This Chicken, Sweet Potato and Thyme Puree is the perfect homemade chicken puree for when baby starts solids. With nothing but the goodness of chicken (iron!), vegetables and thyme, it’s full of flavour and without any additives or preservatives. This is a very easy puree recipe to make, and your baby’s little taste buds will appreciate this home-cooked deliciousness!
Babies generally don’t stay on purées for an extended period of time after starting solids – it’s recommended that the texture of their food move from puree to mashed/lumpy to normal texture by 12 months of age [1]. And so this was really the only homemade chicken puree I served to Baby LJ before moving on to chunkier baby food and finger foods. The same can be said for my Beef and Vegetable Puree. He loved them both, and so I’d make a batch, serve as a meal and then freeze the rest in baby food/ice cube trays for short-term future meals.
Ingredients in Chicken, Sweet Potato and Thyme Puree
This homemade chicken puree has just a few whole-food ingredients:
Chicken thighs – Use thigh meat rather than breast if you can. Not only is thigh meat more flavourful, it contains nearly double the amount of haem iron [2] and zinc as breast meat.
Sweet potato – A source of non-haem iron, and Vitamin C which aides in its absorption [3].
Onion – I use brown/yellow onion, but you could also use the same amount of white onion, shallot or leek.
Thyme – A great flavour to introduce to baby early into starting solids. Use fresh herbs if you can.
Water
How to make chicken puree
Like all homemade purees should be, this is an easy one to whip up in a thermo cooker or conventionally. I use my Thermomix, but any all-in-one appliance, baby food maker or stovetop will work!
Thermomixer? Simply chop, cook and blend in your machine.
Conventional cook? Sauté the onion and thyme on the stovetop in a tablespoon of olive oil, and then add the chicken, sweet potato and water. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the sweet potato is cooked through. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor to purée, being careful with the hot liquid.
See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and detailed steps for both thermo cooker and conventional methods.
How to serve this puree
Early into starting solids, I served this Chicken, Sweet Potato and Thyme Puree on its own. Later, I used it as a pasta sauce or served it chunkier with rice when Baby LJ was working on self-feeding.
How to store chicken puree
This homemade baby food can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. It can also be frozen. I used baby food freezer trays/ice cube trays for freezing individual portions, so that I had them available at the ready. Be food safe when freezing, defrosting and reheating baby food.
Looking for more ideas on what homemade baby food to make? Check out the Puree category. Another delicious homemade puree which is great to either serve on its own or as a pasta sauce for self-feeding and BLW is this Lentil and Vegetable Puree. Lentils are an amazing first food, packed with protein, iron, fibre and zinc amongst other nutrients.
If you try this baby food recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest too for more baby food recipes.
Hope your baby enjoys this recipe as much as mine did.
Chloe x
Chicken, Sweet Potato and Thyme Puree
Category: PuréeTap or hover to scale
Ingredients
- 40 g / 1/4 brown/yellow onion roughly chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 15 g / 1 tbs olive oil
- 225 g chicken thigh cut into 3cm cubes (approx. 2 thigh)
- 300 g sweet potato peeled and roughly chopped into 3cm pieces
- 150 g water
Thermo Cooker Instructions
- Put the onion and thyme into the mixing bowl. Chop for 3 seconds, speed 5, MC on. Scrape down the mixing bowl.
- Add the olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes, 100°C, speed 1, MC off.
- Add the chicken, sweet potato and water. Cook for 15 minutes, 100°C, Speed 1, MC off. Put the simmering basket on the lid to avoid splatter.
- To puree, chop for 15 seconds, speed 5, MC on. Scrape down the mixing bowl and lid, and repeat until you are happy with the consistency (Note 1).
Conventional Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion and thyme for 4 to 5 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add the chicken, sweet potato and water. Bring to the boil, and then let simmer for 15 minutes until sweet potato is cooked through. Remove from the heat.
- Using a food processor or blender, blend until you are happy with the consistency (see Note 1).
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
[1] Infant Feeding Guidelines: Summary, 2013, National Health and Medical Research Council.
[2] Chicken Cuts, 2020, Australian Chicken Meat Federation.
[3] Iron for toddlers and children, 2017, The State of Queensland.
[4] Homemade baby food, 2023, Raising Children Network Australia.
