Snag this awesome list of food for 1 year olds to toddlers, and the 9, 10, and 11 month old babies in between learning to eat table and finger foods. Includes a free printable list too!
Wondering what types of food to feed give your baby or 1 year old? As a pediatric occupational therapist and mom, I’ve got your covered. You’ll find that most of the ideas I am sharing are for babies 10 months and up, but it really depends on how well your baby or toddler is chewing foods. You could be introducing these a little earlier or later.
In general, these are perfect foods for 1 year olds and those a little younger!
Wait, I’m worried about my baby or toddler choking on solid food!
If you’re worried about your baby choking make sure you check out our guide on baby gagging. Understandably, this is a common concern. Keep in mind that gagging and choking are two different things. It’s quite common for babies and toddlers to gag occasionally.
If your baby or toddler gags a lot with new foods they might be getting used to the texture. Or, they may need help learning to chew.
However, if it’s happening a lot you’ll want to talk to your doctor and for sure head to that guide. This is something I’ve seen a lot as an OT and the sooner you address it the better.
Of course, any concerns at all about your child’s eating or variety of foods should be brought up with your child’s pediatrician.
And, if you’re wondering when you should first serve the ever popular crunchy breakfast cereal, Cheerios, then head to When Can Babies Eat Cheerios.
Are these Food Appropriate for My Baby or Toddler?
These guidelines are based on my experience as a licensed occupational therapist and the 17 years of experience working with hundreds of families. The suggestions are also in alignment with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations.
If your baby hasn’t started eating yet, learn how to transition them to table foods, or if they’re constantly refusing please head to our 7 step guide for when baby won’t eat.
To be honest, I wanted to have a resource for myself, since Isaac (10 months old) is right in the middle of this transition and I am struggling to make sure he has enough variety.
I do have to admit that Isaac isn’t (hmm, need to choose my words carefully here,) the best eater.
He chews and manages food very well, but unless the texture isn’t right, he isn’t very interested. Of course, this is very frustrating! To make sure I optimize my chances at success (aka: he actually eats something other than Gerber Puffs or Cheerios), I need a go to a list with all of my ideas (plus some new ones), so I am not scrambling in the craziness of meal prep.
If you’re in the same boat, check out our free workshop to help your toddler learn to eat a wider variety of foods.
The list is organized into three categories:
- fruits/vegetables
- carbs
- proteins
When putting together meals, plan for at least one food in each of these three groups. Also, keep in mind that if you mash up a casserole or lasagna, all three categories may be covered in one shot. For example, with the lasagna: spaghetti sauce= protein, noodles= carbs, and meat or cheese= protein.
Let’s get started…
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Tips for Feeding Table Foods to Babies
- Make sure everything you give your baby for the first time is closely monitored. Chew a small piece in your mouth first and pay attention to how hard it is to chew. If it doesn’t break down easily and quickly, it probably isn’t a good choice.
- Stay calm if your baby coughs or chokes a little, it will happen. If you freak out, they will freak out. If they are coughing or choking on a food frequently, stop giving it to them and re-introduce at a later date.
- Cut food into small pieces so they can chew it easily. Cut beans in half and make sure meats are soft and moist. Help your baby with foods that are difficult to pick up, don’t make the pieces bigger until you are sure they can manage them.
- This is a list of table foods, not necessarily finger foods, although many of them are. For example, spread hummus on crackers or serve cottage cheese.
- Have your baby or toddler eat with the rest of the family. It’s the best way for them to see other’s eating a variety of healthy meals and food groups. They learn so much from watching YOU eat!
- If your baby is under 1 they’ll still be drinking formula or breast milk. You can serve some during the meal in an open cup, straw, or sippy cup. Children at this age typically don’t need fruit juice, but water is a great option. Once a child has their first birthday they can be transitioned to cow’s milk.
- At every meal offer a fruit or vegetable, carb, and protein for a balanced meal. Snacks don’t have to include a protein. Baby food is optional, but by this age focus on moving them towards all table food at a meal.
- Cutting foods into small pieces can be a pain, but offer small pieces that are easy to pick up and small amounts so they aren’t overwhelmed. This also helps prevent choking hazards of overstuffing and too large pieces that they can’t manage. You can also cut food into stick shapes if your child is able to manage that well.
- This suction mat is also my favorite if your using a chair that pulls right up to the table or if your going to a restaurant. Check out the little pocket to catch the food, brilliant. I used this with all three of my kids, and it’s held up amazingly! Seven years of use, not too shabby.
- If you use a high chair, these suction bowls are awesome for trays!
Before we move on, if your baby is 9-10 months old and struggling to eat table foods, be proactive. They can learn to eat with some specific strategies.
Check out the free workshop that will help you get your baby or toddler on the right track: 5 Easy Changes Parents Can Make To Help Babies & Toddlers Eat Table Foods Well!. Includes a free workbook:)
Food Ideas for 10-11 month and 1 Year Olds
Protein Ideas
Tofu
Meatballs (gluten and dairy free optional with this link)
Meatloaf
Cheese shredded from a hand grater (it is thicker and easier to grab this way)
Salmon
Chicken (make sure it’s a soft texture)
Homemade mini Chicken Nuggets (gluten and dairy free option)
Turkey (ground or breast cutlet)
Hard-boiled egg
Scrambled egg
Hummus
Black Beans
Cheese Spreads
Cottage Cheese
Ricotta Cheese
Crumbled Goat Cheese (or use as spread)
Plain Pulled Port (make sure it’s extra soft)
Shreds of Pot Roast (make sure it’s extra soft)
Yogurt
Tzatziki Sauce (may need to puree if there are large pieces of cucumber in it)
Peanut Butter (now safe to give to babies/toddlers, spread thin or thin out with water)
Olive oil (great healthy fat, drizzle on top of carbs or veggies)
Carb Ideas for Baby and Toddler
Toast
Plain or Buttered Bread
English Muffin
Bagel
Cheerios
Barley
Corn Grits/Polenta
Brown Rice
Short Pasta
Graham Crackers
Town House Crackers
Pancakes
Crepes
French Toast
Tortilla
Pita
Oatmeal
Quinoa
Cream of wheat
Fruit and Vegetable Breads (ie: Zucchini, banana)
Muffins
Fresh Fruit/Vegetable Ideas for Baby and 1 Year Old
Peaches
Watermelon
Plum
Mango
Banana
Avocado
Potato
Sweet Potato
Applesauce
Pears
Peas
Cooked Diced Apples
Cooked Diced Carrots (great to use pieces from soups)
Cooked Diced Celery
Pureed Soups (ie: tomato, butternut squash)
Inside of Baked Potato
Mashed Potato
Mashed Sweet Potato
Broccoli (make sure it’s extra soft)
Cauliflower (make sure it’s extra soft)
Puree Fruits
Butternut Squash
Zucchini
Strawberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Raspberries (many babies will find these too tart, but still give it a try)
Spinach (use in casseroles or foods you’re mashing up)
*If your baby is struggling with the taste or texture of fresh fruits you can also try freeze dried varieties. They’re also great as quick health snack while you’re traveling.
Baby Meal Plans
Below, I am outlining some various meal plans, just to give you some ideas. Many of the meals would suit a toddler or big kid as well. Again, depending on how your child is managing foods, you may need to dice or mash foods more. I would encourage you to think of what you are eating and if you could modify it for your baby. Ideally you want your baby (soon to be toddler) to be eating what you are eating.
This may mean some planning ahead.
Mash up or chop up what you are eating into small pieces. Once you get into this frame of mind, you will be surprised to think of all the foods your baby can enjoy, too!
Also, I try to vary textures at each meal. Meaning, I want one kind of food that need to be eaten from a spoon and at least one that is finger-fed. It doesn’t always work out this way, but that’s the goal. especially as they are transitioning off of all pureed foods.
Breakfast Ideas for 10 -11 Month and 1 Year Olds
- English muffin with cream cheese and chopped strawberries
- Cottage cheese (depending on age, may need to chop coarsely in food processor), diced pear, and graham crackers
- Diced hard-boiled egg, diced toast with butter, and applesauce
- Cream Of Wheat with pureed berries and plain whole milk yogurt (yes, mix this all together)
- Pumpkin waffles and diced banana
Check out toddler breakfast ideas for more inspiration.
Lunch Ideas for 10-11 month and 1 year Olds
- Tortilla folded in half (quesadilla style) with a little melted cheese inside and mashed avocado
- No sugar added applesauce, zucchini bread, and shredded mozzarella pieces
- Tomato soup with black beans and blueberry cornbread
- Hummus spread on pita with diced fruit salad (or whatever fruit you have on hand)
- Shreds of pot roast in tzatziki sauce and pureed mango-banana sauce (blend pieces of mango and banana together, leaving it a little chunky)
Head over to toddler lunches for 17 more easy and healthy ideas perfect for 1 and 2 year olds!
Dinner Ideas for 10-11 Month and 1 Year Olds
- Ricotta or cottage cheese, spaghetti sauce, spinach, and whole wheat noodles chopped coarsely through a blender or food processor. Also, give some pieces of noodles to finger feed
- Tilapia, steamed and slightly overcooked broccoli, and polenta
- Meatballs, barley, and diced carrots
- Mashed sweet potatoes, tender turkey breast or cutlet, and pieces of buttered bread
- Canned salmon (I always use wild Alaskan), quinoa, and diced apples/butternut squash
Find even more food ideas for babies and toddlers in Ultimate List of Baby/Toddler Meal Ideas and if you’re looking specifically for high calorie foods, click on over to High Calorie Foods for Baby and Toddlers.
Want a Free Printable Food List for 10-11 Month and 1 Year Old’s?
Yup, you heard me right, grab our Mega List of Toddler Foods and Meal Ideas Printable full of tons of finger food ideas for toddlers and babies, with Bonus High Calorie Foods. You can print this out and hang it right on your fridge. I’ll send it right to your inbox!
More for Babies and Toddlers
How to Transition Your Baby to Table Foods
Toddler Portion Sizes: How Much to Serve
How to Teach Your Baby or Toddler to Feed Themself
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Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
Thank you for posting this mega list. It is so helpful and nice to have all this great info in one place. Great Article.
My little girl just turned one. She looks great but she is in the 3rd percentile in weight, which seems to concern my doctor a little. However, her frame is just petite (exactly how I was when I was her age). To put it in comparison her head circumference is only in the fifth percentile, but her height is in the 75th. She quit eating baby food a long time ago, something about the texture. Her pickiness isn’t as much of the issue when trying to get her to eat real food as is her attitude. She wants to be independent. We are doing our best with variety and just letting her eat on the go, as she won’t sit for long. She doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite either. Her brain development is amazing. She is recently obsessed with the new baby mommy is going to have and at her recent doctor’s appointment she went over to the doc and untied her shoe before I could get a chance to stop her (haha and doc was impressed). I tell this just to show how great this area of development is. She also walks (no runs) all the time. I am worried about her eating habits but not necessarily her gaining weight. My question is if gaining weight is an issue, should I NOT try to get her eating less bottles of formula (around 24 oz a day). She won’t drink whole milk or pediasure and she has a very sensitive tummy. For the first 9 months of breastfeeding I couldn’t eat tomatoe sauce or any dairy. We have also been having issues with constipation and I’m wondering the best way to keep this in check as well. We do miralax, benefiber, and caro syrup (seems to work the best and not make her sick). I try to do as much fiber in food as I can and avoid cheese, but she loves cheese and it’s great for her gain weight. Whether or not she will eat anything I put in front of her is a constant guessing game. I need something to aid in her potty going so I can focus on helping her gain and keep up weight. I just switched doctors and am trying to development a eating plan with her. However, I’m curious for your input. Your sight has been very helpful!
Wow great ideas. Thank you. I’ve been trying to transition to table foods. This will make it easier to have food and meal ideas.
I’m so glad I found your blog, but now I’m freaking out that we’ve ruined our 11-month-old’s eating habits as he’s still 100% on donated breast milk and formula and organic baby food pouches. We’ve been trying puffs on and off for the past month, and he’s just now getting the hang of them. Please tell me we haven’t screwed him up completely (first-time parents, obviously)!
Oh my goodness, no you have not! Follow these steps and see the articles on transitioning to table food for help- they are in the side bar or the article index in the menu bar. Definitely focus on table foods now without stressing yourself or the baby out. Let me know if you need more help!
Hi Kristen, my name is Victoria and I just found this web-site, read the article, scrolled down and saw your comment. Dont EVER think you ruined anything about your child, I dont even know you and I’m sure you are doing 10000000% of the best you can. My daughter just turned 1 year old and she just started chewing. All babies are different. As a Mom that is going through postpartum depression I just had to comment and tell you not to freak out and dont ever think you screwed up his feeding habbits!! He wont go to college on breast milk and formula LOL!! xoxo
This is a really good list. My 13 month old son is getting bored with my homemade baby food. He is still being nursed and will not drink whole milk. Should I try mixing it with breastmilk?
Yes, I definitely would. Start with very small amounts at first and every couple days add a little more as he is tolerating.
Okay. I will try that. Thank you. I can’t wait to try some of the food suggestions. My son is bored withthe ground beef and ground turkey I’ve been feeding him. He eats a lot of veggies, but I think he is eager to try new things. This list is really helpful for a working mom like me.
This is incredibly helpful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The meal plan is AWESOME! Do you have any ideas for snacks? I’m having a tough time trying to find quick and easy-to-eat snacks for my 11 month old. I’m tired of always giving her crackers, puffs, cheerios, and crunchies but she only has 6 teeth right now. So it’s hard finding something fast, healthy, and easy to breakdown.
Thank you, glad it is helpful. I would try cut up fruits, as an addition. You can also do dehydrated fruits, if you are on the go. Also, think of using dips for crackers like hummus or guacamole.
I actually have given her hummus and she licked it off of the crackers! Lol. Good ideas! Thank you! 🙂
Great ideas, this will help me to feed my 16 month old on different food choices.
Great ideas! Do you have any healthy lunch and dinner recipies appropriate fire my 11 month old? With my husband always gone I never really cooked much when out was just me here. I struggle to know simple, but nutritious recipes for the while family, but that are safe and appropriate for my 11 month old. Can you help? Thanks!
Yes, see the end of the post, I have a bunch of meal ideas listed there. Also, if you look in the article index under recipes you will find more- almost all of those are geared towards first foods or can be easily adapted.
this is exactly what ive been looking for! thank you! so glad i found this! 🙂
Hi… I came across this blog very late I guess… My son is 17 months old still doesn’t feed himself anything. As a baby he never mouthed any toy.. I don’t know what to do. If I give him table food he just throws it away. He doesn’t even hold his own bottle or beaker.
Really in need of help.
Thxs
It is never too late, tara, there is still time. I would give him teethers, still and dip them into applesauce or yogurt to encourage him to mouth them. It is important for him to chew on these, as it helps with chewing and feeding. I have a post on how to teach your child to self feed. You can find it in the popular posts in the section in the side bar or in the article index in the menu bar at the top. In the mean time keep showing him, putting your hand on top of his, helping him as little as possible.
I just found this post and your blog through pinterest! My almost 15 mo old was always a good eater and would eat almost anything put before her until about a month or so ago. Now all she wants is fruit,”puffs”, cheese, and chicken. And sometimes not even that. So glad I found all your suggestions and I have also been looking for recipes to “hide” veggies in (found one for zucchini “tots” on pinterest) so that I can get her to eat veggies!! She doesn’t seem to like eating pork chops or roast, but I wonder if that could be a texture issue? Loves chicken, turkey, ham, and lunch meat (though I try to limit the lunch meat). She eats fruits wonderfully (all kinds) and likes cottage cheese/yogurt etc. Any other tips would be much appreciated!!
Hi Jessica, glad you found your way here. I would definitely check out my basics to eating, which is a tab at the top of the page in the menu bar. Start to implement these steps and make sure she isn’t having anything but water in between meals. Meats are really difficult for kids especially at this age, try to stick to softer things like meatballs, salmon, chicken nuggets, etc. Good Luck!
quinoa is a protine too
Hi there, I just found your site today and am reading intently…..
I’d love some advice: my son turned 1 last week and eating has never been an issue. He will eat anything and has the chubby legs to prove it. I am not much of a cook so I am still working on making him more real menus as opposed to foods put together to make a meal, or buying too much processed food, and this site will help me so much with that.
The problem I am having is that my son eats with both hands, stuffing as much as he can in his mouth at once, and often audibly SWALLOWING instead of chewing. I’m afraid of a couple of things: choking and overeating. How do I get him to slow down and chew (I do sit there and immatate chewing and say “chew, chew, chew” but if I cover his food with my hand he pushes it away and grabs more. Should I slow the whole process down and only put a couple of peices on his tray at once? He also goes to daycare so I know they will not watch him as closely as I would to reinforce better chewing. Thank you, Lindsay
Hi Lindsay, this is such a great question. It is really important that he chews. You are doing the right thing by showing and telling him to. I would definitely only put a few pieces on his plate at a time. I would also check out my post How to Transition Baby to Toddler Food part 2. In there I discuss techniques to promote chewing. I think they will be of help! Good luck, let me know how it goes.
I love the list. You thought of things I had not! Some other things I have found are the frozen raviolis and some casseroles (like chicken and rice) work great especially if they have vege’s included. Another thing I make are egg frittatas. My babies’ favorite is made with kale, roasted cherry tomatoes and topped with cheese. I store it in the fridge and we eat on it for breakfast for 4 days. I’ll put some fruit or yogurt with it to change it up a bit,
Thanks Tonia, sounds like you got your daughter’s eating habits off to a good start!