First foods for baby: what to offer first
Last updated October 2026
Start around six months when ready: choose an iron source, suitable vegetables and fruit, and age-appropriate allergens without forcing a food order.
There is no one correct first food. The US CDC recommends variety from the start of complementary feeding, including iron-containing foods. NHS guidance also highlights less-sweet vegetables to expand tastes. Neither is a requirement to finish a list in a particular week.
Use mashed foods, a preloaded spoon or carefully prepared finger foods according to developmental readiness and individual feeding skills. Foods must be prepared for their actual firmness, shape and choking risk, not only cut into a prescribed length. Let food cool before serving, don't add salt or sugar, and never give honey before 12 months because it can cause infant botulism. Breast milk or infant formula remains the main drink during the first year.
For meal ideas, see our BLW breakfast ideas and the baby-led weaning food list, then use a food-specific preparation guide for the food you choose. A list does not certify safe cutting or portion sizes.
Choose your next first-food step
Still wondering whether your baby is ready or how to make the first meal feel manageable? Begin with the step-by-step starting solids guide. If they're already exploring food, choose one option from the food groups below and check its texture, allergens and preparation rather than following a fixed food order.
For what to offer alongside milk, see a beginner sample day or an adaptable seven-month feeding schedule. For common allergenic foods, use our introduction guide. These free guides are useful on their own; a plan is not a substitute for your baby's cues or personalized health advice.
A starter shop for the first few weeks
You do not need to buy specialty baby food. A practical first shop might include broccoli, sweet potato, a ripe pear, red lentils, eggs and an iron-fortified infant oat cereal. That covers vegetables, fruit, iron-containing options and one common allergen. Cook or mash foods to your child's actual eating skills. A food on this list is not automatically safe in every shape. Offer allergens in age-appropriate forms with individual advice for babies at higher allergy risk; the list is not a fixed sequence. Continue responsive breast milk or formula feeds.
Good foods to start with
Choose a small selection you can prepare appropriately and repeat without pressure. Interest and swallowed amounts vary as babies learn; a turned head or closed mouth means the feeding opportunity is over. Persistent swallowing difficulty or poor growth calls for professional advice.
First foods, with how to serve them:
- • Broccoli or cauliflower: cook until very tender; mash or follow the specific food-preparation guide
- • Sweet potato: cook until mashable, and check the serving texture for your baby
- • Carrot or parsnip: thoroughly cook until soft; never serve raw hard sticks
- • Avocado: ripe and soft; mashed or otherwise prepared for grip and swallowing skills
- • Banana: ripe and soft; mashed or presented in a developmentally suitable form
- • Pear or apple: remove pits/seeds; cook firm fruit until soft and assess the actual texture
- • Lentils: cooked thoroughly soft, mashed or used in a suitably thick lentil dish; iron source
- • Egg: fully cooked, in an age-appropriate texture; common allergen requiring individual consideration
- • Iron-fortified infant cereal: check the product label; offer appropriately thick with usual milk or safe water
- • Plain full-fat pasteurized unsweetened yogurt: optional dairy food and common allergen, not infant milk replacement
Include iron-containing choices early, such as thoroughly cooked soft meat, mashed lentils and iron-fortified infant cereal. The CDC also recommends vitamin C-rich fruit or vegetables alongside plant sources of iron. Exact preparation matters; consult the dedicated iron guide for practical pairings.
A useful first decision
What should you offer next?
You don't need to follow a seven-day food checklist. Choose the next question you actually have, then check the ingredient and your child's eating skills before serving it. Include iron-containing foods early, and keep usual milk feeds responsive.
Start with an iron source
Cooked lentil mash, soft well-cooked meat or iron-fortified infant cereal can support iron needs as solids begin.
Offer a gentle vegetable
Choose a cooked, tender vegetable such as broccoli; assess how the specific food can be safely offered.
Choose a familiar fruit
Use ripe, appropriately soft fruit rather than hard raw fruit or whole round pieces; prep varies by ingredient.
Plan an allergen thoughtfully
Egg can be introduced in an appropriate fully cooked form when ready; risk factors may call for specialist advice.
Practice a simple routine
One short opportunity when baby is alert can be enough at the beginning. Do not displace needed milk feeds.
Make food-specific safety decisions
Choking risk depends on texture, shape and development; no age list makes a preparation universally safe.
For a wider list see baby-led weaning foods. Babies with severe eczema or known egg allergy may need individualized peanut introduction advice; review potential allergens before offering them.
Adding variety after the first few foods
Fruit
Banana, avocado, mango, soft pear and peach; berries and melon only with food-specific shape and texture assessment
Prepare ripe fruit for your baby's actual skills. Cook hard fruit until soft, remove pits/seeds, and check specific round or slippery fruit preparation; quartering all berries does not reliably prevent choking.
Vegetables
Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, courgette, butternut squash
Include tender, less-sweet vegetables as well as sweet ones for flavor variety. Hard raw vegetables are choking hazards; cook and check texture and shape for each ingredient.
Iron-rich foods
Meat, fish, beans, lentils, iron-fortified cereals, dark green vegetables
Offer age-appropriate iron sources from the beginning and continue responsive milk feeding. Find food choices in our dedicated iron guide, and see meal timing in our baby feeding schedule.
Potential allergens: offer safely, with individual risk considerations
Potential allergens can often be introduced when a baby starts solids, in developmentally appropriate forms. It may be easier to notice reactions when you introduce unfamiliar allergens separately. For babies with severe eczema or known egg allergy, ask your clinician early, before or around 4 to 6 months, so peanut introduction is not delayed:
- • Cows' milk, in cooking or mixed with food
- • Egg: serve fully cooked in a suitable soft texture (US advice; in the UK, Lion-stamped eggs may be served runny)
- • Foods with gluten, such as wheat, barley and rye
- • Peanut/tree nuts: never whole; use finely ground or appropriately thinned smooth butter mixed into food, after individualized risk advice where needed
- • Seeds: no whole choking-risk seeds; ground or incorporated into a suitable soft food
- • Soya
- • Fish: fully cooked, all bones removed and appropriate mercury-selection guidance considered
- • Shellfish, thoroughly cooked
Do not deliberately delay allergen introduction without a medical reason, but do not use a generic menu as a peanut dosing schedule. Once tolerated, maintain exposure in appropriate foods in consultation with relevant guidance. A baby with severe eczema, known egg allergy or previous allergic reaction may need a tailored plan. For trouble breathing, collapse or severe mouth/throat swelling, call your local emergency number (911 in the US, 999 in the UK) immediately. For hives or vomiting, stop the food and contact your clinician.
How textures move on
Move toward a variety of textures as your baby demonstrates readiness; purées, mashed foods, lumpy foods and suitable finger foods are options, not rigid age deadlines. For food-specific preparation and choking precautions, see how to cut food for baby-led weaning for shapes as your baby's skills grow.
Starting out (around 6 months)
- • Smooth or mashed food on a spoon
- • Soft foods prepared for the specific ingredient and the baby's grasping/swallowing skills
- • One relaxed food opportunity can be a starting example; no daily intake quota
Getting more practice (often 7 to 9 months)
- • Mashed and lumpy food
- • Continue suitable textures and supervised practice as skills develop
- • Gradually increase food opportunities while keeping milk responsive
Eating more family food (often 10 to 12 months)
- • Chopped food and small soft pieces
- • Picking food up between finger and thumb
- • Many babies explore regular meals; national snack examples differ, so follow cues
Planning first foods with Nibli
If you'd like help deciding what to offer each day, Nibli can suggest a plan.
Nibli is an iPhone app that suggests a daily feeding plan from your baby's age, milk feeding, stage with solids, wake time and naps. The plan is a starting point you can change.
With Nibli you can:
- •follow a suggested daily feeding plan
- •find meal ideas for spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or both
- •track the foods your baby has tried
- •note known food allergies and preferences
Nibli offers meal and food ideas, but cannot diagnose allergies, verify serving safety or replace individual feeding advice. Check available features and any subscription terms inside the app.
Sources & References
This guide is informed by current guidelines from leading health organizations:
- ●NHS - Your Baby's First Solid Foods NHS
- ●NHS - Feeding your baby from around 6 months NHS
- ●NHS - Feeding your baby: 7 to 9 months NHS
- ●NHS Best Start in Life - Feeding your baby: 10 to 12 months NHS
- ●NHS Best Start in Life - Introducing foods that could trigger an allergic reaction NHS
- ●NHS - Foods to Avoid Giving Babies NHS
- ●AAP - Starting Solid Foods AAP
- ●AAP - Food Allergy Prevention AAP
- ●WHO - Complementary Feeding WHO
- ●CDC — Iron and Nutrition at the Start of Solids CDC
- ●CDC — When, What and How to Introduce Solid Foods CDC
- ●CDC — Foods and Drinks to Encourage CDC
Frequently Asked Questions
What food should my baby try first?
There is no compulsory first food. Around six months when your baby shows developmental readiness, choose a food you can prepare to an appropriate soft texture and include an iron-containing option early. Vegetables, fruit, mashed beans or lentils and iron-fortified infant cereal can all be part of the beginning.
Can I give finger foods and purées together?
Yes. Depending on your baby's skills, you can use soft mashed foods, preloaded spoons and appropriately prepared finger foods. There is no need to insist on only one feeding method. Food-specific texture, shape, head control and supervision matter.
How many foods or meals must my six-month-old finish?
There is no fixed number to complete. Begin with a calm food opportunity and expand variety gradually while breast milk or formula remains the main nutritional drink. Avoid pressuring your baby to swallow or finish a serving.
Should I start with vegetables or iron-rich foods?
Both can be part of early feeding. Iron-containing foods matter around six months, and tender vegetables can add variety and practice. Choose manageable textures rather than postponing all iron foods until after a vegetable-only sequence.
How should I introduce egg and peanut?
Potential allergens can often be offered around the start of solids in age-appropriate forms, but never give whole nuts or thick spoonfuls of nut butter. If your baby has severe eczema, known egg allergy or a previous reaction, speak with a pediatric clinician about safe peanut introduction. There is no universal allergen-day schedule.
Does quartering berries make them safe?
Not automatically. Food safety depends on each berry's firmness, shape, size and your child's eating skills. Whole round firm fruits are hazards; use a verified food-specific preparation guide rather than applying one rule to all berries.
What if my baby gags or refuses the first meal?
Food exploration, touching and occasional gagging can happen while learning, but do not dismiss repeated coughing, choking or difficulty swallowing. Respect fullness and offer another relaxed opportunity. Get professional advice for persistent feeding problems; call emergency services for breathing difficulty or inability to cough or cry effectively.
Try Nibli for first foods
Free to download on iPhone: a suggested daily feeding plan, meal ideas and a first-foods tracker.
Check current features and Premium terms in the App Store; all essential safety explanations on this page are free.
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