First foods database

🍚 Rice for babies: when and how to serve it

Can babies eat rice? Yes, from about 6 months. Cooked rice is a gentle, filling starchy food that goes well with lentils, fish and vegetables. Rice drinks are different: they are not suitable as a drink for children under 5.

From 6 monthsTake care with shape and texture

Good source of: Carbohydrate, B vitamins, Manganese

How to serve rice by age

6 to 9 months

Cook rice until soft and blend with vegetables, lentils or milk for a smooth texture. For finger food, squeeze sticky cooked rice into small balls your baby can hold.

9 to 12 months

Serve soft, slightly sticky rice mixed with sauces, or rice balls with flaked fish or peas tucked inside. Rice pudding made with whole milk and no sugar is a lovely pudding.

12 months and up

Offer rice as part of family meals: risotto, curry, stir-fries and rice salads. Cool any leftovers quickly, keep in the fridge and use within a day.

Choking safety

Loose, dry grains can scatter in the mouth and cause coughing. Keep rice moist and sticky, or shape into balls.

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

Rice contains small amounts of natural arsenic: rinse before cooking and vary grains.
Do not give rice drinks to under-5s.
Reheat leftover rice only once and until steaming hot.

Easy ideas

Rice with mild lentil dal
Salmon and pea rice balls
Rice pudding made with whole milk

Goes well with

🫘Red lentilsFrom 6 months 🐟SalmonFrom 6 months · Fish 🫛PeaFrom 6 months 🍗ChickenFrom 6 months

Recipes with rice

🍚Edamame, pea and egg veggie fried riceFrom 9 months · Lunch · 20 min 🌮Mild beef and black bean chilliFrom 10 months · Dinner · 55 min 🌼Mild cauliflower and chickpea kormaFrom 7 months · Dinner · 40 min 🥥Mild chickpea, spinach and coconut curryFrom 7 months · Dinner · 35 min 🌽Mild kidney bean and sweetcorn veggie chilliFrom 10 months · Dinner · 50 min 🧀Mild palak paneer for babiesFrom 7 months · Dinner · 35 min

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Questions parents ask

Can babies eat rice?

Can babies eat rice every day?

Rice is fine regularly, but varying grains such as oats, wheat, quinoa and barley keeps arsenic intake low and adds variety.

Is it safe to reheat rice for my baby?

Yes, if it was cooled quickly, stored in the fridge for no more than a day, and reheated once until steaming hot all the way through.

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).