Baby guacamole mash

Name: Baby guacamole mash
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2–3 baby portions, plus dippers
Ingredients: 1 ripe avocado; 1 tbsp very finely chopped onion; 1 tsp olive oil; a few drops lime juice; 1 medium carrot; ½ small sweet potato

Ripe avocado mashed with soft-cooked onion and a few drops of lime: a no-salt, no-chili guacamole the whole family can start from. Serve it with soft-cooked vegetable sticks to dip.

From: 6 months
Time: 20 min
Makes: 2–3 baby portions, plus dippers

No top allergens

Ingredients

1ripe avocadosoft enough to squash easily with a fork
1 tbspvery finely chopped onioncooked soft before it goes in
1 tspolive oilor a splash of water, for softening the onion
a few dropslime juiceoptional, squeezed through a small strainer to catch seeds
1 mediumcarrotfor dipping
½ smallsweet potatofor dipping

Steps

1Wash your hands. Scrub the carrot and sweet potato under running water and peel them. Rinse the avocado and lime skins under running water too, so the knife doesn't carry dirt into the flesh.
2Cut the carrot and sweet potato lengthwise into sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), never round coins. Steam them for about 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft. Squash a carrot stick and a sweet potato stick between your thumb and finger: both should flatten easily. If the carrot is still firm, cook it a few minutes longer. Let them cool.
3While the sticks steam, cook the chopped onion gently in the oil or water for about 10 minutes, stirring, until it's very soft and see-through, with no crunch. Don't add salt. Let it cool.
4Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the cooled onion and mash with a fork until smooth for first tastes, or leave soft lumps once your baby is used to eating. Check there are no firm bits of onion left.
5If you're using lime, stir in just a few drops. Don't add salt, chili or garlic salt to your baby's portion. Serve straight away, because avocado turns brown quickly.

How to serve it by age

6 months+

Serve it smooth on a pre-loaded spoon your baby can hold, or let them dip the soft carrot and sweet potato sticks. Once wheat has been introduced, strips of lightly toasted plain bread (no seeds or honey) about the size of an adult finger, spread thinly or dipped, work too. No tortilla chips, crackers or raw vegetable sticks: they're hard and a choking hazard.

9 months+

Make it lumpier. Offer it as a dip for soft-cooked vegetable sticks, or for soft toast fingers once wheat has been introduced, or cut the cooked vegetables into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) and stir them in.

12 months+

Serve it as a family dip with soft-cooked vegetables and, once wheat has been introduced, soft toast or soft tortilla pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or spread it on toast. Keep chips and raw carrot off your child's plate: the CDC lists both as choking hazards for young children.

Where US and UK guidance differ on this recipe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

For babies under 1, the AAP says that apart from mashed banana, most fruits should be cooked until soft, and that fresh baby food should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning. Its own homemade baby food ideas include avocado, and this recipe mashes it smooth. If you follow US advice closely, use only fully ripe avocado that squashes easily and mash it well, leave the lime out until 12 months, or ask your pediatrician.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lists grabbable bits of avocado among first finger foods from around 6 months, and says not to add salt to your baby's food. Its lemony chicken strips, from 6 months, squeeze lemon over chicken and bake it; a few drops of lime in this mash aren't cooked. If you follow US advice, leave the lime out until 12 months.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

Leftovers and the rest of the family

Storing it

Best served fresh, because avocado turns brown quickly. Guacamole that hasn't been served can be covered, put in the fridge right away and eaten the same day. Cooked vegetable sticks keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge; serve them cold, or reheat them only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let them cool before serving. Throw away anything left in your baby's bowl, and any guacamole your baby has dipped into. Don't leave guacamole or vegetables at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F (32°C).

For the grown-ups

Scoop out your baby's portion first, then stir chopped tomato, fresh cilantro, raw onion, chili and a pinch of salt into the rest for the adults, and serve it with tortilla chips for the adults.