Baby's Butternut Squash Bites

One of our children commented that these look a little like chicken nuggets from you-know-where! But they’re actually our nutritious Baby’s Butternut Squash Bites – and they taste far better!

Butternut squash is one of our favourite baby foods! Its vibrant colour is a great indicator of the large amount of beta-carotene and other nutrients it contains… and its soft texture is just perfect for baby food beginners!

It makes a good finger food, too – steamed butternut squash dice tossed with a little cinnamon are still one of our youngest son’s favourite snacks! So he REALLY enjoyed these tasty little Butternut Squash Bites, that are delightfully ‘squidgy’ and packed with flavour.

Ideal from around 8 months onwards, these sophisticated treats are easy for baby to gum, yet yummy enough for the rest of the family to enjoy, too. And they are a great choice if you are using the baby led weaning approach.

This recipe is richly flavoured with spices, but it’s not ‘spicy’ in terms of heat. So you might like to add a little chili powder or cayenne pepper if you’re making these for the grown ups. We like to add a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice, too.

To Make Baby’s Butternut Squash Bites You Will Need…

8 oz (around 1 cup) cooked, mashed butternut squash (find out the easiest way EVER to cook butternut squash)
3/4 tsp ground flax seeds
1 tbsp hot water
1 tsp ground coriander*
1 tsp ground cumin*
1 garlic clove, crushed*
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1.5 oz (1/2 cup) chickpea flour (Can’t find any? Here’s how to make your own) You can also use all purpose (plain) flour – the taste will be a little different, but still very yummy!
1/4 tsp baking powder

*These spices produce plenty of wonderful flavour, but if you’re not sure whether your baby will enjoy them, try using just a little at first. Worried about introducing spices to baby? Then check out this page for more information.

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F (180 deg C).

Stir the ground flax seeds into the hot water and set aside for 10 minutes.

Mix the mashed butternut squash with the spices, garlic and parsley.

Stir in the flax seed mixture.

Add the baking powder to the chickpea flour (or plain/all purpose flour), then gradually incorporate the flour into the butternut squash mixture. Mix well.

You should now have quite a stiff mixture, but if the moisture content of the butternut squash was quite high, you might need a bit more chickpea flour to thicken it up.

Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture into 10 little balls on to a greased baking sheet.

Using the palm of your hand, flatten each ball to a thickness of around half an inch (the balls are quite sticky – you might want to dust your hand with a little flour first!).

Bake for around 20 mins, until golden.

Cool to a safe temperature and serve!

Having trouble getting butternut squash? Try using sweet potato, carrot or pumpkin instead!