Baby Food Makers Buyer's Guide 2026: The £99 Momcozy Steams and Blends in One Cup, the £170 Nutribaby XL Cooks Three Foods at Once

COMPARISON · FEEDING TIME

A baby food maker is one of those purchases that splits parents neatly in two. Half swear it saved them hours a week during weaning. The other half point at a steamer pan and a stick blender already in the cupboard and ask what the fuss is about. Both camps are right, which is exactly why the price tier matters more here than in almost any other feeding category.

Spend just under £100 and you get a compact machine that does one job well: it steams and blends in a single cup, then stops when your puree is ready. Spend £150 and you get a bigger one-litre jar with defrost and reheat added. Spend £170 and you are buying a batch-cooking station with three separate steam baskets, a blender that works while the steamer runs, and bottle sterilising thrown in.

The surprise is that the cheapest machine is the most hands-off. The Momcozy AutoMeal steams and blends without you touching the cup, the Philips Avent asks you to flip its jar by hand, and the Babymoov asks you to tip food into a separate blender jug. What you pay for as you climb the tiers is capacity and variety, not automation.

We compared the three on real capacity, how many foods each can cook at once, cleaning, limescale, the jobs each does besides puree, and what the parents we hear from mention once the novelty wears off around month three of weaning.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Babymoov Nutribaby+ XL · 8.5/10 - three baskets and a 2.2 litre steamer make it the only one that genuinely batch cooks a week of meals
• Best Mid-Range: Philips Avent Premium 4-in-1 · 8.0/10 - a one-litre jar that goes in the dishwasher, plus defrost and reheat for freezer-led families
• Best Budget: Momcozy AutoMeal · 7.5/10 - the most hands-off of the three: load it, press start, walk away and come back to puree

Quick comparison

Product	Price	Steaming capacity	Foods at once	Hands-off?	Functions	Rating
Momcozy AutoMeal	£98.99	Approx. 400ml cup	One mix per cycle	Yes, fully automatic	Steam, blend, self-clean
Philips Avent Premium 4-in-1	£149.99	1 litre jar (720ml for liquids)	One jar, up to four meals	Flip the jar by hand	Steam, blend, defrost, reheat
Babymoov Nutribaby+ XL	£169.99	2.2 litres + 700ml blender	Three separate baskets	Tip into the blender jug	Steam, blend, sterilise, reheat, defrost, warm bottles

How we picked the 3

We started from the baby food makers parents add most often to their BubsNest registries, then filtered down to machines that both steam and blend (not blender-only gadgets or choppers) and that are in stock with UK retailers we work with. From what was left we took one machine from each price third: under £100, around £150 and the top of the range.

For each one we read the manufacturer specs and manuals, retailer listings and a large volume of parent reviews and comments, looking for the patterns that only show up after the first month: limescale, leaking lids, small-batch blending and how much washing-up each machine really creates. Ratings reflect value at today's price, not just features.

What to look for in a baby food maker

Every machine here will turn a carrot into puree. The differences that matter show up in week six, not on day one.

• Same container or separate blender? Steaming and blending in one container means no transferring hot food, but usually one food at a time. A separate blender jug adds a step but lets you steam several foods while blending another.
• Capacity, honestly measured. Check the steaming capacity and the blending capacity separately. Big blender jugs can struggle with the two teaspoons a six-month-old eats, so bigger is not automatically better at the start.
• How many foods at once. Separate baskets start to matter once you move to combinations and finger foods, when you want broccoli soft but not mushy and sweet potato fully cooked.
• Cleaning. Count the parts and check which go in the dishwasher. Machines with lots of baskets and lids save cooking time but add washing-up.
• Hard water. Every steam machine heats water, so in hard-water areas you will be descaling every few weeks. Budget for white vinegar or citric acid, or use filtered water.
• Extra functions. Defrost and reheat are genuinely useful if you freeze portions. Bottle sterilising helps if you are bottle feeding and do not yet own a steriliser.

Finally, think about lifespan. The smooth puree stage often lasts only a few months. A machine that steams whole vegetables for finger food stays useful well into toddlerhood; one that only purees may end up in the loft by the first birthday.

1. Momcozy AutoMeal Baby Food Maker / 10 · Best Budget

The AutoMeal is Momcozy's answer to the complaint parents make most often about baby food makers: the faff of moving hot food from the steamer to the blender. Here there is no move at all. You chop the veg, drop it into the roughly 400ml cup, fill the reservoir, pick a texture and press start. The machine steams, then blends in the same cup, and is done around 18 to 25 minutes later depending on the food.

A six-blade assembly sits in the base, and the three texture settings (smooth, medium and coarse) adjust blend time and power automatically, which is handy as you move from first tastes to lumpier stage-two meals. Because the food steams and blends in the same cup, nothing is drained away between steps. At £98.99 it is the cheapest machine here by £51.

What parents love

• Genuinely hands-off. No flipping, no tipping. One parent told us: 'I put it on, did bathtime, and came back to puree. That is the whole review.'
• One cup to wash. Steaming and blending in one cup means fewer parts, and the self-clean cycle rinses the blades before you wash it properly.
• Texture presets that do the thinking. Smooth, medium and coarse settings change the blend automatically, useful when you start introducing lumps.
• Smallest footprint. A compact unit that can live on the worktop without taking it over.

What to know before you buy

• Small batches. The roughly 400ml cup makes about four portions per cycle, so filling the freezer with a week of cubes means several runs.
• One mix at a time. There are no separate baskets, so whatever goes in comes out blended together, and finger foods need a separate pan.
• Slower than it sounds. The full automatic cycle takes 18 to 25 minutes, longer from frozen. It is also a newer machine with less of a long-term track record in UK kitchens than the other two.

Best for

• First-time weaners who want puree with almost zero effort
• Small kitchens and flats
• Parents making a couple of fresh portions a day rather than big freezer batches
• Anyone whose main gripe is transferring hot food between containers

2. Philips Avent Premium 4-in-1 Steamer Blender / 10 · Best Mid-Range

Philips Avent's 4-in-1 has been a weaning-aisle regular for years, and its party trick is the flip jar. You steam with the jar sitting one way up, then lift it, turn it over and lock it back on to blend. There is no transfer between containers, but there is a manual step, so it is not quite as walk-away as the Momcozy.

What the extra £51 buys is capacity and flexibility: a one-litre jar (720ml when blending liquids) that cooks up to four meals in one go, plus defrost and reheat settings for families who batch-freeze. The jar and blade go in the dishwasher, the open water tank is easy to rinse and refill, and steam circulates up from the bottom so food cooks evenly. A beep tells you when it is done, and a 120ml storage pot and spatula come in the box.

What parents love

• Big enough to batch. A one-litre jar cooks up to four meals per cycle, well over double the Momcozy cup.
• Dishwasher-friendly. Jar and blade go straight in. A parent shared: 'The flip jar sounded like a gimmick, but it means one thing to wash and it goes in the dishwasher.'
• Defrost and reheat built in. Take frozen cubes from freezer to bowl in the same machine, handy for freezer-first families without a microwave.
• Grows with textures. Philips pitches it for six months to one year plus, and it chops fruit and veg for chunkier meals as well as making smooth purees.

What to know before you buy

• You have to flip it. Not a big ask, but someone needs to be around when steaming finishes to turn the jar for blending.
• Limescale in hard-water areas. Parents in hard-water regions report scale building up in the tank. Descale regularly or use filtered water.
• Lid seating matters. Steam can escape if the jar lid is not lined up and locked, or if the steam inlet is blocked. Usually fixable, but annoying at 6am.

Best for

• Freezer-batch families cooking two or three times a week
• Dishwasher households
• Parents who want defrost and reheat without a microwave
• A mid-budget all-rounder for one baby

3. Babymoov Nutribaby+ XL / 10 · Best Overall

The Nutribaby+ XL is the biggest and most capable machine here, and it is built for a different style of weaning. Instead of one jar you get a 2.2 litre steamer with three separate stacking baskets and a separate 700ml blender jug, and the two can run at the same time. Steam broccoli, salmon and sweet potato in separate baskets, blend some into puree and serve the rest as soft finger food, all from one cook.

Six functions sit behind one-button-per-job controls: steam, blend, sterilise bottles and small accessories, reheat jars, warm bottles and defrost. A cooking-juice vessel catches the nutrient-rich water so you can add it back into purees. Most parts except the electrical base are dishwasher safe, and the listing includes a lifetime warranty. At £169.99 it costs £20 more than the Philips Avent and gives you more than double the steaming space.

What parents love

• Three foods at once. Separate baskets cook different foods for different times without mixing. One parent put it best: 'Sunday afternoon, three baskets, and we were done for the week.'
• Puree and finger food from one cook. Blend half and serve the rest whole, a natural fit if you are mixing purees with baby-led weaning.
• Steamer and blender run together. Blend the first batch while the second steams, which is where the real time saving comes from.
• More than a weaning gadget. Bottle sterilising and warming mean it earns its worktop space before solids start.

What to know before you buy

• Lots of parts to wash. Three baskets, a juice vessel, a blender jug and lids. We hear repeatedly from parents that washing-up is the main downside.
• Frequent descaling. Babymoov's own instructions say to descale more often in hard-water areas, and parents say scale appears quickly.
• The blender likes volume. The 700ml jug can struggle with very small quantities, so first tastes may need a splash of extra liquid.

Best for

• Batch cooks who fill the freezer once a week
• Families mixing purees with baby-led weaning
• Twins or siblings close in age
• Parents who want one appliance from bottles to toddler meals

What about the Beaba Babycook or NutriBullet Baby?

The Beaba Babycook is the name many parents hear about from friends, and it is a capable steam-and-blend machine in the same spirit as the Momcozy. We do not currently have it in stock with a retailer we work with, so we have left it out rather than send you somewhere we cannot vouch for. The same goes for the NutriBullet Baby Steam + Blend, which features in plenty of US roundups but is harder to find on UK shelves.

And an honest note: if you already own a decent stick blender and a steamer pan, you may not need any of these. A food maker earns its keep on convenience and batch cooking, not on the quality of the puree.

How to choose

Pick the Momcozy AutoMeal if you want the least effort per meal and mostly cook small fresh batches. The £98.99 AutoMeal is the only machine here you can genuinely start and walk away from.

Pick the Philips Avent 4-in-1 if you freeze portions, own a dishwasher and want one tidy jar that cooks four meals at a time. The Avent 4-in-1 is the sensible middle ground.

Pick the Babymoov Nutribaby+ XL if you batch cook once a week, mix purees with finger foods or are feeding more than one little one. The Nutribaby+ XL costs the most but does the most, and it is useful for bottles before weaning even starts.

Add it to your Nest

A food maker is a classic registry item: genuinely useful, a little too pricey to buy on a whim, and needed about six months after the baby shower. Add your pick to your free BubsNest registry so friends and family can chip in when weaning starts.