Grilled cheese
Toasty bread and a thin layer of melted cheese, cooled and cut into soft strips.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat grilled cheese from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve grilled cheese by age
6 months+
Thin grilled cheese strips
Make a thin sandwich with plain bread and a light sprinkle of finely grated, pasteurized, lower-salt cheese. Cook it gently in a little unsalted butter or oil until the cheese melts and the bread is lightly golden, not crisp or dark. Let it cool, trim off hard crusts, and cut it into narrow strips. Offer it once your baby has had dairy and wheat each on their own.
- Size
- Narrow strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
- Check before serving
- Bend a strip: the bread should be soft or lightly toasted, not hard or crunchy. Touch the middle: the cheese should be melted but only just warm, with no long strings.
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 soft pieces or narrow strips
Cut the sandwich into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice, or keep serving narrow strips. Keep the cheese layer thin, and try adding a smear of mashed avocado or finely chopped soft-cooked spinach inside.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Each piece should squash easily, with no crisp crust and no long strings of cheese.
12 months+
Strips or small squares
Serve grilled cheese cut into strips or small squares, with soft vegetables or fruit on the side. Keep the cheese thin: bread and cheese both contain salt, so a grilled cheese is an occasional meal rather than an everyday one. Processed cheese slices melt easily but are saltier.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check the middle has cooled to just warm, and trim very crisp or dark crusts.
18 months+
Family grilled cheese, cut up
Share the family's grilled cheese cut into strips or squares rather than a whole sandwich, and let it cool first. Choose bread without whole seeds or nut pieces. Café and diner grilled cheese is usually thicker and saltier, so offer part of one.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check the cheese has cooled, and look for seeds, crisp crusts and long cheese strings.
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 grilled cheese
- 1
Choose a plain bread with no whole seeds, nut pieces or whole grain kernels, and compare labels for a lower-salt one. Before 12 months, skip breads made with honey (not safe under 12 months, because of infant botulism). Check the cheese label says it's made from pasteurized milk, then grate it finely.
- 2
Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese on one slice of bread, top with the second slice, and brush the outside with a little unsalted butter or oil.
- 3
Cook in a pan over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, just until the cheese melts and the bread is lightly golden. Take it off before it turns crisp or dark.
- 4
Let it cool for a few minutes: melted cheese holds heat. Check the middle is only just warm, then cut it into strips or pieces for your baby's stage.
- 5
Offer it only once your baby has had dairy and wheat each 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
Start with one or two narrow strips. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. A whole cheddar grilled cheese (about 116 g) has about 630 mg of sodium (about 1.6 g of salt), more than the NHS limit of less than 1 g of salt a day for babies under 1, so a few strips of a thin homemade one is plenty.
Common mistakes
Serving it straight from the pan
Melted cheese holds heat and can burn a baby's mouth. The NHS says to make sure cooked food has cooled right down before you offer it. Let it rest, cut it open and check the middle.
Using soft white bread in thick pieces
The NHS says white bread can form a dough-like ball in the throat if it isn't chewed properly, and suggests lightly toasting it or using brown bread, cut into narrow strips. A lightly golden grilled cheese cut into narrow strips does both.
Cooking it crisp and dark
Hard, crunchy crusts are difficult for babies to manage, and the CDC advises avoiding hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Cook it gently until just golden, and trim hard crusts.
Piling on salty cheese
A cheddar grilled cheese has about 541 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.4 g of salt), close to the NHS high-salt line of 1.5 g per 100 g. Made with processed American cheese, it has about 822 mg (about 2.1 g of salt), above it. Use a thin layer of a lower-salt cheese, as the NHS suggests: compare labels.
Where US and UK guidance differ on grilled cheese
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
The CDC lists hard cheese such as cheddar and Swiss, processed cheese such as American cheese, and soft cheese clearly labeled as made from pasteurized milk as safer choices for children under 5. Soft cheese made from raw milk is a riskier choice. Use cheese labeled as made from pasteurized milk.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS says babies can eat pasteurised full-fat cheese from 6 months, including mild cheddar, and to choose lower-salt options. It says unpasteurised cheese can be used in a cooked recipe because cooking kills listeria, but a grilled cheese is only warmed until the cheese melts, so stick to pasteurised cheese.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can grilled cheese be a choking hazard for babies?
Grilled cheese is a medium choking risk. Soft bread can form a doughy ball, crusts can be hard and crunchy, and melted cheese can stretch into long strings. The NHS says to cut bread into narrow strips and grate cheese or cut it into short, narrow strips, and the CDC lists breads with seeds, nut pieces or whole grain kernels as choking hazards. Keep the cheese layer thin, cook the bread just golden, trim hard crusts, and cut it into narrow strips or small pieces. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to grilled cheese?
Grilled cheese contains two common allergens: wheat (with gluten) in the bread and milk in the cheese and butter. Some breads also contain egg, soy, sesame or milk, so check the label. Introduce dairy and wheat on their own first, one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot any reaction. Allergic reactions usually start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but with cows' milk allergy symptoms can take up to 3 days to appear.
Is grilled cheese healthy for babies?
A cheddar grilled cheese on white bread has about 13 g of protein, 367 mg of calcium and 1.8 mg of iron per 100 g. It is high in fat (about 23 g per 100 g) and salty, with about 541 mg of sodium (about 1.4 g of salt) per 100 g. Made with American cheese, it has about 822 mg of sodium (about 2.1 g of salt) per 100 g, above the NHS high-salt line of 1.5 g of salt per 100 g.
Can babies eat grilled cheese?
Yes, from around 6 months, once your baby has had dairy and wheat on their own without a reaction. Use a thin layer of pasteurized, lower-salt cheese, cook the bread just golden, let it cool until only just warm, and cut it into narrow strips.
What cheese is best for a baby's grilled cheese?
A pasteurized hard cheese such as mild cheddar or Swiss, grated finely and used sparingly. The NHS suggests choosing lower-salt cheese, and salt varies a lot between cheeses, so compare labels. Processed American cheese melts easily but is saltier.
How hot is too hot?
If the middle feels hot to your finger, it's too hot for your baby. Melted cheese stays hot longer than the bread around it. Cut the sandwich open, let it cool for a few minutes, and touch the cheese before serving: it should be only just warm.
If your baby refuses grilled cheese
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try a different bread or cheese, or cut it into squares instead of strips.
- Add a thin layer of something your baby already likes inside, such as mashed avocado.
- 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 grilled cheese
- Grilled cheese is best made fresh, while the bread is soft and the cheese is melted.
- Leftovers keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Reheat only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it cool until only just warm and check the crust is still soft 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 or wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering grilled cheese until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- Your baby vomits a few hours after eating a food made with milk, such as grilled cheese. 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.
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Helpful guides
Sources
- NHS: Preparing food safely for babies
- CDC: Choking hazards
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Salt in your diet
- NHS: Food labels
- CDC: Safer food choices for children under 5
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FoodData Central: Grilled cheese sandwich, cheddar cheese, on white bread
- USDA FoodData Central: Grilled cheese sandwich, American cheese, on white bread
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
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