The Best Baby Food Maker Guide: Plus All The Info You Need To Get It Done

Last Updated: January 22, 2024
Liesel Teen, RN-BSN

By Liesel Teen

BSN, RN, Practicing Labor and Delivery Nurse

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Hey Mama! Are you looking for the absolute BEST baby food maker? Or maybe, everything you need in preparation for feeding baby?

I take it your little one is right around 4-6 months, and showing some signs of being ready to eat something other than breast milk or formulaOr maybe you’ve bought some baby food and realized that making your own can mean a serious savings!

Let’s get right to it! Let’s start with some baby food makers…my top three, I’m not going to overwhelm you!

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My experience making my own baby food

Let me tell you, honestly, I started exclusively making my own baby food in the beginning…but as time went on, I became lazy and started buying store bought food…

*GASP*

I totally wish I had stuck it out, but I had a chunky boy who was eating 8-12oz a DAY by 6 months! Just for reference, ONE banana makes about 8oz of baby food. And, an apple only makes around 6oz.

I’m not going to feed him JUST bananas all day…I would usually give him 2 different food at each meal…sometimes 3!

You can see how overwhelming it can get!

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing!

Store bought baby food has it’s pros too! Convenience, not making a huge mess of your kitchen, and having the same consistency every time…just to name a few!

DON’T feel as if you HAVE to make your child’s baby food EVERY SINGLE MEAL! I (and many other moms) did a combo feeding schedule. I made much of my own, but I also bought too! Do what works for YOU and YOUR BABY!

Top baby food maker pick with my readers

This specific baby food maker is the most popular with my readings! It’s literally the Cadillac of baby food makers!

It basically does everything you’d ever dream a baby food maker would do…except washing and peeling the food first…I haven’t found one that does that yet! 

Trust me guys, if I find a baby food maker that I can throw an entire apple in, and it will come out into baby food in 15 minutes…I’d tell you! I’d probably pay basically anything to get out of the prepping part haha!

They are available in three different colors (to match your kitchen). They also have a TON of 5-star reviews!! If you can get this baby food maker for under $149.95, grab it. That’s a GOOD deal on a BEABA baby food maker! .

Best baby food maker with a steamer

To steam or not to steam, that is the question….

Well, actually that’s not the question.  You should be steaming pretty much all of your fruits and vegetables (except avocados and bananas) the question is whether or not you want to buy a baby food maker with a built-in-steamer!

The advantage to buying one with a steamer built-in is easy of use…and less pots and pans. 

Disadvantage…they tend to be a bit more pricey.

I opted out of a built-in-steamer, just because I’m cheap and I like to do things as frugally as possible…but I do think it would have saved me quite a bit of time in the long run…AND, I wonder if I would have been more motivated to keep up making baby food as opposed to eventually buying it.

Who knows! What I do know, is that if you can afford a baby food maker with a built-in steamer, girl, get you one! I’m no stranger to keeping a tight budget, though, and I totally understand if you want to go the cheaper way out!

  1. Homia Dansa 8 in 1 Baby Food Maker

Amazon’s Choice!

  • Defrosts, steams, chops, and purees your food in little time!
  • Super easy to clean & Dishwasher safe
  • Comes with a recipe book, and additional recipes on  Homia’s website
  • Touch control panel
  • Only con: some users report only being able to make around 8oz at a time
  • Price – $$$

Check current price!

==> read consumer reports & reviews


2. BEABA Babycook 4 in 1 Steam Cooker and Blender, 4.5 cups, Dishwasher Safe

best baby food maker

The MAC DADDY of baby food makers…

  • Makes up to 4.7 cups of food!
  • Prepare fruits, vegetables, meat or fish from raw to any stage baby and toddler food in 15 minutes
  • Spatula, mixing lid/smoothie filter and recipe/menu booklet included
  • Easy to use, one touch panel, shuts off when done
  • Price – $$$$

Check current price!

✅ Totally the one I would have gotten, if our budget was right!!


 3. QOOC 4-in-1 Mini Baby Food Maker

The Most Affordable Baby Food Maker with Steamer

  • 4 Powerful Functions in One Compact Appliance-the perfect way for busy moms and dads to steam, blend, reheat, and defrost healthy homemade baby food in just 15 minutes!
  • SUPER QUIET
  • Convenient size is ideal for smaller kitchens
  • Con : it’s small, you can only make around 8oz of baby food at once…also one user said there were MANY parts to clean
  • Price – $$

Check current price!

==> Read reviews here!


Best baby food maker without a steamer

Alright, so STEAMING ASIDE…the next baby food maker is my top fave, if you can handle steaming your own fruits and veggies! (It’s really not THAT hard to steam your own, just a few extra dishes!)

4. Magic Bullet Baby Bullet Baby Care System

The one I personally had!!

  • Make an entire week’s worth of healthy, nutritional baby food in less than 15 minutes.
  • BPA free. Non-toxic plastic. No phthalates
  • Includes a TON of extras! easy pop silicone batch tray for freezer storage, 6-date dial storage cups, spatula, 1 short cup, 1 stay fresh resealable lid and tip proof tray
  • Comes with a little recipe book with serving sizes and portions!
  • Price – $$

Check current price!


Best baby food pouch station

5. Infantino Squeeze Station

Amazon’s Choice and the Most Affordable!

***You do need a baby food maker IN ADDITION to this product!! This is only meant to help you squeeze the baby food you’ve made into pouches!***

Check current price!

  • Includes 1 squeeze station, 3 tubes, 1 press and 10 squeeze pouches
  • Soft rubber press allows for easy grip
  • Nonskid base
  • Holds up to 4 ounces of your homemade puree
  • Dishwasher safe
  • Price : $

What’s so special about a baby food maker anyway?

Everything! No just kidding, some would argue you shouldn’t buy a baby food maker at all.

I did a BUNCH of research when my little one was 4-6 months, and came to the conclusion that it was worth it to buy one…

Even though many moms say “you only use a baby food maker for a few months of your baby’s life” (which is true), the ease of use that a baby food maker provided was invaluable. I don’t have a food processor, a fancy blender, a Ninja, or a Magic Bullet, so I felt that I HAD to get SOME sort of “baby food maker” to blend my food effectively.

With that said…If you have a small kitchen, and access to a fancy food processor AND a steamer…you probably don’t need to buy a baby food maker! You can totally get away with the tools you already have in your own kitchen!

A baby food maker is essentially marketed as a “small food processor”, so if you’ve already got one…disregard the NEED to buy a baby food maker! I DIDN’T have any of these tools, so I needed to buy one!

Now that my little one is older, I still use my baby food maker as a mini-food processor and it works great! (It also makes really good smoothies!)

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Pros to making your own baby food vs store bought

✴️ It’s Cheaper: Like WAAAAY cheaper…a banana costs me about $0.15 at Aldi. I can make 4 servings of baby food with ONE banana (2oz servings). Sooo, less than $0.04 per serving. Guess how much a typical baby food jar or pouch will run you? Between $0.50 and $2.00! Big time savings

✴️ You Know What You’re Putting in Your Baby: K, so the labels MAY say “only” these ingredients,and “organic”, but a typical baby food jar lasts for MONTHS on a counter…you KNOW there are preservatives either in the food, or the packaging process was made so that the baby food was able to stay on the counter for so long. I KNOW this apple that I just chopped up is going into my baby, and nothing else. See what I mean?

✴️It’s Eco-Friendly: I’m just washing my parts, and using the same containers for all my baby food. With store-bought, you’re continuously buying either jars or pouches…not so good for the environment. (You CAN recycle the jars though, so that’s cool!)

✴️ It’s FUN!: It is, I promise! I found it so fun to research different recipes and try new food combos with my baby!

When should I buy a baby food maker?

Put it on your baby registry!

Or, get one when your baby is around 3-4 months old. I found that having a little time to do some research was beneficial, instead of buying one and winging it when he was 6 months old.

Related Reading: What to Do When Baby is Screaming From Gas Pains

Is there anything I should buy in addition to a baby food maker?

Yeah!! I figured that one out AFTER I started making baby food…BUT DON’T worry! If you read this next section, you won’t make the same mistake I did!

1. First off, if you don’t buy a baby food maker with a steamer, you’ll need one of those!

Here’s the exact one I have, super cheap on Amazon 🙂

Steamer Basket Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer Basket Folding Steamer Insert for Veggie Fish Seafood Cooking, Expandable to Fit Various Size Pot (5.1″ to 9″)

2.. Next up…ICE CUBE TRAYS!

So, I bought the BABY BULLET, and it came with some silicone trays for the freezer…BUT I made a TON of baby food at once, and I ended up needing a few extra ice cube trays for my baby food making adventures!

Once again, super cheap buy on Amazon…

WEE SPROUT Ice Cube Trays

3. Something to store all the baby food that’s in the fridge…

I would recommend picking up a few of these for storing your freshly made baby food! I refrigerated portions of mine (the portions I knew he was going to eat within a few days), and then I froze MOST of the majority., and defrosted as needed.

Sage Spoonfuls Big Batch Storage Set, 4 Ounce (Pack of 12)

4. Reusable Baby pouches!

TRUST ME. At first you may think you won’t need pouches (I thought I could just get away with the containers)…you’ll soon find that pouches are FREAKING AWESOME! (sometimes my son will STILL suck down a pouch)

WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouch – 6 Pack – 5 fl oz

5. Baby bowls and spoons!

Yep, you need something to feed baby with!

6. BIBS!!

Lots and lots of bibs…baby food is very messy!!

7. Gallon Ziplocs and a GOOD Sharpie!

These are needed for storing the baby food you freeze AFTER they are done freezing in the ice cube trays. I would just pop my baby food out into the Ziploc bags, and then label WHAT THEY WERE (strawberries and raspberries look VERY similar…haha) and the date I made them.

You can generally keep baby food in your freezer for around 30 days!

8. Some basic kitchen tools…

Such as a good spatula (for scraping the puree out of the baby food maker), and a good baking sheet (some vegetables you should bake instead of steam…like squash)

9. A Recipe book!

Okay, this one is not necessarily a NEED, but it is nice to have! Many of the baby food makers already come with little recipe books, so before you make an additional purchase, I would check to see if yours comes with one!

My fave:

The Big Book of Organic Baby Food: Baby Purées, Finger Foods, and Toddler Meals For Every Stage

That’s a wrap! My son LOVED him some baby food (he still enjoys pouches on occasion), and I’m so glad we introduced solids when we did. He was a little chunk, and I REALLY believe his sleeping habits were better after we introduced some FOOD!

What were your experiences with feeding your little ones? We had such a great experience with making baby food, I have a feeling I’ll be even more motivated to be in the kitchen whipping up purees for my second one!

Happy Baby Food Makin’!

Related Reading: Newborn Checkup Schedule – Month 0-4

Related Reading: How to Deal with a Gassy Baby

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Liesel Teen, RN-BSN

Liesel Teen

BSN, RN, Practicing Labor and Delivery Nurse

As a labor and delivery nurse, I’ve spent countless hours with women who felt anxious — even fearful — about giving birth. I want you to know it doesn’t have to be that way for you!

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