Meal planning for a 10-month-old baby can be overwhelming. The one year mark is a milestone in the baby’s life and deserves celebration with a special homemade meal. 10 month old baby meal plan is one of the most important things a mother can concern. But very often, making food for babies turn into a real challenge.
Meal Ideas: Month 10
Meal ideas for your 10-month-old baby, and mealtime tips for mummy and daddy.
Your baby’s now 10 months old, congratulations! Guess what? He may be ready for food with a bit more bite in it: food that’s not just mashed, but also finely chopped or cut into tiny bite-sized portions.
Your baby’s motor skills are also developing, and he may be getting better at grabbing and holding on to the food you’ve been giving him all this time.
Your baby still needs his milk feeds, and it’s now a good time to try out sippy cups and slowly phase out the bottle. The recommendation is to completely wean your baby off the bottle by month 12.
Is Your Baby Ready for More Textured Food?
Here are some signs your baby is ready to take on “big boy/girl foods”:
- He moves food around in his mouth with his tongue
- He is starting to make chewing movements
- He can eat thicker and coarser purees without problems
If your baby is not ready yet, continue to transition him to thicker and coarser textures. Use a fork instead of a processor to mash food, and try giving him some dissolvable or soft finger foods—small morsels of food he can grab and feed himself—like puff cereals or tofu.
Recommended Number of Servings (10 months)
A friendly reminder that these numbers are only a recommendation. Let your baby decide how much he wants to eat and don’t force him to finish everything!
| Brown rice and wholemeal bread | Fruit | Vegetables | Meat and others | Milk (breast/formula) |
| 1-2 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 500-750ml |
At 10 months, your meal schedule for the little one might look like this:
- Early morning snack: 150ml breast milk/formula
- Breakfast: 1 slice of wholemeal bread
- Mid-morning snack: 180ml breast milk/formula
- Lunch: ¼ to ¾ bowl* of solid food
- Afternoon snack: 180ml breast milk/formula
- Dinner:¼ to ¾ bowl* of solid food
- Evening snack: 180ml breast milk/formula
You might have already started your baby on three solid meals a day. Read on for ideas on what you can feed your 10-month-old infant, and ways you can make mealtime more exciting for both the baby and you.
More Yummy Ideas for Mummy and Daddy
Tantalise with textures
Your little one is ready for a whole new world of chopped food, so get him excited about the different textures! Prepare your food multiple ways and let your child explore different textures and mouth feel.
For example, chicken can be chopped into small cubes, shredded, added to a stew till it’s soft, or made into patties and cut up. Play around with different preparation methods and let the little one try out lumps, chunks, bits and pieces.
Continue to expand the menu
Encourage your baby to eat a wide variety of food, and to continue exploring different flavours.
Grains: Your little one can now try grains in their original texture—go ahead and let him try well-cooked quinoa, couscous or barley, or potatoes that are cut up into small cubes.
You can also try feeding the little one small wholegrain pasta like macaroni, spiral pasta, shell-shaped pasta, or bee hoon or mee sua that are cut into smaller pieces.
Do make sure these are cooked through and soft, not chewy. Longer or bigger pieces or strands should be cut to size to prevent them from becoming choking hazards.
Fruit and veggies: Mum and dad can now prepare their food and veggies by chopping or cutting them into small pieces. Do make sure your veggies are cooked until they are soft.
Meat/others: Here’s another protein you can add to your baby’s meals—soft, pasteurised cheese, e.g. cottage cheese or shredded cheddar. You can jazz up your child’s mashed potato with some cheese, or mixed cottage cheese into fruit purees for a yummy sweet-savoury treat. Peach or berries work great.
More hacks for snacks
You might have started your baby on finger foods: tiny morsels that your little one can grab and put into his mouth to learn how to feed himself.
Now that he can take in more textures, you can try new snacks in different shapes and sizes, for example:
- Lightly toasted wholemeal bread cut into strips that your little one can dip into bean or fruit puree.
- Small pieces of cooked wholegrain pasta (e.g. cut up macaroni or spiral pasta). Make sure they’re well-cooked and soft, not al dente or chewy.
- Sweet potato “fries” that are steamed, baked, or oven-roasted without oil.
- Thin wedges of watermelon, with seeds and rind removed.
Let your baby explore the food with his sense of touch and taste—don’t worry if things get a bit messy. Food should be soft and easily mashed between fingers or gums, and range from pea-sized to about the length and size of your baby’s finger.
Prevent choking by sitting baby upright in his high chair and keeping your eyes on him when he eats. Avoid raw and hard veggies, whole fruit (e.g. grapes), nuts or seeds, chunks of meat, or food that gums together (e.g. untoasted white bread).
Try These Solid Meals!
Breakfast
- Brown rice cereal with chopped baked peaches and cottage cheese
- Wholemeal bread with mixed berry puree and mashed bananas
Lunch/Dinner
- Chopped mee sua with chicken cubes and chopped bok choy
- Roasted potato cubes with flaked cod and shredded pumpkin
- Chopped macaroni with minced beef and pureed tomato
Friendly Reminders for Mum and Dad
10 to 12 months: Mashed, Chopped or Cut
At this stage, the food you feed the little one needs to only be mashed, chopped or cut into small pieces.
Food prep pointers
If you’re making your own baby food, make sure to prepare it without oil. Some great cooking methods are steaming, boiling, baking, or microwaving. Your baby can now eat chunky soups and stews too. No stir-frying or grilling yet for the little one! Remember to skip the sugar, salt and any other seasonings (e.g. soy sauce) when preparing the meals.
Be patient
If your baby isn’t interested in a certain food, do not force it. There’s also no need to force your child to finish everything on his plate! Stop feeding him if he rejects the food, and try again during the next meal. Right now, your baby knows best about how much he wants to eat.
What makes 1 serving?
| Brown rice and wholemeal bread | ½ bowl of brown rice/rice (100g) ½ bowl of noodles, spaghetti or beehoon (100g) 1 large potato (180g) 2 slices of wholegrain bread (60g) 4 plain wholemeal biscuits |
| Fruit | 1 small apple, orange, pear or mango (130g) 1 wedge pineapple, papaya or watermelon (130g) 1 medium banana 10 grapes or longan (50g) |
| Vegetable | ¾ mug or 1 small rice bowl of cooked vegetables (100g) ¼ plate of vegetables |
| Meat and others | 1 palm-sized piece of fish, lean meat or skinless poultry (90g) 2 small blocks of soft beancurd (170g) ¾ cup or 1 small rice bowl of cooked pulses (e.g. lentils) (120g) 3 eggs (150g) 5 medium prawns |
10-Month-Old’s Feeding Schedule: What to Feed a 10-Month-Old Baby
A 10-month-old’s diet should consist of solid foods supplemented by breast milk or formula. By the time your baby is 10 months old, they are probably eager to eat what you’re eating. At this age, they still need the nutritional value in formula or breast milk.
What can babies eat at 10 months?
Food for 10-month-old babies can consist of fruits, vegetables, fortified cereal, unsweetened yogurts, cheese, and meats. By 10 months old, most babies have at least four teeth at the front of their mouth. They can bite, but it is still difficult to properly chew. Because of this, you’ll need to make sure their food is soft enough for them to mash up with their front teeth and gums.
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How much should a 10-month-old baby eat?
It’s helpful to think of food for 10-month-olds as you would for a healthy adult. This means that they should be encouraged to eat food from all of the different food groups, with a healthy balance of fruit and vegetables. Remember, your baby might like foods that you don’t, so encourage them to try new things!
Offer a variety of foods that your baby can easily pick up, and encourage them to self-feed. This can be quite messy, but offering finger food helps your baby develop their hand-eye coordination and establish a sense of accomplishment through independence.
A feeding schedule for a 10-month-old should consist of three main meals per day with two healthy snacks and at least 3–4 nursing sessions or bottle feedings.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that whole cow’s milk and low-iron formulas not be used during the first year of life.
A 10-month-old child needs around 920 kcal for boys and around 865 kcal for girls. This will give them the nutrients intake that they need for the day as well. It is best to limit the amount of water or juice that your 10-month-old baby drinks at this point to no more than 6–8 ounces per day.
How much formula for 10-month-olds is enough?
A good feeding schedule for a 10-month-old should include at least 3–4 nursing sessions or bottles per day. A 10-month-old baby should be drinking at least 24–32 ounces of breast milk or formula every 24 hours. If you divide this between four nursing sessions, it is about 6–8 ounces each time. Even if your baby is eating more solid foods, keep offering them the appropriate amount of breast milk or formula.
Your child may also become a picky eater at this age. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that it can sometimes take several introductions to the same food before your baby decides to eat it. They also say that your baby is more likely to want to try a food if they see you eating it. So, if you are eating a salad, you can cook some of the same ingredients to feed to your baby.
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Examples of foods for 10-month-old babies
Here is a list of some foods for your 10-month-old baby, along with other foods that should be avoided until they’re older.
Great foods for 10-month-olds:
- Soft, ripe fruits such as bananas, pears, peaches, and berries that have been cut into small pieces
- Iron-fortified cereals served either dry or mixed with formula or breast milk
- Cooked vegetables including carrots, peas, green beans, spinach (and other leafy greens), squash, and potatoes (white and sweet) that have been mashed or cut into small pieces
- Whole cooked beans
- Well-cooked meat, poultry, and fish that is minced
- Dairy products
- Egg yolks
- Starchy foods (breads and pasta)
Foods to avoid
- Whole pieces of fruit
- Large pieces of vegetables
- Hard-to-chew or large pieces of meat
- Popcorn, nuts, and seeds
- Olives
- Honey
- Hard candy, jelly beans, or gumdrops
- Sweets, desserts, and sweetened juices or drinks
- Egg whites
- Shellfish
By offering your 10-month-old baby food that is nutritious, you are starting them out on the right path to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
10-month-old babies eating menu
Your 10-month-old baby will need three meals, two healthy snacks, and breast milk or formula at least 3–4 times per day to provide the nutrition they need to grow. Here is a sample 10-month-old menu for a single day.
Breakfast
- 2 servings of iron-fortified cereal (2–4 tablespoons dry)
- 1 serving of fruit or vegetables (3–4 tablespoons)
- 6–8 ounces of formula or breast milk
Morning snack
- 1 serving of grain (2 crackers, ½ slice bread)
- 1 serving of dairy (1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 ounce cheese)
Lunch
- 1 serving of protein (1–2 tablespoons minced chicken)
- 1 serving of vegetables (3–4 tablespoons)
- 1 serving of fruit juice (3–4 ounces)
Nap time
- 6–8 ounces of formula or breast milk
Afternoon snack
- 1 serving of fruit (3–4 tablespoons)
Dinner
- 1 serving of protein (1–2 ounces of tofu)
- 1 serving of grain (1/2 cup cooked pasta)
- 1 serving of fruit or vegetables (3–4 tablespoons)
- 6–8 ounces of formula or breast milk
Bedtime
- 6–8 ounces of formula or breast milk
This is just a sample menu for a 10-month-old. You can vary the menu depending on your own baby’s needs. Make sure your baby gets 2–3 servings of fruit, vegetables, protein, and whole grains daily.
These daily servings, combined with the nutrients in 24–32 ounces of formula or breast milk, will give your baby the nutrition they need to grow into a healthy and happy toddler. You are also establishing healthy eating habits from an early age, which can be carried on throughout their childhood and into adulthood.
10 MONTH OLD MEAL PLAN
Feeding babies is hard, especially if it is your first baby.
You may have found yourself wondering what to feed your child and how much.
This is one of the reasons we started this website – because I was once one of you, a mom alone trying to navigate this new parenting thing all alone.
And trying to find the best and most accurate advice I could online. That is why I called up my sister to help me.
These meal plans were developed by Dora Babic-Cikos, Phd, our resident nutritionist and my sister.
You can check our her book Wean With Confidence for a full 6-12 Month Meal Plan here (7 months of nutritionist made meal plans and over a 100 recipes).
WHY SHOULD I TRUST THIS MEAL PLAN?
If your baby is bigger or smaller than this that is ok. Every baby is different and this is just an average.
HOW TO INTRODUCE SOLID FOODS?
Following the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dietetic Association and World Health Organization we suggest you introduce solid foods one-by-one and for at least a day at a time.
All the recipes are to be served as finger food, to allow your child to develop their pincer grasp.
However it is possible you are still feeding your baby purees. If so, you should be transitioning away at this age (unless there are developmental reasons not to).
Because of physical differences, growth spurts, or teething, your child may need/want more or less food than what’s proposed. This is completely normal as every child is unique.
The idea is to offer the proposed average amount of food needed and to go from there.
If however, you need or want personalized advice or have any concerns related to eating, please speak to your pediatrician or a pediatric nutritionist.
HOW MUCH BREASTMILK/FORMULA DOES A 10 MONTH OLD BABY NEED?
Amounts of breastmilk/formula are approximate for this age, adjusted for the nutrient content of the other meals.
Notably this is much lower this month than in the 9 month old meal plan due to the addition of a third solid meal.
As before, if your child wants more or less throughout the day, feel free to feed on demand.
The amounts per meal can also be split into multiple meals.
HOW MUCH WATER DO I GIVE MY 10 MONTH OLD BABY?
Ideally, you would also give your child 6-8 oz of water in addition to the below food and breastmilk/formula as well.
Note that different kinds of food also contain different amounts of water so that will vary with a different menu.
For children 10 months old we suggest adding a third meal of solid food.
This means that the amount of water intake can be split between three meals now.
However, at this stage it also makes sense to offer a little water in between meals as well – just not too close to liquid meals (breast or bottle feeding) as it can interfere with their appetite.
10 MONTH OLD MEAL PLAN
Breakfast – Sweet Potato Fruit Pudding
- ⅓ medium-sized sweet potato
- 1 medium-sized apple
- ¼ medium-sized peach
Lunch – Broccoli Cheese Cakes
(makes 12 muffins; lunch portion is 2 muffins)
- 2 cups whole grain flour
- ⅔ cup cottage cheese
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 egg yolk
Snack
- 5 oz breastmilk or formula
Dinner – Potato Leek Cod
- 2 oz cod fillet
- 1 medium-sized potato
- ½ medium-sized leek
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Before bedtime
- 6 oz breastmilk or formula