Sweet Potato Wedges and Sticks For Baby

Sweet potato wedges or sticks for baby are the perfect kid-friendly snacks. They are packed with nourishment that will have your little one craving for more.

These tiny tot-friendly treats are not only easy to prepare but also loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, making them a great addition to your baby’s growing palate.

In this post, I’ll show you how to make these simple sweet potato fries that both my baby and toddler love so much.

In the fall season, we make these a lot because we always end up with more sweet potatoes in the house than we know what to do with.

Why I Love Sweet Potato Sticks & Wedges For Baby-led Weaning 

Sweet potato wedges are great for baby-led weaning because they’re finger food.

You don’t need to worry about your baby choking on them when they eat because they can bite off pieces of it at a time.

When cooked correctly, your baby will be able to feed themselves without any problems.

The natural sweetness of the sweet potato will encourage your baby to keep eating.

Why Sweet Potatoes Are Good for Babies and Toddlers

Sweet Potatoes are naturally sweet so they have a low glycemic index. This means they won’t increase your baby’s blood sugar levels too fast after eating (source)

Sweet potatoes also contain essential vitamins like vitamin A which helps maintain healthy vision and eye development (source).

Another important benefit is their fiber content. The fiber in sweet potatoes will help your baby maintain regular bowel movements. 

Check out this article to read my answers to some FAQs about sweet potatoes for babies, and see a long list of over 14 sweet potato recipes for babies.

What to serve with Sweet potato Sticks/Wedges For Baby

Serve it with a protein 

Since sweet potatoes are vegetables, you can make it a complete meal by adding a side of protein.

Some proteins I like to add to my baby’s sweet potato wedges are shredded chicken, shredded pork, or a burger.

This ensures that they’re getting a complete and balanced diet at every meal.

Serve it with some carbohydrates 

Unless you’re giving sweet potato sticks to your baby as a snack, you’ll need to add some side dishes to make it more filling for them.

My suggestion is to add a side of carbohydrates. One of my go-to carbs is bread. My kids love it and it’s simple to put together.

Simply toast a piece of bread and add toppings like butter, peanut butter, jam, or avocado. This will help complete the meal.

Serve with a side of fruits

Fruits go very well with sweet potato fries for babies. My kids love strawberries, bananas, apples, etc. Any kind of fruit will make a great addition to your baby’s plate. 

Important Recipe Notes on BLW Sweet Potato Wedges

You can use any sweet potatoes 

I like using orange sweet potatoes to make sticks and wedges for my baby.

Some people prefer purple sweet potatoes. It really doesn’t matter what type you use as long as you cook and cut it properly for your baby’s age

Make sure to cut it properly for your baby’s age

Sweet potatoes are great vegetables to feed babies. Make sure you cut it to the right shape and size depending on your baby’s age.

See below for how to cut sweet potatoes for babies.

Don’t overcook the sweet potatoes

The best way to prevent overcooking your sweet potato wedges is to check it halfway through for doneness.

If you can easily squish it between your fingers, then it’s soft enough to feed your baby. An overcooked sweet potato is very hard, crunchy, and sometimes burnt.

If your soft sweet potatoes have burnt edges, that’s okay. Just chop them off before serving them to your baby.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. For more info please see the disclaimer

How to properly cut Sweet potatoes For Baby-led Weaning 

6-9 Months old

At 6-9 months old, babies are just starting solids so you need to feed them foods that are soft.

At this age, you want to cook the sweet potatoes until they’re soft enough to be pierced with a fork. 

Then you can either cut it into large spears or cut it in half. This way, they can grasp it and bring it to their mouths to feed themselves.

You could also bake the sweet potato until it’s soft enough to squish easily between your fingers before cutting it into spears or large chunks for your baby.

10-12 months old

Between 10-12 months old, most babies are becoming better at eating solids. At this age, they’ve developed their pincer grasp so you can serve them smaller chunks of sweet potatoes.

Tips for Picky Eaters

Add a dipping sauce 

I swear by dipping sauces as a toddler mom. My kids will eat almost anything if you add sauce on the side for them. 

Something about dipping makes any food more manageable. My sons love this deep-roasted sesame sauce from Amazon. This sauce along with ketchup is their favorite dipping sauce.

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.

Make it into a game

Sometimes I create games around the food I serve to get my kids interested in eating. 

A game we’ve played in the past is called “Here comes the airplane… open the garage”. This encourages them to open their mouth as I bring the food in like an airplane.

Sometimes my kids will try new foods this way.

Recipe Variations 

Sweet potato Sticks for baby

When babies are old enough to use with their pincer grasp (between 10-12 months old) you can make them sweet potato sticks.

Sweet potato sticks are made the same way as sweet potato wedges. The only difference is how thin you cut the sweet potatoes before baking them.

Sweet potato fries for baby in a pan

If you don’t have the patience to bake the sweet potatoes, you can also fry them. If you have an air fryer, that would be ideal because you won’t be using grease.

If you don’t have an air fryer, you can make sweet potato fries for your baby in a frying pan. Just try not to use too much oil to fry them so they’re not coated in too much grease.

Ingredient For Sweet Potato Wedges/Sticks For Baby

• 3 medium size sweet potatoes (cut into chunky wedges or thin sticks)
• A drizzle of oil
• ¼ tsp Black pepper (optional)

Cooking Directions For BLW Sweet Potato Wedges/Sticks

• Set the oven to 410 degrees F. 
• Chop the sweet potatoes into wedges or sticks. 
• Place them into a bowl and drizzle some oil over them. Add the black pepper and rub it into the sweet potatoes with your hands.
• Place the sweet potato wedges or sticks on a baking tray. Make sure you don’t overcrowd the tray.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft enough to squish between your fingers.
• Chop off the burnt edges before serving them to your baby.

Storage Tips For Sweet Potato Wedges/Sticks for Baby

How to refrigerate 

To refrigerate baby-led weaning sweet potato wedges, place them in a ziplock bag and squeeze out all the air. You can also use a Pyrex container. 

They should last for up to 5 days in the fridge before becoming very soggy.

Reheating sweet potato sticks/wedges

You can reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until hot. Don’t use a higher temperature because you don’t want them to burn.

Don’t reheat them in a microwave. They remain soggy. The oven is the only thing that will crisp them up for you again and remove the moisture.

Can you freeze Sweet Potato wedges/sticks for baby?

You can freeze sweet potato wedges/sticks for baby. I’ve made large patches in the past and frozen them for later use. 

Just make sure you cool them completely first before placing them in the freezer.

FAQs About Sweet Potato Wedges and Sticks for Babies

How do you reheat frozen sweet potato wedges or sticks for baby?

You can reheat frozen sweet potato sticks or wedges in the oven. Place them in a greased baking tray and heat at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until hot.

Can babies eat potato wedges?

Babies can eat sweet potato wedges starting at 6 months old. That’s typically the age when most babies show signs of readiness to start solids. Sweet potato wedges are safe to feed babies because they’re large enough for babies to grasp and self-feed.

Can my baby eat sweet potato fries?

Babies can eat sweet potato fries as long as they are cut appropriately for your baby’s age. Babies between 6-9 months should have sweet potato fries cut into chunky wedges. Babies between 10-12 months can have sweet potato fries cut into sticks.

Take care to not overcook your sweet potato fries so they’re not too dry or hard for your baby to chew.

Did you make this baby-led weaning lunch recipe? 

Let me know in the comments how it turned out!