When can babies eat guacamole?

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

Guacamole

Ripe avocado, mashed for dipping. Made at home without salt, it's ready from 6 months.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat guacamole from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsLow choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve guacamole by age

6 months+

Smooth mash, no salt

Mash fully ripe avocado until smooth. Stir in a little onion cooked until very soft, and a few drops of lime if you like, as in our Baby guacamole mash recipe. Leave out salt, raw onion, chili and garlic salt. Serve it on a pre-loaded spoon your baby can hold, or with soft-cooked carrot or sweet potato sticks to dip. Once wheat has been introduced on its own, soft toast strips about the size of an adult finger, spread thinly, work too. Check the bread label for honey, which isn't safe before 12 months. No tortilla chips or crackers.

Size: Smooth on a pre-loaded spoon, or as a dip for soft-cooked vegetable sticks about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Squash a dipping stick between your thumb and finger: it should flatten easily. Check the mash for firm bits of onion.

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 guacamole

1
Wash your hands. Rinse the avocado, and the lime if you're using one, under running water before cutting, so the knife doesn't carry dirt from the skin into the flesh.
2
Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Use only avocado ripe enough to squash easily.
3
If you add onion, chop it very finely and cook it gently in a little oil or water for about 10 minutes, until very soft and see-through. Let it cool.
4
Mash everything together and add a few drops of lime if you like. Don't add salt. Serve straight away, because avocado turns brown quickly.
5
Take your baby's portion out before you add salt, raw onion, chili or garlic salt for the adults.

How much to offer

Start with a teaspoon or two of mash, or a few dips. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. At first, most of it may end up on the tray, and that's normal, because breast milk or formula is still their main food.

Common mistakes

Using shop-bought guacamole for babies

FoodData Central lists guacamole at about 344 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 0.9 g of salt), while plain avocado has about 7 mg. Babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day (NHS), so make your own without salt.

Raw onion and chili in the baby's bowl

Raw onion is crunchy and hard to chew, and Poison Control says too much hot pepper can cause nausea, vomiting, belly pain, diarrhea and a burning feeling. Cook the onion soft, and add raw onion and chili to the adults' portion only.

Serving it with tortilla chips

The CDC lists potato or corn chips as a choking hazard for young children. Use soft-cooked vegetable sticks or soft toast fingers for dipping.

Making it far ahead

Avocado turns brown quickly, so guacamole is best eaten fresh. Cover any that hasn't been served, put it in the fridge straight away and eat it the same day.

Where US and UK guidance differ on guacamole

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

For babies under 1, the AAP says that apart from mashed banana, most fruits should be cooked until soft, and that fresh baby food should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning. Its own homemade baby food ideas include avocado. If you follow US advice closely, use only fully ripe avocado that squashes easily and mash it well, leave the lime out until 12 months, or ask your pediatrician.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lists grabbable bits of avocado among first finger foods from around 6 months, and says not to add salt to your baby's food. Its lemony chicken strips, from 6 months, squeeze lemon over chicken and bake it; a few drops of lime in this mash aren't cooked. If you follow US advice, leave the lime out until 12 months.

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

Questions parents ask

Can guacamole be a choking hazard for babies?

Smooth or soft-lumpy guacamole made with ripe avocado is a low choking risk. What goes in it and with it matters more: keep pieces of raw onion and chili out of your child's portion, and skip tortilla chips and raw vegetable sticks, which the CDC lists as choking hazards. Use only fully ripe avocado that squashes easily. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to guacamole?

Guacamole is not a common allergen. Some people with a latex allergy also react to avocado (AAAAI): if your baby has a known latex allergy, ask your pediatrician before offering it. Shop-bought guacamole can contain other ingredients, so read the label.

Is guacamole healthy for babies?

Mostly avocado, so most of its energy comes from fat, with some fiber: raw avocado has about 15 g of fat and 7 g of fiber per 100 g, and almost no sodium. Shop-bought guacamole has about 344 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 0.9 g of salt). It isn't a source of iron to count on, so pair it with iron-rich foods.

Can babies have guacamole?

Yes, from around 6 months, if it's homemade: ripe avocado mashed with a little soft-cooked onion and a few drops of lime, with no salt, raw onion or chili. Shop-bought guacamole is salted, so keep it for after 12 months, in small amounts.

Can I add lime juice to my baby's guacamole?

A few drops are fine for most families. The NHS lemony chicken strips recipe, for babies from 6 months, squeezes lemon over chicken before baking it; lime stirred into guacamole isn't cooked. Squeeze it through a small strainer to catch any seeds. US advice is worded differently: see the guidance note below.

Can babies eat guacamole every day?

Homemade guacamole without salt can be a regular part of your baby's meals, as long as they also get a variety of other foods, including iron-rich ones like meat, beans, lentils and fortified cereals.

If your baby refuses guacamole

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try a different form: smoother or lumpier, spread on toast, or as a dip.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
Let them touch and hold it. Exploring food with their fingers is part of learning to eat.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing guacamole

Guacamole is best served fresh, because avocado turns brown quickly. Cover any that hasn't been served, put it in the fridge right away and eat it the same day.
Throw away any guacamole your baby has dipped into, and anything left in their bowl.
Keep shop-bought guacamole in the fridge, and follow the label for how long it keeps once opened.
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 a latex allergy. Some people with a latex allergy also react to avocado.
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 guacamole?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Recipes with guacamole

Baby guacamole mash

From 6 months · 20 min

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Sources

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