🥬 Spinach
Allergen note
Spinach is rarely an allergen, and cooked spinach can be offered from around 6 months. Faint redness around the mouth after a meal is usually mild skin irritation that fades quickly, but contact your pediatrician about hives, swelling or vomiting.
How to serve
At 6–8 months, stir pureed or very finely chopped cooked spinach into mashed potato, sweet potato, lentils or eggs. From 9 months, mix chopped cooked spinach into omelet strips, pasta or soft patties. Spinach works best as part of a dish rather than on its own.
Preparation
Wash the leaves well, remove thick stems, then steam or simmer until fully wilted and soft, and squeeze out extra water before chopping or blending. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate them, and reheat cooked spinach only once, as its natural nitrates can turn into nitrites.
Texture and choking risk
Wilted leaves can stick to the roof of the mouth and cause gagging. Chop cooked spinach finely or blend it into other foods instead of serving whole leaves, and hold off on raw leaf salads until your child chews well. Always supervise meals.
Sources: cdc.gov · cdc.gov · healthychildren.org · healthychildren.org · nhs.uk · nhs.uk
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 spinach, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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