When can babies eat carrot?

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

Carrot

Sweet, bright and easy to grip once it's cooked soft. Never raw for babies.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsHigh choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve carrot by age

6 months+

Soft-cooked sticks or mashed carrot

Peel the carrot, cut it lengthwise into finger-sized sticks, and steam, boil or roast until very soft. If you roast them, cover the tin with foil for the first part so they soften, test the thickest stick, and trim off crisp or dark brown ends. Or mash cooked carrot and serve it on a pre-loaded spoon. Never offer raw carrot or round coins.

Size: Sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Squash a stick between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. If you have to press hard, cook it longer.

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 carrot

1
Scrub the carrot with a clean vegetable brush under running water, then peel it.
2
Cut it lengthwise into finger-sized sticks (6 months), or chop it after cooking into small pieces (9 months+). Don't cut round coins.
3
Steam or boil for about 10 to 15 minutes, or roast covered with foil and then uncovered (about 35 to 40 minutes at 200°C / 400°F), until a knife slides through the thickest stick with no resistance.
4
Do the squash test, then let it cool before serving. Don't add salt to the cooking water.

How much to offer

Start with one or two sticks or a spoonful of mash. 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

Offering raw carrot sticks or baby carrots

Raw carrot is hard and a known choking hazard. For babies, always cook it until it squashes between your fingers.

Cutting round coins

Round slices can block a small airway. Cut carrot lengthwise into sticks, then chop it into small pieces once your baby can pick them up.

Cooking it just tender

The texture adults like is too firm for babies. Cook it longer, until it passes the squash test.

Salting the cooking water

Babies shouldn't have added salt, including in cooking water.

Where US and UK guidance differ on carrot

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Keep serving carrot cooked soft. The CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables, such as raw carrots, as a choking hazard, and the AAP advises holding back or changing raw vegetables such as carrot sticks until about 4 years, depending on the child.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

Cook carrot until soft in the first year: the NHS says to avoid raw carrot for babies. From 12 months, the NHS snack list includes cooked or raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, and it suggests raw grated carrot for children who refuse cooked carrot. If you offer it raw, grate it finely, 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 carrot be a choking hazard for babies?

Raw carrot is one of the best-known choking hazards for young children: the CDC and AAP both list it. In the first year, serve carrot only cooked until very soft, in long sticks or mashed. Never give raw carrot sticks, whole baby carrots, or round coins, raw or cooked. For toddlers, US and UK advice differs on raw carrot: see the guidance note below. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to carrot?

Carrot is not a common allergen. In older children and adults with birch pollen allergy (hay fever), raw carrot can cause an itchy mouth or throat, called pollen food allergy syndrome. It isn't usual in children under 3, and cooked carrot is usually fine. People with a latex allergy can also react to some foods, and ACAAI lists carrot among them. If your child has a latex allergy, ask your pediatrician before offering it.

Is carrot healthy for babies?

Rich in beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, and a source of fiber. It is not a major source of iron.

Can babies eat grated carrot?

Cooked grated carrot, stirred into food, is fine from 6 months. Raw grated carrot is different: the NHS says to avoid raw carrot for babies, and US and UK advice differs for toddlers. See the guidance note below.

Can babies eat baby carrots?

Only cooked until very soft and cut in half lengthwise, so they aren't round. From 9 months, chop them into pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch). Never give whole raw baby carrots to babies or toddlers.

Can carrots turn my baby's skin orange?

Eating a lot of beta-carotene, from foods like carrot and sweet potato, can turn the skin yellow-orange. It's harmless and fades when your baby eats less of these foods. The whites of the eyes stay white. If they look yellow, see your doctor: that isn't from food.

Can I use frozen carrots?

Yes, but frozen carrots are often sliced into coins. Cook them until very soft, then mash them or chop them into small pieces instead of serving whole coins.

If your baby refuses carrot

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try it mashed and mixed into foods your baby already enjoys, such as lentils, rice or potato.
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 carrot

Keep raw carrots in the fridge.
Cooked carrot 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 carrot sticks or mash can be frozen and used within 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge, use them within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, 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 child's mouth or throat often itches after eating raw carrot. This can be pollen food allergy syndrome. Ask your pediatrician about seeing an allergist.
Your baby's skin looks yellow and the whites of their eyes look yellow too. Beta-carotene colors the skin but not the whites of the eyes, so yellow eyes need a check-up.
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 carrot?

Add it to your first 100 foods.