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Life as a parent is busy and unpredictable. And prepping and cooking ALL the meals is a tall—read: impossible—order. (Like, we knew we were going to love our kids. We knew we’d have to take care of them. But we didn’t think about the fact that we’d have to feed them 3 meals AND SNACKS every. single. day. Right?!) Enter baby food pouches: The feeding option that packs a nutritional punch, cuts mess in half, and cuts out prep altogether.
Whether your need another caregiver to feed your child and you want peace of mind, you’ll be on the go and need a portable snack in the car or on the plane, you just want to get something more nutrient-dense than puffs into them before their next mealtime, or, you just want to sneak a serving of veggies and some good fats into their diet, pouches have your back.
Keep reading for a complete list of the baby food pouch brands and flavors I turn to again and again as a pediatric dietitian and picky eating specialist!
Here are my 50 fav pouch options, all in one list. If you’d like a bit more info on each one, or if you’re looking for something specific, like the best brain-boosting pouches, the most veggie-forward pouches, or the top iron-rich pouches, then keep scrolling. There are more juicy details below!
Baby food pouches have wiggled their way into a top spot on the baby food pyramid and for good reason! Instead of jars and spoons and high chairs, parents can opt for a pouch, cut the mess in half, and cut the prep out altogether when it comes to feeding their babies. No wonder they’re such a staple in so many homes. But as great as they are (and they really are!), I do suggest sticking within a few serving parameters.
I generally like to suggest using pouches strategically and somewhat sparingly. As a rule of thumb, I try not to serve your child more than one a day. Simply because, ideally, we want our kids to be acquainted with all types of foods in all different forms, without creating too much of a reliance on pureed foods.
Because pouches are such an easy and comfortable food for so many little ones, pouches can perpetuate picky eating and even texture aversions if used too often. They can also stall oral motor development if used too often.
Bottom Line: Serve pouches, for sure! Just see them as one part of a bigger rotation of foods you serve. That way, you won’t go wrong.
(P.S. Wondering how to include other types of foods into baby’s days? Check out my Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Foods from 4-6 Months Old)
Pouches are so incredibly practical and they’re loved by parents and little ones alike, which is why so many parents—and so many food companies—are jumping on the baby food pouch train. They’re less messy, they combine the convenience of an on-the-go snack with the nutrition of a meal. Oh, and did I mention they’re less of a mess? So whatever the reason you opt for pouches, you can feel really great about giving them to your kids. Especially when, more often than not, you opt for the super-nutritious options I’m about to tell you about.
Have I mentioned that I love pouches for you? Because I really do. But, not every pouch is created equal. While it’s no big deal to serve a “less nutritious” pouch here and there, if they’re something you rely on regularly, I love the options listed here, because they help you make sure you’ve covered your child’s nutritional bases without giving it much in-the-moment thought.
Here are some of the best pouches on the market, broken down by what makes them stand out nutritionally. There are options with fruits and veggie combos for a snack packed with vitamins and minerals, some that merge a high-quality protein source with a complimentary veggie side, and some that include nutrient boosts like hemp seeds. You can’t go wrong with any of them!
And, these options will help you limit exposure to arsenic and other heavy metals in baby food. Mainly, you want to avoid/limit rice based baby foods, as those will be higher in arsenic. This is not something you need to worry over! Just make sure to vary their foods, and limit rice and rice-based products to once a day.
Related: How To Shop for Baby Food (My Top Tips!)
These options include a variety of diverse ingredients, spices, nutrition boosters, and/or herbs for seasoning, so by serving them, you’re exposing baby to lots of different flavors early on. This exposure can go a long way in broadening their palate. It can even help prevent picky eating down the line!
These options go beyond a simple fruit and veggie puree by including between 2.5 to 5 grams of high-quality fat in each pouch. Fat is crucial for central nervous system development in babies, which is what makes them brain boosters! These pouches are also great choices if you want to make sure your baby is hitting those fat targets.
Iron is a nutrient that as the parent of a baby or toddler, you do want to be paying attention to. Babies are both with iron stores which they receive from us in utero, but stores run out by about 6 months. After that, your child needs to get their iron food sources. These pouch options will provide a substantial amount of iron. Think anywhere from 15-60% of their daily needs!
Related: The Best Sources of Iron for Toddlers
Some babies don’t love their veggies. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to still give them exposure to veggies while getting more nutrients into them! These veggie-packed baby food pouches combine several veggies with a fruit or other food, to make it more appealing to your toddler. This is a great way to weave a serving of veggies in here or there!
These are my favorite cost-effective go-to pouches because they still check a lot of the nutrition boxes. Some of them may be simpler in composition than their more expensive counterparts, but they still contain organic produce, vitamins and minerals, and a good amount of nutrients for under $2 each.
The companies who create all my favorite baby food pouches have several more offerings—all of which are great for baby depending on what you’re looking for. I trust these brands and their products both because they’re formulated without added sugar and because they use organic produce and non-GMO ingredients. Some of the one- or two-ingredient fruit pouches are less nutrient-dense than, say, the ones that include veggies, fats, and protein. But they can still be useful in your child’s diet!
There’s no shame in the baby food pouch game, mama! Use them as much as you want to, have to, or can afford to. When possible, I do recommend opting for the pouches that are a little more nutrient-dense so that your baby or toddler is getting a mix of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals. Remember that the more foods you are able to introduce into their diet, the more likely their nutritional bases are to be covered by the foods they eat. (So the less likely they are to need supplements!) Plus, it’s best for kids to become familiar with a large variety of foods, textures, mixtures, seasonings, and spices—to hopefully avoid picky eating down the line. But as long as most of the pouches they have are nutritionally decent, you can rest easy knowing you’re serving a great, convenient, child-approved option!
This research-backed guide to starting solids—something you can do alongside breastfeeding and serving purees and pouches if you choose to—eliminates doubt and helps you feed them well, right from the start. It’s usually $15, but right now it’s free!
1 Comment
Diane Mollring · August 27, 2023 at 8:44 pm
I am so concerned about the environmental damage that all your products in pouches create. This type of packaging will not break down in our landfill for hundreds if not thousands of years. Why don’t you stop making them in plastic and figure out another method. A thick paper with a thin plastic film inside would be at least more environmentally friendly and move away from heavy plastics. Big companies must find a better way of eliminating plastic from their packaging or our planet will suffocate from plastic and slowly destroy us at an alarming rate, like we are seeing today with our landfills and climate and oceans. Please take steps to eliminate plastic!more than concerned for the future planet we share and give to our kids!