Last updated on June 13th, 2024
If you’re planning a trip to Italy with your baby you may be wondering if you need to bring baby food from home or if you can easily find Italian baby foods similar to what your little guy or girl is used to eating.
The answer is yes, you can and it’s probably similar to jarred baby food your baby is used to eating back home. In addition, Italy has several other baby friendly cereals and pureed foods that your baby may not have tried yet.
I am a mom of four living in Tuscany. When I had my first son back in 2014, the Italian baby food scene was different from when I had my last daughter in 2021. Let’s take a look at:
- What Italians feed their babies
- Popular Italian baby food brands
- Italian baby food choices
- How to prepare Italian baby food as Italians do (or how to keep things simple)
- Baby food items you may consider bringing with you from home
- Baby formula in Italy
- Tips and tricks for feeding your baby in Italy
Travelling with Your Bambino? Be sure to read
What Do Babies Eat in Italy?
Italian Baby Food – A Traveler’s Guide
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What Italians Feed Their Babies
Italian babies are weaned slightly differently than in other countries although the government recommendations change year to year. Generally speaking, Italian babies are weaned from formula or breast milk at around 6 months with a “one-pot” meal meaning, a single bowl of food with everything in it (protein, carbs, veggies).
Italians wean their babies by creating a pappa or puree of veggies and meat cooked in a broth and mixed with instant baby cereal, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Very Italian, right? I thought so too when my Italian pediatrician explained it to me.
Many Italian moms make their own baby food based on what is in season but it’s more and more common for busy moms to buy baby food and mix this pappa using the pre-prepared baby food purees.
Most Italians feed their baby this pappa for a couple of months before changing the consistency to be more chunky and made with pastina or small pasta. At around 1 year, babies start to eat normal food cut up into small pieces.
Pregnant Travelers: You may be interested to know more about what to expect in terms of food when traveling in Italy in
Eating in Italy While Pregnant
My 10 Favorite Snacks To Eat In Italy While Pregnant
10 Foods You May Want To Avoid In Italy While Pregnant (And What To Order Instead!)
10 Foods I Ate In Italy While Pregnant
Eating In Venice While Pregnant
Eating in Tuscany While Pregnant
Popular Italian Baby Food Brands
Italy has several brands of Italian baby food including organic lines, store-brands (meaning the Conad grocery store makes their own Conad line of baby food) and mainstream options.
Here is a list of the most popular Italian baby food brands that you will easily find at most grocery stores in Italy:
- Plasmon
- Mellin
- Hipp (organic)
- Alce Nero (organic)
- Crescendo – COOP grocery store organic brand of baby food which I really liked using
Italian Baby Food
Italian Baby food comes in the form of fruit, vegetable and meat purees in jars, instant cereals, little pasta and even merenda or snacks for babies usually made from fruit and yogurt.
Jarred Italian Baby Food
The jarred baby foods are ready to use and can be fed to your baby without doing anything. Jarred Italian baby food comes in so many different kinds, usually falling into one category of the food pyramid (i.e. fruits, vegetables, meat, fish):
- frutta – mixed fruits
- verdure miste – mixed vegetables
- pollo – chicken
- tacchino – turkey
- pesce – fish
- agnello – lamb
- coniglio – rabbit
- maiale – pork
- formaggio – cheese
- lenticchie – lentils (often mixed with veggies)
Other jarred Italian baby food is sold as a snack mixed with fruit and yogurt.
Italian Cereal For Babies
The instant baby cereal in Italy is usually a no-cook powdered grain that can be mixed with water, formula, broth and with jarred baby food, if you like. You can find it made from:
- riso – rice
- semolina – semolina wheat
- avena – oats
- farro – farro
- multiceriali – whole grains
Italian Baby Pasta
The baby pasta that you find in the supermarket for babies is made just as regular pasta but it’s a tiny shape (usually little rounds, slivers or stars). It needs to be cooked before serving it to your little one.
Italian Baby Snacks
Italian baby snacks or little nibble items are newer to the Italian market. You can find some puff snacks, rice cracker type bites and freeze dried fruit options but not at every supermarket. They are definitely harder to find in Italy compared to the USA.
Instead, you can look for all natural dried fruit bars (similar to American Larabars) made without added sugars in the same section as the pureed fruit cups close to the dried fruit and nuts and fresh fruit at the beginning of the supermarket.
Italian Baby Cookies
Cookies in Italy are what Italians eat for breakfast so it’s not surprising that there are several low-sugar baby cookies available for purchase to get them started early! They are a kind of finger shaped teething biscuit but often eaten as snacks or finger foods in Italy.
Italian Baby Food Pouches
Baby food pouches or squeeze tubes are also very new to Italy. I never saw these with my first child. Now you can find fruit or fruit and veggie mixes available in squeeze pouches for your baby in the baby food aisle or next to the pureed fruit cups by the dried fruit and nuts and fresh fruit at the beginning of the supermarket.
How To Prepare Italian Baby Food (As Italians Do)
When Italians use store-bought baby food, it’s more common to use it to prepare a one-pot meal, the pappa, for their baby instead of feeding them straight from the jar.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS, YOU DON’T HAVE TO. The store bought Italian baby food is fine to give to your baby as is.
Italians use a formula similar to this example to make the pappa as prescribed by their pediatrician with the help of jarred meat and veggies:
- Mix 1 jar of pureed baby meat and 1 jar and pureed baby vegetables with about 150 ml water (or homemade veggie broth but you likely won’t have this if you are traveling with a baby).
- Add three spoonfuls of no-cook baby cereal and 1 spoonful of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Add more or less instant cereal to obtain an ideal consistency.
- Mix well, drizzle with olive oil and serve!
Baby Foods To Travel With From Home
There are some things Italy does not have when it comes to baby food or it’s hard to find such as snacking items or teething foods.
Here are items to consider bringing from home should they be helpful to you on a regular basis:
- Sugar free cereal such as Cheerios for your baby to snack on
- Full meal baby pouches (ones that aren’t just fruit)
- Baby formula that your baby is accustomed to drinking*
- Bibs – restaurants will not provide these
* Baby formula is easy to get here but changing your child’s formula at the drop of a hat may cause tummy troubles.
Baby Formula In Italy
You can easily buy baby formula in Italy at either supermarkets or better yet, pharmacies which will have the largest selection and can special order specific brands for you. Italian baby formula will either come pre-prepared which is more expensive but nice to have in a pinch or when you have a long day of busy travel planned. Powdered formula is much more common, less expensive and easier to find.
Tips And Tricks For Feeding Your Baby In Italy
Keep these tips in mind when traveling with a baby to Italy which can help to make your vacation easier in terms of feeding your baby abroad:
- Most bars and restaurants can warm up water for you to make baby food or mix up a bottle. You can ask for acqua calda (hot water) and then create the ideal temperature with room temperature or cold water.
- You can drink tap water in Italy but you may want to consider using Italian bottled water which is not as ‘hard’ as tap water and has different mineral properties.
- When choosing baby food, look for a number indicating the age suggestion that food is for (for example, 6+ mesi meaning intended for babies at least 6 months old).
- Babies that are moving from pureed baby food to solids can easily try many traditional Italian foods that you might find at any restaurant. Although it will be prepared with salt and olive oil, you can consider offering small tastings.
- Bring your own bibs from home. Restaurants will not provide these for you but they will have highchairs, called a seggiolone.
- No restaurant will object if you are bringing outside food for your young baby to eat. Avoid bringing outside food for older kids (around 2+) as they should be able to find something kid-friendly and age appropriate on the menu (pasta with butter and cheese or tomato sauce or steamed vegetables and grilled meats, for example).
- Carry wet wipes for easy clean up at restaurants.
Kids in Italy: Curious to read more about eating with kids in Italy? Check out
Best Squares To Eat And Drink With Kids In Venice
8+ Kid Friendly Restaurants In Venice – From A Mom Of Four Living In Italy
Where To Get A Quick Bite With Kids In Florence (Without Going Out Of Your Way!)
Where To Eat With Kids In Florence
School Lunches In Italy – What An Italian School Lunch Menu Looks Like
Kid-Friendly Foods to Order at Restaurants in Italy
Dining Out With Kids In Italy – What To Expect + Tips
School Lunches in Italy
