How to Serve Banana for Baby Led Weaning

Baby led weaning with bananas is an easy way to introduce the fruits to your kid, They can be a great first food to feed your little as well. Whether you’re just starting out with baby led weaning or brushing up on your knowledge, we’re showing you how to serve bananas for baby led weaning today.

a banana with most of the peel on it showing how to serve a banana for blw

Bananas are a great first food – they’re naturally sweet, making them an easy sell to baby, super soft, and come in their own packaging, making them easy to travel with. Here’s why and how to serve baby led weaning bananas.

Benefits of bananas for babies

When starting solids with your little, we’re looking for nutrition-packed first foods. Bananas are definitely that! Here’s what VeryWell.com says about banana benefits.

Lots of fiber to keep baby regular
Potassium packed
Full of a small amount of many different nutrients.

How to prepare and serve bananas for a baby

Bananas are a perfect first fruit and perfect for baby led weanng on the go. But first you have to decide how you want to serve baby led weaning bananas. We’re here to help you decide!

Mashed

Mashed is an easy first introduction to bananas. Simply get a ripe banana (the riper the better here!) and mash with a fork. A bit of texture is fine, but avoid any big chunks if giving to a baby 6-9 months.

Feed to baby on the tray, allowing them to use their hand and fingers to pick up and feed themselves, or give baby preloaded spoons with the banana goo.

Whole

Bananas are cool in that they travel well and have their own litte contianer, but the fruit itself can be hard to little hands to grasp because they can be slippery. Use the peel to your advantage! Leave on some of the peel to give baby something to grasp.

Simply cut an unpeeled banana banana in half. Then, about half an inch down, cut just the peel all the way around. Remove the peel and you’ll have a nice sized chunk of banana exposed for your little one.

a thumb pressing into the center of a sliced banana and separating the thirds

Sticks

Another option is cutting a banana in sticks. Fun trick, peel a banana and cut it in half. Gently press your thumb into the center and you’ll see the banana will start to split itself easily into three long sticks.

Diced

Cutting them can be a great option to hone baby’s pincer grip. Cut bananas can be tough for little hand to grasp though, so consider rolling them in something like shredded, unsweetened coconut, crush cheerios, or baby cereal. This will give a coating that is easier to grasp.

Smoothie

I love smoothies for kids of all ages, and bananas are the idea addition! Make sure whatever you’re putting into your smoothie is something your kiddo has already tried and shown no allergies to. Try some of my favorite veggie smoothies!

Cookies

Possibly my favorite baby food hack, these 2 ingredient teething cookies are perfect for little hand and mouths. Bonus, they only use banana and oatmeal!