How do I cook safely for a baby or toddler?
The salt and sugar limits, the foods that must wait, choking hazards and how to prepare them, and how to adapt a family meal.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 4 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
Cook the family meal without salt and season the adult portions at the table. No honey under one year, no whole round foods, and no added sugar. Quarter grapes and cherry tomatoes lengthways, and cut sausages into strips rather than coins.
Cooking for a baby is mostly a matter of holding back things rather than making separate food. A meal seasoned at the table works for everyone, and that habit removes almost all the difficulty.
Safety
Step by step
- Leave salt out of the cooking.Babies under one should have less than 1g of salt a day and toddlers under three less than 2g. Season adult portions at the table instead of cooking two meals.
- Watch the hidden salt.Stock cubes, gravy granules, soy sauce, bacon, cheese, bread and shop-bought sauces. These, not the salt cellar, are where most of a child's salt comes from. Use low-salt stock or none.
- Avoid honey until twelve months.Honey can carry clostridium botulinum spores, which a baby's gut cannot yet handle. This includes honey in baking and in shop-bought products.
- Prepare round firm foods properly.Grapes, cherry tomatoes, blueberries and olives quartered lengthways, not halved across. Sausages and carrots cut into long strips, never coins. Round shapes the size of an airway are the highest-risk category.
- Avoid whole nuts under five.Ground nuts, nut butter spread thinly and finely chopped nuts are fine and helpful for early allergen introduction. Whole nuts are a choking risk.
- Cook eggs through for the youngest, or use Lion eggs.British Lion eggs can be given runny from six months. Non-Lion eggs should be cooked until the white and yolk are solid.
- Avoid raw and lightly cooked shellfish.Cooked shellfish is fine from six months. Raw shellfish and raw fish should wait. Avoid shark, swordfish and marlin entirely because of mercury.
- Skip added sugar.No sugar in food or drink for under-ones, and as little as possible after that. Fruit provides sweetness, and unsweetened food establishes preferences that last.
- Introduce allergens deliberately.Current NHS advice is to introduce peanut, egg, dairy, wheat, fish and soya from around six months, one at a time, in small amounts, alongside other foods. Delaying them does not reduce allergy risk.
- Cool food and check the temperature.Test on the inside of your wrist. Microwaved food in particular has hot spots — stir it thoroughly and let it stand.
- Cool and store carefully.Cool leftovers within an hour, refrigerate, use within 24 hours for babies, and reheat only once until piping hot, then cool again before serving.
Tips
- Cook unsalted and season at the table. One meal, everyone happy.
- Quarter grapes lengthways, never halve them across. It is the single most repeated choking advice for a reason.
- Introduce allergens early and one at a time — delaying does not help.
Common mistakes
- Using a normal stock cube in a baby's food — A single standard stock cube can contain more than a gram of salt, which exceeds an entire day's limit for a baby. Their kidneys cannot process it. Use low-salt stock, or water with herbs and vegetables.
- Cutting grapes and cherry tomatoes in half across — A half grape is still a smooth round plug almost exactly the diameter of a small child's airway. Quartering lengthways changes the shape so it cannot seal, and it is the specific advice from choking prevention guidance.
If it doesn't work
Family recipe is too salty for a baby
Cause: Stock, sauces or seasoning — Fix: Take the baby's portion out before the salt, stock or soy goes in, and season the rest.
Baby refusing new foods
Cause: Normal — Fix: Repeated exposure without pressure. It commonly takes ten or more offerings before a new food is accepted.
Food reheated in the microwave has hot spots
Cause: Uneven heating — Fix: Stir thoroughly, let it stand two minutes, and test on your wrist before serving.
Given honey by mistake to an under-one
Cause: Botulism risk — Fix: A single accidental exposure is very unlikely to cause harm, but watch for constipation, weak crying or floppiness and seek medical advice if concerned.
Unsure about an allergen
Cause: Family history — Fix: Speak to a GP or health visitor before introducing it, particularly if there is existing eczema or a known family allergy.
Questions people ask
Why can't babies have honey?
Honey can contain clostridium botulinum spores, which are harmless to older children and adults but can germinate in an infant's immature gut and produce a toxin. The restriction applies until twelve months, including honey cooked into food.
Should I delay peanuts and eggs to avoid allergies?
No. Current NHS advice is the opposite — introduce common allergens from around six months, one at a time in small amounts. Delaying introduction is now thought to increase rather than reduce the risk.