Peanuts
Ground to a fine powder and stirred in, peanuts are an easy early allergen. Never whole.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat peanuts from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve peanuts by age
6 months+
Finely ground peanuts stirred into food
Grind plain, unsalted peanuts in a blender until they're a fine powder or paste, then stir it into puréed fruit, vegetables or infant cereal. Thinned smooth peanut butter or peanut powder stirred into a purée works too: our peanut butter page shows each step.
- Size
- Stirred into a smooth food, such as a purée or porridge your baby already eats. No pieces of nut.
- Check before serving
- Rub a pinch of ground peanut between your fingers: it should feel soft and fine, with no gritty bits. Stir and look: no pieces should be visible in the food.
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+
Ground, in other foods
Keep stirring ground peanuts into porridge, mashed fruit, or plain yogurt once dairy is already in your baby's diet. Or bake them into soft pancakes cut into small pieces.
- Size
- Toast or pancake pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), made with ground peanuts or thinly spread with peanut butter. No pieces of nut.
- Check before serving
- Look and feel before serving: no crumbs or pieces of peanut should be visible.
12 months+
Ground into porridge, sauces and baking
Stir ground peanuts into oatmeal, bake them into muffins, or blend them completely smooth into a peanut sauce for noodles or vegetables. Check bread, crackers and granola bars for peanut pieces.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces of food about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), made with ground peanuts or thinly spread peanut butter.
- Check before serving
- Blended sauces should be completely smooth, with no bits of nut left.
18 months+
Still ground or smooth, never whole
Use peanuts the way your family does, as long as they're finely ground or blended smooth: in sauces, curries, porridge or baking. Keep bowls of peanuts out of reach. Whole and chopped peanuts wait until at least 4 years: see the guidance note below.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or as part of a dish.
- Check before serving
- Check mixed dishes, salads and desserts for any visible pieces of peanut before serving.
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 peanuts
- 1
Choose plain peanuts with no added salt, sugar or coating.
- 2
Blitz them in a clean, dry blender in short bursts until they're a fine powder or paste. Sieve out any bits that won't grind.
- 3
Stir about ½ teaspoon into a purée or porridge your baby has already had, so it's smooth and evenly mixed.
- 4
Offer a little on the tip of a spoon first, wait 10 minutes, then offer the rest at your baby's usual pace.
- 5
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 taste on the tip of a spoon. If there's no reaction after 10 minutes, your baby can have the rest at their own pace; they decide how much. Once peanut is in their diet, keep offering it regularly. Expert guidance for higher-risk babies suggests about 2 to 2½ teaspoons of ground peanuts, three times a week. For other babies there's no set amount, so follow your pediatrician's advice if they give one.
Common mistakes
Whole or chopped peanuts
Whole and chopped peanuts are a choking hazard. The AAP warns that peanut breathed into the lungs can also cause a severe chemical pneumonia. Grind peanuts to a fine powder, or use smooth peanut butter, thinned.
Waiting until toddlerhood
Delaying peanut doesn't prevent allergy and may make it more likely. Offer it from around 6 months, once your baby has started solids, and not before 4 months.
Salted, honey-roasted or coated peanuts
These add salt or sugar, and babies shouldn't have added salt or sugar. Grind plain, unsalted peanuts.
Offering it once and stopping
Once tolerated, peanut should stay part of your baby's usual diet. Use the tracker below to see when you last offered it.
Where US and UK guidance differ on peanuts
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
Peanut can be introduced from around 6 months. Babies with severe eczema, egg allergy, or an immediate allergic reaction to any food should see their pediatrician first; babies with mild to moderate eczema, or none, don't need testing. No peanut butter from a spoon or in lumps under 4 years, and no whole peanuts until at least 4 (AAP) or 5 (NIAID guideline).
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
Peanut can be introduced from around 6 months, crushed or ground and added to food, or as peanut butter spread onto food such as toast, never on its own (we suggest spreading it thinly). Talk to your GP or health visitor first if your baby has any eczema or food allergy, or there's a family history of allergies. No whole nuts or peanuts under 5 years.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can peanuts be a choking hazard for babies?
Whole and chopped peanuts are a choking hazard for young children. The AAP says to avoid whole peanuts until at least 4 years, and the NHS says no whole nuts under 5. Serve peanuts finely ground and stirred into food, blended completely smooth, or as smooth peanut butter thinned or spread very thinly. Never give spoonfuls or lumps of peanut butter. Stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to peanuts?
Peanut is one of the most common food allergens. Offer peanut from around 6 months, once your baby has started solids, but not before 4 months, then keep it in their diet regularly. If your baby has severe eczema, an egg allergy, or has had an immediate allergic reaction to any food, talk to your pediatrician before giving peanut: guidelines recommend a check, sometimes with allergy testing, and early introduction (often around 4 to 6 months) matters most for these babies. Don't give the first peanut at home until your doctor has told you how. Babies with mild to moderate eczema can usually start peanut at home around 6 months. For most other babies, no testing is needed.
Are peanuts healthy for babies?
A source of protein, fat, fiber, vitamin E and magnesium. 100 g of raw peanuts has about 26 g of protein. Peanuts have some iron, but not enough in the small amounts babies eat to make them a main source.
How do I grind peanuts for a baby?
Blitz plain, unsalted peanuts in a clean, dry blender in short bursts until they're a fine powder or paste, then stir it into a purée, porridge or yogurt your baby already eats. Start with about ½ teaspoon. For higher-risk babies, expert guidance gives about 2 to 2½ teaspoons of ground peanuts (about 2 g of peanut protein) as a serving, about three times a week. For other babies there's no set amount.
Are peanuts nuts?
No. Peanuts are legumes, like beans and peas, not tree nuts. But 25% to 40% of people with a peanut allergy also react to at least one tree nut, so introduce tree nuts separately, one at a time.
What if my baby has eczema?
If it's severe, your baby has an egg allergy, or your baby has had an immediate allergic reaction to any food, talk to your pediatrician before the first peanut. They may suggest allergy testing or a first taste in the office. With mild to moderate eczema, US guidelines say peanut can usually be introduced at home around 6 months. In the UK, talk to your GP or health visitor first if your baby has any eczema.
When can my child eat whole peanuts?
Not until at least 4 years in the US (the AAP says at least 4, once your child can be counted on to chew well; the NIAID guideline says not under 5) and 5 years in the UK. Until then, keep peanuts finely ground, blended smooth or as thinned peanut butter.
If your baby refuses peanuts
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another form: stirred into oatmeal or mashed banana (or yogurt, once dairy is in their diet), baked into pancakes, or as thinly spread peanut butter.
- Eat some yourself at the same meal, in a safe form for your baby. Babies copy what they see.
- If your baby keeps refusing peanut and you're relying on it as an early allergen, mention it to your pediatrician.
Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.
Buying and storing peanuts
- Store whole peanuts sealed and up high, out of your child's reach: they're a choking hazard.
- Grind small batches and keep them in a sealed container. Porridge or purée with ground peanuts stirred in keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Pancakes and muffins made with ground peanuts 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 severe eczema, an egg allergy, or has had an immediate allergic reaction to any food. See your pediatrician before the first peanut, and don't give it at home until they've told you how.
- Your baby has had any reaction to peanut, even a mild one. Stop offering it until you've talked to your pediatrician.
- Your baby has been eating peanut without problems for a week or more, then has mild allergy symptoms, such as a few hives, within 2 hours of eating it. Stop offering peanut and contact your pediatrician.
- 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 peanuts?
Add it to your first 100 foods.
Peanuts is in your 100 foods
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Last offered today. Once peanuts is in your baby's diet, keep offering it regularly.
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Saved in this browser only. Think it was a reaction? See signs of an allergic reaction and when to get help.
Helpful guides
Sources
- NIAID: Addendum guidelines for the prevention of peanut allergy (2017)
- AAAAI/ACAAI/CSACI: Consensus on preventing food allergy through nutrition (2021)
- AAP: When to introduce egg, peanut butter and other common food allergens
- AAP: Peanut allergy: what to know about the latest prevention guidelines
- AAP: Choking prevention for babies and children
- CDC: Choking hazards
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- NHS: Food allergies in babies and young children
- Department for Education: Food safety (Help for early years providers)
- ACAAI: Tree nut allergy
- USDA FoodData Central: Peanuts, all types, raw
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- FoodSafety.gov: Cold food storage chart
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
- NHS: Help your baby enjoy new foods
More first foods
Free printable: The First 100 Foods checklist
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