When can babies eat brie?

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

Brie

Rich and mellow, and only ever cooked until steaming hot for little ones.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat brie 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: Milk

How to serve brie by age

6 months+

Cooked and melted into food

Cut the rind off a little pasteurized brie and cook it into a dish until it's steaming hot all the way through: melt it into a sauce for mashed potato or pasta, or bake it until bubbling. Then let it cool. Stirring brie into warm food, or just warming it, is not enough. Brie is salty, so use only a little.

Size: A small amount melted into a dish cooked until steaming hot, or a thin layer baked onto soft-cooked vegetable fingers until steaming hot, then cooled. 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 dish was steaming hot all the way through before it cooled, with the cheese fully melted and no lumps of cold cheese or rind.

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 brie

1
Check the label: choose brie made from pasteurized milk. Cooking it is still needed, even when it's pasteurized.
2
Cut off the rind for babies under 12 months, and cut the cheese into small pieces so it melts evenly.
3
Cook it into a sauce or dish until it's steaming hot all the way through, or bake it until bubbling. Don't add salt.
4
Let it cool, and test the temperature before serving. Melted cheese can burn a baby's mouth.
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: about a teaspoon of brie cooked into food. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Brie is salty, so keep it to a small amount as an occasional flavor. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Serving it cold or just warmed

The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat mould-ripened soft cheeses such as brie, because of listeria, but they can be used in a cooked recipe because cooking kills listeria. Cook it until steaming hot all the way through, then cool it. Melting it on warm food is not enough.

Thinking pasteurized means it can be served cold

The NHS lists mould-ripened cheese separately from unpasteurized cheese, and its pregnancy page says pasteurized or unpasteurized brie must be thoroughly cooked. Check for pasteurized milk and cook it as well.

Leaving firm rind on

A firm or chewy rind is hard to chew, and the CDC says to avoid hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Cut the rind off for babies under 12 months. From 12 months, keep only rind that squashes easily between your thumb and finger.

Using a lot

Brie has about 629 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.6 g of salt). 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, so a little for flavor is enough.

Where US and UK guidance differ on brie

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC lists soft cheese made from raw milk, such as brie and camembert, as a riskier choice for children under 5, and soft cheese clearly labeled made from pasteurized milk as a safer one. It also says Listeria outbreaks have been linked to many soft cheeses, including brie, and that 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 mould-ripened soft cheeses such as brie or camembert, because there's a higher risk of listeria, but they can be used in a cooked recipe, and baked brie is a safer option. The NHS gives no start age for cooked brie, but says babies can have pasteurised full-fat cheese from 6 months, so we offer cooked brie from 6 months. UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have mould-ripened cheese unless it's part of a cooked recipe, and to cook food until steaming hot. We follow the UK advice for everyone: brie 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 brie be a choking hazard for babies?

Brie melted into a sauce or a dish is soft and a low choking risk. Firm, chewy rind is hard to chew (the CDC says to avoid hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow), so cut off any firm rind, and never serve cubes of cheese: the CDC lists large chunks of cheese as a choking hazard. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to brie?

Brie is made from cow's milk, one of the most common food allergens. Milk products like cheese and yogurt can be introduced from around 6 months, a small amount at a time. Once your baby has had milk products without a reaction, keep them in your baby's usual diet. 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 brie 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 brie healthy for babies?

A source of protein: 100 g of brie has about 21 g of protein and 184 mg of calcium. It is salty, with about 629 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.6 g of salt), so 10 g of brie has about 0.16 g of salt. It is not a source of iron.

Can babies eat brie?

Yes, from around 6 months, but only cooked into a dish until steaming hot all the way through, then cooled. The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat mould-ripened soft cheese such as brie uncooked, even though it can be used in a cooked recipe. Choose pasteurized brie and keep amounts small, because it's salty.

Is baked brie safe for babies?

The NHS says baked brie is a safer option, because cooking kills listeria. Bake it until it's bubbling and steaming hot all the way through, not just soft at the edges, then let it cool and check the temperature. Cut off the rind for babies under 12 months.

When can children eat cold brie?

UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have mould-ripened cheeses unless they're part of a cooked recipe. We follow that for everyone: cooked brie only until age 5. See the US vs. UK note below.

Is camembert the same as brie for babies?

Yes. Camembert is also a mould-ripened soft cheese, and the NHS names both. The same goes for soft goat cheese with a white rind: see our goat cheese page. Only serve them cooked until steaming hot, then cooled.

If your baby refuses brie

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: melted into pasta, stirred through mashed potato, or baked and spread on soft vegetables.
Try a milder cheese first, like ricotta or mild cheddar, then come back to brie.
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 brie

Keep brie 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 brie 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 all the way through, 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 brie?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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Sources

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