How to travel with homemade baby food

Last Updated on 06/06/2025 by Ting Dalton

So you’ve made the decision to go away with your baby or toddler… but apart from remembering the mountains of kit (read here for all the top baby travel essentials you’ll ever need) needed to help facilitate a stress-free holiday, what about the matter of feeding your little one on this adventurous journey?

I am a true advocate of travelling with kids at home or abroad, but I’d be lying if I said it was painless and easy. The key, in my experience, is to organise and prepare. But more importantly, to be as flexible as possible.

When it comes to food for babies or young toddlers, it needn’t be an uphill struggle. I’ve recently started weaning – and decided to go with homemade purees and meals, to mix-and-match shop-bought baby food, which let’s be honest, is so much easier when you’re out and about.

How to travel with homemade baby food

But what happens if your baby, like mine, detests the stuff? I’ve tried every brand going, and the only food he will eat is the food that I’ve prepared. Kudos to my culinary skills, but a little awkward when we have to travel any distance or go away for a few days. Travelling with baby food throws up a whole new headache.

Regardless of whether you’re staying in a hotel or self-catering accommodation, these handy products will make life a lot easier if you are travelling abroad with a baby and want to feed homemade food. It’s not as hard as you think. Here are my top tips on how to travel with baby food.

Use an insulated food bag and ice packs 

A great way to keep home-cooked meals fresher for longer is to use an insulated food bag. Not only have I done this on long car journeys around the UK, but if you’re travelling by plane, you are allowed to take enough baby food, baby milk and sterilised water for the journey, as well as ice gels to keep them cool. It also means once you get to your destination, you can do the same if you have to stay away from your accommodation for any length of time. It’s a great way to pack baby food for travel.

Prepare food with a portable blender or food mill 

Imagine you’re in a hotel or restaurant, and nothing on offer seems to be suitable for your baby? Most establishments will cater for young children, so all you have to do is ask. I mean, how hard is it for a restaurant to steam some vegetables? And it’s even easier if you have a portable blender that can puree vegetables and fruits in a matter of seconds. There are so many on the market now that are small and rechargeable, and this one even comes with a bowl and spoon. If you don’t want a hi-tech one, then the brilliant food mill mushes manually and you can feed straight from the top of it. For something even simpler, choose a manual masher, which would do the trick, too.

If you really want to splash the cash, then a steamer and blender all in one can do both of the above, and there are portable compact versions available on the market which can fit neatly in luggage or thrown into the back of a car if you’re going on a road trip.

Keep homemade baby food in a thermos

Over recent months, this has been a lifesaver for me, especially when I’ve been out all day, or I need baby food for travelling in the car. Sometimes it’s not always possible to heat up food, so a small thermos food jar keeps a meal hot for up to five hours. This would be useful to use in conjunction with the blender above, for instance, if you’ve made something up at lunchtime, you can have extra for dinner later and know it will be hot!

Food cubes and extra containers

Going on a long car journey? Then throw some frozen food cubes in an insulated bag. By the time they’ve thawed, they will still be fresh and ready to eat. The same can be done if you choose to go self-catering abroad. Make a batch of food, freeze it, and you’ll have fresh food for later on in the day if you have to go on a day trip. Extra containers always come in handy, especially ones with lids.

Instant baby food while travelling

If you know it’s going to be difficult for you to prepare some food while you’re travelling, particularly when you’re catching a flight or on a long journey, choose instant food like fruit. Bananas and avocados, for example, can be mashed up with a fork and given straight away.

Take some tried-and-tested baby food for travelling

Take some familiar snacks and food with you just in case. My baby loved porridge, which was made by adding hot water. This is a quick fix if you need something filling and nutritious, and are unable to get something suitable for a time. The same for snacks, which can be easily packed in your luggage and shouldn’t take up too much room.