First foods database

🥄 Tahini for babies: when and how to serve it

Can babies eat tahini? Yes, from about 6 months. Tahini is a smooth paste of ground sesame seeds, one of the easiest ways to introduce sesame, a common allergen, and it brings calcium, iron and healthy fats.

From 6 monthsAllergen: SesameTake care with shape and texture

Good source of: Calcium, Iron, Protein, Healthy fats

How to serve tahini by age

6 to 9 months

Stir well, as the oil separates. For a first taste, mix a quarter of a teaspoon into vegetable purée, porridge or plain yoghurt, then build up over a few days. Thin with water or a squeeze of lemon and spread thinly on toast fingers, or offer homemade unsalted hummus.

9 to 12 months

Use tahini in dips and sauces, drizzle thinned tahini over roasted aubergine or sweet potato, or stir it into chickpea stews. It also works well in banana pancakes.

12 months and up

Use it in hummus, dressings, baking and noodles. Keep offering it regularly, a few times a week, to keep sesame in the diet.

Choking safety

Thick tahini is sticky and can be hard for babies to move around the mouth. Always thin it with water, yoghurt or lemon juice before serving, spread it thinly and never offer it by the spoonful on its own.

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

Sesame allergen: introduce a small amount on its own, then keep offering it regularly.
Choose plain tahini without added salt or sugar.
If your baby has severe eczema or a known allergy, speak to your GP first.

Introducing it as an allergen

It contains sesame, one of the 14 major allergens. How to introduce sesame

Easy ideas

Tahini and yoghurt dip with soft carrot sticks
Banana porridge swirled with tahini
Roasted aubergine mash with tahini

Goes well with

🫘ChickpeasFrom 6 months 🥣Greek yoghurtFrom 6 months · Milk 🍌BananaFrom 6 months 🍆AubergineFrom 6 months

Recipes with tahini

🥑Avocado and tahini toast fingersFrom 6 months · Breakfast · 7 min 🫘Baby chickpea and courgette hummus mashFrom 6 months · Lunch · 18 min 🧆Baked baby falafel with tahini yoghurtFrom 9 months · Lunch · 35 min 🥢Baked sesame tofu fingersFrom 6 months · Lunch · 35 min 🎃First sesame tahini and butternut mashFrom 6 months · Lunch · 20 min 🟢Green pea hummus pastaFrom 6 months · Lunch · 17 min

Weaning with OBubba

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Questions parents ask

Can babies eat tahini?

Is tahini safe for babies?

Yes, thinned and in small amounts from about 6 months.

Light or dark tahini for babies?

Either is fine. Light tahini, made from hulled seeds, is milder; dark tahini is more bitter but a little higher in minerals.

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).