Oh… storing baby food jars. When you start starting solids, you tell yourself you’ll be able to make lots of jars, that it’ll be wonderful and that your fridge will be full of them. And that’s partly true, you just need to know how long you can keep purées and fruit purées before giving them to your baby, what you can and can’t store in these little jars, and how long they last.
Lots of parents ask themselves “How long can I keep baby food jars in the fridge and in the freezer? Freezing… yes or no?” So here’s a short explainer to help you with your homemade baby food jars and save you a lot of time.
- Storing baby food: yes or no?
- How long can you keep purées?
- Thawing baby food
- The texture of purées changes after thawing. Is that normal?
- Is there another way to store purées and fruit purées?
- Suitable containers for storing baby food
Storing baby food: yes or no?
The truth is that making baby food ahead of time is really handy, for several reasons:
- None of us has time to spare to be in the kitchen every single day
- Even if you do, it saves time you can spend with your baby
- You can have jars ready for when grandparents or other caregivers look after your baby, so they eat just like at home
- You get the most out of seasonal fruits and vegetables
- Flavors and textures aren’t altered
- It’s very handy to have a few jars prepared in advance, so you don’t have to rush to the supermarket for store-bought “commercial” versions on a day when you can’t cook
How long can you keep purées?
First of all, never leave baby food out of the fridge, not even in winter when it isn’t hot. This is how we should store baby purées when we make more than one meal’s worth:
- Jars containing meat, fish, eggs or dairy products can be kept in the fridge for 24 hours.
- Jars containing only fruits and vegetables can be kept in the fridge for 48 hours.
- For any type of baby food, you should keep it in the freezer for a maximum of 2 months. In fact, it can be stored for up to 6 months without any health risk. But do you really think your one-year-old is going to eat a jar you made when they were 6 months old? 😀 They’ll surely prefer more interesting recipes and flavors by then.
When we thaw a jar that contained dairy products (for example, a purée with a little cream or a cheese triangle), the texture changes a little. But it’s no big deal, and you shouldn’t worry about freezing baby food with dairy ingredients. It’s perfectly healthy.
Thawing baby food
When it comes to thawing baby food, we can do it like this:
- Leave it in the fridge overnight.
- Warm it for a few minutes in a water bath (bain-marie), stirring constantly.
- Heat it in the microwave. Stir well and always taste it before giving it to your baby! Food heated in the microwave can be scalding hot in some spots and cold in others.
Baby food should never be thawed at room temperature.
The texture of purées changes after thawing. Is that normal?
The texture of a thawed purée or baby cereal isn’t the same as a fresh one, and that’s completely normal! Especially if the jar contains potatoes… Freezing food changes the consistency and texture but doesn’t change the nutrients it provides your baby (or at least very little!).
Is there another way to store purées and fruit purées?
Yes, you can store homemade baby food by canning it (in glass jars). This involves sterilizing the baby food to get a longer shelf life, just like store-bought baby food jars.
Sterilizing baby food in jars is very simple:
- Once your purée or fruit purée is ready, pour it into a glass jar with a rubber sealing ring.
- Close the glass jar and place it in a pot or large container of water (the jar must be completely covered with water), then put it on the heat until the water boils.
- As soon as the water boils, wait 20 minutes and you’re done. The jar is sterilized.
- Storage after sterilizing lasts a very long time, as jars can be kept up to 10 months at room temperature in a cupboard. But again, it’s unlikely that an older baby will want a jar you made 10 months ago! They’re actually more practical for trips when you can’t take a cooler ;-).
Sterilizing has its advantages, but you should know that with this cooking and storage method, purées and compotes lose flavor and also some nutrients.
Suitable containers for storing baby food
There are plenty of accessories you can use to store baby food. For example, small glass preserve jars you’ve already finished, or even store-bought baby food jars you may have bought at some point.
Just make sure to clean them very well, both the glass and the metal lid. It’s best to put them in the dishwasher on a high-temperature cycle. And before you pour your purées into the jars, make sure they don’t smell of anything. Imagine your sweet carrot purée picking up the smell of anchovies!
Another trick is to store small portions of purée in ice cube trays in the freezer. They take up little space and then you can take out only the purée cubes you need. This makes them perfect for when your baby starts solids, because they eat very little. And as they grow, you just need to thaw a few more cubes, adjusting to how much they eat. It also gives you the freedom to mix several purées, and they’re easier to thaw. All advantages in my opinion!
Other store-bought options that are very handy:
We hope this little guide has helped you! Tell us if you have any other tricks!
Última actualización el 2026-11-12 / En calidad de Afiliado de Amazon, obtengo ingresos por las compras adscritas que cumplen los requisitos aplicables / Imágenes de la API para Afiliados
