Olive oil

How to serve olive oil by age

6 months+

Stirred into food or brushed on soft finger foods

Stir a little olive oil into warm mashed vegetables, potato or lentils, or brush it thinly on vegetable fingers before roasting them until soft. NHS baby recipes from 6 months use a little oil this way. Use only a little, and don't add salt.

Size

A few drops stirred into a puree or mash, or brushed thinly 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

Look for oil mixed right into the food, not pooled on the plate. Squash a vegetable finger between your thumb and finger: it should flatten easily.

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+

In cooking

Use a little olive oil to soften onions for a pasta sauce, cook scrambled egg (once egg has been introduced on its own), or roast vegetables until soft. Cut the food to a size that suits your baby.

Size

Foods cooked with olive oil, cut into pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Squash a piece of the food between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily.

12 months+

In family meals

Share family dishes cooked with a little olive oil, such as Minestrone or Roasted carrot sticks. Take your child's portion out before adding salt, and don't make foods oily.

Size

Foods cooked with olive oil, cut to about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

18 months+

In cooking or drizzled on food

Use olive oil the way your family does: in cooking, roasting, or a few drops on pasta or soft bread. Toddlers still need fat, so there's no need to cut it out, just keep amounts small.

Size

Bite-sized foods about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.

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 olive oil

1. 1

   Choose plain olive oil, with no added salt, garlic, chili or herbs.

2. 2

   Rinse vegetables under running water, then cook them until soft.

3. 3

   Stir a few drops of oil into the warm food, or brush a thin layer on vegetable fingers before roasting. Don't add salt.

4. 4

   Let the food cool, and dab off any extra oil with kitchen paper before serving, as the NHS sweet potato fingers recipe suggests.

How much to offer

Use a small amount, from a few drops up to about enough to coat a baby-sized portion. Olive oil is there to add flavor and energy to other foods, not to be eaten on its own. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Questions parents ask

If your baby refuses olive oil

• Olive oil is usually part of another food, so try a different food or texture rather than more oil.
• Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
• 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 olive oil

• Keep olive oil in a cool, dark cupboard with the lid on, and use it by the date on the bottle.
• Cooked dishes made with olive oil keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
• Freezer times depend on the dish, so follow the food page or recipe for what you cooked. Reheat cooked dishes only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving. Cooked rice has stricter rules: cool it within 1 hour, eat it within 1 day and reheat it only once. See the rice page.
• 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).