Baby and toddler recipes

🥫 Sardine and tomato pasta sauce

A quick store-cupboard pasta sauce of tinned sardines blended into tomatoes and garlic. Sardines give iron, calcium (from their soft bones) and omega-3 fats.

From 7 monthsPrep 5 minCook 15 minFreezes wellContains: Fish, Gluten

Makes about 4 baby portions

Ingredients

  • 1 x 120g tin Sardines (in water or olive oil, not brine or tomato sauce with added salt)
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes Tomato (no added salt)
  • 1 clove Garlic (crushed)
  • 1 tsp Olive oil
  • a few leaves Basil
  • small shapes, to serve Pasta

Method

  1. Gently fry the garlic in the oil for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
  3. Drain the sardines and mash them well with a fork (the soft bones are safe and full of calcium).
  4. Stir the sardines into the sauce with the basil and warm through for 2 minutes.
  5. Blend smooth for younger babies, then stir through soft pasta.

Serving it to your baby

At 7 months, blend smooth and mix with very small pasta or mashed potato. From 9 months, serve with pasta shapes as finger food.

For the rest of the family

Add capers, olives and chilli to the adult portion, with salt and pepper at the table.

Storing and reheating

Cool quickly and keep covered in the fridge for up to 1 day, or freeze for up to 2 months (only if the fish was not previously frozen). Defrost in the fridge, reheat until piping hot throughout, then cool before serving. Never reheat more than once.

How to introduce fish · How to introduce gluten

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Questions parents ask

Are tinned sardines ok for babies?

Yes, choose sardines in water or oil rather than brine, which is salty. Mash the soft bones well: they are a good source of calcium.

How often can babies have sardines?

Sardines are oily fish, so up to 2 portions a week for girls and up to 4 for boys.

OBubba gives general information based on UK guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Every baby is different. If your baby has a known allergy, severe eczema or a medical condition, speak to your doctor or health visitor before starting solids. Learn baby first aid, and in an emergency call your local emergency number (999 in the UK).