When can babies eat jackfruit?

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

Jackfruit

Big, sweet and tropical. Ripe flesh only, seeds out, cooked soft for babies.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve jackfruit by age

6 months+

Soft-cooked strips, seeds removed, or mashed

Use the yellow flesh (pods) of ripe jackfruit. Open each pod, take out the seed and the thin skin around it, and cut the flesh into wide strips. Steam or simmer them until soft, or mash cooked jackfruit and serve it on a pre-loaded spoon. A very ripe, soft raw pod is fine only if it passes the squash test.

Size: Strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), or mashed.
Check before serving: Squash a strip between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. If it feels rubbery or stringy, cook it longer, or mash it.

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 jackfruit

1
Rinse the jackfruit under running water, gently rubbing the skin, and dry it before cutting. Or buy ready-prepared pods.
2
Cut it open and pull out the yellow pods. The sap is very sticky, so oiling your knife and hands helps.
3
Open each pod, take out the seed and the thin skin around it, and throw them away.
4
Cut strips (6 months) or small pieces (9 months+). For babies under 12 months, steam or simmer them until soft (unless the jackfruit is very ripe and passes the squash test), let them cool, and do the squash test. Don't add sugar.

How much to offer

Start with one or two soft strips, or a teaspoon or two of mash. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of squashing and dropping is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Leaving the seeds in

Jackfruit seeds are large and hard. Take every one out, with the thin skin around it. The AAP says to keep seeds from children until about 4 years or older, so don't serve jackfruit seeds, raw or cooked, to young children.

Serving firm or rubbery pieces raw

Firm raw fruit is a choking hazard for babies. Cook jackfruit until it squashes easily. Raw pods only work if they're very ripe and soft.

Choosing jackfruit canned in syrup

Syrup is added sugar, which isn't recommended for babies and young children. Choose jackfruit canned in water or juice, drain it, and cut it to the right size.

Using young jackfruit in brine without rinsing

Brine is salty, and babies shouldn't have salty foods. Under 12 months, use young jackfruit canned in water, not brine. From 12 months, rinse brined jackfruit well, cook it soft and keep it occasional.

Where US and UK guidance differ on jackfruit

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 it lists fruit chunks among foods to avoid under 1. If you follow US advice, cook jackfruit until soft or cook and mash it, and skip the raw-pod option until 12 months.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS lists slices of soft fruit as finger foods from around 6 months, and suggests cooking harder fruits. Jackfruit can be firm and stringy, so cook it unless it's very ripe and passes the squash test, and always remove the seeds.

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

Questions parents ask

Can jackfruit be a choking hazard for babies?

Jackfruit flesh can be firm, rubbery or stringy, and each pod has a large, hard seed. The CDC lists pieces of hard raw fruit and whole pieces of canned fruit as choking hazards for young children and says to avoid small, hard foods, and the NHS says to always remove hard pips and stones from fruit. Take out every seed, cook it soft for babies, cut it to the size for your baby's stage, and stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to jackfruit?

Jackfruit is not a common allergen, and allergy to it is rare. The few reported reactions, some severe, have been in people with a latex allergy or a birch pollen allergy. If your child has a latex allergy or hay fever to birch pollen, talk to your pediatrician before offering jackfruit.

Is jackfruit healthy for babies?

Ripe jackfruit gives some potassium (about 448 mg per 100 g) and vitamin C (about 14 mg per 100 g). It's low in protein (about 1.7 g per 100 g) and iron (about 0.2 mg per 100 g).

Can babies eat jackfruit seeds?

No. The seeds are large and hard, and seeds are on the CDC's choking hazard list. Take every seed out, with the thin skin around it, before serving the flesh.

Can babies eat canned jackfruit?

Yes, if it's canned in water or juice, not syrup. Drain it, cut it to the right size for your baby's stage, and cook it soft for babies under 12 months. Whole pieces of canned fruit are on the CDC's choking hazard list. Young jackfruit in brine is salty: choose it in water for babies under 12 months.

Is jackfruit a good meat substitute for babies?

Not on its own. FoodData Central lists ripe jackfruit at about 1.7 g of protein and 0.2 mg of iron per 100 g. If you use jackfruit in a vegetarian meal, add iron-rich foods the NHS suggests for babies, such as beans and lentils.

If your baby refuses jackfruit

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: mash instead of strips, or jackfruit stirred into oatmeal or yogurt.
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 jackfruit

Keep prepared jackfruit pods in a covered container in the fridge, at 40°F (4°C) or below.
Cooked jackfruit keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Once opened, move canned jackfruit into a covered container and keep it in the fridge.
Cooked jackfruit can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Reheat dishes only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, 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 child has a latex allergy, or gets an itchy mouth or hives after eating jackfruit. Ask your pediatrician about latex-fruit allergy before offering it again. If there's swelling of the lips, face or tongue, breathing trouble or repeated vomiting, call your emergency number instead (see below).
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 jackfruit?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

Helpful guides

Sources

More first foods

Acai

Apple

Applesauce

Apricot

Free printable: The First 100 Foods checklist

Tick off foods as your baby tries them. Print it or save it as a PDF, no sign-up needed.

Get the checklist More printables