How to Steam Vegetables for Baby Food

Steaming vegetables for baby food is the best way to cook the vegetable while retaining the vitamins and nutrients often lost through other means of cooking. Steaming vegetables for your baby's food (particularly when they are organic) is a good way to ensure that your baby is not ingesting unnecessary preservatives or additives such as those often found in canned baby food.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vegetables
• Pot (with lid)
• Steaming basket
• Fork
• Food processor

1. Thoroughly wash and chop or dice the vegetable to be steamed into 1-inch or smaller pieces.

2. Place the diced vegetable into a steamer basket and fill a pot of the corresponding size with enough water to almost touch the bottom of the basket.

3. Place the pot on the stove and turn it to medium heat. Cover the pot with a lid that fits well.

4. Allow the vegetables to steam for 5 minutes and then check them by piercing them with a fork.

5. If the vegetable pierces easily, remove a piece from the pot and crush it with the back side of the fork to see if it will easily puree without lumps. If not, steam for another 5 minutes and repeat the test.

6. Remove the steam basket when the vegetables are finished and drain thoroughly. Then puree the vegetables in a food processor (for a young baby) or mash them lightly with a fork (for an older baby).

Tips & Warnings

• Some vegetables may take longer to steam than others, so always add extra steaming time in order to provide a vegetable soft enough for a baby to manage.
• If the vegetable you are steaming is fibrous, such as asparagus or broccoli, puree it in a food processor to make sure there are no lumps that could become a choking hazard.

Resources

• Vegetable Steaming Chart

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