Red Lentil & Sweet Pepper Fingers
Allergen lists cover the priority allergens in the recipe as written. Always check your own ingredient labels, and introduce each new allergen on its own first.
Ingredients
- 150 g (¾ cup) dried red split lentils, rinsed well
- 400 ml (1⅔ cups) unsalted water or no-salt-added vegetable stock
- 1 small red bell pepper (about 120 g), deseeded and finely diced
- 40 g (⅓ cup) fine oat flour (blitz rolled oats)
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little for greasing
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, to brush over after baking
Method
- 1. Simmer the rinsed lentils in the unsalted water for 15–18 minutes until completely soft and collapsing, then drain off any excess liquid and let cool for 10 minutes.
- 2. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper, lightly oiled.
- 3. Soften the diced red pepper in the olive oil over low heat with the cumin for 8–10 minutes, until it is completely limp with no crunch left — undercooked pepper skin is tough for a baby to break down.
- 4. Mash the lentils with a fork, stir through the peppers and the oat flour to make a thick, scoopable paste.
- 5. Press the mixture into the tin to a 2 cm depth and bake for 20 minutes until set and dry to the touch.
- 6. Cool for 15 minutes, brush the surface with the lemon juice (vitamin C is heat-sensitive, so it goes on after baking, never before), then cut to the shape your baby needs. Every piece must squash easily between your thumb and forefinger.
How to serve by age
6–8 months
Cut into finger-length strips about 8–9 cm long and roughly two adult fingers wide (3 cm) so a good 3 cm sticks out of a closed fist — this is the size a whole-hand palmar grasp can hold and gnaw without the piece disappearing into the palm.
9–12 months
Once the pincer grasp (thumb + forefinger) appears, switch to soft 1 cm pea-sized cubes scattered on the tray so your baby can practise picking up single pieces.
Paediatric note
Non-heme iron from lentils is absorbed far less efficiently than iron from meat, but vitamin C converts it to a more absorbable form — the sweet red pepper and lemon juice here are doing real nutritional work, not just adding flavour. Serve iron-rich meals in a separate sitting from large milk feeds, since calcium competes with iron for absorption. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are usually milled alongside wheat, so if coeliac disease runs in your family choose a certified gluten-free brand for the oat flour.
Source guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/
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