Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Purée for Babies: A Simple, Salt-Free Recipe

Roasting brings out a sweet, mellow flavour in red pepper that goes beautifully with potato, creating a colourful purée that babies tend to accept easily. It is a good way to introduce new flavours while weaning, with no salt or sugar and with ingredients found in any kitchen.

Before you start: when and how to offer it

Solid foods are usually introduced at around 6 months of age, following the advice of your paediatrician or family doctor. A few general precautions help make this stage go smoothly:

• One new food at a time: if pepper has not yet been part of your baby's meals, offer it alone or with potato, which is already familiar, and wait 2 to 3 days before introducing another new ingredient.
• No salt or sugar: during the first year of life, do not add salt, sugar or stock cubes. The flavour comes from the vegetables themselves and from mild herbs.
• Good-quality fat: a drizzle of raw olive oil at the end (about 1 teaspoon per meal) improves flavour and the absorption of some vitamins.
• No rush: a new flavour may need to be offered several times before it is accepted. Refusing it the first time does not mean your baby dislikes it.

Ingredients (1 to 2 meals)

• 1 medium potato (about 150 g), peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
• Half a red pepper (about 60 g), deseeded
• 1 small garlic clove, unpeeled (optional)
• 1 sprig of thyme or a few basil leaves (optional)
• 250 ml water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Red pepper is the best choice to start with, as it is sweeter and less bitter than green. If you already have salt-free roasted peppers prepared for the rest of the family, you can use 2 tablespoons of those vegetables instead.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Place the pepper skin side up and the garlic clove on a small tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the skin is wrinkled and has a few dark patches.
2. Take it out of the oven, place the pepper in a covered bowl for 10 minutes and then peel off the skin, which is hard for a baby to chew and digest. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin.
3. While the pepper roasts, cook the potato in 250 ml of water over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until very soft.
4. Drain the potato, keeping a little of the cooking water.
5. Blend half of the potato with the pepper, the roasted garlic and the herbs using a hand blender, adding one or two tablespoons of cooking water if needed.
6. Mash the remaining potato with a fork and mix it with the blended cream to add some texture.
7. Stir in the teaspoon of raw olive oil and let it cool to lukewarm before serving.

Adapting the texture to your baby's age

The consistency of the purée should change as your baby grows, to encourage chewing:

• Around 6 months: blend everything until completely smooth and slightly runny, adding cooking water.
• From 7 to 9 months: follow the recipe as written, with half blended and half mashed with a fork.
• From 9 to 10 months: mash everything with a fork, leaving small soft pieces of pepper and potato.

This recipe is a base that can later be enriched with a source of protein, such as 15 to 20 g of cooked, shredded chicken, turkey or fish, always in line with your baby's stage of development.

Hygiene, storage and variations

• Wash your hands, chopping boards and utensils thoroughly before preparing your baby's meal.
• Always check the temperature with a clean spoon before serving; the purée should be lukewarm.
• Do not keep leftovers from the bowl your baby has eaten from. Purée that has not been served can be kept in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to 24 hours.
• To freeze, divide it into ice-cube trays or small baby-food jars and use within a month. Thaw in the fridge and reheat thoroughly, stirring to avoid hot spots.
• Variations: replace the potato with sweet potato, or half of the potato with courgette or carrot.

In summary

This potato and roasted pepper purée is a simple way to introduce your baby to a new, sweet and mild flavour using natural ingredients and no salt. Roast the pepper, remove the skin, cook the potato until soft and adjust the texture to your child's age. Guidance on introducing new foods should always be confirmed with your paediatrician, as this article is for information only and does not replace the advice of a health professional.