Sweet potato baby food recipe

Updated: May 30, 2024, By Swasthi

Sweet potato baby food recipes for 3 stages – A detailed post on introducing sweet potatoes to baby along with 3 easy tried and tested recipes. Sweet potato is considered to be one of the best first foods for babies. It is nutrient rich, easy to digest and can be prepared in many different ways.

Before you introduce sweet potato to your baby, speak to your pediatrician to confirm if it is the right time for you introduce it. Most babies develop a good head to neck control by 6 months of age, which is a good sign to understand your baby is ready enough for solids. In this post I have shared 3 recipes for different age groups.

Stage 1 for 6 months old baby
Stage 2 for 7 to 11 months baby
Stage 3 for 12 months to 2 years old

The texture of the baby food is different at each of these stages & is likely accepted by most babies. However if your baby still cannot eat it then you may go back to the earlier texture (stage 1).

Choosing sweet potatoes

Choose locally grown sweet potatoes as they are fresh and more delicious. If possible look for organically grown and less fibrous sweet potatoes. Avoid those with lots of fiber as they really don’t get pureed or mashed well.

sweet potatoes in a basket for baby

Photo Guide

4 ways to cook sweet potatoes

  1. Steam the sweet potatoes in a steamer or a pot by placing a steaming basket inside the pot.
  2. Boil them in a pot by pouring enough water to cover them.
  3. Pressure cook them in a traditional pressure cooker or an Instant pot. I used my Instant pot here to boil them. The Instant pot timings will depend on the size of your sweet potatoes and the kind you used. I have given the details in the recipe card below.
  4. Grill them in an oven. This option is better when your baby is around a year so it begins to know the flavors. Grilled sweet potatoes have a different kind of flavor. Just wrap them in a foil and grill them in your oven.
boiling in instant pot

Stage 1 – sweet potato puree

Stage 1 food is for babies who completed the 6 month and is into 7 month. At this stage a baby needs pureed food atleast for a few weeks so it is easy to get used to solids.

The best way to make sweet potato baby food for stage 1 is to puree the boiled or steamed sweet potatoes with some warm water or the water in which it is boiled. Most pediatricians suggest using breastmilk. You may go ahead if you prefer. But I always preferred warm water as it is easier for babies to digest single foods.

How to make: Peel and chop the boiled sweet potato and add them to a blender.

peeling boiled sweet potatoes

I used a glass chopper here. Earlier I would use steel and glass smoothie blenders for my babies which I had kept exclusively for making baby foods.

glass chopper with boiled veggies

Blend the sweet potatoes first and then pour water in batches just as needed. Blend to a slightly smooth puree. Over blending makes the sweet potato puree very sticky. Here is the texture of the prepared stage 1 sweet potato baby food. I haven’t made thicker or smoother than this anytime.

blending boiled veggies

Stage 2 – Sweet potato baby food

Stage 2 is for babies after completing 7 months. Once your baby develops a taste for different veggies and single grain cereals, you can try this one. To make food at this stage I would cook the peeled and chopped sweet potatoes along with some rice.

We Indians introduce homemade ghee (clarified butter) to babies along with solids. So I would add some ghee to this and then mash all of them well.

At this stage a baby can easily accept mashed foods without having to puree them. So you can keep the texture slightly coarse. However if your baby is unable to accept it then puree it in a blender.

As your baby grows, increase the serving size and move on to a coarse texture. This is the stage where the baby learns to accept mashed foods. So aim to move towards mashed foods from pureed.

After 8 months you can add clear soups, broths or more veggies to increase the nutrition. Use only veggies that you have introduced previously.

The second option for stage 2 is to just mash or puree the boiled sweet potato with some precooked rice which you make for your family.

sweet potato baby food in a blue bowl

Stage 3 – Sweet potato rice baby food

Stage 3 sweet potato baby food is for babies from 12 months to 2 years. The first option is to just add some butter and mash the sweet potatoes well. Most babies begin to enjoy mashed soft foods at this stage without having to puree them as they love the texture. If your’s still can’t then go back to the earlier stage until your baby is ready.

mashed boiled sweet potatoes

The second one is made with rice, sweet potatoes, ghee and jaggery. Back home in India, jaggery is introduced to babies after 6 to 7 months considering it is a rich source of iron.

Once your baby completes 12 months, you can make this rice and sweet potato dish with jaggery and ghee. It is like a pudding and tastes delicious.

If you do not want to introduce jaggery to your baby too early at 12 months, then you can always wait until your baby turns an year old. This is the picture of the food made with jaggery, rice, ghee and sweet potatoes.

jaggery sweet potato baby food for stage 3

How to make

Soak rice for about 30 minutes and cook it with sweet potato. I used half brown rice and half white rice and soaked it for about 2 hours. Then i cooked it on a low to medium flame until soft for two whistles in a pressure cooker. If you have an instant pot, cook it for 10 mins with PIP method.

Dissolve jaggery in clean drinking hot water and set aside.

dissolve jaggery in hot water

While the rice is still hot, mash it up well with a spoon. Don’t worry about the color. Rice gets discolored due to the sweet potatoes like you see in the picture below.

Filter jaggery water to the pot. Make sure the rice and sweet potato is softly mashed before adding jaggery syrup otherwise the rice turns grainy.

filter jaggery water

Stir and make a uniform thick mixture. You can optionally cook on a low to medium flame till the rice bubbles well. Add ghee. You can also add cardamom powder to flavor it.

Cool it completely and feed the baby before 2 hours of preparing it.

jaggery sweet potato rice in cooker

Recipe Card

sweet potato for baby

Sweet potato baby food

5 from 10 votes
Easy homemade healthy sweet potato baby food made for 3 stages.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Servings2
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

stage 1

  • ½ lb sweet potatoes (250 grams)

stage 2 ingredients

  • ¼ cup organic rice
  • cup water
  • ½ cup sweet potatoes peeled and chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

stage 3 ingredients

  • ¼ teaspoon green cardamom powder
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon organic jaggery


Instructions

Stage 1 sweet potato baby puree

  • Rinse the sweet potatoes well and boil them until tender. If using an Instant pot, pour water inside the steel insert and place the sweet potatoes on the steam rack. Pressure cook them for 5 mins if using medium sized one, 10 mins for larger ones.
  • When the sweet potatoes are done, cool and peel them. Puree in a blender with some water or breast milk. Stage 1 baby food should be soft.

For stage 2

  • Rinse rice well in a bowl. Soak for about 30 minutes. Drain the water and pour fresh water.
  • If using instant pot, Pour 1 cup water to the steel insert. Place the bowl over a trivet and cover the bowl. Press pressure cook button and Set the timer to 10 mins. If cooking in a traditional pressure cooker, cook for 3 whistles on a medium flame.
  • When the pressure releases, remove the bowl and mash the rice well. If needed you can add water or soup to bring it to a consistency. If you prefer a smoother texture, then puree the sweet potato baby food.

For stage 3

  • Add jaggery to the hot food along with ghee and mix well. If your jaggery has debris, then dissolve it in little boiling or hot water. Then pour this to the cooked sweet potato baby food.
  • Cool the baby food first and then serve.


NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Sweet potato baby food
Amount Per Serving
Calories 125 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 3mg1%
Sodium 27mg1%
Potassium 139mg4%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 4717IU94%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 16mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Swasthi

Iโ€™m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโ€™s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
Hi swasthi wanted to know 2 things…. first what’s the difference between orange flesh sweet potato and white one? In Blr I get white one only and hence giving him that only.
Second is it ok not to use any sweetener like jaggery in the recipe ? I just steam sweet potatoes and add it to boiled rice and then mash…,
Thanks

5 stars
Hi swasthi , can I add a dal to this recipe for variety and to add more nutrition?

Thanks

5 stars
Hi..My daughter is not eating from last two days…i used to give her moong dal khichadi with veg she used to eat before but now she is not…Can you pls suggest wat else can be given her to eat…She is 8 months old..

Why can’t you give sweet potato rice savoury one with curd?

I am feeling so relaxed reading these recipes . Kindly keep posting more for the babies.
Thanks ?

5 stars
Hi,
Can this sweet potato dish be given for 7months 10 days old baby… i know sweet potato is good and can be used but is it appropiate to start at this stage

5 stars
Hi, Swasthi,
Superb Information..
I just wanted to ask you my baby is 7 months old, wanted to introduce ragi to her, so just tell me can we add cows milk to it as I am already giving her but in very small quantity. And after the whole procedure & aftr it cools thn only have to add milk

Hi Swasthi
My baby is 12 month above.she has no mother.she take,s cow,goat milk & dal khichdi.but she is not a healthy baby.give me some recepies for 12 month 7 above.

Hi Swasthi
can i give banana milkshake For 7 Month old baby plez reply me