Feeding Baby | Baby Food Cookbooks

201 Organic Baby Purees  | The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market Cookbook  | Weaning  | Cooking for Baby  | The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook  | The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet  | Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook  | The Petit Appetit Cookbook  | Bébé Gourmet  | Baby and Toddler On the Go Cookbook  | The Baby and Toddler Cookbook

As my littlest one approached the 6 month mark (my idea of the perfect time to start solids) I figured I would just do exactly what I did with my older daughter. It worked the first time around, so why reinvent the wheel? But then as we were walking out of the library one day, I saw a few baby cookbooks on the shelf, and decided to check them out and flip through them for a little inspiration. What started as me flipping through a book or two, turned into me reading over a dozen books cover to cover.

Some I loved and filled to the brim with sticky notes (I would have written all over them but they are all from the library!) and others I hated and said so out loud multiple times as I was reading them.

To save you the time and the trouble of reading all of them, I have narrowed it down to what I think are the 5 best baby food cookbooks:

The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market Cookbook  |  This isn’t a baby food cookbook, but since I believe in feeding baby what is fresh and in season, this book is perfect. I like to look ahead and see what we can expect to see at the markets in the next few months, and there are wonderful tips on how to store and prepare each different food. I love the recipes for us, and have adapted quite a few of the recipes for baby.

Bébé Gourmet: 100 French-Inspired Baby Food Recipes For Raising an Adventurous Eater  |  If you buy one baby food cookbook, make it this one. I love nearly everything about it. There is a photo for every recipe (a must in my opinion) and they are simple and beautiful. And a lot of the recipes are things you wouldn’t expect to see for babies or kids, such as cod papillote with orange, or sea bass with fennel and green grapes. If you read and loved French Kids Eat Everything, you need this book. Plus, they call the purées compotes. It sounds so much more sophisticated to say pear compote rather than puréed pears. 

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook  |  Although we didn’t do strictly baby-led weaning, I liked to incorporate some of the ideas behind this method. For example, if I was feeding my daughter puréed broccoli, I would give her a stalk of steamed broccoli to munch on after she finished her purée, while the rest of us were eating dinner. This way she was a part of meal time, she was learning all of the important skills that baby-led weaning develops, and she learned where her purées came from. This cookbook gives all of the research, theory, and background information of Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods, plus some easy recipes.

Baby & Toddler On The Go Cookbook  |  One of the main questions I get about making baby food is what to do when you aren’t at home. It is way too easy to grab a squeezer pouch and call it a day. I love that this cookbook is all about making baby and toddler food for when you are out and about. I have used a lot of ideas from this book for my kindergartener’s school lunch.

Real Baby Food: Easy, All-Natural Recipes for Your Baby and Toddler  |  Although this books starts with purées, most of the recipes are actually meant for the whole family to enjoy. Since I do not believe in “kid food”, this is perfect. Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps, Butternut Squash and Pancetta Pasta, and Chicken Soba Soup are just a few of the recipes that my family has enjoyed. I only wish that this book included more photos!

What are your favorite baby food cookbooks?