Weaning your baby is a major milestone for both Mom and baby. Baby is entering the world of real food, and Mom is slowly backing off as her sole food provider!! Weaning in most places follows nearly the same pattern – starting with smooth purees, to textured mashes and then on to finger foods as baby’s fine motor skills improve and she masters the pincer grasp. Although I followed the traditional weaning pattern for my daughter as well, we started off on finger foods fairly early – right at 6 months! During this process, I collected a long list of finger foods for babies and toddlers which I’ve decided to share with you, my lovely readers! If you’ve been a longtime reader of this blog, you probably know that I’ve shared a list of 50 Fruit and Vegetable Finger Food Recipes earlier. The list below is going to be a master list, including those recipes as well as some new ones.

If you and your baby are beginners in weaning, you can read our guide on How to start finger foods for Babies? to get started.

If you are practicing baby led weaning, then you can start off with the baby finger food recipes listed here as early as 6 months.

106 Finger Foods for Babies and Toddlers

Finger Food Ideas for Beginners

When your baby is beginning solids for the first time, his aim won’t be too accurate since his muscles aren’t fully developed. So, longer pieces of food offer him a better grip than short ones. To begin with, an approximate length of 2 inches will work perfectly for your baby to hold and gnaw upon, and you can adjust the length according to how your baby manages to eat. The list of foods below are the very first finger foods to introduce to your baby, after which you can move on to more complex recipes.

Steamed Vegetables

Carrot
Pumpkin
Parsnip
Sweet Potato
Potato
Zucchini
Florets of cauliflower or Brocolli

Mildly Roasted Vegetables

Cut the vegetables into thin long pieces and roast them slightly in a wok with ghee or butter. You can also sprinkle a few spices like cumin for more flavor.

Carrot
Eggplant
Zucchini
Pumpkin
Parsnip
Potato

Baked Vegetables

Wash, peel and cut the vegetable of your choice into thick sticks and drizzle a few drops of oil (vegetable or coconut). Season with spices of your choice.Cook in a preheated oven for at least 20 minutes on each side, turning the sticks midway during cooking. The seasoning can be any one or a combination of pepper, cumin and cinnamon. Vegetables that can be baked are:

Potato
Carrot
Beetroot
Sweet Potato
Parsnip
Broccoli

Fruit

Peel fruits and cut them into sticks; they can be eaten either raw, baked or roasted. The following fruits are ideal for first finger foods:

Apple
Pear
Avocado
Banana
Peach
Mango
Watermelon
Muskmelon

Cooked Meat

Chicken is a great way to start eating meat and it can be given to baby as a strip of meat or on a leg bone. Ensure that it is washed well and cooked thoroughly before feeding it to your baby. You can also opt for red meat that is minced or turkey, cooked well till soft.

Boiled Pasta

If you are adventurous, you can introduce boiled whole wheat pasta to your 6 month old as well. Ensure that the pieces are not a choking hazard.

Finger Food ideas for Older Babies

Once your baby is used to the first level of finger foods, he can move on to the next level with more complex textures and flavors. This will usually be around the age of 9 or 10 months, but follow your baby’s cue before introducing any new dish.

Patties & Fritters

Sweet Potato Lentil and Carrot Croquettes made with veggies, lentil and cheese
Curd Fritters with hung curd and vegetables ( skip the salt for babies)
Chickpea, Carrot Feta Fritters (from landofnod)
Veggie Cakes (from andawaywego)
Banana Oatmeal Fingers
Spinach Nuggets
Pumpkin Sooji Fingers
Spinach Fritters
Sweet Potato Corn Cakes (the corn can also be mashed with the dough )

Rolls & Balls

Beetroot Rolls
High energy Protein Balls (from Happy Healthy Mama)
Apple Sauce Bites
Dry Fruit Balls (for Toddlers)
Ragi/Finger Millet Ball
Sorghum or Jowar balls
Whole Wheat Vegetable Momos
Cheese Balls (Whole wheat flour can be used instead of all purpose flour and can be cooked in an Appe instead of deep frying)
Arbi/Colocasia Fingers
Baby Cakes (from Family Feed Bag)

Bread & Pancakes

Banana Pancakes
Eggless Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes
Veggies Pancakes (skip the salt and milk if feeding babies under 1 year)
Whole Wheat Pancake
Banana Toast for Babies (from One handed Cooks)
Baby Friendly Waffles
Semolina Toast

Meat & Fish

Crispie Chicken Nuggets (from Annabel Karmel; suitable for babies above 9 months)
Chicken Quinoa Bites
Salmon Balls
Tuna and Vegetable Patties (from OneHandedCooks; for Toddlers)
Oven Baked Fish Fingers (from Food 4 Tots; for Toddlers)

Pasta & Pizza

Vegetable Pasta for Kids
Creamy Vegetable Pasta
Baby’s First Bolognese (from Annabel Karmel, for babies above 9 months. Can also use minced chicken or lamb)
Confetti Pasta (from Nurture Baby, for babies above 9 months)
Quinoa Crust Pizza Cheesy Garlic Bread (from Wholesome dish. The quinoa can be substituted with Rajgira or you can buy Quinoa online here)

Bars & Biscuits

Sugar Free Flapjacks Recipe (with oats, banana, dates and apple juice)
Maple Oats bar (for babies over 10 months)
Fruit and Nut Granola Bar (for Toddlers)
Fruit Oat Mini Chews (for babies over 10 months)
Homemade Cheez-Its (from Annie; the all purpose flour can be substituted with whole wheat)
Cheddar Carrot Coins (from Mamacheaps)
Homemade teething Biscuits (from Imprintalish)
Wheat Paneer Biscuits

Cookies

Cakes and Muffins

Carrot Oats Muffins
Whole wheat Banana Cake (sugar can be skipped)
Mini Veg Quiches
Apple Muffins (You can skip the baking powder or baking soda)
Whole Wheat Cake (for Toddlers)
Confetti Pasta (Sugar can be skipped for babies below 1 year)

Finger Food Dips

Tofu Cashew Mayonnaise (Salt and sugar can be skipped for babies)
Tahini Paste
Apple Jam
Apricot Jam
Kid friendly Hummus (You can skip the salt here)
Sugarfree Tomato Sauce (for babies over 9 months)

Remember that no two kids are alike; just because your older one was feasting on chicken at 8 months, doesn’t guarantee that your younger one will do the same! Give your baby a variety to choose from, so that he gets the chance to try out various flavors. You’ll soon discover which ones he prefers, and you can make good use of this information! All these foods are great recipes for fussy toddlers and many of them also work as travel foods as well. You can always customize these recipes to your family’s liking, and soon you’ll find that everyone now looks forward to mealtime!!