French toast

Q: When can babies eat french toast?

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

Bread, egg and milk in one soft strip. Cooked through and topped with fruit, not syrup.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat french toast 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: Wheat, Egg, Milk

How to serve french toast by age

6 months+

Soft French toast strips

Dip plain bread in beaten egg and milk with no sugar or salt, cook it until set all the way through with no wet egg in the middle, and cut it into strips. Trim crusts if they're hard. Offer French toast once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain full-fat yogurt) and wheat on their own. No honey or syrup on top.

Size: Strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Press the middle of a strip: no wet egg should seep out. It should squash easily between your thumb and finger and not turn into a sticky, doughy ball.

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 french toast

1
Choose a plain loaf with no whole seeds, nut pieces or whole grain kernels. Brown bread works well; if you use white bread, toast it lightly first so it doesn't turn doughy. Before 12 months, skip breads made with honey.
2
Whisk 1 egg with a splash of milk (see the US vs. UK note on milk under 12 months). Don't add sugar, honey, syrup or salt. Dip the bread for a few seconds on each side, until soaked but not falling apart. Wash your hands and work surfaces after contact with raw egg.
3
Cook in a lightly oiled pan over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden and set all the way through. Egg dishes should reach 160°F (71°C). Our French toast strips recipe has the full method.
4
Let it cool, then cut it into strips or pieces for your baby's stage.
5
Offer French toast only once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain yogurt) and wheat on their own. 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 first taste, offer one or two strips. 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 egg, milk and wheat are in your baby's diet, keep offering them regularly.

Common mistakes

Making French toast the first taste of egg, milk or wheat

French toast contains three common allergens. Offer each on its own first, one at a time, so you know what caused any reaction: for egg, well-cooked omelet strips work well.

Leaving the middle wet

Soaked bread can stay eggy in the middle. Cook it on medium-low heat until it's set all the way through: press the middle, and no wet egg should seep out. Egg dishes should reach 160°F (71°C).

Adding syrup, honey or sugar

No honey before 12 months, because of the risk of infant botulism. Maple syrup isn't honey, so the botulism warning isn't about it, but it's still an added sugar. US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar, including honey and syrup, for children aged 4 and under. Top it with mashed fruit instead.

Using soft white bread

If it isn't chewed well, soft white bread can form a dough-like ball in the throat. Use brown bread, or toast white bread lightly before dipping it, and cut it into narrow strips.

Where US and UK guidance differ on french toast

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Cook French toast until no wet egg is left: USDA FSIS says dishes containing eggs should reach 160°F (71°C), and the CDC lists foods with undercooked egg as a riskier choice for children under 5. The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months. If you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula instead.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says hens' eggs with the British Lion stamp (a red lion) can be eaten lightly cooked; other eggs should be cooked until the white and yolk are solid. For babies, we suggest cooking French toast until set all the way through, so it holds together as a soft strip. The NHS says cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months, but shouldn't be given as a main drink until 1 year.

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

Questions parents ask

Can french toast be a choking hazard for babies?

French toast is a medium choking risk. Soft white bread can clump into a doughy ball, and crisp crusts and edges can be hard. The NHS suggests lightly toasting white bread or using brown bread, and cutting breads into narrow strips. Trim hard crusts, squash any berries flat or quarter them lengthwise, and stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to french toast?

French toast usually contains three common allergens: wheat (with gluten) in the bread, egg and cows' milk. Foods that can trigger allergy can be introduced from around 6 months. Introduce each one on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot a reaction. Most reactions start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but cows' milk allergy can take up to 3 days to show. Some breads contain other allergens, such as soy or sesame, so check the label and offer any new one on its own first.

Is french toast healthy for babies?

French toast made from a standard recipe provides carbohydrate, some protein (about 7.7 g per 100 g) and a little iron (about 1.7 mg per 100 g). It also has about 479 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.2 g of salt), mostly from the bread, so choose a lower-salt loaf and don't add salt.

When can babies eat French toast?

From around 6 months, once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain yogurt) and wheat on their own without a reaction. Cook it until no wet egg is left, skip sugar and syrup, and cut it into finger-sized strips.

Is French toast a good way to introduce egg?

Not as the very first taste. French toast also contains milk and wheat, so if your baby reacted, you wouldn't know which food caused it. Introduce egg on its own first, for example as well-cooked omelet strips.

Can babies have maple syrup on French toast?

It's best not to. Syrup is an added sugar, and the US Dietary Guidelines and the NHS both say to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. Honey isn't safe at all before 12 months. Try mashed fruit or plain yogurt instead.

Can I freeze French toast?

Yes. Freeze cooked strips in a single layer, then bag them, for 2 to 3 months. Reheat only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let them cool before serving.

If your baby refuses french toast

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another shape: strips, small pieces or little squares.
Add a dip your baby already likes, such as mashed banana or plain yogurt.
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 french toast

Cook the egg mixture right away, or keep it in the fridge and use it within 24 hours: it contains raw egg.
Cooked French toast keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
It can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. Reheat 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 has had any reaction to egg, milk or wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering French toast until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating a food made with milk, such as French toast. 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 french toast?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Recipes with french toast

French toast strips

From 6 months · 15 min

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