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Cheese for babies: how to serve it by age

Check how to prepare cheese for your baby's age, then log what they tried.

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Cheese

Before 12 months

Choose pasteurized, lower-salt cheeses and go easy on salty ones like feta and halloumi. Mould-ripened (brie, camembert) and soft blue cheeses only when cooked until steaming hot.

6–8 months

Pasteurized low-sodium cheese like Swiss or mozzarella in thin finger-length slices, or grated and melted into egg or pasta. No cubes.

How to serve cheese by age

6–8 months

Pasteurized low-sodium cheese like Swiss or mozzarella in thin finger-length slices, or grated and melted into egg or pasta. No cubes.

9–11 months

Shredded cheese or small, thin slices baby can pinch. Cool melted cheese and spread it thin so it isn't stringy.

12–24 months

Thin slices, shredded cheese, or matchstick-thin sticks with family meals. Avoid cubes and big string-cheese bites until about age 4.

Needs special prep: medium

choking risk in its raw or whole form

Slice thin or shred; never cube it, and cool melted cheese before serving.

Cheese cubes and thick, stringy melted cheese can lodge in the throat.

Allergen notes

Cheese is made from cow's milk, a common allergen. For a first taste, offer a little grated or thinly sliced pasteurized cheese, or melt it into food. If there's no reaction, keep cheese in your baby's diet regularly.

Read the guide to introducing allergens

Nutrition

  • Contains calcium and protein.
  • Contains fat and some sodium; lower-salt kinds have less.

Preparation tips

  • A little grated cheese adds plenty of flavor, so there's no need for extra salt.

Sources

This is general information, not medical advice. Read our disclaimer and methodology.

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