When can babies eat cinnamon?

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

Cinnamon

A pinch of warm, sweet-smelling spice, with no sugar needed.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsLow choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve cinnamon by age

6 months+

A pinch stirred into soft food

Stir a small pinch of ground cinnamon into warm oatmeal, mashed sweet potato or soft cooked apple, so it disappears into the food. Never give dry cinnamon on its own or from a spoon. No cinnamon sugar or sweetened mixes.

Size: A small pinch of ground cinnamon mixed all the way into soft foods, such as oatmeal, mashed banana or soft cooked apple.
Check before serving: Stir well and look through your baby's portion. There should be no dry clumps of powder.

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 cinnamon

1
Use plain ground cinnamon from the spice jar, not cinnamon sugar or sweetened spice mixes.
2
Add a small pinch while the food cooks, or stir it into warm food so it mixes in fully. If you cook with a cinnamon stick, take it out before serving.
3
Stir well, check there are no dry clumps, and let the food cool before serving. Don't add salt or sugar.

How much to offer

Start with a small pinch mixed into a food your baby already knows. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Cinnamon is a flavor, so there's no amount to aim for.

Common mistakes

Offering a spoonful of dry cinnamon

The NCCIH warns that swallowing a spoonful of dry cinnamon powder, as in the internet "cinnamon challenge", can cause serious harm. Always mix cinnamon into moist food.

Using cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon sugar, cinnamon rolls and sweetened cereals add sugar, and the NHS says to avoid sugar up to age 4. Use plain ground cinnamon instead.

Leaving the cinnamon stick in

A cinnamon stick is hard, and the CDC advises avoiding hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Take it out before you serve your baby's portion.

Giving cinnamon supplements

Cinnamon capsules and extracts aren't food. The NCCIH says many dietary supplements haven't been tested in children. Stick to a pinch in food.

Where US and UK guidance differ on cinnamon

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The AAP says fresh baby food should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning. It doesn't mention cinnamon, and no AAP page gives an age for it. If you'd rather follow that line closely, leave cinnamon out until 12 months, or ask your pediatrician.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says not to add salt or sugar, including stock cubes and gravy, to your baby's food or cooking water. Its weaning recipe for babies 7 to 9 months uses a pinch of ground cinnamon on toast fingers, and its general salt advice suggests herbs and spices to add flavor instead of salt. If you use cinnamon, keep it to a pinch, mixed in and unsweetened.

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

Questions parents ask

Can cinnamon be a choking hazard for babies?

Ground cinnamon mixed into food is a low choking risk. Never give dry powder on its own or from a spoon: the NCCIH warns that swallowing a spoonful of cinnamon powder can cause serious harm. Take cinnamon sticks out before serving, since the CDC advises avoiding hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to cinnamon?

Cinnamon is not a common allergen. The NCCIH says cinnamon used in large amounts or for a long time is sometimes linked to stomach upsets or allergic reactions, and cinnamon oil or powder on the skin can cause irritation. A pinch in food is the usual amount.

Is cinnamon healthy for babies?

A quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon weighs about 0.65 g and has about 0.05 mg of iron, a tiny amount for a baby. Cinnamon adds flavor rather than nutrients.

Can babies have cinnamon?

Yes, from around 6 months, a small pinch mixed into food. The NHS uses a pinch of ground cinnamon on toast fingers in a recipe for babies 7 to 9 months. US and UK advice is worded differently: see the guidance note below.

Is cassia cinnamon safe for babies?

Cassia is the most common cinnamon sold in North America. The NCCIH says it contains coumarin, which can affect the liver, but eating cassia cinnamon usually doesn't provide enough to cause problems, though some cassia products are high in it. Ceylon cinnamon has only traces. Keeping cinnamon to a pinch in food, and never giving supplements, keeps the amount small.

Is there lead in cinnamon?

Sometimes. The FDA says lead is often found in spices, including cinnamon, from where they're grown or processed, and can also be added on purpose to ground cinnamon. In 2023, apple cinnamon fruit purée pouches were recalled after they were found to contain harmful levels of lead and chromium, and the FDA has since listed several brands of ground cinnamon in a public health alert for elevated lead. These products keep for a long time, so check your cupboards against the FDA list and throw away any listed product. The FDA also suggests eating a variety of foods and alternating how often you offer the same food.

Can I give my baby cinnamon toast?

Yes, without sugar, once wheat has been introduced. The NHS recipe for babies 7 to 9 months uses wholemeal toast with a thin spread and a pinch of cinnamon, cut into fingers, with mashed banana on the side. Skip cinnamon sugar: the NHS says to avoid sugar up to age 4.

If your baby refuses cinnamon

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Use a smaller pinch, and mix it into a food your baby already enjoys, such as oatmeal or mashed banana.
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 cinnamon

Keep ground cinnamon in a closed jar somewhere cool and dry, out of your child's reach.
Cooked dishes with cinnamon keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Freezer times depend on the dish, so follow the food page or recipe for what you cooked. Reheat cooked dishes only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving. Cooked rice has stricter rules: cool it within 1 hour, eat it within 1 day and reheat it only once. See the rice page.
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're worried your child may have eaten ground cinnamon, or a cinnamon product, that was recalled for lead. Most people have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure, so the FDA advises talking to your healthcare provider.
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 cinnamon?

Add it to your first 100 foods.