The 10 Best Baby Food Brands And Must-Try Products

After months of breastfeeding or formula, your baby may be ready for some “real” food. While you may love the idea of creating homemade, fresh baby food, this is not realistic for every meal, every day. Fortunately, some of the best baby food brand offerings are as good as homemade, providing a wholesome and nutritious meal for your little one. So, here we’ll delve into our choices for the top 10 best baby food brands and how to choose a top rated baby food for your child.

Our Top 10 Baby Food Brands

Due to their impressive organic food selection, the Happy Baby brand is great for those interested in cleaner products. The product line includes baby formula, purees, baby cereals, dissolvable soft solids, snacks, teething biscuits and more.

What we love about Happy Baby is that it offers traditional flavors with some adventurous brands that will develop your child’s palette. There are savory blends of vegetables, grains and even some free range meat options. Additionally, there are some blends that feature nuts. Research suggests introducing allergenic foods early to babies can reduce the risk of the child developing an allergy. These products come from a separate production facility to keep the remainder of the product line allergen friendly. So, if you’ve consulted your pediatrician, these products could be good to add to your child’s menu.

Our Favorite Happy Baby Products

If you want a simple and readily accessible food for your little one, consider Earth’s Best as one of the best baby food brands. There are also gluten free options for older children. The brand has a line of organic first foods including infant formula, baby cereals, purees, snacks and dissolvable soft solids. This brand may offer a lower cost organic option, it does not sacrifice on quality ingredients.

Earth’s Best offers stage 1, 2 and 3 purees in delicious, simple flavors. For babies over 9 months, there are some delicious combinations including chicken pot pie or cheesy vegetable pasta. The products are available in various types of packaging including pouches and resealable glass jars that are BPA free.

Our Favorite Earth’s Best Products

For many babies, bland purees are not flavorful and lack an appealing texture. This can make weaning challenging, but Serenity Kids aims to change this. This is one of the baby food brands that is developed by a husband and wife team who wanted to make nutrient-dense foods for kids. Infant iron stores typically deplete at approximately six months of age, so it is a good idea to introduce iron rich foods. The Serenity Kids purees can fill this gap with a line containing ingredients that have no added hormones, GMOs, antibiotics, fillers, common allergens or pesticides.

Instead of using salt or sugar to enhance the flavors, Serenity Kids uses herb blends. We’re also big fans of the non traditional flavor combinations, such as wild caught salmon with organic beet and butternut squash. Exposing your little one to different flavors could reduce the risk of picky eating in later childhood.

Our Favorite Serenity Kids Products

If you want to incorporate milk or formula and feed your baby organic foods, Amara could be one of the healthiest baby food brands. Unlike many of the other best baby food brands, Amara has food packets containing dehydrated organic foods. These can be mixed with water, breastmilk or formula and heated.

Amara’s dehydration process is unique compared to other brands that typically use high heat. Low heat dehydration may improve the taste, texture and even the nutrient value. The powder format also makes it easy to customize the consistency of the food. You can use more or less liquid according to the needs of your baby. We’re genuinely excited by the Amara toddler yogurt melts, which are great for plant based toddlers as they are not only sugar free but use coconut milk. This makes an excellent option if when you’re little one is ready to transition to another type of food.

Our Favorite Amara Products

If you like the idea of serving your little one dishes like you eat at the family table, Sprout could be a good brand for you. Sprout baby foods are designed to offer a variety of flavors and textures to help your little one develop a discerning palate. The purees are chef inspired dishes made with minimally processed whole foods such as quinoa, chickpeas and zucchini.

Sprout baby foods contain no preservatives, no GMOs and no concentrate. What we really enjoyed was that the combinations sound like a dish you’d find at a nice restaurant, which could inspire the meals you prepare for the older members of your family!

Our Favorite Sprout Organics Products

Gerber is one of the most widely available and recognizable baby food brands. Gerber has been producing high quality baby food for almost a century and it has established a reputation for nutritional baby foods.

Gerber aims to make all of its packaging materials recyclable and there are plastic containers, pouches and glass jars available. The range is broken up into the different developmental milestones with options from newborns to preschoolers. There are some straightforward and appealing flavor combinations and Gerber has its own “Organics” line, if you want an organic diet for your little one.

Beech Nut is an all around favorite with affordable options in pouches and recyclable glass jars. There are organic and natural varieties with single ingredient options and multi food blends. There are even snacks and probiotic blends with products for each developmental stage.

What we simply adore is the breakfast selections. There are delicious prepared oatmeal options and special breakfast blends which should help your little one to recover from any first thing in the morning crankiness!

If you’re looking for organic, non GMO, sustainable ingredients, Plum Organics is the best baby food brand for you. The baby food is available in a variety of grains, veggies and fruits for every stage of eating and there are no added sugars or salts. This provides a nutritious and simple diet that supports your little one’s maturing digestive system. There are single ingredient options or blends which can help develop your child’s eating preferences. All Plum Organics products are USDA certified organic, non GMO and naturally preserved.

Happy Tot has an impressive product line that can take your little one from newborn up to childhood. From single ingredient pouches for younger infants to “hearty meals” with delicious flavor profiles for older babies. Some of the toddler products mirror the kinds of food you may find at restaurants including wild rice and veggies, squash ravioli and turkey bolognese.

Happy Tot also promotes its Happy Promise, which includes that all products are non GMO, certified organic, free of toxic persistent pesticides and packaged without BPA, BPS or phthalates. Despite this, Happy Tot is one of the most budget friendly options on the market.

Cerebelly produces a wide selection of organic, farm fresh, vegetarian baby foods. The only exception to the vegetarian product line are the two varieties containing beef bone or chicken broth. What we really love about Cerebelly is that the brand was developed by a neurosurgeon who was focused on nutrient dense baby food for optimal brain development. So, the product line adheres to the principles of the Mediterranean diet, with a focus on natural plant based protein sources, omega 3s, fibers and specific minerals that support neurodevelopment.

Buying Guide for the Best Baby Food Brands

While we’ve presented our picks for the best brands, you may still be wondering what’s the best baby food brand? So, here we’ve compiled a buying guide to help you make informed purchasing decisions for your little one.

Understand the Baby Food Stages

One of the most important aspects of finding the best baby food brand for your little one is to understand the baby food stages. While some of the products may sound delicious to you, you need to ensure that your baby can safely eat the food. For this reason there are three main stages of baby development which baby foods use as categories.

Stage One

This has an age guide of four to six months and it is predominantly purees. These baby foods tend to be smooth and thin in texture, containing a single ingredient. This almost watery like texture is not much thicker than formula or breastmilk, making it easier for your baby to eat and digest.

Stage Two

Stage two generally covers six to nine months and it is the time when you can try to mix things up and introduce new flavor combinations. These types of products are thicker, but they are basically still a mush with occasional small, mashable bits. Stage two baby foods may also introduce herbs and spices, with multiple ingredients to help develop your baby’s palette.

Stage Three

This is recommended for the age group of nine to 12 months and it is usually the time when infants want to take more control over their eating. Many babies will want control of the spoon or may get their hands involved in feeding.
Stage three foods tend to be thicker and more sophisticated combinations that may sound a little more like the adult food you’re used to. There will be chunks and pieces for your infant to tackle, getting them ready for “real food.”

Certification

Another important consideration for choosing your baby food brand is its certification. If you follow a particular diet, such as organic, kosher or vegetarian, you can find brands that are certified. It is also a good idea to choose baby food brands that are certified GMO free. This gives you the reassurance that there are no hidden nasties in the baby food recipes.

No Added Sugar

As adults, we’re all aware of the damage that sugar can do to our teeth and diet, but infants are just as vulnerable. Although we all love a sweet treat, you don’t want your baby to have an overdeveloped sweet tooth.
In fact, baby foods containing added sugar may limit your child’s preferences for trying healthier ingredient foods such as vegetables, which can taste bitter in comparison. So, it is a good idea to look for brands that contain no added sugar in their formulas. We prefer to choose brands that have no added sugar or salt.

Preservatives

While having a shelf stable baby food that doesn’t require refrigeration can be convenient, it is not a good idea if it comes at the cost of containing artificial preservatives. Just as many of us prefer not to eat foods that are packed with artificial preservatives and stabilizers, it is a good idea to look for baby food brands that are free of these ingredients.

Allergens

Introducing allergens into your baby’s diet needs to be something that is monitored and discussed with your pediatrician. If you have gluten, soy or tree nut allergies in your family, you may be able to reduce the risk of your little one developing an allergy with early exposure. However, this needs to be handled with care. In most cases, you should look for baby food that is free of common allergens to allow your little one’s digestive system time to develop.

FAQs

When are babies ready for solid foods?

Every baby is different, but there are common signs that show your little one is developmentally ready to try first foods. This is usually around the six month mark, but if your baby has good head and neck control, can sit up without assistance and opens their mouth when presented with food, it may be time to try.

What is the easiest food for a baby to digest?

Regular bowel movements are essential for overall health and wellbeing. If your little one is having a hard time, oatmeal is an easy to digest food which contains high amounts of fiber to promote regularity. You can also try feeding smaller meals more often which could promote easier digestion.

Is organic baby food healthier?

This is a controversial topic and research suggests both organically and conventionally grown foods have similar nutrient profiles. It is a matter of preference rather than thinking whether some are the healthier baby food brands simply because they are organic. It is far better to look at all the other factors we’ve discussed to evaluate the product as a whole.

Final Words

Choosing a baby food can be a little daunting, but hopefully our buying guide and list of the top 10 best baby food brands can help you to narrow down your options. Remember that experimenting with foods can be an exciting part of your baby’s development, so try to enjoy the process!