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Carrot for babies: when and how?
From the start of solids at around 6 months you can offer carrot. The way you prepare it decides. Cooked soft, as a purée or a finger-thick stick to hold.
Everything here comes from the food catalogue inside the HeyFini app: the traffic light, how to prepare it at 6, 9 and 12 months, and the source behind every safety statement.
With limitsallowed, but preparation decides
What you need to know
How to prepare it, by age
All three stages stand side by side. We don't know how old your child is, so read the stage that fits you.
At 6 months
Cooked soft, as a purée or a finger-thick stick to hold.
From 9 months
Cooked soft and cut into pea-sized cubes. That way the fingers practise the pincer grip.
From 12 months
Now raw as well, but still only finely grated. Raw sticks or slices are still too hard.
Sources: WHO and UNICEF on texture stages, ESPGHAN 2017 on the lumpy-food window in months 8 to 10.
This page gives general information and does not replace medical or dietetic advice. Every child develops differently. When in doubt, talk to your paediatrician or a registered dietitian.
The ages are rough guides. What counts is not the calendar but what your child can already do with mouth and hands.
A tip from everyday life
The classic first food. Cook it soft as a purée or offer cooked, finger-thick sticks. Raw comes later and only finely grated.
The five safety rules
- Quarter round food lengthwise. Grapes, cherries and cherry tomatoes never go on the plate whole.
- Cook hard food soft or grate it finely. Raw carrot and raw apple break into hard pieces otherwise.
- Nuts are never whole, only as a butter or finely ground.
- Eating happens sitting upright, never lying down and never on the move.
- Stay with your baby while they eat. Choking happens silently.
Sources: AAP, the German BfR and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben. All dangerous foods at a glance
All 234 foods in the app
HeyFini shows the preparation that fits your own child's age, plus the food passport and the allergen companion for all 14 main allergens.
Common questions
When can my baby eat carrot?
As soon as solids are under way, so at around 6 months. Cooked soft, as a purée or a finger-thick stick to hold.
What do I need to watch out for with carrot?
Raw carrot is hard and snaps easily. In the first year cook it soft or grate it finely.
What changes with carrot from 12 months?
Now raw as well, but still only finely grated. Raw sticks or slices are still too hard.
Is there a trick for preparing it?
The classic first food. Cook it soft as a purée or offer cooked, finger-thick sticks. Raw comes later and only finely grated.
Read on
General guidance, not medical advice. For questions about your child, talk to your paediatrician or midwife. In an emergency call your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US).