Biscuits
Soft, fluffy American biscuits, split open and torn into strips. Homemade is best for babies.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat biscuits from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve biscuits by age
6 months+
Strips from the soft inside
Bake plain biscuits at home without added salt, using only as much baking powder as the recipe needs. Split a cooled biscuit open, trim off the crisp top and bottom crust, and cut the soft inside into strips. Offer biscuits once your baby has had wheat and dairy (such as plain full-fat yogurt) on their own. Shop-bought and canned-dough biscuits are salty and have more sugar, so they wait until after age 4 (see below).
- Size
- Strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
- Check before serving
- Press a strip between your thumb and finger. It should squash easily and feel soft, not dry and crumbly or crisp.
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.
9 months+
Small soft pieces or strips
Offer small pieces of soft homemade biscuit for pincer-grasp practice, or keep serving strips. A thin layer of something soft your baby already eats, such as mashed avocado or plain yogurt, keeps dry crumbs from scattering in the mouth.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Each piece should be soft inside, with no hard crust.
12 months+
Strips or pieces, now and then
Keep serving homemade biscuits made without salt, sugar or honey. Shop-bought and canned-dough biscuits still wait until after age 4: baked canned-dough biscuits have about 8 g of sugars per 100 g, above the NHS 'low sugar' level of 5 g, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. They also have about 2.5 g of salt per 100 g, and the NHS says children aged 1 to 3 should have no more than 2 g of salt a day. Skip salty sausage gravy and honey butter: honey is safe from 12 months, but it's an added sugar, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Press a piece between your thumb and finger. It should be soft, not dry, hard or doughy.
18 months+
Family biscuits in pieces
Share the family's homemade biscuits, split and cut into strips or pieces, with a soft topping such as mashed egg, plain yogurt or a thin spread of smooth nut butter. Shop-bought and canned-dough biscuits still wait until after age 4. Have your toddler sit down to eat.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check there's no hard crust and that toppings are soft and spread thinly.
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 biscuits
- 1
Make a simple biscuit dough with flour, baking powder, butter and milk or buttermilk. Cows' milk is fine in cooking from around 6 months (see the US vs. UK note below). Leave out the salt and any sugar or honey.
- 2
Bake until golden and cooked through, with no doughy middle. Don't let your child taste raw dough, homemade or from a can.
- 3
Let the biscuits cool, split them open, trim off the crisp crust and cut the soft inside into strips or pieces for your baby's stage.
- 4
Offer biscuits only once your baby has had wheat and dairy on their own. First time? Pick a day your baby is well, at home, when you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward.
How much to offer
For the first taste, offer one or two strips. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. A whole biscuit is far more than a baby needs, and even homemade biscuits contain some salt from the baking powder.
Common mistakes
Canned-dough or shop-bought biscuits for a baby
Baked canned-dough biscuits have about 1,000 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 2.5 g of salt), well above the NHS 'high salt' level of 1.5 g per 100 g, and about 8 g of sugars per 100 g. The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. Bake your own without added salt or sugar.
Serving the crisp crust or a dry, crumbly biscuit
The CDC advises avoiding hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Split the biscuit, trim the crust, and serve the soft inside, with a thin soft spread if it's dry.
Honey butter or honey biscuits before 12 months
No honey, or foods made with it, before 12 months: honey can cause infant botulism, even when baked in (CDC). Check the label on shop-bought biscuits and mixes.
Biscuits and sausage gravy
The NHS lists sausages among salty foods to avoid for babies, and gravy is often high in salt. Serve your baby's biscuit plain or with a soft, unsalted topping.
Where US and UK guidance differ on biscuits
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
In the US, a biscuit is a soft, fluffy quick bread, close to a plain British scone; this page is about that kind. The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months. If you follow US advice, make biscuits with breast milk or formula instead of milk or buttermilk.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
In the UK, the word biscuit means a cookie. Those are a different food: the NHS says not to give children too many foods high in saturated fat, such as biscuits and cakes, and to avoid sugar up to age 4. For rusks and baby biscuits, see our teething crackers page. The NHS says cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months, but shouldn't be given as a main drink until 1 year.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can biscuits be a choking hazard for babies?
Biscuits can be dry and crumbly, and the crisp crust is hard to chew. The CDC advises avoiding small, sticky or hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Split biscuits open, trim the crust, cut the soft inside into strips or small pieces, and add a thin soft spread if they're dry. Gagging on crumbs is common as babies learn. Have your child sit down to eat, and stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to biscuits?
Biscuits are made with wheat (with gluten) and usually cows' milk, from butter, milk or buttermilk. Foods that can trigger allergy can be introduced from around 6 months. Introduce each one on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot a reaction. Most reactions start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but cows' milk allergy can take up to 3 days to show. Some recipes and shop-bought biscuits also contain egg or soy, so check the label and introduce any new allergens on their own first.
Are biscuits healthy for babies?
Biscuits provide carbohydrate for energy and some protein. A standard home recipe made with salt has about 580 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.45 g of salt, just under the NHS 'high salt' level), and baked canned-dough biscuits about 1,000 mg (about 2.5 g of salt). Canned-dough biscuits also have about 5.5 g of saturated fat per 100 g, above the NHS 'high' level of 5 g, and about 8 g of sugars per 100 g, against about 2 g in the home recipe.
Can babies eat biscuits?
Homemade American-style biscuits without added salt can be offered from around 6 months, once your baby has had wheat and dairy on their own. Split them, trim the crust and cut the soft inside into finger-sized strips. Shop-bought and canned-dough biscuits are salty and have more sugar, so they wait until after age 4.
Are biscuits too salty for babies?
Shop-bought ones usually are. Baked canned-dough biscuits have about 2.5 g of salt per 100 g, and 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. Homemade biscuits without added salt are much lower, though baking powder still adds some sodium.
Can babies have biscuits and gravy?
Not the classic version. Sausage gravy is salty: the NHS lists sausages among salty foods to avoid for babies, and says gravy is often high in salt. From 12 months, a little homemade biscuit with a homemade, unsalted gravy is fine now and then.
If your baby refuses biscuits
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try a soft topping your baby already likes, such as mashed avocado or plain yogurt.
- Offer toast strips or soft pancake strips instead for now, and try biscuits again later.
- 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 biscuits
- Store shop-bought biscuits and canned dough as the package says, and use them by the date on the label.
- Cooled homemade biscuits keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge, or 3 to 4 months in the freezer.
- Thaw frozen biscuits in the fridge, or warm them in the oven, and let them cool and check they're soft 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 has had any reaction to wheat or milk, even a mild one. Stop offering biscuits until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- Your baby vomits a few hours after eating a food made with milk, such as biscuits. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that milk 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.
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Recipes with biscuits
Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Salt in your diet
- NHS: Food labels
- CDC: Botulism prevention
- HHS: Fact sheet on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
- CDC: Cow's milk and milk alternatives
- CDC: Safer food choices for children under 5
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FoodData Central: Biscuits, plain or buttermilk, prepared from recipe
- USDA FoodData Central: Biscuits, plain or buttermilk, refrigerated dough, higher fat, baked
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
More first foods
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