6-month baby meal ideas: first tastes, textures and how much

What can a 6-month-old baby eat?

From around 6 months, babies can eat most soft family foods, cooked and mashed or offered as finger foods, with no added salt or sugar. The NHS suggests starting with less sweet vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, then gradually adding other foods.

• Vegetables, cooked until soft: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, peas, carrot, sweet potato
• Fruit, soft or cooked: banana, pear, mango, avocado, cooked apple
• Starchy foods: oats, baby rice, pasta, potato, toast
• Protein: boneless fish, meat, British Lion eggs, beans, lentils, tofu
• Dairy: plain full-fat yoghurt, pasteurised cheese

6-month baby meal ideas to try

Keep each meal to one or two foods at first, then combine as your baby gets used to eating.

• Blended broccoli, then broccoli with mashed potato
• Sweet potato mash with a little plain full-fat yoghurt
• Porridge oats made with breast milk, formula or whole cows' milk, with cooked mashed pear
• Soft avocado or banana slices as finger food
• Red lentils cooked soft and mashed with carrot
• Flaked boneless salmon mixed into mashed potato and peas
• Scrambled British Lion egg with toast fingers

How much should a 6-month-old eat?

Start with a few teaspoons or a few pieces, once a day, at whatever time works for you and your baby. Increase the amount and variety gradually over the following weeks. Your baby does not need 3 meals a day yet.

Let your baby decide how much to eat. Signs they have had enough include closing their mouth firmly or turning their head away. It can take 10 or more tries before a baby accepts a new food, so a refused food is not a failed meal.

When can my baby have lumpy food?

Move from smooth purees to mashed and lumpy textures as soon as your baby can manage, alongside soft finger foods. The NHS suggests offering lumpy textures from around 6 to 7 months. Learning to handle lumps early helps your baby learn to chew and swallow.

Introducing allergens at 6 months

From around 6 months, you can introduce foods that can cause allergic reactions. Offer them one at a time, in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction. Once your baby has had them without a problem, keep them in their usual diet.

Talk to your GP or health visitor first if your baby already has a food allergy or eczema, or if food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever run in your family.

• Cows' milk (in cooking or mixed into food)
• Eggs
• Foods containing gluten, such as wheat
• Peanuts and nuts, crushed, ground or as smooth nut butter
• Seeds, crushed or ground
• Soya, fish and well-cooked shellfish

What should my 6-month-old drink?

Breast milk or first infant formula stays the main drink until 12 months. From around 6 months, give your baby a little water at mealtimes, in an open cup or a free-flow cup with no valve, which is better for teeth.

Cows' milk can be used in cooking from 6 months but should not be a main drink before 12 months. Avoid sugary drinks such as fruit juice, squash and fizzy drinks.