Looking for the first puree to serve your baby? Try this Green Bean Baby Food recipe! Steamed until just tender, this nutritious and smooth puree features a mild taste for your baby’s emerging palette. It’s a great stage 1 baby food for 4-6 months and up.
Medically reviewed by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)
Green Bean Puree
Hold on ’cause I’m about to tell you something shocking. 😲
This homemade green bean puree is not only full of essential nutrients, but it is also delicious!
I know, this seems hard to believe because pureed green beans as baby food get a pretty bad rap.
But it’s 💯 true! This green bean puree will knock your 🧦 off!
We start with fresh or frozen green beans that are gently steamed to bring out the freshness. Then, we blend them into a velvety and creamy puree for baby. I add a pinch of cilantro, parsley, or basil to this puree to round out the flavor profile, but you can skip that step if you prefer. Because we are using this gentle way of cooking the green beans 💚, their taste doesn’t get aggressive, making it the perfect light puree for your baby’s first bite.
Is it your first time making homemade baby food? If you answered yes, then I suggest you start this journey by reading my in-depth Guide on How to Make Homemade Baby Food. The detailed article goes over all the essential information such as the best cooking tools to have on hand, safe storage, knowing when your baby is ready for solids, introducing purees, making the best first foods for baby, and more! You can also check out my best-selling cookbook for even more information and recipes.
REASONS TO LOVE THIS Green Bean puree
- simple and easy to make
- filled with nutrients for a growing baby
- features a gentle taste
- great for babies 4-6+ months
- stage 1 baby food
- freezer-friendly
- smooth and creamy
- aids digestion
- budget-friendly
INGREDIENTS
- Green Beans: You can use fresh or frozen green beans for this recipe.
- Herbs: You can add a pinch of cilantro, basil, parsley, mint, or chives to this puree to enhance the flavor profile. While I love the boost of flavor that herbs add to the puree, putting in herbs is completely optional.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF Green Beans
- Good source of fiber to help with any digestive issue.
- A great source with vitamin C to help support your baby’s immune system.
- A good source of vitamin K to help strengthen bones.
Want to learn more about the benefits of Green Beans for your baby? Then read the entire Green Bean Profile here.
Green Bean Tip: You can use either fresh or frozen green beans for this recipe. If you want to use organic but are on a budget, try looking for frozen organic green beans in the freezer aisle, which are cheaper than fresh conventional green beans.
TIPS
- Adding Healthy Fats: Adding a teaspoon of avocado, coconut oil, or olive oil wonderfully compliments this green bean puree. Not only will healthy fats bring out the natural nuttiness of green beans, but they also add healthy fats into your baby’s diet.
- Fresh or Frozen: Feel free to use fresh or frozen green beans for this recipe.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Trim: Roughly trim the green beans. If you’ll be adding herbs, roughly chop them as well.
- Steam: Fill a medium saucepan with 2” of water and bring to boil over medium heat. Place the green beans (fresh or frozen) into a steamer basket over the boiling water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Let it cool slightly — reserve the steamer water.
- Puree: Transfer the green beans and herb to a blender or food processor and puree for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, adding liquid in 1/4 cup increments if needed until you reach your desired consistency.
- Eat: Serve to your baby or freeze for later.
OTHER COOKING METHODS
While I love the crisp and fresh flavor of steamed green beans, there are several ways you can cook green beans for baby food.
SKILLET
Trim the green beans and then add them to a large skillet that has been preheated with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of water, cover, and cook for 2 more minutes. Puree in a blender as directed below.
ROASTED
If you want the baby puree to have a dense, earthy taste, then roast the green beans instead.
Trim the green beans and then toss with 1-2 tsp of olive or avocado oil on a baking sheet. Cook 425 degrees F for 18-20 minutes, tossing halfway through baking time or until tender when pricked with a fork. Puree in a blender as directed below.
ADDING SPICES
Feel free to add a big pinch of roughly chopped basil, cilantro, mint, parsley, or chives to this puree before blending.
Tip on Spices: I always add spices or herbs to my baby food purees, but you can choose to leave them out. You do you! Either way, this puree will surely turn out scrumptious.
HOW TO STORE GREEN BEAN PUREE
REFRIGERATOR
You can store this pureer in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
FREEZER
This puree can be frozen for up to 4 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 — label with the date and recipe name.
- Place the tray into the freezer and let it freeze completely – preferably overnight.
- Pop-out the baby food cubes and place them in a zip-lock baggie or stasher bag. Don’t forget to relabel 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!
Label Tip: Don’t forget to label your purees before you place them in the fridge or freezer with the name of the puree and the date you made it. Take it from me; by the end of the week, you will completely forget what is in your freezer and how long it’s been there… because you know… mommy brain. 😉
WHEN CAN BABY EAT GREEN BEANS?
Babies can have green beans as one of their first foods. When a baby can start on solids is determined by their own rate of development, which generally comes between 4-6 months of age. Some of the developmental milestones babies need to reach in order to start solids include: if your baby has solid control of their head and neck, if your baby has doubled in weight, and if your baby is reaching for or opening their mouth when you eat (see my guide here). Before you start baby on purees, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure your child is developmentally ready.
Green Bean COMBINATION PUREES
While Green Bean Baby Food is already tasty by itself, you can also easily mix and match it with other nutrient-dense baby food purees. For a Stage Two puree, give these fun flavor combos a try!
Helpful Tools
DID YOU MAKE THIS GREEN BEAN PUREE?
I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A ⭐️ RATING BELOW 👇
Green Bean Baby Food
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen
- 1 big pinch of fresh basil, cilantro or parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Trim: roughly trim the green beans and roughly chop the herb (if using).
- Steam: fill a medium saucepan with 2” of water and bring to boil over medium heat. Place the green beans (fresh or frozen) into a steamer basket over the boiling water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Let cool slightly. Reserve steamer water.
- Puree: transfer the green beans and herb to a blender or food processor and puree for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, adding liquid in 1/4 cup increments if needed until you reach your desired consistency.
- Eat: serve to baby or freeze for later.
How do you get the smooth like consistency? I’ve made this twice now and it’s so chunky. I have tried my NINJA blender and magic bullet.
I recommend blending for 1-2 minutes on medium-high or high speed. The ninja and magic bullet should do a great job, you may just need to blend for more time. Also, scraping down the sides if it’s chunky or adding more liquid will help it become smoother. Give those tips a try and let me know how it goes.
Can this recipe be substituted with yellow beans? Or do you have a yellow bean baby puree recipe? I have so many yellow beans in my garden and would love to use them up for baby boy.
Thanks!
I think yellow beans would be lovely in this recipe. You don’t see them too often in the market, so let us know how they turned out.
For those trying to make this in a ninja. I have found the best way to do it is in a blender cup. The food processor and the large blender do not work to get it to a smooth consistency.
This worked perfectly! Thank you!
I have unsalted bone chicken broth! Would that work For the liquid?
Yes.. that would be a great thing to add in! Plus it will give the puree such great flavor.
Baby loved it
So happy to hear this! 🙂
I am not sure about I should give it to my 3 months baby. Do you feel any kind of unusual behavior from the baby after giving it?
I don’t think you should give it to 3 months old baby because it is written that this recipe is for 4 months and up.
Hi! Can you microwave the frozen string-beans or should we only steam them before pureeing? Thank you!
Great question, I would steam from frozen.
Thank you!
Thank you for the amazing post.
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