Toddler Pasta Vegie Meal
Submitted by patty.davy
Homemade toddler pasta and veggie meal with bow-tie pasta, sweet potato, broccoli, and chickpeas simmered in broth and thickened. A wholesome, no-added-salt freezer meal you can batch and portion.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
60 minA wholesome, homemade meal for little ones that beats anything from a jar. Everything simmers together in chicken broth, the pasta first, then sweet potato, broccoli, and chickpeas added in stages so each cooks to soft, toddler-friendly tenderness without turning to mush.
A quick cornstarch slurry thickens the broth into a light sauce that clings to the pasta and is easy for small hands and spoons to manage. There’s no added salt or sugar, just vegetables, beans, and grain.
The real win is batch cooking. Portion it into containers or pouches and freeze, then move one to the fridge in the morning and it’s thawed by lunch. As your toddler grows, the recipe is built to evolve: stir in tender diced chicken or turkey, switch to a tomato base with beef, or add onion and garlic for bolder flavor.
Kitchen Tips
- Cut the sweet potato into small half-inch cubes so it cooks quickly and is easy for little ones to chew.
- Add the vegetables in stages as directed. Staggering them keeps everything tender at once instead of some pieces overcooked.
- Cool fully before freezing, and freeze in single-serving portions so you only thaw what one meal needs.
Variations
- Stir in very tender diced chicken, turkey, or pork for added protein.
- Make a tomato-based version with cooked ground beef.
- As your child ages, add onion, garlic, celery, or turnip for more flavor and variety.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring chicken broth to a boil, add pasta simmer stirring 2 to 3 minutes. Add sweet potato simmer another 2 to 3 minutes or until almost tender, add broccoli and simmer until broccoli is tender. Add chick peas. Stir corn starch into the water then add to the vegetable pasta and cook until thickened.
Package in vacuum seal pouches or containers of choice. Freeze. If you take this out of the freezer in the a. m. it should be ready to heat up by lunch time.
You could also add very tender diced chicken, turkey, rabbit or pork to this meal.
Another option would be to make it with tomato cooking sauce and use cooked beef burger or small pieces of very tender beef, moose venison etc.
As toddler ages you could start to add onion, garlic, celery, turnip etc. Use your imagination!
Enjoy!
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