↑

Morgan Manages Mommyhood

making being a mom simple and being a kid memorable

  • About
    • About Morgan Manages Mommyhood
    • Contact Me
  • Parenting
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Preschool
    • Picky Eaters
  • Mom Life
    • Breastfeeding
    • Mental Health
    • Pregnancy
  • Baby Led Weaning
  • Kids Music
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Snacks
    • Dinner
    • Desserts
  • Holidays
    • Christmas
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Halloween

How to Serve Butternut Squash for Baby Led Weaning

December 21, 2020 By Morgan Last Updated: December 6, 2020

1 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Baby led weaning with butternut squash is a perfect first vegetable. This wholesome veggie is packed with nutrients and perfectly sweet for new eaters.

If you’re looking for a great, slightly sweet vegetable to serve your baby, this is it. When baked or cooked, butternut squash is sweet and soft, perfect for littles without (or with) teeth!

It’s also perfect for serving to the whole family, just reserve some without the seasoning for baby.

Benefits of butternut squash for babies

When starting solids with your little, we’re looking for something that is perfectly soft when prepared and enticing to littles Here’s what WebMD says about the health benefits.

  • Essential vitamins like A, C, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
  • 87% of the vegetable is water, so it’s super hydrating.
  • Packed with beta carotene to boost immunity.
  • Has lutein and zeaxanthin to protect eyes.

How to prepare and serve butternut squash for a baby

Butternut Squash is a favorite first food for baby. It’s similar to sweet potato in that it’s easy to gum and perfectly sweet naturally. But we’ve got to decide how to serve it!

Puree

BLW is not an end all be all veggie purees are easy option for those just starting solids.

Bake a whole butternut squash (I cover that in this post about mashed butternut squash) the scoop the soft flesh into a food processor or blender to puree.

A little liquid or breastmilk can be added if you need to thin it out. 

Practice BLW with purees by offering preloaded spoons!

a bowl of mashed butternut squahs on a wooden table with a pat of butter

Mashed

Mashed is perfect for babies! I like to use this Mashed Butternut Squash recipe. I mash it all ahead of time without the sweeteners or butter, then set aside some for baby.

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. Alternately, give baby preloaded spoons with the squash mush.

a plate filled with stacked butternut squash fries with a wood background

Whole

Butternut squash is perfect for serving as whole, baby led weaning approved sticks.

You can cut your squash and steam them in sticks, but personally, we love baking them as butternut squash fries. Use that link to see my favorite recipe – just omit the salt from a section that you’re serving baby.

Read this post to learn about how to cut food for baby led weaning.

If baby is new to BLW, try leaving a bit of the peel (wash it before cutting) on as a grip. It will leave a bit of soft flesh revealed, but give an easy way for baby to grab.

Diced

Cutting them can be a great option to hone baby’s pincer grip. Instead of cutting into fries, dice and bake. You can also take the fries and cut them smaller for baby.

Smoothie

Butternut squash is a great addition to a vegetable smoothie. It adds sweetness and creaminess you might not expect from a veggie!

It would be a great addition to our orange carrot smoothie.

Need more baby led weaning information?

  • How to cut food for baby led weaning
  • Baby led weaning bibs
  • When to start baby led weaning
  • How to serve apples for baby led weaning
  • How to serve Sweet potato for baby led weaning
  • Baby Led Weaning Carrots
  • Baby Led Weaning First Foods

Filed Under: Baby Led Weaning

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hi! I’m Morgan!

Recent Posts

12 Winter Songs for Kids To Sing and Dance inside To!

7 Evening Activities for Kids to do as a Family

Peaches for Baby Led Weaning

10 Songs About Seasons for Kids to Explain Changing Seasons

Find a post

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Privacy

Privacy Policy

1 shares