Ghee

How to serve ghee by age

6 months+

Melted into food

Stir a little ghee into warm mashed vegetables, lentils or rice, or use a small amount to cook soft vegetables. Use only a little, and let the food cool before serving.

Size

A small amount melted into a dish, or brushed thinly 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

Look for ghee melted right into the food, not pooled on top. Squash a vegetable finger between your thumb and finger: it should flatten easily.

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+

In cooking

Use a little ghee to cook scrambled egg (once egg has been introduced on its own), soft vegetables or dal, and cut the food to a size that suits your baby.

Size

Foods cooked with ghee, cut into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Squash a piece of the food between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily.

12 months+

In family meals

Share family dishes cooked with a little ghee, such as dal, rice or vegetables. Take your child's portion out before adding salt, and don't make foods heavy with ghee.

Size

Foods cooked with ghee, cut to about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

18 months+

In cooking or spread thin

Use ghee in small amounts in cooking, or spread it thinly on toast or flatbread, as you would butter. Toddlers still need fat, so there's no need to cut it out, just keep amounts small.

Size

Bite-sized foods about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.

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 ghee

1. 1

   Choose plain ghee with no added salt. Check the label.

2. 2

   Use a clean, dry spoon to take a small amount, and melt it into warm food or use it for cooking.

3. 3

   Let the food cool, and test the temperature before serving. Melted ghee stays hot. Don't add salt.

4. 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 enough to coat or flavor a baby-sized portion. Ghee is there to add flavor and energy to other foods, not to be eaten on its own. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Questions parents ask

If your baby refuses ghee

• Ghee is usually part of another food, so try a different food or texture rather than more ghee.
• 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 ghee

• Store ghee as the label says, with the lid on, and use a clean, dry spoon each time.
• Cooked dishes made with ghee keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
• Freezer times depend on the dish, so follow the food page or recipe for what you cooked. Reheat cooked dishes only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving. Cooked rice has stricter rules: cool it within 1 hour, eat it within 1 day and reheat it only once. See the rice page.
• 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).