This Chunky Summer Veggie Pasta for Baby and Toddler combines all the flavorful tastes of summer into one bite-size dish! Filled with zucchini, asparagus, leeks, basil and a small shaped whole grain pasta. Great for a Stage 3 Baby Food Puree, Finger Food or Baby-Led Weaning.

Small white bowl filled with a chunky pasta with summer veggie sauce mixed in - great for baby-led weaning or stage 3 baby foods.

I’m such a tease! Busted!

I had this amazing Beaba Babycook Pro Giveaway happening this week and I promised that I would reveal the winner on Friday along with my first Babycook recipe. Totally the plan.

Then, you know, life happened – it veered off course.

But before we get into it, congratulations to Dolores A. from Hawaii for winning the Babycook Pro!!! <——– and yes, we can all be super jealous of Dolores for not only winning the giveaway but for also living in Hawaii!

Thursday night, started my playhour-to-happyhour get-togethers that I am hosting in my super tiny house for my momma group this summer. You know these types of get-togethers, the ones that happen after naps where you get 13 kids under the age of 3 into a too tiny of a yard, turn on a sprinkler, set up a water table and spread out a blanket with toys for the babies. The plan is that when all of the kiddos are occupied and happy all the mommas can then sit back, relax and have a mommy beverage while waiting for the dads to get off of work to join in on the fun.

In theory, this was the most amazing way to kill 3 birds with 1 stone – correl the kids into one space, let them have some amazing summer fun, partake in this summer white whine spritzer recipe.

And you know what, it worked!

Part of the time!

Part of the time, all the kids were completely entertained and having a blast. While at other times, it was a complete sh** show and there were multiple kids crying at once.

50% good kiddo behavior = WIN for all of us moms!

cutting board with fresh green veggies on top.

Here is where we derailed the logistics train, because the girls were having so much fun we let them stay up wwwwaaaaaaayyyyy too late. My girls usually go to bed around 7, but since it looks like it is noon at 7pm here in Denver, it’s hard to convince them to lay down and go to bed.

So we let them stay up late to play with their friends – which is rule #2 in the Official Parent Handbook (totally not a thing, but needs to be) of things not to do with your kids. This always leads to consciquence #1 in the Official Results for Being a Bad Parent Handbook – your child will be cranky and an absolute pain for the entirety of the following day.

That pretty much sums up my day yesterday. Cranky kids + no naps = no yummy post for you.

I bet you want to kick me for my bad parenting behavior right now! It’s cool, so do I!

And now that I went on for about 850 words on why this post was late, let’s get down to this amazing recipe.

Fresh summer veggies are steamed to perfection with a heaping handful of sun-warmed basil and a splash of citrus all combined into a chunky pasta sauce. I like to think of this as a veggie + basil pesto sauce for your baby.

It is a perfect summer meal for baby. Full of seasonal ingredients, bold basil spice and chunky pasta. It is perfect for babies that are justing learning to eat fingers foods as well as toddlers that can’t be bothered with eating vegetables but veggie pestos seem to be completely fine with them. If your babes isn’t yet into chunky food, you can also blend this into a thick puree by adding in some additional lemon juice. I like to finish this baby dish off in true Italian style –  with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

While you can completely make this recipe using any ol’ kitchen equipment, I got the pleasure of working the the Beaba Babycook Pro 2x.

And let me tell you, my life is completely changed.

I know a lot of you were probably gifted these amazing cooking machines during a baby shower (secretly jealous of you) and right now you should probably stop what you are doing and re-send the gifter another thank you card along with a big hug.

Because here is what they really bought you ——> hands free time!

If you didn’t happen to get a Babycook for your baby shower, you need to have a talk with your best friend that through your baby shower about why they didn’t make you register for a Babycook (I’m looking at your Breezy) and then go out and get one yourself. You won’t regret it.

You read that right —–> I gave you permission to go SHOPPING!!!!

The babycook is going to save you time in the kitchen.

Here is all you have to do – load up the baskets with delicious fruits, vegetable and grains, push the start button and then walk away. It will automatically stop. It will automatically think for you. It will automatically do your laundry. Okay, well not that, but wouldn’t that be nice.

Here is how I spent the 20 minutes while this puree was cooking –

  • made an extra cup of coffee
  • cut and filed my nails
  •  sat on my front porch while reading my community newsletter
  • saw they had a board position open
  • contemplated joining the board
  • realized I was completely crazy
  • leaned back and rested my eyes
  • heard ‘ding’ from babycook
  • slowly drank the rest of my coffee while I decided if I was going to eat that cookie that has been staring me down for the last 35 minutes in the kitchen

Thank you Tara from Beaba for gifting me a babybook! I completely enjoyed my 20 minutes of hands-free time by doing absolutely nothing!!!

Get the recipe: Chunky Summer Veggie Pasta

5 stars (9 ratings)
This Chunky Summer Veggie Pasta for Baby and Toddler combines all the flavorful tastes of summer into one bite-size dish!

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 small zucchini
  • 6 asparagus spears
  • 1 leek white and light green parts only
  • 8-10 basil leaves
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp small shaped pasta
  • 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp water
  • sprinkle of parmesan, optional

Instructions 

Instructions using Beaba's Babycook Pro

  • Chop the zucchini, asparagus and leek into 1" pieces. Roughly chop the basil.
  • Fill one basket with the zucchini, asparagus and leek. Using the measuring bowl, fill the correlating heating tank to a level 3 with water.
  • Fill the grain insert with the pasta and water. Using the measuring bowl, fill the correlating heating tank to a level 3 with water.
  • Lock both bowls in place and turn babycook on.
  • Run steam cycle for both baskets.
  • Discard cooking juices and transfer the contents of the zucchini basket along with the basil and lemon juice into the blender and pulse in 3 second bursts until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Mix 1/2 of the vegetable puree with the cooked pasta and store the remaining puree for future use.
  • Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.

Instructions for Regular Cook Method

  • Chop the zucchini, asparagus and leek into 1" pieces. Roughly chop the basil.
  • In a medicum saucepan, bring 2" of water to a boil over medium heat. Place the zucchini, asparagus and leek into a steamer basket over the boiling water, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.
  • Transfer the zucchini, asparagus and leek to a blender or food processor, add basil and lemon juice. Puree in short bursts until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Mix 1/2 of the vegetable puree with the cooked pasta and store the remaining puree for future use.
  • Sprinkle with parmesan and serve.

Notes

Yield: 12 ounces of chunky summer veggie pasta, 8 ounces extra chunky summer veggie sauce that can be stored in the fridge or freezer for future use. 
Storage: 3 days in fridge, 3 months in freezer
Age: 6+ months for baby-led weaning or 9+ months for stage 3 baby food
 

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @babyfoode on Instagram and hashtag it #babyfoode!


Disclaimer – Beaba sent me the babycook pro 2x and grain insert to try out for free. I did not receive any monetization for this posts. All thoughts and opinions about this product are my own.