When can babies eat cream?

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

Cream

A little cream makes a smooth, mild sauce for soft vegetables and pasta.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsLow choking risk as servedAllergen: Milk

How to serve cream by age

6 months+

Stirred into mashed food, or as a sauce on finger foods

Stir a little pasteurized cream into warm mashed potato or vegetables, or warm it gently with a soft vegetable purée to make a thin sauce for soft-cooked vegetable fingers. Use only a little. Cream goes into food: never give it as a drink or put it in a bottle or cup.

Size: A teaspoon or so stirred into mashed food, or a thin sauce on soft-cooked vegetable fingers 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 coated vegetable finger between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. Let the food cool and test the temperature before serving.

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 cream

1
Check the label: choose cream made from pasteurized milk, with no added sugar.
2
Warm a small amount into mashed food or a sauce. Don't add salt or stock cubes.
3
Let the food cool, and test the temperature before serving.
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

Use a small amount, about a teaspoon in a baby-sized portion. Cream is there to add creaminess and energy to other foods, not to be eaten or drunk on its own. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Giving it as a drink

Breast milk or formula is the main drink until 12 months, and nothing else should go in a baby's bottle. Use cream only in small amounts in food.

Using raw cream

Unpasteurized milk and cream can carry germs such as listeria, E. coli and salmonella, and children are more vulnerable to them. Check the label says pasteurized, especially at farm shops and markets.

Using a lot

Cream is high in saturated fat, and the NHS advises not giving children too many foods high in saturated fat. A little in cooking is plenty.

Choosing sweetened whipped cream

Sweetened and aerosol whipped creams have added sugar, which babies and young children don't need. Whip plain cream if you want it, from 18 months, in small amounts.

Where US and UK guidance differ on cream

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months. If you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula instead of cream in your baby's food until then. The CDC advises against raw (unpasteurized) milk and milk products for young children.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months, but shouldn't be a main drink until 1 year, and that full-fat dairy products can be given from around 6 months. Cream isn't named, so we treat it like milk in cooking: small amounts in food, never as a drink.

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

Questions parents ask

Can cream be a choking hazard for babies?

Cream is a low choking risk. Mix it into soft foods, and cut the foods it coats to a safe size for your baby's age. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to cream?

Cream is made from cow's milk, one of the most common food allergens. Milk products 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 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 healthy for babies?

Mostly fat: 100 g of heavy cream has about 36 g of fat, 23 g of it saturated, with about 2.8 g of protein and 66 mg of calcium. It is low in salt, with about 27 mg of sodium per 100 g, and is not a source of iron.

Can babies have cream?

Yes, in small amounts in food from around 6 months, if it's pasteurized. Stir a little into mashed vegetables or a sauce. See the US vs. UK note below.

Can I put cream in my baby's bottle?

No. The NHS says not to put anything in a bottle other than breast milk or infant formula, and other milks shouldn't be a main drink until 12 months.

Can babies have whipped cream?

Plain whipped cream with no added sugar is fine from around 18 months, now and then, in small amounts. Skip sweetened and aerosol whipped cream: US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4.

Is cream too fatty for babies?

Babies and young toddlers need plenty of fat: the AAP says about half of their calories. But cream is high in saturated fat, so use it in small amounts in cooking rather than as a main food.

If your baby refuses cream

Cream is usually part of another food, so try a different food or texture rather than more cream.
Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
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

Keep cream in the fridge, at 40°F (4°C) or below, 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, such as pasta sauce, keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
Soups and sauces made with cream can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. Reheat only once, to 165°F (74°C), bringing sauces to a rolling boil, 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 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. 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?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Helpful guides

Sources

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