← Starting solids: the overview
Cheese for babies: when and how?
From the start of solids at around 6 months you can offer cheese. The way you prepare it decides. Grate it finely and sprinkle it over the purée.
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
Sources: the AAP and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben.
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
Grate it finely and sprinkle it over the purée.
From 9 months
Soft, thin strips to pick up. No cubes, they are too firm.
From 12 months
Thin slices. Hard cubes of cheese remain a choking risk, the AAP warns.
Sources: WHO and UNICEF on texture stages, ESPGHAN 2017 on the lumpy-food window in months 8 to 10, the AAP and Netzwerk Gesund ins Leben.
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
Mild sliceable cheese made from pasteurised milk, in thin strips. Cheese is naturally salty, so only small amounts.
Allergens
Main allergen under EU law: Milk. EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention speak for introducing common allergens early and then offering them regularly. Avoiding them does not protect against an allergy.
Sources: EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention. How to introduce allergens
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 cheese?
As soon as solids are under way, so at around 6 months. Grate it finely and sprinkle it over the purée.
What do I need to watch out for with cheese?
Only pasteurised cheese. Raw milk cheese is off limits for babies, says Gesund ins Leben. Strips, not cubes.
What changes with cheese from 12 months?
Thin slices. Hard cubes of cheese remain a choking risk, the AAP warns.
Is there an allergen in cheese?
Yes. Main allergen under EU law: Milk. EAACI and the German S3 guideline on allergy prevention speak for introducing common allergens early and then offering them regularly. Avoiding them does not protect against an allergy.
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).