Gorgonzola
A soft Italian blue cheese. A little, always cooked into a sauce, goes a long way.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat gorgonzola from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve gorgonzola by age
6 months+
A little, cooked and melted into food
Melt a small piece of pasteurized gorgonzola into a sauce and heat it until it's steaming hot all the way through, then stir it into mashed potato or pasta, or coat soft-cooked broccoli or cauliflower. Let it cool before serving. Dotting it on warm food is not enough. Gorgonzola is very salty, so a little is plenty.
- Size
- A very small amount melted into a dish cooked until steaming hot, or a thin coating 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
- Check the sauce was steaming hot all the way through before it cooled, with the cheese fully melted and no pieces 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+
Small pieces in a cooked sauce
Toss well-cooked pasta, gnocchi or soft vegetables in a small amount of sauce with gorgonzola melted in and heated until steaming, then cut everything into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice. Don't add salt to the sauce.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), coated in a little sauce.
- Check before serving
- Squash a piece between your thumb and finger. It should flatten with gentle pressure. Check the food has cooled.
12 months+
Cooked into family dishes
Share family dishes with a little gorgonzola cooked in, such as a creamy pasta sauce, risotto or a vegetable bake, heated until steaming hot all the way through, then cooled. Take your child's portion before adding salt, and keep the cheese to a small amount. Skip cold gorgonzola on pizza toppings added after baking, salads, dressings and dips.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.
- Check before serving
- Check the dish was steaming hot all the way through before it cooled, with no cold cheese on top, and that pieces squash easily.
18 months+
Cooked, with family meals
Offer gorgonzola the way your family eats it, as long as it's been cooked until steaming hot all the way through: melted into sauces, soups or bakes. UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have soft blue-veined cheese unless it's part of a cooked recipe, so cold gorgonzola on salads, crackers or bread waits.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.
- Check before serving
- Check there's no cold cheese on top of the food, and that it has cooled.
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 gorgonzola
- 1
Check the label: choose gorgonzola made from pasteurized milk. Cooking it is still needed, even when it's pasteurized.
- 2
Cut a small piece, about a teaspoon, and remove any hard rind so it melts evenly.
- 3
Melt it into a sauce or dish and heat it until it's steaming hot all the way through. Don't add salt.
- 4
Let it cool, and test the temperature 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 pinch of gorgonzola melted into a sauce. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Gorgonzola is one of the saltier cheeses, so keep it to a small amount as an occasional flavor, not an everyday cheese. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.
Common mistakes
Serving it uncooked
The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort, because of listeria, but it can be used in a cooked recipe because cooking kills listeria. The NHS names gorgonzola as a soft blue-veined cheese. Cook it until steaming hot all the way through. Cheese added after the heat counts as uncooked: gorgonzola dolce (the softer, creamier kind) spread on bread or crackers, or crumbles scattered on salads or on pizza after it comes out of the oven.
Using a lot
Blue cheese has about 1,150 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 2.9 g of salt). Babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g (NHS), so a pinch for flavor is enough.
Not checking it's pasteurized
Some blue cheeses are made from raw milk, and the CDC lists raw-milk blue-veined cheese as a riskier choice for children under 5. Check the label says pasteurized, and cook it as well.
Serving chunks
Firm or crumbly chunks are hard to manage, and the CDC lists large chunks of cheese as a choking hazard. Melt gorgonzola into food instead.
Where US and UK guidance differ on gorgonzola
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
The CDC lists soft cheese made from raw milk, including blue-veined cheese, as a riskier choice for children under 5, and soft cheese clearly labeled made from pasteurized milk as a safer one. The FDA lists pregnant women and their unborn or newborn babies, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems as the groups at higher risk from listeria, and doesn't name young children. So under US advice, pasteurized gorgonzola could be served uncooked. Our suggestion, for every family, is still to cook it until steaming hot until age 5 (see the UK note).
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese, such as roquefort, because there's a higher risk of listeria, but it can be used in a cooked recipe. Its pregnancy page names gorgonzola as a soft blue-veined cheese that must be thoroughly cooked, pasteurized or not. UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't have soft blue-veined cheese unless it's part of a cooked recipe, and to cook food until steaming hot. We follow the UK advice for everyone: gorgonzola only cooked until steaming hot until age 5, even if it's pasteurized.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can gorgonzola be a choking hazard for babies?
Gorgonzola melted into a sauce is soft and easy to manage. Firmer or crumbly chunks are a choking risk: the CDC lists large chunks of cheese as a choking hazard. Melt it into food, and never serve it in pieces. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to gorgonzola?
Gorgonzola is usually made from cow's milk (the label says which milk), and milk is one of the most common food allergens. Milk products like cheese and yogurt 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 gorgonzola 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 gorgonzola healthy for babies?
FoodData Central has branded gorgonzola records but no standard reference record for it, so these figures are for blue cheese: about 528 mg of calcium and 21 g of protein per 100 g. It is very salty, with about 1,150 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 2.9 g of salt), and brands vary, so compare labels. 5 g of blue cheese has about 0.14 g of salt. It is not a source of iron.
Can babies eat gorgonzola?
Yes, from around 6 months, but only melted into a dish cooked until steaming hot all the way through, then cooled. The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't eat soft blue-veined cheese uncooked, and it names gorgonzola as one. Choose pasteurized gorgonzola and use only a little, because it's very salty.
Is pasteurized gorgonzola safe uncooked for toddlers?
Not before age 5, in our advice. The NHS says babies and young children shouldn't have soft blue-veined cheese unless it's part of a cooked recipe, and UK early years guidance puts that age at under 5. The NHS pregnancy page also says soft blue cheese, including gorgonzola, must be thoroughly cooked whether it's pasteurized or not. US advice is less strict: see the US vs. UK note below.
Is gorgonzola too salty for babies?
It's one of the saltier cheeses. The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and 1 to 3 year olds no more than 2 g. A pinch melted into a sauce fits, but don't add salt to the rest of the meal, and choose lower-salt cheeses for everyday use.
Can toddlers have gorgonzola sauce?
Yes, if the sauce was heated until steaming hot all the way through after the cheese went in, then cooled, and the cheese is pasteurized. Keep the cheese to a small amount because of the salt, and skip any extra crumbled on top at the table.
If your baby refuses gorgonzola
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Gorgonzola has a strong taste. Try a tiny amount melted into a milder sauce, or come back to it later.
- Try a milder cheese first, like ricotta or mild cheddar.
- 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 gorgonzola
- Keep gorgonzola in the fridge, at 40°F (4°C) or below, wrapped well, and use it by the date on the pack. Once opened, follow the label's advice on how many days it keeps.
- Cooked dishes with gorgonzola keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Pasta bakes and sauces with gorgonzola can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot all the way through, 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.
- Your child is unwell, for example with a fever, vomiting or diarrhea, after eating gorgonzola that wasn't cooked until steaming hot or may not have been pasteurized. Call your pediatrician and tell them about the cheese. If they have a stiff neck, seem confused, have a seizure, or are floppy 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.
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Helpful guides
Sources
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy
- UK Department for Education: Food safety in early years settings
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Salt in your diet
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
- CDC: Safer food choices for children under 5
- CDC: Choking hazards
- FDA: Listeria (listeriosis)
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, blue
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- FoodSafety.gov: Cold food storage chart
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