ParentSide
6–8 months

Mashed chickpeas

Main mealPrep 20 minCook 50 minPortions: 3

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons of dried chickpeas
  • 1 small potato
  • Cooking water

Method

  1. Sort through the chickpeas and rinse them.
  2. Follow the soaking and cooking instructions on the packet; throw the soaking water away if the packet asks you to cook them in fresh water.
  3. With no salt added, cook until they are completely soft and crush between your fingers; do not use a slow cooker in place of the soaking and boiling the packet requires.
  4. Let them cool a little and slip off every skin; throw the skins away.
  5. Mash with the separately cooked potato, loosening with cooking water.
  6. Serve once cooled.

Texture

Softly mashed with small soft lumps, and no whole chickpeas and no chickpea skins left.

Serving

Serve warm. Introduce foods that can trigger an allergic reaction one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction.

Preparing for choking safety

Undercooked or firm chickpeas are never served; dried pulses must be soaked and cooked as the packet instructs. Chickpea skins stay firm and are a choking risk, so none is served before every skin is slipped off.

Key nutrients

ProteinIronFolateFibre

Storage

Cool within 1 to 2 hours of cooking, then refrigerate or freeze in small portions. Use a refrigerated portion within 2 days. Eat a defrosted portion within 24 hours. When reheating, heat until steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool before serving, and reheat any portion only once. Throw away a half-eaten portion rather than storing or reheating it.

Safety

Your baby should be sitting upright and someone should stay with them while they eat. Add no salt, sugar or honey; honey is not given before one year. Babies do not all manage the same texture at the same age — follow your baby's pace rather than pushing. If your baby has an allergy, eczema, or a family history of allergy, talk to your GP or health visitor before introducing new foods.

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Recipes are a suggestion; they do not replace breast milk, formula, or your child's own feeding plan. If there is an allergy or a specific dietary situation, speak with a health professional.