Allergen guide
🥬 Introducing Celery to Your Baby: When and How
Celery and celeriac can be introduced from around 6 months, cooked until soft and offered in a small amount first. Raw celery sticks are stringy and hard, so avoid them for young babies.
When to introduce celery
Celery and celeriac can be offered from around 6 months as part of your baby's first vegetables. Cook them until soft, as raw celery is hard and stringy and can be a choking risk. Celeriac is a root of the same plant, so it counts too. Celery also turns up in lots of stocks, soups and seasonings, so many babies meet it in family cooking without anyone noticing.
How to start
- Cook celery or celeriac until very soft
- Puree or mash it, or blend it into a soup
- Offer a small amount earlier in the day while you are at home
- Keep it as the only new food that day
- If it goes well, include it in meals over the coming days
First ways to offer it
- Celeriac mashed with potato and a little butter
- Soft cooked celery blended into a vegetable soup
- Celery cooked into a bolognese sauce
- Roasted celeriac wedges, soft enough to squash
Keep it going
Once celery suits your baby, let it be a regular part of soups, stews and sauces. It is often already part of family cooking, so keeping it in the diet is usually easy. A batch of soft vegetable soup or a family stew once or twice a week does the job nicely.
Signs of a mild reaction
- A red, blotchy or raised itchy rash, often around the mouth or on the face
- Mild swelling of the lips, face or around the eyes
- Itchy or red skin
- A runny or blocked nose, sneezing or watery eyes
- Being sick, tummy ache or diarrhoea
If you notice mild signs, stop offering the food and speak to your doctor or health visitor before trying again.
Signs of a severe reaction
- Swelling of the tongue or throat
- Trouble breathing, or noisy, fast or hard breathing
- Wheezing, or a cough that will not stop
- A hoarse voice, or trouble swallowing
- Becoming pale and floppy, or suddenly very sleepy
- Collapse, or not responding to you
Call 999 straight away and say you think your baby is having a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). If your baby has been given an adrenaline auto-injector, use it now. Do not wait to see if it settles. If you only see mild signs, stop offering the food and speak to your GP or health visitor before trying it again.
Where celery can hide
- Stock cubes and gravy granules
- Soups and ready meals
- Celery salt and spice blends
- Sausages and processed meats
- Bolognese and other sauces
Foods in our database that contain it
Allergens with OBubba
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Questions parents ask
Can babies eat raw celery?
Raw celery sticks are hard and stringy, so they are best avoided for young babies. Cook celery until soft instead.
Is celeriac the same allergen as celery?
Yes. Celeriac is the root of a celery plant, so it is covered by the same allergen.
Are stock cubes okay for babies?
Regular stock cubes are high in salt, so use a low salt or baby-friendly stock. Many contain celery, so check the label.
Other allergens
Sources
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- BSACI: Early feeding guidance
- NHS Start for Life: Weaning
OBubba gives general information based on UK guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Every baby is different. If your baby has a known allergy, severe eczema or a medical condition, speak to your doctor or health visitor before starting solids. Learn baby first aid, and in an emergency call your local emergency number (999 in the UK).