Chances are pasta is already a staple food in your house: it's cheap, versatile, easy to cook, and appeals to just about everyone. And your baby is no exception. Most little ones will tuck into a bowl of pasta with relish, and it's a great way to provide her with a source of carbohydrate: essential for energy and growth.
You can serve pasta to your baby in many different ways. Pureed, it's ideal for newly weaned babies - although it's best to wait until she's at least six months old before introducing it, as there is some evidence that giving foods containing gluten before six months could trigger food allergies. Later on, you can chop regular pasta into tiny pieces (scissors make light work of this task), or buy special baby pasta shapes from the supermarket. Full-sized pasta shapes also make great finger food, either plain or with a sauce. If your baby has an allergy to wheat or gluten, or if there's a history of these allergies in the family, you can substitute normal pasta for rice pasta.
Recipes for first weaning
Easy cheesy pasta sauce
Recipes for your 7-9 month old
Macaroni cheese with broccoli and cauliflower
Sweetcorn and sweet potato pasta
Easy salmon pasta
Cheesy pasta with broccoli
Traditional lasagne
Sweet potato and tuna pasta
Pasta carbonara
Beef and kale lasagne
Baby pesto
Simple tomato pasta sauce
Recipes for your 9-12 month old
Vegetarian lasagne with green lentils
Rigatoni with five-veg pasta sauce
Spinach and parmesan spaghetti
Pasta with cheese, bacon and broccoli
Spaghetti bolognese
Secret veggie pasta sauce
Pasta, carrot and lentil soup
Chicken, leek and raisin pasta bake
Canneloni
Trout and broccoli pasta
Pasta with cream cheese and peas
Cheesy pasta with tomato
