When can babies eat chicken?

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

Chicken

A family dinner staple. Cook it tender and let them shred, gnaw and explore.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat chicken 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 chicken by age

6 months+

Tender strips, soft patties or shredded

Simmer or bake boneless, skinless thighs until very tender and 165°F (74°C), then pull into finger-length strips along the grain. Or shape ground chicken into soft finger-shaped patties, or stir finely shredded chicken into mashed potato.

Size: Strips or patties about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), or finely shredded and mixed into mash.
Check before serving: Squash a strip between your thumb and finger. It should fall apart into soft shreds. If it's springy or you have to pull hard, cook it longer or shred it.

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 chicken

1
Don't rinse raw chicken: washing spreads bacteria around your kitchen, and only cooking kills them. Wash your hands, board and knife after handling it.
2
For strips or shreds, simmer boneless, skinless thighs in water, or bake them covered, without salt or stock cubes, until very tender and 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. For patties, mix ground chicken with a little mashed potato to keep it moist, shape into fingers and cook to 165°F (74°C) in the center. Use a food thermometer: color isn't a reliable sign.
3
Let it cool, then remove any skin, bone and gristle. Pull it into finger-length strips along the grain, or shred it finely.
4
Do the squash test, and make sure it has cooled down before serving.

How much to offer

Start with a strip or two, or a spoonful of shredded chicken mixed into mash. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of sucking and chewing with little swallowed is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Serving chunks of chicken breast

Tough or large chunks of meat are a choking hazard. Use moist thighs cooked very tender, and serve finger-length strips, fine shreds or soft patties.

Washing raw chicken

Rinsing doesn't remove bacteria; it splashes them onto your sink and counters. Put it straight in the pan and cook it to 165°F (74°C).

Judging doneness by color

Cooked chicken can stay pink, and color isn't a sign of safety. Check the thickest part with a food thermometer: 165°F (74°C).

Adding salt, stock cubes or gravy

Babies shouldn't have added salt, and stock cubes and gravy are often high in salt. Cook your baby's portion plain, or take it out before seasoning.

Where US and UK guidance differ on chicken

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Cook all chicken, including ground chicken, to 165°F (74°C), checked with a food thermometer. The USDA says color isn't a sign of safety: safely cooked chicken can still look pink.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS doesn't give a temperature. It says to cook chicken all the way through, until the juices run clear and there's no pink or red meat left. Chicken cooked very tender for babies meets both.

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

Questions parents ask

Can chicken be a choking hazard for babies?

Tough or large chunks of meat and bones are choking hazards for young children. Cook chicken until very tender, remove every bone and the skin, and serve it as finger-length strips that fall apart, fine shreds or soft patties. Stay with your baby during meals.

Can babies be allergic to chicken?

Chicken is not one of the common food allergens. It is a known trigger of FPIES, a rare, delayed type of food allergy: see when to call the doctor.

Is chicken healthy for babies?

A source of protein, niacin and vitamin B6, with some iron and zinc. The iron in chicken includes heme iron, which the body absorbs more easily than iron from plant foods.

Can babies eat chicken at 6 months?

Yes. The AAP suggests including foods with iron and zinc, such as meat, among a baby's first foods, and the NHS lists boneless chicken as a finger food. Serve it very tender, in strips that fall apart, finely shredded, or as soft patties.

Can babies eat deli chicken or other processed chicken?

It's best to skip them for babies. Sliced chicken luncheon meat counts as processed meat, which is often high in salt, and babies shouldn't eat salty foods. Cook plain chicken instead.

Is chicken a good source of iron?

It gives some: about 1 mg per 100 g of cooked thigh. Its heme iron is well absorbed, and eating meat or poultry with beans, lentils or iron-fortified cereal helps the body absorb the iron in those foods too.

If your baby refuses chicken

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: shredded into mash, a soft patty, or a strip to gnaw on.
Moisten dry chicken with a little of its cooking water, breast milk or formula.
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 chicken

Keep raw chicken on the bottom shelf of the fridge in a sealed container, and cook or freeze it within 1 to 2 days.
Cooked chicken 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 chicken can be frozen for up to 4 months, and cooked chicken patties or meatballs for up to 3 months. 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:

Your baby vomits a few hours after eating chicken. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that chicken 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 chicken?

Add it to your first 100 foods.