Allergen note
Bread stuffing usually combines several allergens: wheat from the bread, milk from butter, often egg, and sometimes sesame, oysters or nuts such as pecans; celery is also a declared allergen in the EU. Offer it only after each of these ingredients has been introduced on its own and tolerated.
How to serve
From about 6 months, a homemade, unsalted stuffing moistened with extra broth can be offered mashed or pressed into soft, finger-sized clumps. From 9 months, offer small soft pieces. Toddlers can share a small portion of the family dish if it has no whole or chopped nuts, which wait until 5 years; boxed mixes and sausage stuffing are very salty, so after 12 months offer them only occasionally and in small amounts.
Preparation
Make a baby portion with homemade unsalted or low-sodium broth, unsalted butter or oil, and soft-cooked, finely chopped onion and celery; leave out salt and dried fruit, and add no whole or chopped nuts before 5 years. Bake it in a separate dish rather than inside the bird until the center reaches 74°C165°F, and keep it moist rather than crispy.
Texture and choking risk
Bread cubes soak up saliva and can form a sticky ball, crispy top pieces are hard and sharp, and whole or chopped nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, sausage chunks and celery strings are choking hazards. Serve it moist and soft, break it into small pieces, leave those extras out for young children, with no whole or chopped nuts before 5 years, and always supervise.
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 stuffing, note any reaction and see it in the allergen tracker.
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