First foods database
🍌 Banana for babies: when and how to serve it
Can babies eat banana? Yes, from about 6 months. Ripe banana is soft, sweet and needs no cooking, making it one of the easiest first foods to mash or hand over as a finger food.
Good source of: Potassium, Vitamin B6, Fibre, Vitamin C
How to serve banana by age
6 to 9 months
Mash ripe banana with a fork, or offer a large piece with some peel left on the bottom as a handle. Rolling slippery pieces in ground oats or ground almonds makes them easier to grip.
9 to 12 months
Offer smaller pieces or slices for pincer practice, or mash onto toast and pancakes.
12 months and up
Serve sliced, in porridge, blended into yoghurt or baked into simple pancakes.
Choking safety
Ripe banana is soft and low risk, but large chunks can gag a baby. Choose ripe fruit, and offer long pieces they can gnaw rather than coins of firm banana.
Gagging is common and noisy while babies learn to eat. Choking is usually silent. Always stay with your baby while they eat, sitting upright. How to help a choking baby (NHS).
Good to know
- Banana is not an allergen, but a few babies are sensitive; stop and speak to your GP if you notice a reaction.
Easy ideas
- Mashed banana stirred into porridge
- Two-ingredient banana and egg pancakes
- Banana rolled in ground almonds
Goes well with
Recipes with banana
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Questions parents ask
Can babies eat banana?
Can babies eat banana? Yes, from about 6 months. Ripe banana is soft, sweet and needs no cooking, making it one of the easiest first foods to mash or hand over as a finger food.
Does banana cause constipation in babies?
Ripe banana is usually fine. Very unripe banana may firm up poo a little, so choose ripe fruit with brown speckles.
How do I stop banana being slippery?
Leave a little peel on as a handle, or roll pieces in ground oats or ground nuts if there is no allergy.
Sources
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).