How to Serve Raspberries to Baby
Medically reviewed by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).
In this guide, learn how to prepare raspberries for your baby in 6 delicious and easy ways! As yummy superfoods, raspberries are a great first food for babies 4-6 months and up. Serve them as a baby food puree, as a solid for the finger food stage or for baby-led weaning.
Raspberry Baby Food
Sweet, tart and juicy raspberries! Such a fun and delightful berry to introduce to your baby.
In this guide, I will go over all the ways you can prepare raspberries – from purees to baby-led weaning, I will cover it all.
First time making homemade baby food? Then, make sure to start by reading our very in-depth guides – Guide on how to Make Homemade Baby Food and/or Complete Guide to Baby-Led Weaning. And be sure to check out my best-selling cookbook, Little Foodie: Baby Food Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste, for even more information and recipes!
Benefits of Raspberries for Baby
- Raspberries, like all berries, are excellent sources of fiber, which helps keeps the gut happy and healthy.
- They’re also high in vitamin C, which helps support the immune system and is important for iron absorption.
- They’re a good source of vitamin K, which is vital for blood clotting and bone health.
- Numerous antioxidants are found in raspberries, including vitamin E, beta carotene, lutein, and lycopene.
Frozen vs. Fresh Raspberries: if fresh raspberries are not in season or in your budget, frozen raspberries would be a great option as they are nutritionally similar and easy to find in most grocery stores.
When to Introduce Raspberries to Baby
Whether you’re starting your baby on purees or are doing baby-led weaning, raspberries are a wholesome and enjoyable first food for your baby! When a baby can start on solids is determined by their own rate of development, which generally comes between 4-6 months of age for purees and or after 6 months for baby-led weaning. Some of the developmental milestones your baby needs to reach in order to start on 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’s feeding journey, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure your child is developmentally ready.
Raspberries are not typically a choking hazard due to their soft consistency. Just make sure to serve the ripe ones instead of the ones that are harder. You can always pull them apart or flatten them with your fingers if that makes you feel better.
Raspberries are not one of the top eight food allergens so it’s uncommon to be allergic, though it can happen. People with pollen fruit syndrome, or oral allergy syndrome, may be sensitive to them, but it’s not the same as an allergy.
How to Serve Raspberries to Baby
There are several different ways to prepare raspberries for your baby! You can make them into a smooth puree, a combination puree, a chunky puree for stage three, mashed into ricotta or whole for baby-led weaning or a finger food. Here are 6 of my favorite ways to serve them:
Stage One Purees
- Simmered Raspberry Puree
- 2-Minute Raspberry Puree
Stage Two Purees
- 6 Delicious Combination Purees
Stage Three Purees
- Raspberry, Ricotta & Nut Butter
Baby-Led Weaning or Finger Foods
- Raspberries for Baby-Led Weaning or Finger Foods: whole, quartered, or chopped
- Raspberry, Ricotta & Nut Butter
- Raspberry & Yogurt Popsicles
Simmered Raspberry Puree
This simmered puree is a simple and easy way to make a yummy raspberry puree for your baby. While simmering, some of the raspberry’s natural water content evaporates, leaving a thicker and sweeter puree. This is helpful because if you blend raspberries into a puree, the puree will be thinner. You can also easily use frozen raspberries for this puree.
How to Serve: you can serve this puree as-is, mixed with an apple, pear, or sweet potato puree, swirled into oatmeal, yogurt, or ricotta.
Instructions (see below for the full recipe): place raspberries and water into a medium-low saucepan and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes. Place the cooked raspberries in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If the seeds are too much for your baby, you can strain them in a fine mesh colander. This puree will start on the thinner side but will thicken in the fridge as it cools.
Raspberry Tip: this is a great recipe for using frozen raspberries. You can add frozen raspberries straight to the saucepan and simmer for 12-14 minutes or until soft and thawed through.
2-Minute Raspberry Puree
Want to make a delicious raspberry puree for baby but are short on time? Then this easy-peasy recipe is for you! We are simply going to blend up some fresh raspberries and call it a day! Yes, it can be that easy.
Instructions (see below for the full recipe): place fresh or frozen and then thawed raspberries into a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. If the seeds are too much for your baby, you can strain them in a fine mesh colander. This puree will start on the thinner side but will thicken in the fridge as it cools.
Raspberries for Self-Feeding
Raspberries are a great food for your baby to self-feed, whether for baby-led weaning, which happens around 6 months of age or during the finger foods stage at 9 months. Because raspberries are naturally soft and not a choking hazard, you can serve them to your baby whole, quartered, or chopped from 6 months of age but keep in mind that babies pincer grasp doesn’t usually develop until around 9 months of age making the smaller pieces harder for them to pick up.
Whole: great for babies 6+ months or just starting on solid foods. Whole raspberries are great for younger babies as they will have an easier time picking up the bigger pieces with their palmar grasp.
Quartered: 9+ months and up. You can serve baby quartered raspberries from the very start but your baby may have a hard time picking the small quarters up until around 9 months when they start to developed their pincer grasp.
Chopped: 9-10 months and up. Whenever your baby’s pincer grasp has developed, you can serve them diced raspberries, which is usually around 9-10 months.
6 Raspberry Combination Purees
You can mix and match raspberries with many other great fruits and veggies to make a fun combination puree. Here are my 6 favorites.
- Banana Raspberry Puree: place 2 ripe bananas and 1 cup of freah raspberries in a blender and puree until smooth. Freeze immediately to preserve the color.
- Avocado Raspberry Puree: on a cutting board, mash 1/2 a ripe avocado with 5-7 raspberries until super smooth. Freeze immediately to preserve the color.
- Sweet Potato Raspberry Puree: follow this sweet potato recipe but add fresh raspberries to the backing sheet when you have 10 minutes left on your cooking time. Puree as instructed in the recipe.
- Apple Raspberry Puree: follow this apple puree recipe, but add 1-2 cups of raspberries when you cook the apples. Puree as instructed in the recipe.
- Carrot Raspberry Puree: follow this carrot puree recipe, but add 1-2 cups of raspberries while blending.
- Pear Raspberry Puree: follow this pear puree recipe, but add 1-2 cups of raspberries when you add the pears to the saucepan. Cook and puree as instructed in the recipe.
Raspberry, Ricotta & Nut Butter
Raspberries paired with creamy ricotta! What’s even better, when you swirl in a little nut butter! This is a protein-packed food for your baby! Of course, you can also use cottage cheese or whole-milk plain yogurt in this recipe, if you prefer.
How to Serve: you can serve this to your baby on a spoon, in a bowl for them to rack into their mouths, a self-feeding spoon, or on a piece of toast, pancake, or waffle.
Instructions (see below for the full recipe): add raspberries, ricotta, and any nut butter you prefer to a small bowl and mix together until raspberries and mashed and everything is incorporated.
Raspberry & Yogurt Popsicles
A fun way to introduce raspberries to your baby is in the form of a popsicle! Homemade popsicles that have no added sugar can be introduced to babies around 6 months of age. While some babies will love the cool sensation on their tender teething gums, others may not love this frozen food until later on.
How to Serve: place your baby in a highchair and serve them one popsicle. We love the Nuby Pop Tray and the Zoku Mini Pop popsicle molds for babies.
Instructions (see below for the full recipe): In a medium bowl, add the yogurt, raspberry puree and lemon juice and gently fold together. Spoon into a baby-sized popsicle mold, freeze for at least 5 hours or preferably overnight.
Storage Instructions
You can freeze any of the purees listed above. For finger foods, you can store any leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
REFRIGERATOR
You can store this raspberry puree in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
FREEZER
This raspberry puree can be frozen for up to 4 months.
- Spoon pureed raspberry into a freezer storage container – do not overfill.
- Place the lid on the storage container or cover with a piece of saran wrap and label with date and recipe name.
- Place the tray into the freezer and let freeze completely – preferably overnight.
- Pop-out the baby food cubes and place in a zip-lock baggie or stasher bag – don’t forget to re-label the baggie or stasher bag for future reference.
Tips
- Organic vs. Traditional: Raspberries are on the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list so buy organic if you can for less pesticide residue. Buying frozen is a good way to buy organic produce on the cheap(er), plus they won’t go bad as long as they’re in the freezer. This is a great option when using raspberries in smoothies, purees, or baked goods.
- Freeze when Fresh: Another way to save on fresh organic raspberries is to buy them in bulk when they’re on sale and in season. Place what you will eat within the week in the fridge and put the remaining berries in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the freezer to use later.
- Diaper Rash: If baby has diaper rash, you may want to avoid serving them as the acid in the berries can make it worse, or cause diarrhea due to the fiber content.
Tools Needed
- Baby Bowls
- Suction Baby Plates
- Baby Spoons
- Beaba Babycook
- Freezer Storage Tray
- Gootensil
- Saucepan
- Baking Sheet
Get the recipe: Raspberries for Baby: Purees & BLW
Ingredients
Simmered Raspberry Puree
- 2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 pinch cinnamon (optional)
2-Minute Raspberry Puree
- 2 cups raspberries, fresh or thawed if using frozen
Baby-Led Weaning/Finger Food Stage
- 3-4 raspberries, fresh
Raspberries, Ricotta & Peanut Butter
- 3 tbsp ricotta, whole milk
- 5-6 raspberries, fresh or thawed from frozen
- 1/2-1 tsp peanut butter, or other nut butter
Raspberry & Yogurt Popsicles
- 1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt, or plain plant-based yogurt
- 1 cup raspberry puree, either the Simmered Raspberry Puree or 2-Minute Raspberry Puree will work, seeds removed
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
Simmered Raspberry Puree
- Place the raspberries, water, and cinnamon into a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes or until soft and broken down.
- Let cool slightly and then transfer the raspberries to a blender or food processor and puree for 1-2 minutes until smooth. If there are too many seeds, pour the puree through a fine mesh colander into another bowl. The puree will thicken as it cools in the fridge or freezer.
2-Minute Raspberry Puree
- Place raspberries into a blender and puree for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
- If there are too many seeds, pour the puree through a fine mesh colander into another bowl. The puree will thicken as it cools in the fridge or freezer.
Baby-Led Weaning/Finger Food Stage
- Serve to your baby whole, quartered or chopped depending on your baby's age (see graph).
Raspberries, Ricotta & Peanut Butter
- Place the ricotta, raspberries and nut butter in a small bowl.
- Using a fork, mash the raspberries and mix until incorporated.
Raspberry & Yogurt Popsicles
- In a medium bowl, gently stir together the yogurt, raspberry puree and lemon juice. You don't want it mixed all together, you can leave it so the ingredients are just swirled together.
- Spoon mixture into small baby-sized popsicle molds. Place the molds into the freezer and freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Take the popsicle out of the mold and hand it to your baby.
Notes
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