In honor of National Egg Month, try out these yummy, healthy egg recipes for your 1-year-old. They all follow the USDA’s new Dietary Guidelines.
May is National Egg Month. Egg allergies are one of the most common allergies in young children. They are also one of the food allergies with the biggest impact on quality of life.
But don’t hold off on introducing egg to your little one regularly. In their new Dietary Guidelines (DGA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises that “Potentially allergenic foods,” including egg, “should be introduced” to infants and toddlers “when other complementary foods are introduced.”
According to the landmark PETIT study that inspired these guidelines, though, sustaining egg introduction is just as important as starting early.
So, how can you keep feeding your 1-year-old egg once you’ve introduced it, with healthy and age-appropriate meals and snacks?
In honor of National Egg Month, we’ve put together this list of yummy egg recipes for your 1-year-old to enjoy.
We’ve kept them free of added sugar and low in sodium in accordance with other new USDA Dietary Guidelines recommendations for children ages 2 and under. Also in line with the Dietary Guidelines, we've included a variety of ways to prepare eggs to give your child a diverse diet with tips on textures and alternative preparations for any parents of picky eaters.
As an added bonus, all of the egg recipes we’ve selected let you mix in Ready. Set. Food! Stages 1-3 before serving, for an easy and safe way to introduce egg and 8 other top allergens to your little one.
Note: Do not add Ready. Set. Food! Stages 1-3 to your child’s meals prior to baking/cooking/heating. Wait until after all of the cooking steps are complete before mixing in Ready. Set. Food!
1. Mashed Eggs On Toast, Multiple Ways
Eggy avocado toast
Inspired by Baby Foode.
Ingredients:
- The yolk of 1 hard-boiled egg (or, you can use ½ of an entire hard-boiled egg)
- Wedges of avocado (approx. ⅛ to ¼ avocado)***
- 1 slice whole-grain bread with no added sugar
Instructions:
- Hard-boil one egg.
- Mash together the avocado and the hard-boiled egg.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, thoroughly mix it into the avocado and egg.
- Lightly toast the bread.
- Cut the slice of bread into strips for easy handling.
- Spoon the egg-avocado mixture onto the bread strips. Leave some of the strip plain, for easier handling. Serve.
***Several options can be mixed with the egg and avocado, or used in place of the avocado including: Plain yogurt with no added sugar, mashed white beans, ricotta cheese, goat cheese, or mashed banana. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Egg yolk and paprika toast
Inspired by Feeding Bytes
Ingredients:
- Yolk of 1 hard-boiled egg
- A little milk or water, if needed
- Paprika
- 1 slice whole-grain bread with no added sugar
Instructions:
- Hard-boil the egg.
- Remove the yolk.
- Mash the yolk in a bowl.
- Add a little milk or water if needed to make the egg more spreadable.
- Add in a sprinkle of paprika, and mix well.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, thoroughly mix it into the egg mixture.
- Toast the bread lightly and cut it into strips.
- Spread the egg on the toast strips and serve.
2. Egg Oatmeal With Banana
Inspired by Mama Knows Nutrition
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup cow’s milk (or almond milk)
- 1 sliced banana
- Pinch of cinnamon
Instructions:
- Pour the milk into a pan, and bring to a boil.
- Stir in the banana slices and oats.
- Bring the heat to low.
- Cook the oatmeal based on the quick oats’ instructions.
- Stir occasionally until the oatmeal is thickened.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Crack the egg into the oatmeal. Stir it in vigorously!
- Once the egg is incorporated, put the pan back onto low heat until the egg is cooked through.
- Keep stirring and make sure the egg does not clump up.
- Stir in the cinnamon.
- Pour some of the oatmeal into baby’s bowl and let the oatmeal cool a bit.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, stir it into baby’s bowl.
- Serve the eggy oatmeal!
3. Easy Egg And Veggie Mix
Inspired by Steele House Kitchen
Ingredients:
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon diced zucchini
- 1 tablespoon shredded carrot
- 1 tablespoon diced tomato
- 2 tablespoons marinara sauce or tomato sauce (choose one low in sodium, and free of added sugar)
Instructions:
- Crack the egg into a bowl.
- Add the milk.
- Beat the egg and milk with a fork until mixed well. Set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a pan over medium-low heat.
- Add the carrots and zucchini, and saute for 5 minutes or until soft.
- Add the tomato, and saute for another minute.
- Add the egg mixture, and saute until cooked and soft.
- Turn the heat off and stir in the tomato sauce.
- Let cool and spoon a portion into baby’s bowl.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, stir it into baby’s bowl.
- Serve.
If your little one has trouble with the texture of these eggs, feel free to cook the eggs separately and in another way, then mix with the veggies just prior to serving.
4. Mexican-Style Egg Mix
Inspired by Eggs.ca.
This recipe is perfect for the whole family; older children and adults can enjoy the mixture on tostadas or soft taco shells. It serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 diced large tomato
- ¼ cup diced red pepper
- ¼ cup diced orange pepper
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (low fat)
- ½ cup salsa (low in sodium, with no added sugar)
Instructions:
- Whisk the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Save for later.
- Heat the oil in a skillet using medium heat. Add in the veggies. Saute for about 5 minutes or until the peppers are tender.
- Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook.
- Stir gently until eggs are cooked through and very soft. This should take another 5 minutes.
- Spoon the mixture into your little one’s bowl (and onto the tostadas/taco shells, if also serving to adults and older kids).
- Spoon the salsa on top and sprinkle on the cheese.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, let your little one’s portion cool, then mix in.
- Serve.
If your little one has trouble with the texture of these eggs, feel free to cook the eggs separately and in another way, then mix with the veggies just before adding the cheese and salsa.
5. Simple Egg Salad
Inspired by Eggs.ca
This recipe makes more than enough to serve the whole family. Give your little one the egg salad in a bowl, then consider serving some on sandwiches to enjoy with the rest of the family.
Ingredients:
- 5 finely chopped hard-boiled eggs
- 1 finely diced stalk of celery
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- ⅛ tablespoon black pepper
Instructions:
- Prepare the hard-boiled eggs.
- Combine the finely chopped eggs, celery, mayo and pepper together in a bowl.
- Portion out your toddler’s serving in a bowl.
- Add Ready. Set. Food! to your toddler’s bowl of egg salad if desired, and mix well.
-
Serve in the bowl for your toddler, and serve as desired for other members of your family.
6. Veggie Egg Quinoa
Inspired by First Cry Parenting
Ingredients:
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup soft-cooked vegetables (such as carrots, broccoli, squash, or peppers)
Instructions:
- Cook the veggies until soft, using your desired method.
- Cook the quinoa.
- Hard-boil the egg,
- Mash up the egg. Then, mix the egg with the veggies and quinoa.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, stir in the packet after you’ve let the mixture cool.
- Serve.
(Note: The original recipe used rice, but rice is not recommended for young children because it contains high levels of arsenic. So, we’ve swapped in quinoa.)
7. Egg And Whole-Grain Pasta
Inspired by First Cry Parenting.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole-grain rotini (spiral pasta)
- 3 eggs
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 finely chopped tomato
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons pasta sauce (no added sugar, low in sodium)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric, if desired
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, if desired
Instructions:
- Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add the whole-grain pasta and cook it until soft.
- Drain the pasta, put it under cold running water, and set it aside.
- Prepare and cook the eggs (softly scrambled is suggested, but you could also hard-boil and then finely chop the eggs.) Set them aside.
- Saute the chopped onion in the olive oil. Cook well, making sure the onion softens..
- Add the chopped tomato to the onion and cook until soft.
- If desired, add the spices and let them cook in for a few seconds.
- Add the pasta, pasta sauce, and cilantro to the mix. Mix well.
- Add in the cooked eggs. Cover the mix with a lid and cook for a few minutes.
- Let the mixture cool and spoon it into baby’s bowl.
- If adding Ready. Set. Food!, mix it in well, after the egg mix cools.
- Serve.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If your infant has severe eczema, check with your infant’s healthcare provider before feeding foods containing ground peanuts.