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Pea puree is a great first food when introducing solids to babies and all you need is a bag of frozen peas and a blender or food processor!
Pea puree is such a great first food for babies! It has a brilliant green color and is full of nutrients, including a good amount of plant-based protein.
Peas are an excellent legume to feed your baby! Yep, you read correctly… despite what most people think, peas are actually a legume and not a vegetable. They fall into the same category as lentils, chickpeas and even peanuts! However, most often peas are categorized as a starchy vegetable, similar to corn and potatoes.
When starting your baby on solids, peas are a great first choice. They’re naturally sweet and pack a punch with nutrition, containing a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Peas also have a higher protein content at 4 grams per half cup serving. Plus, you’ll find vitamins A, K and C, thiamine, folate, manganese, iron and phosphorus in peas! (source) These are all crucial in helping baby grow and develop. And fiber is great for their little digestive systems.
Making pea puree is super simple! I like using frozen peas, but fresh peas work as well. Either way, you’ll want to steam them first.
To steam the peas, fill a pot with about 1 inch of water and add a steamer basket to the pot. Then add 2 cups of peas. Bring the water to a low boil, cover with a lid and steam the peas for about 3-6 minutes. You’ll know the peas are done when they are bright green and tender. Remove from heat and let peas cool.
Once cooled, place the peas in a high powered blender or food processor and blend into a puree. You can add breast milk, formula or water as needed to get the desired consistency.
tip! After steaming, give the peas a cold water bath to preserve that brilliant green color and stop them from cooking!
For early stage 1 eaters, pea puree served plain with a spoon is perfect. You want to make sure it’s very thin with no lumps, so thin it out with water, formula or breast milk if necessary. When baby starts moving into stage 2 and 3 foods you can make fun combination purees (see ideas below) or add pea puree to different foods like yogurt, smoothies and oatmeal for babies.
Peas and carrots are probably the most common baby food combination you’ll find in stores, but there are a ton a different baby food combinations with peas.
Feel free to get creative, the options are really limitless! For more stage 2+ ideas, check out these 6 baby food combinations.
The best way to keep pea puree bright green is to not overcook them. When you remove them from heat, they will keep cooking as they cool. To avoid this, give the peas an ice water bath after steaming to stop the cooking process!
If you added too much water, formula or breast milk to the puree, the best thing to do is make more pea puree to add to it. Steam and blend more peas, adding just enough water for them to blend and not stick to the blender. Then add the new puree to your watery puree to thicken. I suggest adding liquid 1 teaspoon at a time to avoid it becoming too watery.
Of course! Pea puree keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes nicely as well. I recommend freezing in small cubes so you can thaw only what you need at a time.
As long as it’s thin enough with no lumps, pea puree should be fine without straining. However, if you’re concerned or want an extra smooth puree, you can put the pea puree through a sieve or cheese cloth to reduce the fibers.
Storing pea puree is a breeze! You can either store in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you want to freeze, I recommended using silicone ice cube trays or small freezer-safe jars so you can easily thaw small amounts when you want to use them!
I recommend thawing frozen puree in the fridge the night before you want to use it, but you can also thaw it quickly with a warm water bath. It thaws quickly if you’re defrosting a small amount to serve to a baby.
Pea puree is great for babies, but there are so many other ways for older kids and adults to enjoy it too. Here are some ideas:
Check out my guide to introducing solids for more ideas and information on feeding little ones and all of my baby food recipes as well.
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