28 August 2026 · Veronica Chi
Business & Product Director · Mum of two
What Are the Best First Foods for Babies?
There is no single correct first food, and the traditional answer — baby rice — is arguably the least useful thing on the tray. It is bland, nutritionally thin, and teaches nothing about flavour. Three principles do more work than any list: start with vegetables, get iron in early, and introduce the common allergens sooner rather than later.
Vegetables first, and the bitter ones
Babies are born preferring sweet. That preference does not need encouraging, and every sweet first food makes the vegetables a slightly harder sell. Starting with vegetables — and specifically including the bitter ones rather than only the sweet ones — is associated with better acceptance later.
- Broccoli, cauliflower, courgette, spinach, green beans, kale, cabbage.
- Then the sweeter vegetables: carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash, parsnip, pea.
- Then fruit: banana, pear, peach, avocado, melon, berries.
- Offer the same vegetable several days running. Acceptance often takes eight to fifteen exposures, and most people stop after three.
- Expect faces. A grimace at a bitter flavour is not refusal, and offering it again the next day is the entire technique.
Iron is the actual nutritional priority
This is the part most first-food lists miss. A baby is born with iron stores that are largely used up by around six months, and milk is low in iron. From the start of solids, iron is the nutrient the food is genuinely there to supply.
- Well-cooked red meat, minced or in soft strips. The most readily absorbed form.
- Chicken thigh and dark poultry meat, which contain more iron than breast.
- Oily fish such as salmon and sardines, boneless and well checked.
- Cooked egg yolk, lentils, beans, chickpeas and tofu.
- Iron-fortified cereal, if you use one, mixed with milk rather than water.
- Serve plant sources of iron alongside something containing vitamin C — pepper, tomato, broccoli, a little fruit — which meaningfully improves absorption.
Allergens: the advice reversed
This changed materially, and much of what parents were told a decade ago is now the opposite of current guidance. Introducing common allergens early, from around six months once solids have started, reduces the risk of developing an allergy rather than increasing it.
- Peanut, as smooth butter thinned with milk or water. Never whole nuts or thick blobs.
- Egg, well cooked.
- Dairy, as yoghurt or cheese in food. Not cow's milk as a main drink before one.
- Wheat, soya, sesame, fish and shellfish.
- One new allergen at a time, at home, earlier in the day rather than at bedtime, with a small amount first.
- Once introduced and tolerated, keep it in the diet regularly. Occasional exposure is much less protective than routine inclusion.
If your baby has severe eczema or an existing food allergy, speak to a doctor before introducing allergens. The guidance is still early introduction, but with advice and sometimes with testing first.
How to prepare it
| Stage | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| First weeks | Soft strips the length of an adult finger | Steamed carrot baton, roasted courgette strip |
| First weeks (purée) | Smooth, thick enough to stay on a spoon | Blended broccoli with a little milk |
| From ~8 months | Smaller pieces as the pincer grip arrives | Pea-sized soft cubes, flaked fish |
| From ~10 months | Most family food, adapted | Unsalted portions of the household meal |
Cook until soft enough to squash between your thumb and forefinger. That test is more reliable than any timing, and it applies at every stage.
What to leave out in the first year
- Honey, because of the risk of infant botulism. Under twelve months, in anything, including glazes and some breads.
- Salt. A baby under one should have under 1g a day. Do not add any, and watch stock cubes, gravy, bacon, cheese and bread.
- Sugar and sweetened drinks, including fruit juice.
- Whole nuts, whole grapes, cherry tomatoes, popcorn, hard raw vegetables and sausage coins — choking shapes rather than bad foods.
- Cow's milk as a main drink before one, though it is fine in cooking from six months.
- Unpasteurised cheese, raw or lightly cooked egg unless stamped as safe, and rice drinks before five.
- Shark, swordfish and marlin, on mercury, and raw shellfish.
Flavour is a skill, not a preference
Introduce herbs and mild spices from the start — cumin, cinnamon, garlic, coriander, paprika. There is no reason for a baby's food to be bland, and a great deal of reason for it not to be: the babies who accept the widest range of foods later are generally the ones who met the widest range early, while they were still too young to have opinions about it.
Questions parents ask
What should a baby's first food be?
A vegetable, ideally including bitter ones like broccoli and courgette rather than only sweet ones. Babies already prefer sweet, so starting there makes vegetables harder later. Baby rice is traditional but nutritionally thin and teaches nothing about flavour.
Why is iron important in first foods?
The iron stores a baby is born with are largely depleted by around six months, and milk is low in iron. Well-cooked red meat, chicken thigh, oily fish, egg yolk and lentils are the priority, and plant sources absorb better alongside something with vitamin C.
Should I delay peanut and egg?
No — current guidance is the reverse of older advice. Introduce common allergens from around six months, one at a time, at home and earlier in the day, then keep them in the diet regularly. Seek advice first if your baby has severe eczema or a known allergy.
Can babies have herbs and spices?
Yes, from the start, and it is worth doing. Cumin, cinnamon, garlic and paprika are all fine. What should not be added is salt — under 1g a day for babies under one, with stock cubes, cheese and bread the usual hidden sources.
Sources
This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions — it is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.