8 Yummy Recipe Hacks Using Leftover Baby Food
What’s a mom to do when your little one graduates from baby food to table food and you still have a pantry full of puree? Sure, you could donate it to a food bank or a parent with a young tot—or you could cook up some delicious dishes using that leftover baby food. Yep, you read that right: There are lots of tasty, adult-friendly recipes that use baby food as a (super-convenient) secret ingredient. Here, we’ve rounded up some scrumptious recipe hacks using infant oatmeal, rice cereal and fruit and veggie purees.
Amanda at Crafty Cooking Mama conjured up this cake recipe as a result of her extreme distaste for wasting food. She was able to pack three different flavors of baby food into this one fluffy, moist cake, and finishes it off with flavors of cinnamon and vanilla. The recipe does call for a lot of butter and sugar, so consider pulling this one out of the oven after bedtime for an adult-only treat.
Using Lil’ Bits Strawberry Banana Oatmeal baby cereal, Danielle at Busy Mom’s Helper created these clever strawberry-lemonade donuts, beautiful and bright enough to be the star of the dessert table at a baby shower or tea party. (You probably won’t hear any complaints from your family if you serve them for breakfast, either!)
You only need four ingredients to pull off this show-stopper of a soup, and yes, one of them is butternut squash baby food. It’s the perfect savory addition to any dinner party menu—and it’s ready in just minutes. Add a hearty bread and you’re set; the recipe from Reel Mama calls for sage crostini for an upscale twist, but any thick-crusted bread will pair well.
Crepes and baby food are the perfect partners in this delectable recipe from Adventures of Mel. She artfully uses single-grain baby oatmeal to pull together some of the most drool-worthy crepes we’ve ever seen. Fill them with her delicious filling and top with fruit, and bam—breakfast is served.
Mandi at Moments with Mandi has created an ace in the hole with these glazed peach donuts, which use a yogurt-based baby food for the dough and a fruit puree in the glaze. This recipe is simple enough that you can even get your toddler to help out with the baking.
Homemade popsicles make for an easy, tasty treat for kids and parents alike—and it just so happens that yogurt-based baby food is the perfect ingredient for whipping up these frozen desserts. Danielle at Busy Moms Helper offers creative recipes for peach lemonade and mixed fruit popsicles using leftover baby food. Simply mix, freeze and enjoy!
Yes, you can puree your own fruit for this homemade fruit leather recipe, but why bother when you can make it with ready-to-go baby food? This recipe from Must Have Mom works best with fruit-only purees or fruit-and-veggie combos, so skip anything that includes oatmeal, rice or yogurt. This fun fruit leather tastes exactly like the store-bought version! Serve them as an afternoon snack or roll them using parchment paper and secure with a pretty bow for a party treat.
We’ve certainly established that baby food can be used to make delicious donuts, but we just couldn’t leave these delectable chocolate versions off our list. Made with multigrain baby cereal and drizzled with a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate glaze, these donuts are easy to make and quick to disappear! Get the full recipe at Busy Mom’s Helper.
Published January 2018
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