Allergen note
Anchovies are fish, a common allergen. Offer well-cooked fresh anchovies from around 6 months, a small amount at first, and keep offering fish once tolerated; save salty canned or dried anchovies for after 12 months. Watch for hives, swelling or vomiting, and ask your pediatrician first if your baby has severe eczema or a known food allergy.
How to serve
At 6–8 months, mash a little cooked, boned fresh anchovy into potato, vegetables or rice; from 9 months, offer small soft flakes. Use canned anchovies only after 12 months and only occasionally, as a flavoring: melt a quarter to half a fillet into a sauce or family dish, since one fillet holds roughly 150 mg of sodium.
Preparation
Cook fresh anchovies thoroughly: gut them, pull out the backbone, and bake or steam them without salt until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily; skip raw vinegar-cured anchovies. For canned fillets, drain, rinse and soak them in cold water for 10–15 minutes to remove some salt, then chop finely and stir into hot food.
Texture and choking risk
Fresh anchovies have many fine bones, and even canned fillets can hold small bones and chewy skin. Remove the backbone, check each piece carefully, and serve anchovies flaked or finely chopped and mixed into soft food, rather than whole, dried or fried until crisp. Keep your child seated and supervised while eating.
Starting ages are typical guidance for healthy, full-term babies who show signs of readiness. Your paediatrician may advise differently, especially where there is a family history of allergy.
Track first tastes and reactions
Log when your child first tries anchovies, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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