Baby's First Foods: Peanut Butter

Peanut butter may not one of the first foods that comes to mind when you think about starting solids with your baby, but it should be! Get the scoop on why peanut butter is a great first food for babies, and how to serve it with baby led weaning and traditional weaning.

Continuing with my series on first foods for babies, today's food is one that so many of us love as adults: peanut butter! Peanut butter is delicious. There's no doubt about that. But it may not be an obvious choice for your baby's first foods. I'm here to convince you that peanut butter should absolutely be in the lineup when it comes to starting solids with your baby.

Why Peanut Butter Is a Great First Food For Babies

I looooove peanut butter for babies. Not only is it an exciting new taste to try, but it's also a common allergen that babies need exposure to early (more on that below). Peanut butter is an affordable, widely available, shelf stable food that's full of nutrients, and it's so easy for parents to add into their babies' diets. Let's dive in a little more to why peanut butter is so great for babies.

Allergen Exposure

Previous advice on starting solids told parents to hold off on introducing peanuts to babies until 3 years of age for fear that starting too early could cause a peanut allergy. Now the research tells us the opposite - that introducing peanuts into babies' diets early and often could actually reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy! Guidelines recommend offering peanut protein three times a week to babies as early as 4-6 months of age to hep reduce risk of peanut allergy. Since we can't give babies whole peanuts (they're a choking hazard) peanut butter (along with peanut butter powder) is a great first food for adding peanuts when starting solids with your little one.

(PreventPeanutAllergies.org is a great resource where you can learn more about the research and how to introduce babies to peanuts.)

Nutrient and Calorie Dense

Another reason I love peanut butter? It's so nutrient dense! Babies have very high nutrient and energy needs, and they have little bitty tummies. Peanut butter is an easy way to add more calories, protein and unsaturated fat to meals, all of which are important for the growth and development of little ones.

Serving Peanut Butter To Babies

My favorite peanut butter for babies

Since it's important to limit salt and sugar for babies, I love all-natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts. Crazy Richard's is my favorite, with the Costco brand coming in second only because it contains salt (though I still give it to my babies, since the salt content of pb isn't all that big of a deal in the bigger picture.) I also really love Crazy Richard's Peanut Powder, which is, again, just peanuts. It's great for stirring into foods and making them thicker, which is nice to baby led weaning.

How To Serve Peanut Butter To Babies

Here are a few ideas for adding peanut butter to your baby's diet. It's important to note that whole peanuts and big spoonfuls of peanut butter are a choking risk and should not be given to young babies and toddlers.

• Thin a small bit of peanut butter with breast milk/formula or water and serve with a spoon, or mix with purees
• Make a 'popsicle' of peanut butter mixed with breast milk or formula
• Spread thinly on toast or pancakes (cut into finger strips)
• Stir peanut powder or peanut butter into yogurt or oatmeal
• Bake into oatmeal or muffins
• Add to overnight oats or chia pudding
• Blend into a smoothie
• Make an Asian inspired peanut sauce for noodles or dipping
• Make a West-African inspired peanut stew

Baby Led Weaning Friendly Recipes for Serving Peanut Butter

• Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
• PB&J Overnight Oats
• PB&J Baked Oatmeal Bars
• All Purpose Thai Peanut Sauce (leave out the honey for babies)
• Banana Oatmeal Pancakes (spread with peanut butter!)

A note on specialty peanut products for babies

Peanut-containing products for the purpose of allergen exposure for babies (such as Lil Mixins or Ready Set Food)can be a great tool if you're nervous about serving peanuts to your little one. But in general, I find them expensive and unnecessary if you already have  peanut butter or peanut powder in your house. Peanut puff snacks (such as Bamba or Puffworks) are a fun, less messy change-up for a snack that I will give every once in a while, but I don't typically buy them since they can be difficult to find and pretty costly.