When can babies eat crème fraîche?

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

Crème fraîche

Rich and mildly tangy. A spoonful in a sauce or as a dip is plenty.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat crème fraîche 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 crème fraîche by age

6 months+

A small dip, or stirred into mashed food

Put a little plain, pasteurized crème fraîche in a bowl for your baby to dip soft-cooked vegetable sticks or potato wedges into, or stir a teaspoon into warm mashed vegetables or a vegetable sauce. Keep it to a small amount: it's a dip or an ingredient, not a main food.

Size: A teaspoon or so as a dip for soft finger foods about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), or stirred into mashed food or a sauce.
Check before serving: Squash each finger food between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. Check the label for plain crème fraîche made from pasteurized milk or cream.

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 crème fraîche

1
Check the label: choose plain crème fraîche made from pasteurized milk or cream, with no added sugar.
2
Spoon a small amount into a bowl rather than dipping from the tub.
3
Serve it with soft finger foods, or stir it into warm food or a sauce and let it cool. 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: a teaspoon as a dip or stirred into food. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Crème fraîche is very high in fat, so keep it to a small spoonful as part of a meal. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Using raw-milk crème fraîche

Crème fraîche from farms or markets may not be pasteurized. The FDA says germs in raw milk can be especially dangerous to children, and not to buy milk products at farmers' markets unless you can confirm they're pasteurized. Look for the word pasteurized on the label. Choose pasteurized only.

Using a lot

Crème fraîche has about twice the fat of sour cream, most of it saturated. The NHS recommends full-fat dairy for children under 2, and advises not giving children too many foods high in saturated fat, so choose plain full-fat crème fraîche and keep it to a spoonful.

Choosing sweetened or flavored kinds

Flavored or sweetened versions can have added sugar. The NHS says to choose dairy products with no added sugar, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4. Pick plain.

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 crème fraîche

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months, and doesn't mention crème fraîche. If you follow the CDC strictly, use plain whole milk yogurt as the dip instead until 12 months: the AAP says that although whole cow's milk isn't recommended before 1, processed dairy such as whole milk yogurt can be introduced. The FDA advises against raw (unpasteurized) milk and cream for children.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says full-fat dairy products, such as pasteurised cheese and plain yoghurt or fromage frais, can be given from around 6 months, choosing products with no added sugar, and cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months. Crème fraîche isn't named, so we treat it like other plain dairy: small amounts in food, from 6 months, pasteurized only.

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

Questions parents ask

Can crème fraîche be a choking hazard for babies?

Crème fraîche is a low choking risk. Cut the foods your baby dips or the foods it coats to a safe size for their age, and stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to crème fraîche?

Crème fraîche is made from cow's milk cream, and milk is one of the most common food allergens. Milk products like yogurt and crème fraîche 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 crème fraîche 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 crème fraîche healthy for babies?

Mostly fat. In one brand's crème fraîche in FoodData Central, 100 g has about 37 g of fat, 23 g of it saturated, with about 3.3 g of protein and 87 mg of calcium; regular sour cream has about 19 g of fat. It is low in salt, with about 50 mg of sodium per 100 g in that brand. It is not a source of iron.

Can babies eat crème fraîche?

Yes, in small amounts from around 6 months, if it's plain and made from pasteurized milk or cream. Offer it as a dip or stirred into food. See the US vs. UK note below.

Crème fraîche or yogurt for babies?

Both are fine. Plain, full-fat yogurt is the better everyday choice, because crème fraîche is much higher in fat. Use crème fraîche as a small dip or in a sauce.

Crème fraîche or sour cream?

Both are fine in small amounts if they're plain and pasteurized. Crème fraîche has about twice the fat of regular sour cream, so use a little less.

Can babies eat crème fraîche every day?

A small amount is fine as part of a varied diet. Because it's high in saturated fat, keep it to a dip or a spoonful in cooking, and offer other dairy foods, like plain yogurt, too.

If your baby refuses crème fraîche

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Crème fraîche is tangy. Try stirring a little into mashed potato or sweet potato first.
Try another form: as a dip, in a pasta sauce, or stirred into soup.
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 crème fraîche

Keep crème fraîche in the fridge, at 40°F (4°C) or below, and use it by the date on the tub. Once opened, follow the label's advice on how many days it keeps.
Spoon your baby's portion into a bowl rather than dipping from the tub, and throw away what they leave.
Dishes made with crème fraîche keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Soups and sauces made with it 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 crème fraîche?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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