This Spinach Apple Baby Food Puree is high in iron and a perfect puree to introduce to baby around 6 months of age. With the addition of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, this combination puree tastes amazing! Great Stage 2 Baby Food or 6+ months and up.
Apple Spinach Puree for Baby
This flavorful and nutrient dense puree is a great way to introduce spinach 🌱 to baby!
Because spinach can be an intense taste for some babies, we are going to start by simmering some apples in a pinch of cinnamon, cloves and ginger before adding the spinach and pureeing to a smooth and silky texture. This spices, while optional, are a great way to balance out the entire puree.
REASONS TO LOVE THIS SPINACH APPLE PUREE
- creamy and smooth
- nutrient-dense – filled with 2 kinds of fiber, iron, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
- baby food for 6+ months – stage 2 baby food puree
- toddler & kid-friendly
- freezer-friendly
- fast – done in less than 20 minutes
- budget-friendly
Ingredients
- Apples: make up the bulk of the puree as the spinach blends down to just an ounce of actual puree. I would recommend using a sweeter apple for this puree to balance out the spinach. I have a list of great apple options below.
- Spinach: is really the main star of the show. You can add 1-2 cups of spinach to this recipe. If it’s the first time you are giving baby spinach, you may want to start at 1 cup and add more the next time you make this puree.
- Spices: we will be using a pinch of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger powder in this recipe, which helps even out the sweetness of the apples. While I love the added flavor of the spices, you can omit them if you prefer.
Benefits of Spinach Apple Puree
This puree is loaded with fiber, manganese, folate, magnesium, copper, calcium, antioxidants and vitamins K, A, B2, B6, E, and C. WOW! That’s a ton of nutrients for such a yummy tasting baby puree.
- high in fiber to help build a healthy heart and aid in digestion
- has a good amount of vitamin C, which is important for skin, eye, immune and brain health
- are a great source of the mineral boron, which is important for building strong bones and supporting brain function
- apples are a high-antioxidant food and have a very significant source of flavonoids that help combat free-radicals
- great source of iron that helps muscles store and use oxygen, and it is vital for brain development
BEST APPLES TO USE
I recommend using a sweeter apple such a Pink Lady or McIntosh, but really can you use any apple you prefer or have on hand.
Here are some great options:
- Pink Lady
- Kanzi
- Honeycrisp
- Fuji
- McIntosh
- Jazz
The only apples that I have found are a little difficult to work with are Golden Delicious and Red Delicious (get too grainy and soggy) and Granny Smith (too tart), but other than that you can go with whatever you can find in your local grocery store.
Apple Tip: since apples are on the EWG dirty dozen list, I would recommend serving organic apples to baby if you are able.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Prep Apples: peel, core, and roughly chop apples.
- Cook: in a medium saucepan, place the apples, water and spices (if using), cover and heat on medium-low for 12-15 minutes or until the apples are tender. Remove from heat.
- Add Spinach: add the spinach on top of the apples, cover and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
- Puree: transfer the apples and spinach to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Serve or freeze.
HOW TO STORE SPINACH APPLE PUREE
REFRIGERATOR
You can store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FREEZER
This puree can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Spoon puree into a freezer storage container (this is my favorite freezer storage container) – do not overfill.
- Place the lid on the storage container or cover with a piece of saran wrap and label with date and recipe name.
- Place the tray into the freezer and let freeze completely – preferably overnight.
- Pop out the baby food cubes and place in a zip-lock baggie or stasher bag – don’t forget to re-label the baggie or stager bag for future reference.
Need more information on how to store your baby foods – head over to my Best Baby Food Storage Containers – Plus 6 Tips on Freezing and Thawing post!
When Can Baby Have Spinach?
Baby can be introduced to spinach around 6 months of age. Since it is hard to serve just plain Spinach Puree to baby, this combination puree is a Stage Two puree and should be served to baby after apples have been introduced.
Tips
- Start Small: I would recommend starting with adding 1 cup of spinach to this recipe if it’s baby’s first time eating spinach and then add more from there. Spinach can be bitter for some babies, so it’s best to start slowly.
- Picky Eaters: if your baby or toddler is in a picky-eating phase you can try to put this puree into a reusable pouch and serve it as a snack. Most kids love applesauce in the pouch and this one tastes just as good!
- Use Pears: another great option for this puree is to use pears in place of the apples. The rest of the cooking times and process is the same.
HELPFUL TOOLS
Spinach Apple Baby Puree (Stage Two)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook: In a medium saucepan, add the apples, water, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until apples are tender when pricked with a fork, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Spinach: Add the spinach on top of the apples, cover and let sit for 1- 2 more minutes.
- Transfer: Add all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor.
- Puree: starting on low speed and working your way up, puree the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth and all bits of spinach or blended.
- Serve: Let cool and serve to baby or freeze for a later meal.
I tried this recipe tonight – baby loved it and so did I! Delicious! I’ve made several of your recipes. I actually started out with baby led weaning, and vowed I won’t do purees with this baby but your blog made me miss purees. The combinations you have are so interesting, I wanted baby to experience them. Thank you!
I am so glad you both likes this recipe! There is no right or wrong way to feed baby healthy foods, so maybe this baby can do a combination of both. Either way, I am glad you find my recipes combinations yummy.
xo, Michele
I tried this recipe tonight – baby loved it and so did I! Delicious! I’ve made several of your recipes. I actually started out with baby led weaning, and vowed I won’t do purees with this baby but your blog made me miss purees. The combinations you have are so interesting, I wanted baby to experience them. Thank you!
I am so glad you both likes this recipe! There is no right or wrong way to feed baby healthy foods, so maybe this baby can do a combination of both. Either way, I am glad you find my recipes combinations yummy.
xo, Michele
Could you substitute frozen spinach? All of the E. coli breakouts with fresh lettuce has me a little worried.
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work. I would just put it in frozen and then decrease the amount of water you add in by 1/4 cup. Let me know how it turns out.
Could you substitute frozen spinach? All of the E. coli breakouts with fresh lettuce has me a little worried.
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work. I would just put it in frozen and then decrease the amount of water you add in by 1/4 cup. Let me know how it turns out.
May I ask why you cook the apples?? Where I live we make purées with fresh fruits as they are! We don’t cook them.. however I found out that it is very common to steam them.. don’t they loose their vitamins? What if I steam the spinach and put it with my fresh apple? Won’t be the same?
When you cook the apples, you release some of their natural sugars causing them to become sweeter. I haven’t tried not cooking the apples beforehand, but you can give it shot. I would worry that it might be too tart for baby. But if you try it, let us know how it works.
Hi Michele,
Absolutely love your website. I refer to it so often for recipes or starting anything new for my baby. I am first time mom and the website is my go to for most of my baby’s food ideas.
Shraddha, from India
my kid just loved it, finish within 5 mins.
Love this!
Not only do I want to say thank you for the recipe but thanks for showing me a new way to make apples for my baby! I use a baby bullet steamer and it takes FOREVER to make a bag of apples. This is way faster! My baby will eat every bite of this recipe with no hesitation. Luckily I had cinnamon and ginger left over from a pie I made for Thanksgiving. I didn’t have cloves but baby still loved it. Thanks for sharing!
So glad baby ate every bite! And yay for a fast and easy recipe!
Tried this today and it was a success. Baby loved it so much she asked for more. It was really easy and quick to make as well.
Love this! So yummy and so healthy!
I made this tonight and my baby, who has not really eaten any other of my purées absolutely loved it!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Love hear this!! Another big hit for babies is the 5-Minute Banana, Blueberry + Avocado Baby Food Puree.
My Kid liked it so much ..Thank Youuu
So glad!
Baby threw up all over his bed from the spinach. Apparently spinach before 12 months is questionable.
So sorry that baby threw up.. that is definitely not fun. Spinach is completely fine for babies under a year but if it was babies’ first time having spinach, you can try introducing it slowly with a smaller serving or less spinach in this recipe.
Hi there! Love all your recipes. I just made this with frozen spinach and it came out a bit stringy…what can I do to rectify it? It looks nothing like the picture you posted. Thanks so much.
Would love to help you with this. Did you cook the frozen spinach with the apples? If you want you can send me a picture at [email protected] so I can see what you mean by stringy. Did you blend it for a full 2 minutes?
Thanks for the quick reply. So I did cook it thoroughly and then blended it for quite a while but it still looks like the pieces of spinach are more of a chopped consistency rather than a purée. It tastes delicious so I’m going to attempt to give it to her (she’s almost 7 months old). If anything, I’ll blend it some more. Your recipe combinations are great. Thanks so much!