When can babies eat curry?

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

Curry

Gently spiced and simmered soft, a family curry is a lovely way to share new flavors with your baby.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedAllergens: Milk, Tree nuts

How to serve curry by age

6 months+

Mashed curry on a spoon, or soft strips

Make a mild curry with meat, fish, lentils or vegetables simmered until very tender, using ground spices such as turmeric, cumin or coriander and no salt. Take your baby's portion out before chili, salt or curry paste goes in. Mash it with finely shredded meat or flaked fish, on its own or stirred into very soft mashed rice, and serve it on a pre-loaded spoon. Or offer soft meat strips that fall apart, with the sauce as a dip.

Size: A thick, lumpy mash on a pre-loaded spoon, or soft strips of meat 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 little between your thumb and finger. It should smear flat, with no firm chunks of meat, no fish bones and no whole spices.

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 curry

1
Wash your hands before and after handling raw meat or fish, and rinse vegetables under running water.
2
Gently cook onion, garlic and mild ground spices in a little oil, then simmer meat, fish, lentils or vegetables in no-salt-added tomatoes or water until very tender. Don't add salt, stock cubes, curry paste or fish sauce to your baby's portion. Cook chicken or turkey to 165°F (74°C), ground beef, lamb or pork to 160°F (71°C), diced beef, lamb or pork to at least 145°F (63°C) and then on until very tender, and fish to 145°F (63°C) or until it flakes easily, checked with a food thermometer (USDA FSIS).
3
Stir in canned coconut milk, plain yogurt or ground nuts only if your baby has already had them on their own.
4
Take your baby's portion out, then add salt, chili or curry paste to the rest. Mash or chop your baby's portion and let it cool before serving.
5
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

Start with a teaspoon or two of mashed curry, or a strip or two of soft meat. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of smearing and spilling is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Making your baby's portion spicy

The NHS beef curry recipe for babies aged 7 to 9 months uses mild curry powder and only ¼ teaspoon (or a pinch) of mild chilli powder for four baby portions. Our suggestion is to keep any more chili, and hot curry pastes, for the adults: add them after your baby's portion is out.

Using jarred sauces, pastes, stock cubes or fish sauce

The NHS says not to use stock cubes or gravy in babies' food, and ready meals and takeaways are on its list of salty foods to avoid. Fish sauce has about 7,850 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 20 g of salt). Check jarred curry sauces and pastes: more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g counts as high (NHS). Build the flavor from ground spices instead.

Leaving whole spices and leaves in

Cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, curry leaves and lemongrass are hard or tough, and the CDC says to avoid small, hard foods that are difficult to chew. Whole mustard or cumin seeds count too: the NHS says to serve seeds finely ground. Lift them out, or use ground spices.

Nut garnishes

Whole nuts shouldn't be given to children under 5 (NHS), and the CDC lists whole or chopped nuts as a choking hazard. Nuts finely ground into the sauce are fine once your baby has had that nut on its own.

Where US and UK guidance differ on curry

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The AAP says fresh baby food should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning, and no AAP page gives an age for spices or garlic. If you'd rather follow that closely, keep your baby's curry plain until 12 months, or ask your pediatrician. Coconut is no longer one of the major food allergens on US labels (FDA, 2025), but it must still appear in the ingredient list.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lamb curry recipe for babies aged 7 to 9 months uses garlic, ground cumin and ground coriander, and its beef curry with rice uses turmeric, mild curry powder and ¼ teaspoon (or a pinch) of mild chilli powder. The NHS says not to add salt or stock cubes. We suggest keeping any more chili for the adults.

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

Questions parents ask

Can curry be a choking hazard for babies?

Curry is a medium choking risk. The CDC lists tough or large chunks of meat, bones in meat or fish, and whole or chopped nuts as choking hazards for young children, and whole spices and leaves are hard or tough. Simmer meat until it falls apart, check fish for bones, lift out whole spices and leaves, keep nuts finely ground, and mash or chop to your baby's stage. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to curry?

Many curries contain milk (ghee, butter, cream, yogurt or paneer) and some use ground tree nuts such as cashews or almonds in the sauce. Others add peanuts, fish sauce (fish) or shrimp paste (shellfish), especially Thai curry pastes, and naan contains wheat. Coconut is no longer on the FDA's list of tree nuts (2025), and the ACAAI says most people with a tree nut allergy can eat coconut: if your child has a tree nut allergy, ask your allergist first. The NHS also lists mustard (in mustard seeds) and celery. Introduce each allergen on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts, and check labels on pastes and sauces.

Is curry healthy for babies?

Curry nutrition depends on what's in it. FoodData Central's chicken curry has about 6.5 g of protein and 0.7 mg of iron per 100 g, and its lentil curry about 1.4 mg of iron; both recipes include salt (about 376 and 383 mg of sodium per 100 g, about 0.9 g of salt). Canned coconut milk has about 18.9 g of saturated fat per 100 g, so use a little as a flavor.

Can babies eat curry?

Yes, a mild homemade curry from around 6 months. The NHS has curry recipes for babies from 7 to 9 months. Make your baby's portion without salt, stock cubes or curry paste, keep chili to a pinch or leave it out, and mash or chop it to their stage.

Can babies have coconut milk curry?

Yes, a small amount of unsweetened canned coconut milk stirred into the curry. Offer coconut on its own first. If your child has a tree nut allergy, ask your allergist before offering coconut.

Is korma OK for babies?

A homemade mild korma can be, once your baby has had milk and the nuts in it, such as cashews or almonds, each on their own. The nuts must be finely ground into the sauce, never whole. Takeaway kormas are usually salty, so keep them occasional for toddlers.

Which spices are OK for babies?

Mild ground spices such as turmeric, cumin, coriander and garlic are common in baby curries in the UK, and US and UK advice differs a little: see the note below. Keep chili for the adults, and lift out whole spices.

If your baby refuses curry

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: smoother or lumpier, mixed into rice, or with a soft flatbread for scooping.
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 curry

Cooked curry keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Curry mixed with rice is the exception: cool it within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat it only once.
Curry can be frozen for 2 to 3 months, like other stews (USDA FSIS); coconut milk can separate after thawing, so stir it well. Freeze rice separately, within 1 hour of cooking, and eat it within 24 hours of thawing.
Reheat only once, to a rolling boil or 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 has had any reaction to milk, tree nuts, peanut, fish, shellfish or wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering curries or sides that contain them until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your child has a tree nut allergy. Ask your allergist before offering coconut.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating curry with rice, chicken, fish or yogurt. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that these foods 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 curry?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Recipes with curry

Mild chicken curry

From 6 months · 60 min

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