First foods database

🍌 Plantain for babies: when and how to serve it

Can babies eat plantain? Yes, from about 6 months, as long as it is cooked. Ripe plantain is soft and sweet, while green plantain is starchy, and both make filling, easy weaning foods.

From 6 monthsTake care with shape and texture

Good source of: Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Fibre

How to serve plantain by age

6 to 9 months

Boil, steam or bake ripe (yellow with black spots) plantain until soft, then mash. For finger food, offer thick baked spears. Green plantain is firmer; boil until soft and mash with a little milk.

9 to 12 months

Offer soft baked chunks, plantain mashed with beans, or plantain porridge. Pan-fried plantain made with a little oil is fine occasionally. Leftover mashed plantain also makes soft pancakes with egg.

12 months and up

Enjoy in family dishes: baked plantain, plantain with stew, or fritters.

Choking safety

Plantain is not eaten raw. Cooked pieces can be sticky and dense, so offer long spears or mash rather than small round coins, and avoid plantain crisps, which are hard and often salted. Let fried pieces cool, as the inside stays very hot.

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

Easy ideas

Goes well with

🫘Black beansFrom 6 months🍗ChickenFrom 6 months🍂CinnamonFrom 6 months🥑AvocadoFrom 6 months

Recipes with plantain

🍌Black-eyed bean and plantain stewFrom 9 months · Dinner · 50 min🍌Caribbean plantain and black bean baby mashFrom 7 months · Dinner · 25 min🍌Ripe plantain pancakesFrom 7 months · Breakfast · 15 min🍌West African tilapia and plantain stewFrom 9 months · Dinner · 45 min

Weaning with OBubba

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Questions parents ask

Can babies eat plantain?

Can babies eat plantain? Yes, from about 6 months, as long as it is cooked. Ripe plantain is soft and sweet, while green plantain is starchy, and both make filling, easy weaning foods.

Can babies eat raw plantain?

No. Plantain needs to be cooked to be soft and digestible.

Is ripe or green plantain better for babies?

Both work. Ripe plantain is sweeter and softer; green is starchier and needs longer cooking.

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).