Why I Love This Sweet Potato Fritters for Baby-led Weaning

Sweet potato fritters are such a great lunch to feed for baby-led weaning. It’s packed with nutrients and has a naturally sweet flavor that most babies and toddlers love.

I first started making sweet potato fritters when my first child was doing baby-led weaning. He didn’t like the texture of boiled or baked sweet potatoes, so I had to figure out different ways to get him to eat the vegetable.

Truth be told, my husband and I are not huge fans of boiled sweet potatoes either.

Whenever I cook it, It usually sits in the fridge for days until I throw it away. I eventually got sick of wasting food, so I stopped making sweet potatoes completely.

One day my mother was given 5 bags of sweet potatoes (yes you heard that right! About 5 bags). She brought us 3 of those bags and I didn’t have the mind to tell her that I didn’t eat sweet potatoes anymore.

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So I made it my mission to create different recipes using every single sweet potato she gave me.

That’s how I created this sweet potato fritter recipe for baby-led weaning.

The first day I made it, my kids ate everything. I also ate a few of the sweet potato fritters myself. The next day, all the leftovers were gone!

I eventually found a way to use up all the sweet potatoes she gave me. That was part of my inspiration for this blog.

What Age Baby Is Sweet Potato Fritters For?

Sweet potato fritters are perfect for baby-led weaning because They can be eaten by babies as young as 6 months old.

I have an infant who is currently 6 months old and a toddler who is 2 years old, so every recipe I create must be suitable for both of them to eat.

Why Sweet Potato Is Good for Babies and Toddlers

Just like carrots, sweet potatoes contain a vitamin called beta-carotene. This vitamin is essential for the healthy development of the eyes (Source).

Sweet potatoes also contain other important nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fiber. The fiber in sweet potatoes helps keep our babies regular and prevents constipation.

How to prepare sweet potatoes for baby-led weaning

Cut into spares

Babies younger than 9 months may not have developed their pincer grasp yet. So they need food served to them in large pieces.

The ideal size of sweet potatoes for babies 6-9 months old should be large enough to fit around their palms. This is approximately the size of two adult-sized fingers pressed together.

Baked into Fritters

Another way to serve sweet potato fritters to babies and toddlers is to bake them into fritters. Fritters are basically anything mixed in flour and egg, that’s then fried on the stovetop.

Fritters are the best ways to make sweet potatoes for babies and toddlers who don’t like the texture of sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato fritters are hard and a little crunchy from being pan-fried. This makes it easy for babies and toddlers to grasp and self-feed.

Make sweet potato meatballs

If your baby doesn’t like fritters or boiled potatoes you can always make meatballs. Sweet potato meatballs can be made by mashing cooked sweet potatoes with cooked meatballs.

We do this because cooked meat can be very hard for babies to chew which could increase the incidence of choking. So to make it soft enough you mix it with something like sweet potatoes so they can easily swallow it.

Mash them to make a porridge

Another way to make sweet potato is to mash it into a porridge. I’ve been making sweet potato porridge in my family for years.

Everyone in my family loves it from my husband to my toddlers. The recipe for sweet potato includes Ginger, parsley, and chopped onion. It’s a classic recipe used in African cuisine.

Put them in eggs

You can make sweet potato and scrambled eggs for breakfast for a baby who’s new to baby-led weaning. The texture of this type of scrambled egg is softer than normal so it’ll be easier for a baby of less than 9 months to eat.

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Ingredients for Baby-led Weaning Sweet Potato Fritters

1 cup of flour (whole wheat or white flour)
2 eggs
2 cups of sweet potato (grated)

Cooking Directions For Sweet Potato Fritters

Mix all the egg and the sweet potatoes together in a bowl.
Pour the flour into the egg and potato mixture. Gently mix all of it together. Let it rest for 3 minutes.
Place a pan on the stove on low to medium heat. Put a little bit of oil in the pan.
When the oil is hot enough, scoop out some of the sweet potato and flour mixture into the pan. Press it with the back of a spoon to make it flat.
Fry it on one side until it is crispy enough to your liking.
Flip to the other side and fry it as well until done to your liking.

Make it a complete meal

Serve with fruits

Adding fruits as a side will make this sweet potato fritters a complete meal. Fruits are very good for baby-led weaning. It provides different textures for babies’ senses. This is important when they’re starting solids. Fruits are also nutritious for kids.

FAQs about Sweet Potato for babies and toddlers

Can sweet potatoes be given to babies?

Sweet potatoes can be given to babies as young as 6 months old which is when most babies are ready for solids.

You can serve sweet potatoes as spears, cooked chunks, fritters, fries, etc. As long as they’re cut appropriately, your baby should be able to eat it.

Are sweet potatoes too sweet for babies?

Sweet potato has a low glycemic index. This means that the natural sugar it contains won’t cause a sudden blood sugar spike in your baby. Due to this reason, sweet potato is not too sweet for a baby to eat.

How to feed sweet potatoes fritters to babies ages 6 – 9 months old

To serve sweet potato fritters to a baby between 6-9 months old, simply cut it in half and offer it directly. This will allow them to self-feed. Babies at this age have a palmer grasp. This means they can only hold items large enough to fit in the palm of their hands.

My toddler enjoying his sweet potato fritters

How to feed sweet potatoes fritters to babies ages 10 – 12 months

Between 10-12 months sweet potato fritters can be offered directly to a baby without cutting it first. At this age, they’ve developed the ability to grasp large pieces of food. You can also choose to cut sweet potato fritters into small chunks for them to self-feed.

Storage Tips for Sweet Potato Fritters

This sweet potato fritters can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days/ You can also make them in large batches and store them in the freezer.