Blackcurrants
Tiny, tangy and deep purple. Cook them into a sauce or squash them flat, no sugar needed.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat blackcurrants from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve blackcurrants by age
6 months+
Cooked and mashed, or squashed flat
Pull the currants off their stalks. The easiest way is to simmer them in a little water until they burst, then blend or mash them, and push them through a sieve if the skins bother your baby. Very ripe, soft currants can also be pressed flat between your thumb and finger until the skin splits (see the guidance note below). They're very tart, so stir them into a sweeter food your baby already eats, like mashed banana, cooked apple or pear, or oatmeal. Don't add sugar.
- Size
- Cooked until they burst, then mashed or blended and stirred into a soft food, or very ripe currants pressed completely flat. No round berries.
- Check before serving
- Check the bowl before serving: every currant burst or split and flat, with no round berries left.
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+
Cooked and mashed, or squashed flat
Mash cooked currants roughly and stir them into oatmeal, iron-fortified cereal or plain full-fat yogurt (once dairy has been introduced on its own). Or offer very ripe currants pressed flat for pincer-grasp practice.
- Size
- A lumpy sauce or flattened currants, with any pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check the plate before serving: no round currants left. Each one should be split open and squash easily between your thumb and finger.
12 months+
Squashed flat, cooked or in dishes
Keep squashing every currant flat or cooking them into a sauce. Stir them into oatmeal or yogurt, or squash them before baking them into soft muffins and pancakes. Stay with your toddler while they eat.
- Size
- Flattened currants, or cooked and mashed. Pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) or smaller.
- Check before serving
- Check the plate before serving: no round currants left, and each one squashes easily between your thumb and finger.
18 months+
Squashed, cooked or baked in
Toddlers still choke on small round foods. Keep flattening blackcurrants, even if your child protests, or cook them into a sauce for oatmeal, yogurt and family desserts, without sugar. Make sure your toddler sits down to eat, and stay with them.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch): flattened currants, or cooked into dishes.
- Check before serving
- Check the plate before serving: no round currants left, and each one squashes easily between your thumb and finger.
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 blackcurrants
- 1
Rinse the blackcurrants under running water, then pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
- 2
Pull them off their stalks (running a fork down the stalk works well), and pick out any stems, leaves, and moldy or shriveled currants.
- 3
To cook them, simmer in a small pan with a splash of water for about 5 minutes, stirring, until they burst. Frozen currants can go straight into the pan: frozen berries are safest cooked until steaming hot for babies, so let the sauce bubble for at least a minute.
- 4
Mash or blend them, sieve out the skins and seeds if needed, and let the sauce cool before serving. Don't add sugar: stir it into a sweeter food instead.
How much to offer
Start with a teaspoon or two of cooked or squashed blackcurrants stirred into a familiar food. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Purple-stained hands and bibs are part of learning.
Common mistakes
Serving them round
A whole currant is small and round, a choking hazard for babies and toddlers. Squash every one flat, or cook and mash them.
Squashing some and missing others
Blackcurrants are tiny, so it's easy to miss one. Check the whole plate before serving, or cook them into a sauce.
Sweetening them with sugar
Blackcurrants are sharp, so recipes often add a lot of sugar. Babies don't need it, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4. Mix them into banana, cooked apple or pear instead.
Offering blackcurrant squash or juice drinks
The NHS says squashes and juice drinks are not suitable for young babies: they contain sugar and can cause tooth decay, even when diluted. Offer water in a cup with meals instead.
Where US and UK guidance differ on blackcurrants
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
For babies under 1, the AAP says that apart from mashed banana, most fruits should be cooked until soft. If you follow US advice, cook blackcurrants until they burst and mash them. No juice under 12 months; from 12 months up to age 3, the AAP says to give only 100% fruit juice, no more than 4 oz (120 ml) a day, in a cup. An AAP page says to avoid added sugar for children under 2; the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines say to avoid it for children aged 4 and under, which this site follows.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS suggests soft fruit as a finger food from around 6 months and says to cut small round fruits like berries into quarters; for currants this small, squash them flat. Use only ripe, soft currants that pass the squash test, or cook them. The NHS says babies under 12 months don't need fruit juice; if you choose to give it, dilute it (1 part juice to 10 parts water) and keep it to mealtimes. It says squashes and juice drinks are not suitable for young babies, and to avoid food and drink with sugar, including fruit juice, for children aged 4 or younger.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can blackcurrants be a choking hazard for babies?
Whole blackcurrants are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers: they're small and round, and the CDC lists uncut berries as foods to avoid for young children. Squash each currant completely flat or cook and mash them, check the plate for any round ones, and stay with your child while they eat.
Can babies be allergic to blackcurrants?
Blackcurrants are not a common allergen. Berries can cause a red rash around the mouth, chin or hands where the juice touches the skin. This is usually a skin reaction, not an allergy: it stays where the food touched and fades once you wipe the skin. Hives that spread, swelling of the lips, face or tongue, vomiting or breathing trouble are signs of an allergic reaction. If your baby has hives, stop offering blackcurrants and talk to your pediatrician. For swelling of the lips, face or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting or floppiness, call your emergency number.
Are blackcurrants healthy for babies?
Raw blackcurrants are very high in vitamin C: about 181 mg per 100 g. They also have about 1.5 mg of iron per 100 g, though a baby's portion of a spoonful or two gives only a little.
Can babies eat blackcurrants?
Yes, from around 6 months, cooked and mashed or, if very ripe, squashed flat. They're very tart, so mixing them into a sweeter food like mashed banana or cooked pear helps. The cooked sauce works well swirled into plain yogurt, as in the Yogurt berry bowl recipe.
Can babies drink blackcurrant juice or squash?
Skip squash and juice drinks. The NHS says squashes and juice drinks are not suitable for young babies because they contain sugar and can cause tooth decay, even when diluted. For 100% juice, the AAP says babies younger than 12 months should not be given juice; the NHS says babies under 12 months don't need it, and if you choose to give it, to dilute it (1 part juice to 10 parts water) and serve it only at mealtimes. The NHS also doesn't recommend diet or reduced-sugar drinks for babies and young children. US and UK advice on juice after 12 months differs: see the guidance note below.
Can babies eat frozen blackcurrants?
Yes, cooked. Frozen berries are safest cooked until steaming hot for babies, then cooled. The CDC says freezing doesn't kill the hepatitis A virus, which has caused outbreaks linked to frozen berries, and that heating to over 85°C (185°F) for 1 minute inactivates it. Put them straight into the pan from frozen, let the sauce bubble for at least a minute, then let it cool. Fresh blackcurrants, washed well, are fine. Don't serve them frozen: they're hard and round.
If your baby refuses blackcurrants
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Blackcurrants are tart. Mix a little into mashed banana, cooked apple or pear, and slowly add more.
- Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
- Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. They're getting used to a new taste and texture.
Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.
Buying and storing blackcurrants
- Keep fresh blackcurrants in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C), and rinse them just before using.
- Cooked or squashed blackcurrants keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Cooked, mashed blackcurrants can be frozen in small portions and used within 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge, use them within 24 hours of thawing, and stir them into oatmeal or yogurt.
- 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:
- A rash after blackcurrants spreads beyond the skin the food touched or turns into raised hives. That is not a simple skin reaction, so talk to your pediatrician or GP before offering blackcurrants again. If it comes with swelling of the face, lips or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting, or your baby is floppy, call your emergency number instead (see below).
- 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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Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- AAP: When can babies start solid foods?
- NHS: Preparing food safely for babies
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Drinks and cups for babies and young children
- HHS: Fact sheet on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
- AAP: How to reduce added sugar in your child's diet
- NHS South West London Healthier Together: Contact reactions to foods in babies and toddlers
- CDC Yellow Book: Hepatitis A
- USDA FoodData Central: Currants, european black, raw
- FDA: 7 tips for cleaning fruits and vegetables
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- AAP: Is it OK to make my own baby food?
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
More first foods
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