Have you ever browsed the baby food aisle, looking at those cute pouches ($1.80, $2.30, or sometimes even $2.50 for organic baby food), reading their ingredients, and wondered to yourself:

“Hey, I think I can make this…”?

Feeding your baby delicious and nutritious homemade baby food may seem daunting at first, but fear not! This guide can help you determine what it would take for you to transition to making wholesome, homemade purees to start your baby on solids.

We’ll even include your time and effort in the budget, so you can come armed with everything you need.

Here’s how we break it down for you in this article:

• The benefits of homemade – If you’re thinking of going homemade, here are some real benefits to inspire you.
  
  

• Store-bought vs homemade comparison – From cost, storage, and shelf life, to your effort and time: we break down what you’ll need at a glance.
  
  

• Budget breakdown – How much would you need to spend per meal and per week? How much time and effort would you need to set aside? Plan your homemade journey realistically.
  
  

• Tips to get you started – If you want to get started on homemade, we’ve got our own tips and tricks to help!
  
  

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Why Choose Homemade?

Hey, parents, we get it. You don’t have to go homemade if pre-made/store-bought has been working for you! But if you’re exploring what it would take, here are some benefits of pureeing at home for your baby:

• Control every ingredient. No added salt, sugar, preservatives, or thickeners. You can control what your baby eats.
  
  

• Infinite variety. With a bit of learning about baby-safe first foods, you can easily mix and match ingredients to your baby’s taste.
  
  

• Freshness and flavour. Nothing beats the goodness of seasonal produce cooked at home. (And if you’re using the KiddoKook Pro, the steam cooking locks in those nutrients.)
  
  

• Bulk cooking. No need to run to the store when stocks are low; bulk cooking lets you prep in advance so you never really run out.
  
  

• Texture control. Especially with a powerful baby food maker, like KiddoKook Pro, you can adjust texture easily as your baby progresses from smooth to chunky.
  
  

• Portion control. Minimise mess and waste by preparing smaller portions for baby. (With the help of baby-friendly trays like the PureePops Tray.)
  
  

• Allergen adaptability. You can adapt meals for allergies, dietary tweaks, or creative recipes. It’s all up to you.

 

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At-a-Glance Budget Comparison: Store-Bought vs Homemade

Aside from all the benefits above, homemade baby food significantly trumps store-bought when it comes to price.

Here’s a quick comparison for a baby eating one 120 g meal per day (seven meals per week) and what those numbers might look like if you made the same food at home.

Store-Bought Baseline

• Our reference: “Only Organic” 120 g pouch, a common organic brand in Australia.
  
  

• Coles lists “Only Organic Banana Raspberry & Vanilla 120 g” at $1.50 on special.
  
  

• Regular shelf price is usually around $2.30.

 

However, take note that this is assuming that your baby will love this one flavour only. 

Suppose you want to give your baby options. In that case, you’ll have to purchase different flavoured pouches, open another if your baby doesn’t like the taste of the current one, and risk wastage for all the different flavours you’ve purchased that didn’t quite meet baby’s culinary standards. It can be tough. 😅

This can increase your costs per week when on store-bought baby food, but can also make you brand-hop or flavour-hop in order to find the best texture and taste matches for your baby.

 

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Homemade Equivalent: Pumpkin + Sweet Potato Purée

First, let’s compute how much each meal would cost, if we were to recreate the “Only Organic” 120 g pouch, with the flavour “Pumpkin & Sweet Potato”.

Assumptions and Estimates

• Organic pumpkin costs about $4.99 per kg.
  

• Sweet potato costs about $4.50 per kg.
  

• You’ll use 600 g pumpkin and 300 g sweet potato to make about 900 g of purée after peeling and trimming.
  

• That makes around seven to eight 120 g servings, with an end cost of $0.54–$0.62 per 120 g serving.

That’s a huge difference in cost: you’re saving up to 75% of your budget if you go homemade compared to store-bought!

But it’s not just about the savings. You’re also minimising wastage and having full control over your baby’s meals.

Here’s a complete comparison.

Store-bought vs homemade: a comparison

 

When you have control over portions and recipes, you’re giving much more variety to your baby, you can take note of and tailor recipes to suit your baby’s evolving preferences, and you can do it all while staying within your budget.

Making homemade baby food isn’t for everyone, and that’s completely alright. But if you find yourself drawn to all these benefits, here are some tips to get you started.

 

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Tips to get you started

If you’re already convinced that homemade is how you want to go, congratulations! Here are some tips and tricks to make it easy for your homemade baby food journey.

Safety first when meal prepping. As long as you’re sterilising equipment, prepping well, and storing properly, you should have no problems with the quality of your homemade baby food. 

(Tip: Having a self-cleaning baby food maker like KiddoKook Pro removes a lot of effort from baby food meal prepping.) 

Cook with the seasons. Choose fruits and vegetables that are in season! They’re fresher, tastier, and often more affordable. Think pumpkin and sweet potato in cooler months, zucchini and mango in summer, and apples or pears almost year-round.

Mix it up. Combine baby-safe fruits and veggies to create nutritious, balanced meals and introduce new flavours. For example, pair iron-rich foods like pumpkin or lentils with vitamin C sources like pear or broccoli to help with absorption. 

Use the right, baby-friendly tools. A few well-chosen tools make all the difference. Try the Chill’n’Chew Tray and Feeder to introduce new flavours safely and to create frozen treats for baby, the PureePops Tray for baby-friendly, easy-to-defrost portions, and the SiliSqueeze Pouch to make travel-friendly and baby-sized mealtimes.

Let your baby food maker do the heavy lifting. The KiddoKook Pro steams and blends (as well as defrosts and reheats), which means less time cooking and more time crafting the perfect meals. You can adjust texture as your baby grows, from smooth purées to thicker mashes, all in minutes.

Batch, label, and store. Set aside an hour once a week to cook in bulk, label each portion with the date and flavour, and freeze what you won’t use within a few days. You’ll thank yourself later on busy evenings!

Save your favourite recipes. Check out our regularly updated Kiddo Kitchen Recipes page, for some ideas for where to start on your homemade food journey for your baby! 

 

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One last note about baby food 🫶 

Hey, there’s no shame in using store-bought baby food! It has its place; sometimes, convenience wins, and that’s okay. 

But if this guide has shown you anything, it’s that making baby food at home doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. With a little planning (and maybe a trusty baby food maker 😉), you can create fresh, nourishing meals that taste great and fit your routine. 

Give it a go! You might be surprised by how simple, satisfying, and budget-friendly it can be.