First foods database
🫓 Chapati for babies: when and how to serve it
Can babies eat chapati? Yes, from about 6 months. Homemade chapati or roti made with wholemeal flour and water is soft, easy to hold and a lovely way to introduce wheat, especially for scooping up dal and curries.
Good source of: Carbohydrate, Fibre, B vitamins
How to serve chapati by age
6 to 9 months
Make chapati without salt, cook until soft but not crispy, and cut into strips about the width of two adult fingers. Your baby can hold and gum them, or you can tear chapati into small pieces and soften them in dal or a mild curry sauce.
9 to 12 months
Offer smaller pieces of chapati to dip into dal, mashed chickpeas or yoghurt. Spread lightly with butter or mashed avocado.
12 months and up
Serve chapati alongside family curries and dal, rolled around soft fillings like egg or paneer, or as a wrap.
Choking safety
Dry, crispy or overcooked chapati can be hard to chew, and large wads of bread can clump in the mouth. Keep it soft and pliable, and offer strips rather than a whole round to young babies.
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
- Chapati contains wheat (gluten). Introduce it in small amounts at first.
- Shop-bought chapati and many family recipes add salt; make your baby's portion without salt where you can.
Introducing it as an allergen
It contains gluten, one of the 14 major allergens. How to introduce gluten
Easy ideas
- Chapati strips with red lentil dal
- Chapati with mashed avocado
- Chapati wrap with scrambled egg
Goes well with
Recipes with chapati
Weaning with OBubba
Log first foods in seconds. OBubba spots the allergens for you.
Track every food your baby has tried, see reactions over time, and let OBubba gently pace new allergens one at a time. Free to download.
Questions parents ask
Can babies eat chapati?
Can babies eat chapati? Yes, from about 6 months. Homemade chapati or roti made with wholemeal flour and water is soft, easy to hold and a lovely way to introduce wheat, especially for scooping up dal and curries.
Can I add ghee to my baby's chapati?
Yes, a little ghee or butter is fine and adds energy. Just leave out the salt.
Is chapati or naan better for babies?
Plain homemade chapati is usually lower in salt and sugar than shop-bought naan, so it is the better everyday choice.
Can babies eat chapati made with gram flour?
Yes, besan (gram flour) flatbreads are fine from about 6 months, and they are gluten-free if made only with gram flour.
Sources
- NHS Start for Life: Weaning
- NHS: What to feed young children
- NHS: How to stop a child from choking
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
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).