50 Make Ahead, Freezer Friendly Meals for Baby Led Weaning (and First Foods!)

On May 6, 2024 by Once a Month Meals

Real, whole-food recipes for your baby or toddler that meet your Baby Led Weaning goals, and are easy to make and freeze ahead for those last-minute meals when you feel rushed!

What is Baby Led Weaning? (“BLW” for short)

Baby Led Weaning is a style of feeding infants and toddlers that allows them to feed themselves from the beginning. Food is many times prepared in thick, sliced, and finger-shaped pieces that they can hold easily themselves. The food is also soft, providing a low risk of choking. Generally, you will start with single-ingredient “first” foods and then move to mixed foods containing more than one ingredient.

Recommended first foods:**

Roasted sweet potato wedges
Steamed broccoli
Melon or mango slices
Banana
Avocado spears
Strips of meat like lamb, beef, or chicken for sucking

**These should all generally be soft and squishy with the exception of the meat, which infants will typically suck on versus actually chewing

Things you should avoid:

Anything too hard, sticky, or cut into a size that might cause choking
Too much added salt or sugar
Honey before age 1 (to avoid botulism)
Cow’s milk (or plant-based milk) as a beverage before age 1 (Breast milk or formula should be the primary beverage; small amounts of dairy, such as full-fat yogurt, in food is generally fine.)

Disclaimer:

Information and recipes related to baby-led weaning on our site should never be interpreted as medical or feeding advice. Always consult your child’s pediatrician, dietitian, or feeding therapist before introducing solids or making changes to your baby’s feeding routine.

Where to learn more about baby-led weaning:

If you’re thinking about doing baby-led weaning but aren’t sure where to start, here are a few resources recommended by our Registered Dietitian.

Feeding Littles – A dietitian and feeding therapist duo offering courses as well as great free Instagram content on baby-led weaning and toddler feeding
Born to Eat: Whole, Healthy Foods from Baby’s First Bite by Leslie Schilling, MA, RDN, and Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RDN
Consult with a local Registered Dietitian or feeding therapist who is well versed in baby-led weaning

French Toast Squares by Once A Month Meals

These recipes are best for:

Families who have used baby-led weaning to safely introduce a variety of single-ingredient “first” foods and are now looking for meals safe for baby-led weaning that the whole family can eat –– kids and adults included!

These recipes are:

Simple and uncomplicated
Family-friendly
Kid-Approved
Fast to make
Easy to freeze for later
Keep well in the fridge or freezer
100% real, whole ingredients

Apple Carrot Muffins by Once A Month Meals

How do I freeze them?

If you want to make them for the fridge, follow the first recipe link given by some of our amazing recipe partners. If you want to make them for the freezer, click the links to “Our Freezer Friendly Version” so you can get step-by-step instructions on how to freeze them.

50 Make Ahead, Freezer Friendly Meals for Baby Led Weaning (and First Foods!)

Berry Delicious Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes by Once A Month Meals

Breakfast

French Toast Squares by Once A Month Meals
Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes by Once A Month Meals
Banana Flax Pancakes by Once A Month Meals
Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Egg Muffins by Easy Peazy Meals | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Oatmeal Power Bites by TIDBITS | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal by TIDBITS | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Berry Delicious Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes by Once A Month Meals
Green Supreme Smoothie by Once A Month Meals
Scrambled Egg Salsa Muffins by Savor and Savvy | Our Freezer Friendly Version

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins by Once A Month Meals

Snack

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins by Once A Month Meals
Slow Cooker Applesauce by Real Creative Real Organized | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Moist and Delicious Banana Blueberry Muffins by Once A Month Meals
Pizza Puff Appetizers by Confessions of an Overworked Mom | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Guacamole by Scratch to Basics | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Baked Sweet Potato Fries by Scratch to Basics | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Coconut Oatmeal Protein Cookies by Wondermom Wannabe | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Easy Carrot Bread by Creative Savings | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Banana and Zucchini Muffins by Pennies Into Pearls | Our Freezer Friendly Version

Homemade Cheesy Rice by Once A Month Meals

Side Dish

Oven Potato Wedges by Once A Month Meals
Homemade Cheesy Rice by Once A Month Meals
Caulitatoes by Traditional Cooking School | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Pumpkin Mac and Cheese by Hey Nutrition Lady | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes by A Mind Full Mom | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Oven Roasted Butternut Squash by Sustainable Cooks | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Basic Risotto by TIDBITS | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Twice Baked Potato Bites by So Very Blessed | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Corn Casserole by The Typical Mom | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Maple Cinnamon Apple Pearsauce by Once A Month Meals
Instant Pot Simple Side: Green Beans by Once A Month Meals
Instant Pot Seasoned Broccoli by Once A Month Meals

Healthy Fish Sticks by Once A Month Meals

Entree

Maple Mustard Grilled Salmon by Once A Month Meals
Paleo Avocado Tuna Salad by Cook Eat Paleo | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Paleo Salmon Cakes by Sustainable Cooks| Our Freezer Friendly Version
Healthy Fish Sticks by Once A Month Meals
Pineapple Ginger Flank Steak by Once A Month Meals
Baked Cheese-Filled Meatballs by Once A Month Meals
Baked Turkey and Spinach Meatballs by Once A Month Meals
BBQ Meatloaf by Once A Month Meals
Slow Cooker Balsamic Shredded Beef by Organize Yourself Skinny | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Shredded BBQ Cream Cheese Chicken by 365 Days of Slow Cooking | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Beyond Easy Pulled Pork by Sarah Fragoso| Our Freezer Friendly Version
Grilled Greek Chicken by Easy Peazy Mealz | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Instant Pot Maple Mustard Chicken by Once A Month Meals
Paleo Baked Lemon Chicken Tenders by Once A Month Meals
Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken and Rice by A Mind Full Mom | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese Sauce by Cook Eat Paleo | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Panko Crusted Parsley and Dijon Tilapia by The Healthy Home Cook | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Granny’s Italian Beef by Once A Month Meals
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese by So Very Blessed | Our Freezer Friendly Version
Maple Balsamic BBQ Tofu by Vegan Dad | Our Freezer Friendly Version

Whether you are brand new to Baby Led Weaning or cooking real food & whole food meals, we want you to feel supported with the best resources and recipes to get your family started or to keep going.

We know you desire to:

Understand what’s inside your food
Control the ingredients you use within your meals
Have confidence in what you feed your family

Because of that, we want to continue giving you resources that not only help you eat real food but do it as a thriving parent. With that, here are some additional resources so you can continue your journey to making and eating whole foods for the long haul.

Instant Pot Simple Side: Green Beans by Once A Month Meals

Toddler & Family-Friendly Meal Plans

More Real Food, Kid-Friendly Recipes

Real food for everyone:

For the kids:

To Learn More About Making Freezer Meals

Do you know if your meal planning method is really working?

Are you still scrambling at 6 PM every day?
Are you struggling to make healthy meals?
Is it hard to stick to your diet when life gets hectic?
Are convenient food choices costing you?
Is your grocery budget constantly out of control?
Do you feel like daily cooking is a chore?

At Once A Month Meals, our mission is to provide resources and meal plans for families and teach them how to freeze meals ahead of time so that they never have to plan daily meals ever again. To that end, we have developed the leading meal planning software for batching and freezing your food that makes this process the fastest it’s ever been.

Since 2009 we have helped over 80,000 thousand families make freezer meals fast, effectively, and safely. Our hope is that every family will spend less time in the kitchen and more time doing what matters most to them.

As you establish making freezer meals as a habit, you will naturally want to start building a library of go-to freezer-friendly meals that you know your family will love. You’ll want them to be equally as easy, fast, efficient, budget-conscious, and family-friendly, right?

However, each family has unique food requirements and preferences, and finding recipes that are compliant, family-friendly, freeze well, and are delicious becomes challenging. Simply put, Once A Month Meals removes that challenge.

We make it incredibly convenient to find and choose recipes that fit your family’s food needs. With over 50 ways to filter 13,500+ freezable recipes, including special diets and allergens, there is a 100% chance you will find tons of recipes approved by a Registered Dietitian. Each recipe has also been individually tested by our dedicated group of test cooks for ease and complete freezability.

With all this at your fingertips, Once A Month Meals helps you break into the iron triangle of eating –– convenient, healthy, cost-effective meals –– for the long-term.

Create a free no-credit-card-needed membership, and learn how to make a custom plan that fits all your family’s needs. You’ll be able to see if OAMM is the right fit for you!