When can babies eat anchovies?

From around 6 months, once your baby is ready for solids, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

Anchovies

Tiny, low-mercury fish. Fresh ones for babies; the salty canned kind waits.

Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review

Quick answer

Babies can eat anchovies from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsLow choking risk as servedAllergen: Fish

How to serve anchovies by age

6 months+

Flaked fresh anchovies or fish cakes

Use fresh or frozen anchovies only, not canned, salted or marinated. Bake or poach them until opaque and flaky (145°F / 63°C), remove the head, skin, backbone and every bone, then mash the flesh into mashed potato or shape it into finger-sized fish cakes.

Size: Flaked and mashed on a pre-loaded spoon, or fish cakes shaped like a finger, about 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Press the flaked fish between your fingers: you shouldn't feel any hard or sharp bits of bone; if you do, pick them out.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare anchovies

1
Buy fresh or frozen anchovies for babies, not canned, salted or vinegar-marinated ones. Thaw frozen anchovies in the fridge overnight.
2
Bake or poach them until the flesh is opaque, flakes easily and reaches 145°F (63°C). Don't add salt.
3
Let them cool, then lift off the head, skin and backbone, and pick out every bone. Mash the flesh with a fork and check again for bones.
4
Serve on a pre-loaded spoon, mixed into mashed potato, or shaped into finger-sized fish cakes.
5
First time? Pick a day your baby is well and at home, so you can stay nearby for several hours afterward. Fish can cause a delayed reaction: see when to call the doctor.

How much to offer

For the first taste, offer a small amount: a teaspoon or two of mashed fresh anchovy. For ages 1 to 3, the FDA suggests a fish serving of about 1 oz (28 g), twice a week; anchovies are on its 'Best choices' list. Canned anchovies are very salty, so they're a flavoring in family food, not a serving of fish. Your baby decides how much to eat.

Common mistakes

Giving canned or salted anchovies to a baby

FoodData Central lists about 3,670 mg of sodium per 100 g of anchovies canned in oil (about 9.2 g of salt), and one fillet (about 4 g) has about 150 mg of sodium (about 0.4 g of salt). The NHS calls more than 0.6 g of sodium per 100 g high, and says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day. Use fresh or frozen anchovies before 12 months.

Treating canned anchovies as a serving of fish

Canned and salt-packed anchovies are cured in salt: FoodData Central lists about 3,670 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 9.2 g of salt), more than six times the level the NHS calls high. The NHS says to eat cured fish less often or in small amounts. After 12 months, use only a fillet or two cooked into a family dish, and leave out other salt.

Serving marinated raw anchovies

White anchovies in vinegar (boquerones) are raw fish that hasn't been cooked. Never offer raw or marinated raw fish to babies and children.

Leaving bones in

The CDC lists bones in fish as a choking hazard and says to remove all bones from fish for babies. Fresh anchovy bones are thin and easy to miss, so feel every flake and pick out every bone you find.

Where US and UK guidance differ on anchovies

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Anchovies are on the FDA's 'Best choices' list, and among the fish it names as even lower in mercury. For ages 1–3, a serving is about 1 oz, twice a week. That serving means fresh anchovies, not canned.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g, and to eat cured fish less often or in small amounts. Its oily fish list doesn't name anchovies.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

Questions parents ask

Can anchovies be a choking hazard for babies?

Cooked, flaked fresh anchovies are a low choking risk once the backbone and every bone are removed, but the CDC lists bones in fish as a choking hazard. Feel every flake with your fingers before serving. Always cook fresh anchovies fully, and never offer raw or marinated raw fish.

Can babies be allergic to anchovies?

Fish is a common allergen. Introduce it on its own first, in a small amount, and watch for signs of a reaction. If your baby reacts to anchovies, talk to your pediatrician before offering other fish: people allergic to one type of fish often react to other types (NHS). Anchovies can also cause a reaction that looks like an allergy but isn't one: scombroid poisoning, from fish that wasn't kept cold after it was caught. It usually starts within minutes to an hour, with a flushed face, itching, headache or tummy cramps, and cooking, smoking or freezing doesn't prevent it (CDC). Buy fish from a cold counter or the freezer and refrigerate it quickly. If your baby has breathing trouble, swelling of the lips, face or tongue, or becomes floppy, call your emergency number.

Are anchovies healthy for babies?

Fresh anchovies provide omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA), calcium and some iron: FoodData Central lists about 0.9 g of DHA, 147 mg of calcium and 3.3 mg of iron per 100 g of raw European anchovy, so a 1 oz (28 g) toddler serving gives just under 1 mg of iron, and the small amounts babies eat give less. Canned anchovies have more of each per 100 g, but also about 3,670 mg of sodium (about 9.2 g of salt).

Are anchovies safe for babies?

Fresh or frozen anchovies are, from around 6 months, cooked until opaque and flaky with every bone removed. Anchovies are on the FDA's 'Best choices' list, and among the fish it names as even lower in mercury. Canned, salted and marinated anchovies are a different matter: see below.

Can babies eat canned anchovies?

Not before 12 months: they're very salty, and the NHS says babies shouldn't eat salty foods. After 12 months, one fillet (about 150 mg of sodium, or about 0.4 g of salt) melted into a family sauce while it cooks is fine now and then. The NHS says to eat cured fish less often or in small amounts, so keep the amount small and add no other salt.

Are anchovies high in mercury?

No. Anchovies are on the FDA's 'Best choices' list and among the fish it names as even lower in mercury.

If your baby refuses anchovies

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Anchovies have a strong taste. Mix a little into foods your baby already likes, such as mashed potato, pasta or rice.
Try fish cakes: they're easier to hold than loose flakes.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing anchovies

Buy fresh anchovies from a cold counter or the freezer and get them into the fridge quickly. Cook them within 2 days, or freeze them. Fish that wasn't kept cold can look and taste normal but still cause scombroid poisoning, and cooking won't fix it.
Cooked anchovies keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Once a can is opened, move leftover fillets into a covered container in the fridge. Rice dishes are the exception: cool them within 1 hour, keep them in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat them only once.
Fish cakes can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Reheat only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).

When to talk to your doctor

Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if:

Your baby vomits a few hours after eating fish. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that fish can trigger. If they vomited once or twice and seem alert and like themselves, call your pediatrician or GP. If they vomit again and again, or are pale, floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, call your emergency number.
You notice mild signs of an allergic reaction after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.
You're worried about how much your baby eats, their growth, or they refuse most solid food for weeks.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Offered anchovies?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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