Cream cheese
Soft, mild and easy to spread. A simple way to bring dairy to the table.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat cream cheese from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve cream cheese by age
6 months+
Stirred into mashed food, or thinly spread on toast strips
Stir a teaspoon of plain, full-fat cream cheese into mashed vegetables or fruit, or, once your baby has had wheat, spread a thin layer on lightly toasted bread strips. Check the bread label for honey, which isn't safe before 12 months. Don't offer it in thick spoonfuls: sticky, thick spreads are harder for babies to manage.
- Size
- A teaspoon stirred into mashed food, or toast strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), with a thin spread.
- Check before serving
- Squash a strip between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily, and the cream cheese should be a thin layer, about as thick as a scrape of butter.
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.
9 months+
Small pieces with a thin spread
Cut thinly spread toast or soft pancakes into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice, or melt cream cheese into a smooth pasta sauce, thinned with a little breast milk, formula or water.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Squash a piece between your thumb and finger. It should flatten with gentle pressure.
12 months+
Spread, in sauces or dips
Spread thinly on toast, soft tortillas or pancakes, or mix with plain yogurt as a dip for soft-cooked vegetable sticks. Choose plain cream cheese over flavored or sweetened kinds.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
18 months+
With family meals
Offer it the way your family eats it: spread thinly on soft bread, stirred into pasta sauces, or rolled up in a soft tortilla and cut into pieces. Keep the layer thin.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.
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 cream cheese
- 1
Check the label: choose plain, full-fat cream cheese made from pasteurized milk, with no added sugar.
- 2
If your baby already eats wheat, lightly toast a slice of bread, so it stays soft, and cut it into finger-length strips. If not, use a mashed vegetable or fruit your baby already eats.
- 3
Spread a thin layer of cream cheese over each strip, or stir a teaspoon into the mash. Don't add salt.
- 4
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: one thinly spread strip or a teaspoon stirred into food. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Cream cheese contains some salt, so keep it to a thin spread as part of a meal.
Common mistakes
Offering thick spoonfuls
Thick, sticky spreads are harder for babies to swallow. Spread it thinly, or stir it into other foods.
Choosing flavored or sweetened cream cheese
Dessert-style and flavored cream cheeses can have added sugar, which babies and young children don't need. Pick plain.
Choosing light or fat-free versions
The NHS advises full-fat dairy for babies and children under 2. Plain full-fat cream cheese is the better pick.
Introducing dairy and another allergen on the same day
Offer milk products on their own first, so you know what caused any reaction.
Where US and UK guidance differ on cream cheese
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
The CDC lists cream cheese among safer cheese choices for children under 5. Choose cheese made from pasteurized milk: the CDC advises against unpasteurized (raw milk) dairy for young children.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS says babies can have pasteurised full-fat cheese, including cream cheese, from 6 months. It advises avoiding unpasteurised cheese because of listeria. If it goes into a cooked dish, cook it until steaming hot all the way through.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can cream cheese be a choking hazard for babies?
Plain cream cheese is a low choking risk. Thick spoonfuls can be sticky and hard to manage, so spread it thinly or mix it into other foods. Stay with your baby during meals.
Can babies be allergic to cream cheese?
Cream cheese 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 them 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 cream cheese 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 cream cheese healthy for babies?
Mostly fat, with some vitamin A and smaller amounts of protein and calcium. It also contains salt: about 314 mg of sodium per 100 g.
Can babies eat cream cheese?
Yes, from around 6 months, if it's plain, full-fat and made from pasteurized milk. Spread it thinly on toast strips once wheat has been introduced on its own, or stir it into mashed food.
Is cream cheese too salty for babies?
It has some salt: USDA data show about 314 mg of sodium per 100 g. The NHS suggests lower-salt cheese for babies, so keep it to a thin spread and don't add salt to the rest of the meal.
Can babies eat cream cheese frosting?
Skip it. Frosting is mostly sugar, and US and UK guidance say babies and young children don't need added sugar.
If your baby refuses cream cheese
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another form: spread on toast, stirred into mashed vegetables, or melted into a pasta sauce.
- 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 cream cheese
- Keep cream cheese sealed in the fridge and use it by the date on the pack. Once opened, follow the label's advice on how many days it keeps.
- Dishes made with cream cheese, such as pasta sauce, 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:
- 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, and don't offer dairy again until you've talked to them. 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 cream cheese?
Add it to your first 100 foods.
Cream cheese is in your 100 foods
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Last offered today. Once cream cheese is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly.
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Recipes with cream cheese
Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Safer food choices for children under 5
- CDC: Foods and drinks to avoid or limit
- CDC: Choking hazards
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, cream
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
More first foods
Free printable: The First 100 Foods checklist
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