First foods database
🍘 Crackers for babies: when and how to serve it
Can babies eat crackers? Yes, from about 6 months, as long as you choose low-salt crackers and offer them carefully. Many crackers are hard and salty, so pick plain varieties.
Good source of: Carbohydrate, Fibre, Iron
How to serve crackers by age
6 to 9 months
Choose plain, low-salt crackers that dissolve easily, and spread with a thin layer of soft cheese, hummus or mashed avocado. Rice cakes and crackers that melt quickly are easier for young babies.
9 to 12 months
Offer pieces of plain cracker with soft toppings to practise biting. Babies can practise biting and chewing with these.
12 months and up
Serve crackers with cheese, dips or as part of a snack plate. Toddlers enjoy crackers as part of a mixed snack plate.
Choking safety
Hard crackers can break into sharp shards. Choose ones that soften easily, and stay with your baby. Avoid crackers with seeds or whole nuts. Check that crackers do not contain whole seeds or nuts.
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
- Choose low-salt crackers.
- Most contain wheat, a common allergen.
Introducing it as an allergen
It contains gluten, one of the 14 major allergens. How to introduce gluten
Easy ideas
- Crackers with cream cheese
- Crackers with hummus
- Crackers with mashed avocado
Goes well with
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Questions parents ask
Can babies eat crackers?
Can babies eat crackers? Yes, from about 6 months, as long as you choose low-salt crackers and offer them carefully. Many crackers are hard and salty, so pick plain varieties.
Are rice crackers better?
Rice crackers can contain some arsenic and salt, so vary snacks. Vary snacks rather than relying on rice crackers every day.
Which crackers are best?
Plain, low salt, ones that soften easily. Check the salt content on the label.
Sources
- NHS Start for Life: Weaning
- NHS: What to feed young children
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: How to stop a child from choking
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).