various flavors. You’ll soon discover which ones he prefers, and you can make good use of this information! All these foods are great recipes for fussy toddlers and many of them also work as travel foods as well. You can always customize these recipes to your family’s liking, and soon you’ll find that everyone now looks forward to mealtime!!
Frequently Asked Questions on Baby Finger Food
What are finger food for Babies ?
Easy bite sized pieces that baby can pick by their own and eat by themselves are called as Finger Food for babies
When Should babies start finger foods ?
Finger Food for Babies can be started s early as 6 months or after 8 months, once the baby attains the pincer grasp.
What Finger Food can I give my 6 month old baby ?
You can start with steamed pieces of Carrot,Pumpkin,Parsnip, Sweet Potato, Zucchini, Florets of cauliflower or Brocolli as finger food for 6 months babies
What Finger Food can I give my 9 month old baby ?
A 9 month old baby can have a variety of finger foods ranging from steamed vegetables,teething sticks to bars.
Sam Roberts says
Thank you very much for such a large selection of recipes for infants, my wife and I not so long ago had a child and we are a lot of sites rummaged in the hope of finding good recipes but found nothing. And here I stumbled on your article!
Dr Hemapriya says
Thank you Sam 🙂
Alice says
This list truly rocks ! Thankyou so much , I sat down in tears this evening feeling defeated with rejected meal after meal with our LO , this has given us a whole new out look and ideas to try. So grateful HUGS xox
pr says
Hi Alice,
Nice to hear from you dear, Thanks for your feedback. Happy feeding 🙂
Jayashree says
Hi doctor my baby is 1 year old..can I give chicken as finger food for baby..wnt it cause choking?
pr says
Hi Jayashree,
You can give dear,But Please do supervise.Babies are unique. Some babies munch, some don’t. So it’s better to make your presence while giving finger foods.
Debapriya Bose says
Dr. Hema, Thanks for the recipes. I will try it..
Debapriya
Sureerat says
Hi Dr.Hema
Please do you have any meal for my son he almost 3 years but not chewing
he just not interesting in chewing at all
Thank you
Tired MaMa
Dr Hemapriya says
Often kids shy away from chewing as its an added effort, give small morsels and inact chewing. Check this too https://www.mylittlemoppet.com/7-easy-ways-to-help-your-toddler-chew-food/
SHREEN says
helo Dr Heema
mairi baby 9 month ki hai wo her food lene k bd hi stool pass krti hai din mai taqriban 3 sai 4 dafa krti hai is k lie kia krn
jyoti says
Hello Mam
My kid is fussy for food I want that how to give nutritious food to her, and recipes for vegetarian food also i want.
Thank You Mam
Dr Hemapriya says
Hello Jyoti,
Please subscribe to my newsletter by signing up here and you can receive weekly updates with information on nutrition and recipes for babies
Priyanka says
Hi Hema
Is it true that if u expose your child to so many different variety of food they end up not having home made regular food instead will always ask for such fancy variety? My mil told me to not make all this for my angel but just give dal roti sabzi homemade. She is 9 months old.
Dr Hemapriya says
Hi priyanka,
All the above food are homemade healthy varieties of food and not fast food or restaurant food, it always better to expose the babies to different food so they don’t become a picky eater later. It is ultimately your choice as how you feed your baby.
Hope this helps
Hema