Every pediatrician will suggest milk, whether formula or breast milk, as the main source of nutrition exclusively for the first six months. Thereafter complementary foods are slowly introduced, alongside milk, for tastes, textures and to provide the nutrients that a baby might start to lack at about six months of age. On top of that, jarred baby food is often packed with preservatives. Organic baby food, on the other hand, usually doesn’t have preservatives at all!
In this review
If you’re going to feed your child baby food, I strongly recommend going for the organic brands. There is some really nasty stuff to be found in non-organic foods: pesticide residues, fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics.
In terms of nutrient content, the debate is still open as to whether organic fruit and vegetables contain more nutrients, so you shouldn’t let this be the main reason for choosing organic.
Also, anything labeled “100% organic” must, by both American & Canadian law, contain absolutely no genetically-modified ingredients.
Editor’s Choice
Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Infant Cereal
Why is it better?
- Organic ingredients
- Made from whole grains
- No added salt, modified starches or refined sugars
The Lineup At A Glance
| Product | Type of Food | Stage | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Infant Cereal | Cereals | 1 | |
Happy Baby Organic Probiotic Baby Oatmeal Cereal with Choline | Cereals | 1 | |
Ella's Kitchen Organic Stage 1, Pears Peas + Broccoli | Pouch | 1 | |
Earth's Best Organic Stage 1 Baby Food, Peas | Jarred Food | 1 | |
Peter Rabbit Organics 100% Pure Baby Food | Pouch | 1 | |
Gerber Organic 2nd Foods Baby Food | Pouch | 2 | |
Pure Spoon Organic Vegetable Baby Food | Jarred Food | 2 | |
Amara Organic Baby Food | Powdered Food | 2 | |
Gerber Graduates Puffs | Whole Grain Puffs | 3 | |
Sprout Organic Curlz Toddler Snacks | Baked Snacks | 3 |
Best Organic Baby Food – brands and choices
1. Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Infant Cereal
One of the best organic baby food brands out there. This type of cereal should be baby’s first solid food, and Earth’s Best made it from whole grains and non-GMO ingredients.
- Organic ingredients
- Made from whole grains
- No added salt, modified starches or refined sugars
- No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
- Reasonable price
- Annoying box package
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One of the best organic baby food brands out there. This type of cereal should be baby’s first solid food, and Earth’s Best made it from whole grains and non-GMO ingredients. It is easy digestible, fortified with iron for infant’s growth and development. Without any artificial flavors or colors, grown without potentially harmful pesticides or herbicides and certified Kosher.
Mixes very easily with breast milk, water, or mashed fruits and vegetables. When just mixed with water it has a light mild taste that babies love. I can say that this is a high end product for a very reasonable price.
2. Happy Baby Organic Probiotic Baby Oatmeal Cereal with Choline
Happy Baby Organic Oatmeal Cereal is easily digestible first solid food and provides baby with important nutrients, including important probiotics (Bifidobacterium Lactis), iron, calcium and choline for overall baby’s growth and development.
- Made without GMO ingredients.
- No artificial colors or flavors.
- Packaging made without BPA
- A bit pricey
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Happy Baby Organic Oatmeal Cereal is easily digestible first solid food and provides baby with important nutrients, including important probiotics (Bifidobacterium Lactis), iron, calcium and choline for overall baby’s growth and development.
It is dairy and soy free product and doesn’t annoy any sensitive tummies. Babies do not feel constipated after this oatmeal.
Mixes easily with desired liquids (breast milk, water, formula) and also makes great addition to pouches, purees or any homemade baby dish. Works as a meal thickener in case jarred food or pouch are too watery.
3. Ella’s Kitchen Organic Stage 1, Pears Peas + Broccoli
Named after the founder Paul Lindley’s little girl Ella, the story behind the company’s mission is very relatable – organic foods that offer convenience and variety while tasting great
- Simple and tasty meals
- No nasty chemicals or residues
- No artificial colors or preservatives
- Easily re-sealable pouch
- Some pouches can be too watery
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Named after the founder Paul Lindley’s little girl Ella, the story behind the company’s mission is very relatable – organic foods that offer convenience and variety while tasting great
These baby food pouches are available in three stages.
First Tastes pouches have a single fruit puree in each. The ingredients list also highlights just how simple and healthy they are, for example, one pouch just contains: organic pears, organic apples and organic brown rice.
The packaging is often as important as the taste when it comes to children, so the fact that the pouches are bright and colorful makes them super child-friendly. The pouch itself is also very tactile and easy to use, further stimulating your child and encouraging them to have a taste.
4. Earth’s Best Organic Stage 1 Baby Food, Peas
Earth’s Best is really high quality and healthy food for our babies. Just with a simple glance at the ingredients label you get the point.
- Simple and pure ingredients
- Easy for baby’s digestion
- Variety of flavors
- GMO Free
- Very expensive per unit
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Earth’s Best is really high quality and healthy food for our babies.
Just with a simple glance at the ingredients label you get the point.
Ingredients of this jar are:
- Organic peas
- Water
Lastly, they are Organic, Non-GMO, vegan, and Kosher and contain no artificial colors or flavors. They are unsalted. Packed in recyclable glass jars, they have a re-sealable non-BPA lid, however, you’ll have to use it up within one day of opening the jar, or you should throw it away.
5. Peter Rabbit Organics 100% Pure Baby Food
Peter Rabbit Organics is an US Organic Baby Food manufacturer, well known for his great organic baby food pouches.
- No hard times eating the pouch
- No added chemicals or GMO’s
- Nice selection of fruits and veggies
- Unclear label regarding apple and other ingredients ratio
- Unclear label about feeding stages
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Peter Rabbit Organics is an US Organic Baby Food manufacturer, well known for his great organic baby food pouches.
These have no added sugars (which are sometimes used as preservatives) and not diluted with water. They are perfect for throwing into a diaper bag for a quick snack on the go.
Unfortunately, the labels are slightly misleading. For example, the “pea, spinach and apple” puree is made primarily of apple. Any of the varieties that contain apple are primarily apple. It’s not a huge deal, I understand that apples make cheap base, but it’s just something I wish they didn’t do. Other than that, though, these are really good, natural and healthy baby food pouches!
They’re about the same price as the other pouches on the list, so it really comes down to personal preference.
6. Gerber Organic 2nd Foods Baby Food
Gerber Organics baby products are widely available. They worked to create a nice variety of flavors to keep baby happy while keeping the price friendly to parents on a budget.
- Package not made with BPA
- Variety of flavors
- Clearly stated ingredients ratio
- The pouches are not optimally sealed
- Citric acid present in some flavours,
- Non-recyclable package
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Gerber Organics baby products are widely available. They worked to create a nice variety of flavors to keep baby happy while keeping the price friendly to parents on a budget.
2nd Foods baby foods help expose babies at the sitter stage to a variety of tastes and ingredient combinations, which is important to help them accept new flavors. These baby pouches are USDA Certified Organic, non-GMO’s and have package not made with BPA.
Lastly, they are unsweetened, unsalted, no added starch, artificial flavors or colors, made in 15 great flavors.The easy-grip, squeezable pouches allow independent toddlers to feed themselves (and keep busy for a minute or two!).
This baby food is one of the best baby products that we have listed for you.
7. Pure Spoon Organic Vegetable Baby Food
Pure Spoon is a company dedicated to the development of delicious and healthy organic fruit and vegetable purées made with the innovative cool-temperature, High-Pressure Pasteurization (HPP) process, which delivers more flavor and nutritional value than traditional high-heat pasteurization.
- Hand Made purées that are never same
- High-Pressure Pasteurization process
- 100% transparent cups
- 100% recyclable cups
- I like every single thing about these purées
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Pure Spoon is a company dedicated to the development of delicious and healthy organic fruit and vegetable purées made with the innovative cool-temperature, High-Pressure Pasteurization (HPP) process, which delivers more flavor and nutritional value than traditional high-heat pasteurization.
All purées are hand-made in the company’s allergen-free, certified organic commercial kitchen, using only fresh produce which remains raw or is lightly steamed for maximum nutrition and flavor. The food is free from preservatives, additives, color, or anything else that can harm your baby, even when in traces.
In addition, the purees offered are seasonal, so that the recipes only contain the freshest of ingredients every time.
The company is also dedicated to transparency – offering the purees in transparent tubs so that you can see every bit. The packaging is also fully recyclable and BPA free.
8. Amara Organic Baby Food
Amara is USDA Certified Organic and part of The Non-GMO Verification Project.
- Non GMO
- Simple ingredients
- Closest thing to homemade
- The cold pressure freeze drying technique
- Not recyclable package
- Pricey food
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Amara is USDA Certified Organic and part of The Non-GMO Verification Project.
It has no additives, no salt and sugar, and is a great healthy option for the times when making your own baby food from scratch is unrealistic or downright impossible
It’s baby food that has been cold pressure freeze dried, meaning all the nutrients are locked in. Amara lets you have the health of homemade baby food, and it’s ready to eat in just a few seconds. It mixes well with formula, breast milk, or water, so you can do what works best for you, or with whatever you have on-the-go.
What’s more?
It is a great diaper bag solution, especially when on airplane travel where liquid restrictions are in place. The ultimate airplane snack for babies.
Because of the preservative free nature of the product, Amara Baby Food is sensitive to heat and light and is therefore packaged accordingly. This keeps the product fresh and safe but means that post consumer recycled paper packaging is not an option.
9. Gerber Graduates Puffs
This is a stage 3 snack, for crawling babies. Gerber still keeps up with the good work in providing variety of food types for every stage.
- Whole grain puffs
- Only 25 calories per serving
- No trans fats, no saturated fats, no sodium
- A bit expensive for a snack
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This is a stage 3 snack, for crawling babies. Gerber still keeps up with the good work in providing variety of food types for every stage.
This is a Non-GMO snack made with real fruit purées, meaning naturally flavored, but it is not organic.
Puffs come in many common and baby approved flavors: Vanilla, Banana, Sweet Potato, Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, and we went with the Strawberry Apple flavor.
They are star-shaped little pieces of puffy cereal about the size of a thumb nail. Children practice finger food eating (the “pincer movement”) by picking one by one from the high chair tray. Once they get into baby’s mouth, they dissolve pretty quickly, which eases every mom’s concern about choking.
Bear in mind that this is a tasty cereal SNACK though, so I definitely don’t recommend making a meal out of these.
10. Sprout Organic Curlz Toddler Snacks
Sprout Organic Curlz is the first plant-powered snack for toddlers, made from organic chickpeas and lentils and baked to perfection with broccoli. Uses organic rosemary to maintain freshness. Available in Broccoli, White Cheddar, and Sweet Potato & Cinnamon varieties.
- Plant powered from chickpeas & lentils
- Gluten free
- Soy free, dairy free
- No concentrates
- Very reasonable price
- Only three taste options to choose from
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Sprout Organic Curlz is the first plant-powered snack for toddlers, made from organic chickpeas and lentils and baked to perfection with broccoli. Uses organic rosemary to maintain freshness. Available in Broccoli, White Cheddar, and Sweet Potato & Cinnamon varieties.
Toddlers love this fun finger food that brings delicious and nutritious together.
Certified USDA organic and non-GMO, Sprout Organic Curlz contains real and pure ingredients.
Curlz are gluten free, dairy-free, vegan, and contain no added flavors or colors.
Recognized by the National Parenting Product Awards for outstanding flavor, innovation within sustainable protein sources, and dedication to clean, organic ingredients, Broccoli Curlz is the Winner of Delicious Living’s 2017 Best Bite Award for Best Baby/Toddler Food!
Lastly, Each canister has a resealable lid that comes very handy for on-the-go snacking. Package fits easily into bags and the stroller so you can give your little one a wholesome & nutritious snack any time of the day.
Consider Making Your Own Baby Food
While buying ready-to-eat baby food is really convenient, I personally prefer making my own food. There’s really no better way to know exactly what’s going into the food than by using your own ingredients and making it yourself! Additionally, you can make tons of different food combinations every day, without depending on a choice of foods in grocery stores.
Not to mention how much budget friendly that move is. Organic baby food can run as much as $1.25 for a 4oz jar, which really adds up quickly. Buying your own stuff and making food is an awesome alternative! It’s actually really easy, too, and great fun!.
The simplest way is to use a baby food maker; I wrote a guide on choosing them.
F.A.Q
When is the perfect time to start with solid food?
The ability to eat solids is not an event, but a process, and differs from baby to baby. When a baby can sit up unaided, can reach out and grab food (the “pincer movement”) bring it to its mouth and has started to largely lose its tongue thrust reflex (to stop it gagging) then it’s ready to start solids. But this process starts with a baby licking and sucking food, and then eventually, as the tongue thrust reflex gets further and further back, beginning to swallow the food. It doesn’t happen overnight.
What is the first recommended solid food?
Baby Cereals are usually the first recommended solid food for babies 4 to 6 months of age. This is for a few reasons. First, it gets your baby used to a unique food texture in the mouth without any new strong flavors, and gets them used to coordinating and swallowing something thicker than milk. Second, around 6 months of age your baby’s iron needs usually exceed what is available in breast milk or formula, so iron fortified baby cereal is a great way to supplement. Third, cereal is unique because you mix it with breast milk or formula and that makes it a more familiar flavor for your baby
What food should I absolutely avoid?
There are some basic foods that should be avoided during baby’s first year. On the top of the list is honey, since it has been linked to botulism. If you wish to sweeten your baby’s dish, do it with ripe bananas or mixing some organic dates. Don’t use any kind of refined sugar. Some other foods are shellfish, egg whites, wheat and citrus fruits (can lead to serious diaper rash) are also to be avoided. Milk and peanuts are much more controversial. Peanut butter was long believed to be a cause of peanut allergy when introduced during baby months. Some latest research showed that an early introduction of peanut butter can actually lower potential risk of peanut allergies. However, if there is a history of food allergy in your family, stay away from that certain food because food allergies run in the family.
Are glass jars safer than pouches and canisters?
Back in the day, sterilized glass jar was far more safer than plastic which were coated with harmful chemicals (Bisphenol A, BPA). Now, more and more baby food manufacturers do their best to produce plastic packages that are BPA free. Some parents really get anxious when caps are not BPA free, but baby food pouches have small sealed spouts. That way there is a zero chance that food comes into contact with the cap.
Which Organic Baby Food Brand do you think is the best?
With a variety of organic baby food options out there, it can be quite difficult to decide which one to select and sometimes it’s just a case of getting your baby to try a few and seeing which they take to.
Please let us know if we’ve left anything out and leave us a comment. Like and share this text, help spread the good word about 2024 Organic Baby Food Trends.