Roasted Bone Marrow

Age suitable:

6 months +

Servings:

depends on how many bones!

Dairy free, Egg free, Gluten Free, Nut free, Soy free

5 stars

About the recipe

Have you introduced bone marrow to your baby yet?

Bone marrow might not be the first food that comes to mind when starting solids, but it’s a wonderful source of fat for growing babies!

Babies need plenty of fat in their diet to support their rapid growth and brain development, and bone marrow is a delicious way to add some extra fat and richness to their meals.

Once roasted, bone marrow has a soft, buttery texture and can be added to just about anything! Toss roasted vegetables through it, spread it onto finger foods, stir it through an omelette or mix it into a purée. And once you've scooped out the marrow, you can use the leftover bones to make a nourishing broth. No waste!

This recipe is from our Milk to Meals book and combines roasted bone marrow with parsnip and beans to create a delicious, creamy purée. You'll also find our bone marrow butter recipe in the book!

AGE APPROPRIATE: 1 meal a day +

HOW TO PREPARE:
You can ask the butcher to split the bones for you, ask for a ‘long cut’ and cuts from ‘the centre of the bone’ to get the most marrow out of the bone. Choose organic, pasture raised if possible

HOW TO USE:
You can add the mashed bone marrow directly to your baby’s puree meal and mix through.
You can add the marrow to a glass bowl (and the fat from the baking tray) and refigerate, and then use this like you would use butter - as a spread or served on some steamed or baked vegetables. Once your baby has been introduced to butter, you could try the bone marrow butter recipe in our book Milk to Meals which is my personal favourite!

Method

How to Prepare Bone Marrow for Babies

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the marrow bones cut-side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Roast for around 10–20 minutes until the marrow is soft, glossy and slightly bubbling but not completely melted away.

Allow the bones to cool slightly. Use a small spoon to scoop the marrow out of the bones.

Serve immediately mixed through puree, spread onto soft finger foods, or mashed into vegetables.
If storing or whipping, place the marrow in a container along with all of the rendered fat from the tray.

Whipped Bone Marrow

Roast as per instructions above and refrigerate including the fat.

Once the roasted marrow has been refrigerated and fully chilled, it will firm up.

Add the chilled marrow and all of the fat to a blender or small food processor.

Blend for around 10–20 seconds until smooth, light and creamy.

Serve the whipped marrow as a spread on toast fingers, a dip for finger foods, mixed through purees, or placed in a silicone feeder or on a preloaded spoon for babies to explore.