The Best Sweet Potato Baby Food Puree
This Sweet Potato Baby Puree is a smooth puree with a pinch of mild curry powder that makes for a fun and tasty first food for your baby! Great Stage 1 baby food for babies 4-6+ months.
Medically reviewed and co-written by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).
Sweet Potato Baby Food Puree
This deliciously rich baby food puree will take your little one on a fun culinary adventure ✈️ without ever leaving their high chair!
Sweet potatoes are one of my all-time favorite vegetables to puree for my baby. Not only do I find that most babies love their naturally sweet taste and creamy texture, but sweet potatoes are also loaded with essential nutrients for a growing baby. That’s a winning combo in my book! 🏆
In this recipe, we will roast the sweet potatoes to bring out their natural caramel-like, earthy goodness before adding a pinch of mild curry powder and blending to a light and smooth consistency. The result? A sweet yet slightly herbal puree with a silky texture that leaves a fine and captivating sleek feel in your baby’s mouth.
Don’t be afraid to eat this flavorsome puree right alongside your baby 👩👧- it’s that good!
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.
Sweet Potato Video
Watch this video to see how easy this Sweet Potato Puree recipe actually is!
Reasons to Love Sweet Potato Puree
- smooth and creamy
- great for babies 4-6+ months
- stage one baby food
- packed with essential nutrients for baby
- easy to make — requires only 5 minutes of hands-on time
- babies love the sweet and earthy taste
- homemade
- freezer-friendly
Ingredients
Make sure to read the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions!
- Sweet Potatoes: These are at the top of the list when it comes to the first foods to introduce to your baby. The nutritional value of sweet potatoes is outstanding, and the sweet taste makes it easy to introduce to your baby. Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene as well as the ultra-important electrolyte mineral, Potassium. They also contain Vitamin E, calcium, folate, and plenty of other vitamins and minerals. Thanks to their high fiber content, sweet potatoes help support a healthy digestive tract and promote regular bowel movements for your baby. This recipe calls for 2 sweet potatoes, but you can use more or less depending on how much you want to make.
- Mild Curry Powder: We are kicking up the flavor profile with mild curry powder to bring out the sweet potatoes’ earthiness, making the puree’s flavor a bit more robust. You can skip the curry powder if you prefer or add another spice like cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, or rosemary.
Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
- A great source of fiber that can prevent and resolve constipation.
- Contains a lot of beta-carotene, which converts into vitamin A for eye health.
- Contain vitamins C and E to help strengthen immunity.
- A high source of potassium to help maintain a healthy heart and blood pressure, fluid balance, and muscle function.
Shopping & Storing Tip: When purchasing sweet potatoes, look for small to medium sweet potatoes that are firm, smooth, even in skin tone, and without cracks or cuts. Why small to medium? Because the larger ones tend to be starchier. Sweet potatoes stay fresh longest in a cool or room-temperature location, away from moisture, heat, and light.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep: Wash the sweet potatoes while ignoring the fact that you probably need a manicure.
- Roast: Dry and prick sweet potatoes before popping them onto a baking sheet and into the oven to bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender when pricked with a fork. Let cool to touch.
- Discard Skin: Peel away the sweet potato skin and discard.
- Place in Blender: Place the sweet potato and curry into a blender or food processor and add liquid of your choice.
- Blend: Puree for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth, adding more
- Eat: Serve or freeze for a later meal.
Tools Needed
These tools will make it a lot easier for you to make this healthy Sweet Potato puree. For more of my favorite kitchen tools make sure to check out my shop.
- Baking Sheet
- Blender or Food Processor
- Freezer Tray
- Storage Containers for Fridge
- Stasher Bag
- BEABA Babycook
- bib with catch pocket
Other Cooking Methods
While I love the rich flavor of roasted sweet potatoes, there are several ways you can cook them to make into a baby food puree.
BEABA Babycook
With a touch of a button, the BEABA Babycook will cook the sweet potatoes for you! Place 1 peeled and chopped sweet potato into the stainless steel steamer basket, and place the basket into the glass container, closing the lid. Fill the reservoir tank to a level 3, close and lock the lid. Hit the steam button and let the machine do its magic. Once steamed, transfer the sweet potatoes into the glass container, leaving the water, close the lid, and hit the blend button for 1 minute or until the puree is smooth. You may need to add more water to the puree if needed in 2 tablespoon increments.
Full Review: read my full, in-depth and honest review of the BEABA Babycook Neo here! Make sure to grab 15% off your Babycook with code (BabyFoode15)!
Steaming
Peel and roughly chop 2 sweet potatoes. Place them into a steamer basket over 2 inches of boiling water for 10-15, or until tender when pricked with a fork. Puree in a blender as directed below.
Boiling
Place 2 peeled and roughly chopped sweet potatoes into a medium saucepan, add enough water to cover the sweet potatoes, and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until tender when pricked with a fork. Puree in a blender as directed below.
Instant Pot
You can cook the sweet potato in an instant pot as well. Add one cup of water to the bottom of your instant pot, and add the trivet. Prick the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork and place them on the trivet. Close the lid and set the valve to “sealing.” Turn on the instant pot, select “high pressure,” and set the timer for 30 minutes if you’re using medium sweet potatoes and 60 minutes if you’re using large ones. When the timer goes off, allow the pressure to do a “natural release” before you manually release the rest of the pressure. Let the sweet potatoes cool, and then peel and puree in a blender as directed below.
BEABA Babycook Neo
Our all-time favorite baby food maker! Comes with a large capacity glass bowl, stainless steel steam basket and has four cook settings: steam cook, blend, reheat or defrost. A must-have kitchen tool if you want a hands-free way to make homemade baby food.
Puree Feeding Tips
- Follow your baby’s lead – when feeding purees from a spoon, sometimes there’s a tendency to keep offering bites past the point of your baby being full. Always follow baby’s cues for when they are done eating. Turning away from the spoon, closing her mouth, or pushing food away are all signs that baby is finished with the meal.
- Try adding a little seasoning or spice to purees – babies like flavor! Or consider changing the temperature of purees from time to time, to slightly warmed or slightly chilled. Varying these aspects adds to the sensory experience!
- Throwing spoons is a common phase that all babies go through at one point or another. One of the best ways to handle spoon throwing is to ignore it and keep feeding baby as usual (with an extra spoon you already have at the table). If baby ends up also throwing back up spoons #2 AND #3, simply encourage your baby to eat with their hands until they appear to be finished with the meal. ***Give baby plenty of opportunities to practice putting items in and taking items out of containers outside of meal times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baby can eat sweet potatoes 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 your baby on purees, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure your child is developmentally ready for purees.
Sweet potato can 100% be 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, sweet potato is 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.
Too much sweet potato may cause constipation in some babies but they are high in fiber so can also help alleviate constipation in others. If your baby is constipated and eating a lot of sweet potatoes, cut back and see if that helps.
For this recipe, we are adding a pinch of mild curry powder, but feel free to use the following spices instead: cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, garlic, thyme, mint, basil, or fresh ginger (see quantity recommendations in the recipe card).
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 Sweet Potato Baby Food
REFRIGERATOR
You can store this puree in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
FREEZER
This puree can be frozen for up to 4 months.
- Spoon the 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!
Sweet Potato Combination Purees
While this Sweet Potato Puree tastes satisfying to the tummy by itself, it’s also easy to mix and match with other nutrient-dense baby food purees. Give these fun flavor combos a try!
- Apples
- Carrots
- Pears
- Parsnips
- Beets (golden or red)
- Quinoa Baby Cereal
- Chicken
- White Beans
- Soft Tofu
- Pumpkin
- Mango
- Cauliflower
- Yogurt
- Beef
- Canned Coconut Milk
- Salmon
Recipe Tips
- Sweet Potatoes: Look for medium sweet potatoes that are even in color with no scratches. Large sweet potatoes are starchier and might make the puree too thick.
- Pureeing: Root vegetables absorb a lot of liquid while pureeing, so don’t be shy about adding extra liquid while blending. I had to add a full cup of liquid to the sweet potatoes to get them smooth. Start by adding 1/4 cup of liquid and slowly go up from there as needed.
Or watch a shortened version of this video here.
Get the recipe: The Best Sweet Potato Baby Food
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1/4 tsp mild curry powder (optional)
- 1/4-1 cup liquid or pureeing, (water, fresh breast milk, formula, or sodium-free chicken stock)
Instructions
- Prep: Heat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with tin foil, parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Bake: Wash and dry the sweet potatoes. Prick with a fork in several places and then place the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until a fork can easily prick the sweet potato. Let sit until cool to touch.
- Peel: Cut into the skin of the potato lengthwise and peel away the skin of the potato. Scoop out the sweet potato meat and place it into a blender or food processor, adding in the mild curry powder and liquid.
- Blend: Puree on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth, adding in additional liquid in 1/4 cup increments if needed. I had to add in 1 cup of water to the puree pictured.
- Eat: Serve to baby or freeze for a later meal.
Notes
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42 Comments on “The Best Sweet Potato Baby Food Puree”
Me again. 😉 I have a question about spices. How do you know which spices are safe for baby and at what age? I absolutely love to cook and bake, and I happen to love adding spices in recipes for myself. I think this is a fab idea! But I don’t want to make a mistake either. And I’ve never heard that you could do this. Are there any concerns I should be aware of when adding spices?
Hello!!
Allergies from spices are extremely rare, only 2% of people with allergies report having reactions to spices. The most common spices that cause allergies are garlic, onion, cumin and coriander. But again, cases of people reacting to these spices are very few. I would recommend you start with just a pinch of spice in your purees and work up to a larger quantity with a more noticeable taste. So don’t be afraid, have fun and experiment!
Besides having medicinal qualities to them, spices and herbs make food flavorful for your baby. In many other cultures, they start adding spices and herbs to their foods from the get go. I personally found that both Ellie and were board eating the same tasting puree over and over again so I mixed in some spices and WOW did she love it! Now of course, she won’t eat bland food (chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, plain noodles, etc) and has to have some sort of spice or flavor in everything she eats! It kinda makes me a proud mama when she is a food snob and turns down bland food!! lol!!
Hope that helps!
XOXO,
Michele
My second child would not eat ANYTHING when we started feeding her purees, but seemed really interested in the food we were eating. I mentioned this to her pediatrician at her next visit and he said give it to her, as long as it was free of things like nuts and honey. Other cultures don’t worry about this as much as americans seem to. After that it was kind of a joke- baby won’t eat? Put cumin on it, done. She’s still a flavor glutton 2 years later.
PS-Michele, love you site!
Hannah,
I LOVE THIS!!!…and will probably use flavor glutton in my writing, just perfect.
Glad you are here! 🙂
Michele
Loved this recipe!! I ended up using 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and then adding one ripe banana (one of your other recipe ideas). My 6 month old absolutely devoured this! Thank you!
Hi Michele,
What other spices or herbs would recommend with sweet potato? We are not big fans of curry 🙂
Many thanks,
Marilia
You can do nutmeg, cinnamon, thyme, basil, parsley or cilantro. Those would all be super yummy 🙂
xoxo,
Michele
Hi Michele,
Love your site. Where were you when my older two were babies?! One question about the use of curry powder. Does curry powder include a little bit of chilli powder? Is this okay to feed to baby?
Hello Adelyn,
Thanks!! So glad you found me now:)
As far as the curry goes – I use a mild yellow curry that has these ingredients – coriander, turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, anise, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, yellow mustard, mace and cardamom. All totally fine for baby (first 3 are awesome for babies growth). Some of the red curry’s do have chili powder in them, which is totally okay to give baby as well. I prefer to start with mild curry and chile powders and introduce spicier mixes when they get older. Hope that helps!
xoxo, Michele
It came out nice.. I did mine with nutmeg. Very lovely
Love this! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michele,
I want to first start off by saying that I love your site and I didn’t think all this was possible until I found your page. Just a quick question though about this dish, can I use purple sweet potatoes instead of the reg sweet potatoes? I don’t know what it is about the colored veggies that attracts me more to them but I love using them. Also in general, can I substitute any reg veggie for a colored one; purple califlower, purple pot, rainbow carrots, etc?
Hello Saudi,
YES!!!! Purple versions of all those those veggies are amazing!! I have a hard time finding too many of the purple potatoes or cauliflower here where I live but by all means if you have them at your market, then go for it!!! If mixing with other veggies that are orange or green, just know you will get a brownish color puree, which is fine and will still taste amazing but will be brown!
Thanks for reading!!
xoxo, Michele
Hi Michele,
What brand of spices do you use?
I use Savory Spice Shop spices because they are local and let you try everything in the store – http://www.savoryspiceshop.com. They also ship!!
xoxo, Michele
I couldn’t find Matcha curry in the Savory Spice Shop website. Is there another you would recommend using?
Sorry, the Matcha curry is from Whole Foods, the Madras Curry is form savory spice shop, but you can use any mild curry that you can find at the store.
Would it be possible to add spices to food after it’s already cooked and pureed? I have all this food I’ve already made, but it’s plain.
Yes! You can totally add spices in after the puree is cooked. Dried spices are easier to add in then herbs (a pinch of cinnamon, cloves, cumin, curry, nutmeg can all be added and then stirred into any puree). Herbs are best if you blend them up a little bit so baby doesn’t get a huge mouthful of basil, but this can be done even after you have made it.
xo, Michele
The picture you have posted the potato looks redish. Did use a yam or sweet potato. My mother tells me they are pritty interchangeable.
Yams and sweet potatoes are very interchangeable! I used the more redish version, which was called a yam in my grocery store, but when I lived in california it was called a sweet potato. You can use whichever you want in this recipe, or you can go crazy and even use a purple sweet potato!
Have fun!
xo, Michele
Ooo I don’t think I have seen one of those 🙂 I live in alaska so we are slightly limited 🙂 thank you for answering my question
hi michele, I have a son that will be eating soon. Can i ask you about the puree in the freezer how to reheat it?
i bought the mini potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes 🤦🏻♀️ Do you have any recipes I can use for this mini potatoes? Thank you!
Mini white potatoes or a different variety?
Mini white and red at costco 😅
Hi
I’ve just come across this recipe now. Just wondering if you can use half breastmilk and half water? Given it has to be fresh milk I don’t know if I’ll be able to pump out enough milk for a full cups worth. I do have plenty in the fridge though if I could use that? Thanks 🙂
Great question – yes you can use half water and half breast milk.
Hi Michele,
We have to start slowly weaning at 16 weeks because our daughter refuses to feed on milk due to possible silent reflux. She loves the tastes I have prepared for her.. so far just little bits to get her used to new tastes.
At 16 weeks, what is the recommended portion size? She’s less than 6 kg 🙂
Many thanks!
For babies, there are no portion sizes. You let them be the judge of how much food they need in their bodies at that meal. Sometimes they will eat a lot and sometimes they won’t eat at all and both are completely normal. I would say at this age 1 tablespoon at a time is average. Also, I would recommend you seeing a pediatrician for your babies silent reflux as almost all of babies calories and nutrients will be coming from breastmilk/formula for the first year. At this age you can’t subsitute purees for breastmilk/formula.
Hello,
Can you also use the steam basket for the sweet potatoes? What is the difference with roasting?
Yes! There are directions for how to steam the sweet potatoes, instead of roasting, inside the post. Either works well, I just love the dense taste of this puree when you roast the sweet potatoes. Hope that helps.
Can you make it in this big quantity with fresh breast milk and still freeze it with the breast milk in it? Or can you have it in the fridge with the fresh breast milk for 48 hours?
You can blend it with fresh breast milk and then freeze it for later.
This was amazing! Our little man loved it, and we were caught ourselves licking the spoon/blender. We did cinnamon because we didn’t have curry powder, and it turned out awesome!
So happy to hear that you all loved this recipe! Cinnamon is such a good substitution to the curry and makes this sweet potato puree taste so good and gives it all the Fall vibes:)
Can I thaw out frozen breastmilk to add as the liquid and re freeze left overs?
You should use fresh breast milk when pureeing and then freezing.
My son loves it! One of the favorites we’ve tried !
I am so happy to hear that your little one loves this puree! Keep up the great work! 🙂
Thank you for very informative and easy to follow way to make homemade food!
It tasted so good! I really had to stop myself from “I’ll just try it one more time, before I give it to you”
haha! I love this! You might need to make a double batch next time 😉