When can babies eat blue cheese?

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

Blue cheese

Bold and very salty, so a tiny amount, always cooked, goes a long way.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedAllergen: Milk

How to serve blue cheese by age

6 months+

A little, cooked and melted into food

Melt a small crumble of pasteurized blue cheese into a sauce and heat it until it's steaming hot all the way through, then stir it into mashed potato or pasta, or coat soft-cooked broccoli or cauliflower. Let it cool before serving. Sprinkling crumbles on warm food is not enough. Blue cheese is very salty, so a little is plenty.

Size: A very small amount melted into a dish cooked until steaming hot, or a thin coating on soft-cooked vegetable fingers about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Check the sauce was steaming hot all the way through before it cooled, with the cheese fully melted and no crumbles 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.

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 blue cheese

1
Check the label: choose blue cheese made from pasteurized milk. Cooking it is still needed, even when it's pasteurized.
2
Crumble a small amount, about a teaspoon, so it melts evenly.
3
Melt it into a sauce or dish and heat it until it's steaming hot all the way through. Don't add salt.
4
Let it cool, and test the temperature before serving.
5
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 very first taste, offer a small amount: a pinch of blue cheese melted into a sauce. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Blue cheese is one of the saltiest cheeses, so keep it to a small amount as an occasional flavor, not an everyday cheese. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Serving it cold

The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort, because of listeria, but it can be used in a cooked recipe because cooking kills listeria. Cook it until steaming hot all the way through. Crumbles on salad, dressings and dips are uncooked.

Using a lot

Blue cheese has about 1,150 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 2.9 g of salt). Babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day (NHS), so a pinch for flavor is enough.

Not checking it's pasteurized

Some blue cheeses are made from raw milk, and the CDC lists raw-milk blue-veined cheese as a riskier choice for children under 5. Check the label says pasteurized, and cook it as well.

Serving chunks

Firm or crumbly chunks are hard to manage, and the CDC lists large chunks of cheese as a choking hazard. Melt blue cheese into food instead.

Where US and UK guidance differ on blue cheese

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC lists soft cheese made from raw milk, including blue-veined cheese, as a riskier choice for children under 5, and soft cheese clearly labeled made from pasteurized milk as a safer one. It also says heating queso fresco-type and raw-milk cheeses to 165°F (74°C), or until steaming hot, kills Listeria.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort, because there's a higher risk of listeria, but it can be used in a cooked recipe. Its pregnancy page says pasteurized or unpasteurized soft blue cheese must be thoroughly cooked. UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have it unless it's part of a cooked recipe, and to cook food until steaming hot. The NHS and UK early years guidance name only soft blue-veined cheese. It can be hard to tell how soft a blue cheese is, so we go further than the NHS and apply the same rule to every blue cheese, for everyone: only cooked until steaming hot, even if it's pasteurized.

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

Questions parents ask

Can blue cheese be a choking hazard for babies?

Blue cheese melted into a sauce is soft and easy to manage. Firm or crumbly chunks are a choking risk: the CDC lists large chunks of cheese as a choking hazard. Melt it into food, and never serve it in pieces. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to blue cheese?

Blue cheese is a milk product, and milk is one of the most common food allergens. It may be made from cow's, sheep's or goats' milk: the label says which. People with an allergy to cow's milk may also be allergic to sheep's and goats' milk (ACAAI), so a sheep's milk blue cheese isn't a safe swap. Milk products like cheese and yogurt can be introduced from around 6 months, a small amount at a time. Most reactions start within minutes to 2 hours, but with cow's milk allergy, symptoms can take up to 3 days to appear. If your baby has a diagnosed milk allergy, don't offer blue cheese unless their doctor says it's OK. If your baby has eczema or another food allergy, or there's a family history of food allergies, eczema, asthma or hay fever, the NHS says to talk to your GP or health visitor first.

Is blue cheese healthy for babies?

A source of calcium and protein: 100 g of blue cheese has about 528 mg of calcium and 21 g of protein. It is very salty, with about 1,150 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 2.9 g of salt), so 5 g of blue cheese has about 0.14 g of salt. It is not a source of iron.

Can babies eat blue cheese?

Yes, from around 6 months, but only melted into a dish cooked until steaming hot all the way through, then cooled. The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese uncooked. Choose pasteurized blue cheese and use only a little, because it's very salty.

Is blue cheese too salty for babies?

It's one of the saltiest cheeses. The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and 1 to 3 year olds no more than 2 g. A pinch melted into a sauce fits, but don't add salt to the rest of the meal, and choose lower-salt cheeses for everyday use.

Can toddlers have blue cheese dressing or dip?

Not before age 5. Dressings and dips use uncooked blue cheese, and UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have soft blue-veined cheese unless it's part of a cooked recipe. We follow that for every blue cheese. They're also salty. Plain yogurt makes a mild dip instead.

What about firmer blue cheeses?

The NHS names soft blue-veined cheeses, such as roquefort, gorgonzola and Danish blue. It can be hard to tell how soft a blue cheese is, so we suggest treating every blue cheese the same way for children under 5: pasteurized, a small amount, and cooked until steaming hot.

If your baby refuses blue cheese

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Blue cheese has a very strong taste. Try a tiny amount melted into a milder sauce, or come back to it later.
Try a milder cheese first, like ricotta or mild cheddar.
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 blue cheese

Keep blue cheese in the fridge, at 40°F (4°C) or below, and use it by the date on the pack. Once opened, follow the label's advice on how many days it keeps.
Cooked dishes with blue cheese keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge, and can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot all the way through, bringing sauces to a rolling boil, 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 has had any reaction to milk products, even a mild one. Stop offering them until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating dairy. 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.

Offered blue cheese?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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Sources

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