When can babies eat broccoli rabe?

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

Broccoli rabe

Leafy, stalky and boldly bitter. Cook it very soft and chop the leaves fine.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve broccoli rabe by age

6 months+

Soft-cooked stalks with florets, or chopped into a mash

Cook broccoli rabe until very soft, stalks included. Offer stalks with their florets on top and the leaves taken off, or chop the leaves and florets very finely and stir them into mashed potato, sweet potato or lentils on a pre-loaded spoon.

Size: A peeled stalk with its florets, about the length of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm (2½–3 in), so your baby can grip the stalk. Or the leaves and florets finely chopped and mixed into a mash.
Check before serving: Squash a stalk and a floret between your thumb and finger. Both should flatten easily. If the stalk feels firm or stringy, peel it, cook it longer or trim more off the bottom.

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 broccoli rabe

1
Rinse the broccoli rabe under running water, gently rubbing the leaves.
2
Trim off the tough bottom of the stalks, and peel any thick stalks.
3
Steam or boil for about 8 to 10 minutes, until a knife slides through the stalks with no resistance. Don't add salt to the cooking water.
4
Leave stalks with florets for 6 months (leaves taken off), or chop everything finely or into small pieces (9 months+).
5
Do the squash test, then let it cool before serving.

How much to offer

Start with one or two soft stalks, or a teaspoon or two of the chopped leaves mixed into a familiar food. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of licking, squashing and dropping is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Cooking it crisp-tender

The texture adults like is too firm for babies. The stalks and florets should squash between your fingers.

Leaving tough ends and loose leaves

The bottoms of the stalks can stay woody, and cooked leaves can be stringy and make babies gag. Trim the ends, and chop the leaves finely or mix them into a mash.

Salting the cooking water

Babies shouldn't have added salt, including in cooking water. Season the family's portion after you've taken your baby's out.

Stopping after a few refusals

Bitter vegetables often take 10 or more tries. Offering them from the start may help prevent fussy eating later.

Where US and UK guidance differ on broccoli rabe

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Keep serving broccoli rabe cooked soft. The AAP lists raw vegetables among foods to avoid under 1 year and advises keeping high-risk foods, including raw vegetables, from children until 4 years or older, depending on the child. The CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables as a choking hazard.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

Cook broccoli rabe until soft in the first year. From 12 months, the NHS snack list includes cooked or raw vegetables, such as broccoli florets. It doesn't name broccoli rabe, whose stalks and leaves are firm and stringy raw, so our suggestion is to keep serving it cooked until tender and chopped, and stay with your child.

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

Questions parents ask

Can broccoli rabe be a choking hazard for babies?

Raw or undercooked broccoli rabe is firm and stringy: the CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables as a choking hazard for young children. Cook it until the stalks and florets squash easily between your fingers, trim the tough ends, and chop the leaves finely so there are no long strands. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to broccoli rabe?

Broccoli rabe is not a common allergen.

Is broccoli rabe healthy for babies?

Cooked broccoli rabe has about 37 mg of vitamin C, 118 mg of calcium and 256 µg of vitamin K per 100 g. Babies 7–12 months need 50 mg of vitamin C a day, and vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron in plant foods, such as beans, lentils and iron-fortified cereal. It isn't a major source of iron itself (about 1.3 mg per 100 g).

Is broccoli rabe the same as rapini?

Yes. Broccoli rabe, rapini and broccoli raab are names for the same leafy vegetable, with thin stalks, small florets and lots of leaves. It's different from broccoli and broccolini, and more bitter, but you cook and check it the same way: soft enough to squash.

Is broccoli rabe too bitter for babies?

Not if you keep offering it. The NHS suggests offering vegetables that aren't sweet, like broccoli and cauliflower, from the start. Mixing chopped broccoli rabe into mashed potato, lentils or pasta can make the taste milder at first.

Can babies eat the leaves?

Yes, once they're cooked until very soft. Chop them finely or mix them into a mash at first, because cooked leaves can be stringy. From 9 months, small chopped pieces mixed into food are fine.

If your baby refuses broccoli rabe

Bitter vegetables often take 10 or more tries. Keep offering a little, alongside foods your baby already likes.
Try it chopped into mashed potato, pasta, lentils or egg instead of as a whole stalk.
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 broccoli rabe

Keep raw broccoli rabe in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C).
Cooked broccoli rabe keeps for 3 to 4 days in 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.
Cooked, chopped broccoli rabe can be frozen and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat it only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it 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:

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 broccoli rabe?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Helpful guides

Sources

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