Edamame
Bright green and fun to squish. Cook them soft and flatten every bean.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat edamame from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve edamame by age
6 months+
Mashed edamame
Cook shelled edamame until very soft, then mash them with a fork or blend them with a little water, breast milk or formula. Serve on a pre-loaded spoon, or spread the mash on soft toast strips once wheat has been introduced on its own. Check the bread label for honey, which isn't safe before 12 months.
- Size
- Mashed or blended smooth, or spread on a toast strip about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
- Check before serving
- Look for whole or half beans in the mash and squash any you find. Nothing round or firm should be left.
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+
Flattened beans
Press each soft-cooked bean flat with your thumb or a fork before serving, so your baby can practice the pincer grasp. You can also keep serving it mashed.
- Size
- Each bean squashed flat, pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Squash a bean between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. If it springs back or stays firm, cook the beans longer.
12 months+
Flattened or mashed, or in dishes
Serve flattened edamame on the side, or mixed into fried rice, pasta or soft stir-fries. Keep flattening each bean: whole beans are a choking hazard.
- Size
- Flattened beans or pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test on every batch.
18 months+
Flattened or in family meals
Add flattened or roughly mashed edamame to salads, grain bowls, noodles or dips like a green hummus. Keep flattening the beans for toddlers and young children, and never give them edamame in the pod.
- Size
- Flattened beans, or pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) as part of a dish.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test, and check mixed dishes for whole beans.
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 edamame
- 1
Use frozen shelled edamame, or pop fresh ones out of their pods and throw the pods away.
- 2
Cook them in boiling water until very soft, often a few minutes longer than the pack says. Don't add salt.
- 3
Drain and let them cool, then mash, blend or flatten each bean.
- 4
Do the squash test 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
For the very first taste, offer a small amount: a teaspoon of mash or a thin spread on one toast strip. 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. Once soy is in their diet, keep offering it regularly.
Common mistakes
Serving whole beans
Whole beans are firm and round, and are a choking hazard for young children. Mash them for young babies and flatten each one for older babies and toddlers.
Giving edamame in the pod
Pods are tough and stringy, and beans can pop out whole into the mouth. Always shell them first and throw the pods away.
Salted or crunchy roasted edamame
Restaurant edamame are usually salted, and dry-roasted edamame snacks are hard and salty. Use plain frozen edamame cooked soft at home.
Offering it once and stopping
Once soy is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly. Use the tracker below to see when you last offered it.
Questions parents ask
Can edamame be a choking hazard for babies?
Whole edamame beans are firm and round, and whole beans are on the CDC's list of choking hazards for young children. Cook them very soft, then mash them for young babies and flatten every bean for older babies and toddlers. Never give edamame in the pod, or dry-roasted crunchy edamame. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to edamame?
Edamame are young soybeans, and soy is one of the most common food allergens in young children. Introduce soy from around 6 months, on its own and in a small amount, and watch for signs of a reaction. If your baby already eats tofu or other soy foods without a reaction, edamame is not a new allergen for them. Soy allergy usually shows up in babies and children under 3, and many children outgrow it. Once tolerated, keep soy in your baby's usual diet.
Is edamame healthy for babies?
A source of iron and magnesium: half a cup (about 80 g) of shelled, cooked edamame has about 1.8 mg of iron and about 50 mg of magnesium. Babies need about 75 mg of magnesium a day from 7 to 12 months.
Can babies eat edamame pods?
No. The pods are tough and stringy, and they aren't meant to be eaten. Shell the beans, throw the pods away, and cook the beans until soft.
Can toddlers eat whole edamame?
Keep flattening or mashing them. Whole beans are on the CDC's choking hazard list for young children, and the AAP advises keeping firm, round foods from children until about 4 years, depending on the child, unless they're cut up small.
Can I use frozen edamame?
Yes. Frozen shelled edamame are easy to keep on hand. Cook them in boiling water until very soft, then mash or flatten them.
If your baby refuses edamame
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another form: mashed on toast, flattened, or blended into a green dip or 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 edamame
- Keep frozen edamame in the freezer, and fresh edamame in the fridge.
- Cooked edamame keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Rice dishes are the exception: cool them within 1 hour, keep them in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat them only once.
- Mashed edamame can be frozen in small portions and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat it only once, to 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 vomits a few hours after eating soy. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that soy 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.
- Your baby has had any reaction to soy, even a mild one. Stop offering it until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- 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 edamame?
Add it to your first 100 foods.
Edamame is in your 100 foods
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Last offered today. Once edamame is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly.
Add a note (likes, dislikes, any reaction)
Saved in this browser only. Think it was a reaction? See signs of an allergic reaction and when to get help.
Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- AAP: Choking prevention for babies and children
- ACAAI: Soy allergy
- AAAAI/ACAAI/CSACI: Consensus on preventing food allergy through nutrition (2021)
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- USDA FoodData Central: Edamame, frozen, prepared
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- Food Standards Agency: Home food fact checker
- AAP: Is it OK to make my own baby food?
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
More first foods
Free printable: The First 100 Foods checklist
Tick off foods as your baby tries them. Print it or save it as a PDF, no sign-up needed.