Scrumptious Green Bean Baby Puree
Looking for a green veggie to serve to your baby? Then be sure to try this Green Bean Baby Food recipe! While I’m sure this crush-worthy broccoli baby puree will probably be the first green veggie puree you serve your little one, this green bean puree should definitely be the second! Steamed until just tender, this nutritious and smooth puree features a mild taste for your baby’s emerging palate.
Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).
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 baby’s socks right 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 your 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 cooking method for the green beans 💚, their taste doesn’t become aggressive, making it the perfect light puree for your baby’s first bite.
Green Bean Baby Food Video
Ingredients
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.
To the Kitchen We Go!
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. You can also check out my best-selling cookbook for even more information and recipes.
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.
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!
Green Beans for Baby-Led Weaning: Green beans are also a great food to serve to your baby whole for baby-led weaning (6+ months) or as a finger food (9+ months). You can always serve baby a combination of purees and finger foods right from the start.
Get the recipe: Scrumptious Green Bean Baby Puree (Stage One)
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.
Notes
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Frequently Asked Questions
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 beans can 100% be your baby’s first food if you want it to be. It is recommended to wait to introduce the top eight allergen foods to your baby once a few other well-tolerated foods have been introduced, but otherwise, foods can be introduced in any order so choose whatever you are most excited for your baby to have.
No, green beans are not a common allergen, however, as with any food, start with a small portion and be aware of any signs that might be an allergic reaction after introducing it.
Green beans do not usually cause constipation in babies, and may actually help alleviate constipation due to their high fiber content.
34 Comments on “Scrumptious Green Bean Baby Puree”
Hello, I am loving all of the recipes and tips on your website! I was curious if I could use canned green beans?
I using canned green beans, I would drain and rinse them before using. The taste will more intense and a little more acidic than fresh or frozen.
Your recipes work great! For the green beans I first tried my ninja food processor but left it chunky so then I used the smoothie blade with a smoothie cup on my ninja similar to a magic bullet and it worked great!! Just trial and error depending on the veggie. Also I had to add quite a bit of liquid to get it smooth
Thank you for your 5-star review! Also, thank you for your thoughts on what to use for the ninja food processor. I don’t have one so your input will help other readers 🤍.
Hi can I add formula milk while blending?
Yes, you can add fresh baby formula to any baby food while pureeing.
I made these. Even after I pureed them, I still found the little stingy things in there. What did I do wrong?
Hmm.. I haven’t ever had strings in mine before. What type of green beans are you using? Fresh or frozen? Are they fork tender when cooked?
I ALSO have struggled with strings in my green beans while making green bean purees for both my babies using green beans from our garden. I thought I learned my lesson with my now 3 year old, so when making it for my now 8 month old daughter I was diligent about removing the strings and blending extra but they are STILL there. I ended up throwing some out because it’s nearly impossible to get the strings out without taking a bunch of the beans away. Any suggestions are welcomed because I’m hoping to try again
So interesting! I usually use frozen green beans or fresh green beans from trader joes and have never had strings. You could make this puree and then pass it through a fine mess colander if you get strings in your green beans.
Instead of steaming can I pressure cook for two minutes in the pressure cooker to save time using homemade turkey stock?
Yes, you can cook green beans in the pressure cooker (I usually do 4-5 minutes in my Instapot).
I read you can mix with breast milk as well. Will any vegetable taste good to mix with breast milk? I wanna make this for my baby but don’t wanna waste the liquid gold haha!
You can add fresh breast milk to any puree while you are pureeing it. You can also add in a little breast milk while defrosting the puree if you don’t want to add as much during the blending process.
Tasty without herbs as well (:
Herbs/spices are always optional. Glad you liked it!
Thank you for the amazing post.
We help moms with all the joys and challenges of parenthood from pregnancy, to baby, to toddler, to preschool, and beyond.
Thank you!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
We can add water to this correct? For our liquid?
Yes, you can use water if needed while blending into a puree.