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Wondering how to make sweet potato mash for babies? Look no further.

Today, I’m sharing my famous family recipe for ginger sweet potato mash. This recipe has been made in my family for years.

Because of the medicinal nature of ginger, my mother would make this sweet potato recipe whenever we had an upset stomach.

It always worked to make us feel better.

This mashed sweet potato recipe is excellent both as a purée and for baby-led weaning.

You can give your baby a spoon to help them feed themselves if you’re doing BLW.

That way, they still retain their feeding independence.

Why I Love This Sweet Potato Mash for Babies

One of my favorite baby-led weaning recipes is ginger sweet potato mash.

It takes only 3 major ingredients and tastes so good. I make this recipe for my whole family at least once a month.

Ginger sweet potato mash is actually a very popular cuisine in Nigeria where I’m from.

Back home we call it sweet potato porridge.

It’s one of the first foods babies eat back home because it’s easy to make and can be mashed for them to eat.

The main ingredient for this sweet potato mash for babies is ginger. Without it, your recipe will not taste as good.

Ginger is very good for settling the stomach during an illness so that’s one reason this recipe is made for babies when they’re little.

If you have a baby with reflux, this ginger sweet potato mash is excellent to feed them.

Check out my other sweet potato recipes for babies

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Important Recipe Notes

Fresh ginger is better for this sweet potato mash

This sweet potato mash for babies is better when made with fresh ginger. The flavor is more pronounced this way.

If you don’t want to see the ginger in the sweet potato, you can purée it into the meal instead of chopping it.

I really like this electric garlic chopper for small things like ginger, garlic, parsley, etc. It can mince and chop ingredients into very tiny pieces.

This recipe is cooked with chicken broth

To get the best-tasting sweet potato mash for babies, you need to cook this recipe in chicken broth.

Don’t have chicken broth? Follow this trick

If you don’t have chicken broth, dissolve 1 chicken bouillon cube into 1 cup of boiling hot water.

This will give you perfectly tasting chicken broth. A Bouillon cube is just dehydrated chicken broth formed into a tiny cube.

Here are some more sweet potato recipes you’ll love

Sweet Potato Apple Pancake for Baby + No Egg Option

Quick Baby-led Weaning Sweet Potato Fritters

Check out the complete list of 10+ sweet potato recipes for babies here

What to Serve with Ginger Sweet Potato Mash For Babies

Serve with some protein

Because this sweet potato mash is just vegetables, you can serve it with some protein.

For this recipe, I served it with meatballs but you can use any type of meat you like. You can also serve it with plant protein like tofu.

Serve with fruits

Another good side to serve with sweet potato mash is fruits. Your baby will enjoy the texture of the fruit because it’ll contrast with the mashed potatoes.

How to serve sweet potato mash for babies

6 – 9 months old

You can provide your baby with a baby-led weaning utensil like this one on Amazon. This one linked is a favorite in our house.

I love it because it keeps food stuck to it so your baby can self-feed without worrying about the food falling off.

10 – 12 months old

For babies ages 10-12, you can provide them with a toddler spoon so they can practice scooping on their own.

Sweet Potato Mash Tips for Picky Eaters

Don’t pressure

Give your baby or toddler a chance to say no. It’s okay if they don’t like what we serve them. Keep trying. It takes at least 30 exposures for a baby to begin liking a food, so don’t give up.

Add some texture to the mashed sweet potatoes

Some kids don’t like the texture of mashed food. So to make them more comfortable, you can add something with a little texture inside.

One thing you can add to mashed sweet potatoes is ground nuts or chopped vegetables that have been cooked soft enough for a baby to chew.

Ingredients for Baby-led Weaning Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Note I used 7 sweet potatoes to make a big pot for a family of 4. If making for just you and the baby, adjust accordingly.

Below is an adjusted ingredient for 2 servings

2 medium sweet potatoes chopped
1 small fresh ginger minced
¼ onion
1 tablespoon Parsley
¼ cup oil
½ cup chicken broth or half bouillon cube

Saute your ginger and onion

Add the sweet potatoes

Add chicken broth

Cooking Directions For Ginger Sweet Potato Mash For Baby

Place a pot on the stove on medium heat. When hot enough, add oil and wait until it’s hot.
Sauté the ginger and onion until fragrant
Add the chopped sweet potatoes. Let cook for 3 minutes. Then add the chicken broth and the parsley.
Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let it cook in its own heat until the sweet potato is soft enough to mash.
Occasionally open the pot to stir the food and check the softness of the sweet potatoes. Avoid leaving the pot open for too long.
When the sweet potato is soft. Mash it with a spoon until you achieve your desired consistency. Remove from heat and serve.