Allergen note
Chives belong to the onion and garlic family and are not a common allergen; allergic reactions are rare. If your baby has reacted to onion or garlic, talk to your pediatrician first, and start with a small amount stirred into a food your baby already eats.
How to serve
From 6 months, stir finely snipped chives into mashed potato, avocado, yogurt or scrambled eggs. From 9 months, add them to soft omelet strips, veggie fritters or cottage cheese, and from 12 months sprinkle a little over soups, pasta or eggs.
Preparation
Rinse chives well and pat them dry, then snip them into tiny pieces, about 1 to 2 mm, with clean kitchen scissors. They can be eaten raw or stirred into hot food at the end of cooking, since long cooking dulls their mild onion flavor.
Texture and choking risk
Long chive strands are thin and stringy and can stick to the tongue or the back of the throat, causing gagging. Always snip them into tiny pieces and mix them into a moist food instead of serving whole strands, and keep your baby seated upright and supervised.
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 chives, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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