Pancakes
Soft, homemade and easy to hold. Sweet enough with fruit, no syrup needed.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat pancakes from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve pancakes by age
6 months+
Soft pancake strips
Make plain pancakes with no sugar or salt, cook them all the way through, and cut them into strips. Offer pancakes once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain full-fat yogurt) and wheat on their own. Mashed ripe banana in the batter adds natural sweetness.
- Size
- Strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
- Check before serving
- Tear a strip open: there should be no wet batter in the middle. It should squash easily between your thumb and finger.
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 pieces or strips
Cut soft pancakes into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice, or keep serving strips. Top them with a thin layer of mashed fruit or plain, unsweetened yogurt.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Each piece should be cooked through and squash easily between your thumb and finger.
12 months+
Strips or pieces with soft toppings
Serve pancakes with plain yogurt, mashed fruit or a thin spread of smooth nut butter. Skip syrup, honey and sugar: honey is safe from 12 months, but it's an added sugar, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check the middle is cooked through, with no wet batter.
18 months+
Family pancakes, cut up
Offer the pancakes your family eats, made without sugar, cut into strips or pieces and topped with fruit instead of syrup. If you add blueberries to the batter, squash them flat or quarter them lengthwise first.
- Size
- Narrow strips, or bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).
- Check before serving
- Check the middle is cooked through and any fruit is soft and squashed.
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 pancakes
- 1
Whisk flour, egg and milk into a smooth batter. Cows' milk is fine in cooking from around 6 months. Leave out sugar and salt, and mash in a ripe banana if you'd like some sweetness.
- 2
Cook small spoonfuls in a lightly oiled pan over medium heat, flipping once, until they're set all the way through with no wet batter in the middle.
- 3
Let them cool, then cut them into strips or pieces for your baby's stage.
- 4
Offer pancakes only once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain yogurt) and wheat 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
For the first taste, offer one or two strips. If there's no reaction, offer more next time. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Once egg, milk and wheat are in your baby's diet, keep offering them regularly.
Common mistakes
Making pancakes the first taste of egg, milk or wheat
Pancakes contain three common allergens. Offer each on its own first, one at a time, so you know what caused any reaction: for milk, plain full-fat yogurt works well.
Adding syrup, honey or sugar
No honey before 12 months, because of the risk of infant botulism. After that, honey and syrup are still added sugars, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. Sweeten with mashed fruit instead.
Undercooked middles
Pancake batter contains raw egg, so don't let your child taste or lick it. Cook pancakes until they're set all the way through: egg dishes should reach 160°F (71°C).
Leaving blueberries whole
The CDC lists uncut berries as a choking hazard for young children. Squash blueberries flat, or quarter them lengthwise, before adding them to the batter.
Where US and UK guidance differ on pancakes
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 in your baby's pancake batter instead. USDA FSIS says dishes containing eggs should reach 160°F (71°C).
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS says hens' eggs with the British Lion stamp (a red lion) can be eaten lightly cooked; other hens' eggs, and duck, goose and quail eggs, should be cooked until the white and yolk are solid. For babies, we suggest cooking pancakes until set all the way through. 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 pancakes be a choking hazard for babies?
Soft, well-cooked pancakes are a low choking risk. Cut them into strips or small pieces, and squash any berries flat or quarter them lengthwise before adding them, since the CDC lists uncut berries as a choking hazard. Skip whole nuts or seeds on top. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to pancakes?
Pancakes usually contain three common allergens: wheat (with gluten) in the flour, egg and cows' milk. Foods that can trigger allergy can be introduced from around 6 months. Introduce each one on its own first, one at a time and in small amounts, so you can spot a reaction. Most reactions start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but cows' milk allergy can take up to 3 days to show. Once your baby is fine with all three, pancakes are an easy way to keep them in your baby's usual diet.
Are pancakes healthy for babies?
Plain pancakes made from a standard recipe provide carbohydrate, some protein (about 6.4 g per 100 g) and a little iron (about 1.8 mg per 100 g). They also have about 440 mg of sodium per 100 g. Baking powder is high in sodium, so leave salt out of the batter and use only as much baking powder as the recipe needs.
When can babies eat pancakes?
From around 6 months, once your baby has had egg, dairy (such as plain yogurt) and wheat on their own without a reaction. Make them without sugar or salt, cook them through, and cut them into finger-sized strips.
How can I sweeten pancakes without sugar?
Mash ripe banana into the batter, or top pancakes with mashed or soft fruit. Eating fruit is fine. It's added sugar, including honey and syrup, that US and UK advice says to avoid up to age 4.
Can babies have maple syrup on pancakes?
It's best not to. Syrup is an added sugar, and the US Dietary Guidelines and the NHS both say to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. Try mashed fruit or plain yogurt instead.
Are pancakes a good way to introduce egg?
Not as the very first taste. Pancakes also contain milk and wheat, so if your baby reacted, you wouldn't know which food caused it. Introduce egg on its own first, for example as well-cooked omelet strips.
If your baby refuses pancakes
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another shape: strips, small pieces or mini pancakes.
- Add a topping your baby already likes, such as mashed banana or plain yogurt.
- 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 pancakes
- Cook batter right away, or keep it in the fridge and cook it within 24 hours: it contains raw egg.
- Cooked pancakes keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Cooked pancakes can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. Reheat 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 baby has had any reaction to egg, milk or wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering pancakes until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- Your baby vomits a few hours after eating a food made with milk, such as pancakes. 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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Recipes with pancakes
Helpful guides
Sources
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- HHS: Fact sheet on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
- CDC: Choking hazards
- USDA FSIS: Shell eggs from farm to table
- CDC: Cow's milk and milk alternatives
- ACAAI: Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES)
- USDA FoodData Central: Pancakes, plain, prepared from recipe
- USDA FoodData Central: Baking powder, double-acting
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
More first foods
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