Mashed potatoes
Soft, smooth and made for sharing. Mash it with your baby's usual milk, add a little unsalted butter once dairy is in, and skip the salt.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat mashed potatoes from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve mashed potatoes by age
6 months+
Smooth mash on a spoon or to scoop
Boil peeled potato until very soft, then mash it with a little breast milk or formula. Once your baby has had dairy on its own, you can mash it with a little cow's milk (see the US vs. UK note) and a little unsalted butter. Don't add salt. Load a spoon and hand it to your baby, or let them scoop it with their fingers.
- Size
- A pre-loaded spoon of smooth mash, or a small scoop your baby can grab with their fingers.
- Check before serving
- Squash a little between your thumb and finger. It should be smooth and soft, with no hard bits of undercooked potato.
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+
Lumpier mash
Leave some soft lumps in to help your baby practice chewing. Stir in other soft-cooked vegetables, lentils or, once your baby has had fish on its own, flaked fish.
- Size
- Mash with soft lumps no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Each lump should squash flat between your thumb and finger.
12 months+
Mash from the family pot
Serve the family's mashed potatoes, taking your toddler's portion out before salt goes in. Whole cow's milk is fine in mash now, US and UK. Check the salt on the label of ready-to-heat mash, and keep it occasional.
- Size
- Mash, with any mix-ins cut to about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check that mix-ins, such as vegetables or chopped skin, squash flat too.
18 months+
Mash, potato cakes or pie topping
Offer mash with family meals, or use leftovers as a pie topping or soft potato cakes. Go easy on gravy and cheese, which add salt, and trim off hard, crisp edges from baked toppings.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) for anything mixed in.
- Check before serving
- Still check baked toppings and potato cakes: soft enough to flatten with gentle pressure.
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 mashed potatoes
- 1
Scrub the potatoes with a clean vegetable brush under running water, then peel them. Green, damaged or sprouting parts can contain higher levels of natural toxins called glycoalkaloids (FSA), so cut them away.
- 2
Cut them into even chunks and boil in unsalted water for about 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife slides through with no resistance.
- 3
Drain well and mash with a little breast milk, formula or cow's milk (see the US vs. UK note), and a little unsalted butter if you like. For a milk-free mash, use some of the cooking water or a little olive oil. Don't add salt, stock cubes or gravy.
- 4
Take your baby's portion out before anything goes in for the adults, and let it cool: mash holds heat in the middle. Offer mash made with milk or butter once your baby has had dairy on its 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 a spoonful or two. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of licking, squashing and dropping is normal at first. Once dairy is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly.
Common mistakes
Salting the mash or cooking water
Babies shouldn't have added salt, including in cooking water, stock cubes or gravy. FoodData Central's entry for home-prepared mash with whole milk and butter includes salt in its recipe and has about 317 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 0.8 g of salt). The NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day. Make your baby's with no salt.
Using ready-made mash for babies
Ready-to-heat mashed potatoes often have salt added, and some contain other ingredients. Fresh potatoes mashed at home with no salt are simple and cheap, and if you do buy ready-made, check the label.
Making it your baby's first taste of dairy
Mash made with cow's milk or butter contains milk, a common allergen. Offer dairy on its own first, such as plain yogurt, so you'd know what caused any reaction. Until then, mash with breast milk, formula or cooking water.
Serving it hot
Mash holds heat in the middle and can burn a baby's mouth. Spread your baby's portion in a shallow bowl, stir, and check it's only just warm before serving.
Where US and UK guidance differ on mashed potatoes
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months. If you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula instead.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS says cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months, but shouldn't be given as a main drink until 1 year.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can mashed potatoes be a choking hazard for babies?
Smooth mashed potato is a low choking risk. Lumps of undercooked potato and crisp, browned edges from baked toppings are harder to manage, so cook the potato until very soft and keep any lumps soft. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to mashed potatoes?
Potato isn't a common allergen, but mashed potatoes made with cow's milk or butter contain milk, one of the most common food allergens in young children. Offer dairy on its own first, then mash made with milk or butter. Allergic reactions usually start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but with cow's milk allergy symptoms can take up to 3 days to appear. For a milk-free mash, use the cooking water or a little olive oil. Ready-made mash can contain other ingredients, so check the label.
Are mashed potatoes healthy for babies?
FoodData Central's entry for home-prepared mashed potatoes with whole milk and butter has about 1.9 g of protein, 1.5 g of fiber and 284 mg of potassium per 100 g. Its recipe includes salt, giving about 317 mg of sodium (about 0.8 g of salt); mash made for babies has no salt added. It isn't a major source of iron: about 0.3 mg per 100 g.
Can babies eat mashed potatoes at 6 months?
Yes. Boil the potato until very soft and mash it with breast milk or formula, with no salt. Cow's milk and butter can go in once your baby has had dairy on its own, though US and UK advice differs on cow's milk in food before 12 months: see the guidance note below.
Can I use cow's milk in my baby's mashed potatoes?
The NHS says cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months, but not as a main drink until 1 year. The CDC says not to give cow's milk before 12 months, so if you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula instead. From 12 months, whole milk is fine either way.
Can babies have butter in mashed potatoes?
Yes, a little unsalted butter, once your baby has had dairy on its own. Babies shouldn't have added salt, so choose unsalted butter and keep the amount small.
Can I freeze mashed potatoes?
Yes. Freeze them in small portions and use them within 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge, use them within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat them only once, until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
If your baby refuses mashed potatoes
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another texture: smoother, lumpier, or mixed with a vegetable your baby already likes.
- 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 mashed potatoes
- Cool leftover mash quickly in a shallow container. It keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Mashed potatoes can be frozen and used within 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge, use them within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
- Throw away any mash left in your baby's bowl at the end of the meal. Don't save it for later.
- 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, even a mild one. Stop offering mash made with milk or butter until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- Your baby vomits a few hours after eating mash made with milk. 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.
Offered mashed potatoes?
Add it to your first 100 foods.
Mashed potatoes is in your 100 foods
1 of 100 offered · See all
Last offered today. Once mashed potatoes is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly.
Add a note (likes, dislikes, any reaction)
Saved in this browser only. Think it was a reaction? See signs of an allergic reaction and when to get help.
Helpful guides
Sources
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Salt in your diet
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- CDC: Cow's milk and milk alternatives
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FoodData Central: Potatoes, mashed, home-prepared, whole milk and butter added
- FDA: 7 tips for cleaning fruits and vegetables
- Food Standards Agency: Home food fact checker
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- AAP: Is it OK to make my own baby food?
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
More first foods
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.