When can babies eat pretzels?

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

Pretzels

Hard pretzels wait. A soft pretzel with the salt brushed off can be served like bread, now and then.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsHigh choking risk as servedAllergen: Wheat

How to serve pretzels by age

6 months+

Soft pretzel strips, no salt on top. No hard pretzels

Hard pretzels are a choking hazard, so skip them. A soft pretzel is a bread: choose an unsalted one if you can, or brush off every grain of coarse salt, since babies shouldn't eat salty foods. Tear off the chewy, knotted parts and cut the soft middle into strips. Keep it to a strip or two, now and then.

Size: Strips of soft pretzel about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Press a strip between your thumb and finger. It should squash easily, with no hard crust or salt crystals.

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 pretzels

1
Choose a plain soft pretzel, unsalted if you can find one, with no cheese, sweet coating or seeds on top. Check the ingredient label for honey: none before 12 months.
2
Brush off every grain of coarse salt, and tear off the chewy, knotted parts and any hard crust.
3
Cut the soft middle into finger-sized strips (6 months) or small pieces (9 months+).
4
If wheat is new for your baby, offer it another way first, such as toast strips or pasta, so you know how they react.
5
Keep hard pretzels, pretzel sticks and snack mixes out of reach.

How much to offer

A strip or two of soft pretzel, now and then, is plenty. Pretzels are salty, and the NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Offering hard pretzels

Pretzels are on the CDC's list of choking hazards for young children. Hard pretzels, sticks and pretzel crisps are difficult to chew, so keep them until at least age 4.

Leaving the salt on

In USDA data, a ready-to-eat soft pretzel has about 775 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.9 g of salt), above the NHS 'high salt' line of 1.5 g of salt per 100 g. An unsalted one has about 252 mg (about 0.6 g of salt). Choose unsalted, or brush the salt off.

Big chewy chunks

UK early years guidance warns that white bread can form a doughy ball in the throat and says to cut bread into strips for very young children. Soft pretzels are chewy, so cut small strips or pieces.

Flavored and coated pretzels

Cheese, sugar, cinnamon, yogurt or chocolate coatings add salt or sugar. US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under. Keep pretzels plain.

Where US and UK guidance differ on pretzels

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC lists pretzels as a choking hazard for young children, and the AAP says hard, round and slippery foods are a choking hazard for children under 4 years old. The AAP also advises limiting processed foods made for adults, because they often contain more salt.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says babies shouldn't eat salty foods, and lists crackers and crisps among them. UK early years guidance says children under 5 shouldn't be given foods high in salt such as crackers and crisps. Salted hard pretzels, at about 3.1 g of salt per 100 g, are well above the NHS 'high salt' line, so if you follow UK advice, keep them until after age 5.

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

Questions parents ask

Can pretzels be a choking hazard for babies?

Pretzels are on the CDC's list of choking hazards for young children, and the CDC advises avoiding hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow. Keep hard pretzels, sticks and pretzel crisps until at least age 4 (the AAP says hard foods are a choking hazard for children under 4). A soft pretzel can be cut into strips or small pieces like bread, with the crust and knots removed. Make sure your child sits down to eat, and stay with them during meals.

Can babies be allergic to pretzels?

Pretzels are made from wheat, one of the 9 major food allergens in the US, and they contain gluten. Some are topped or filled with cheese, or contain milk, egg, soy or sesame, so read the label. Introduce wheat on its own first, in a soft food such as toast strips or pasta.

Are pretzels healthy for babies?

Pretzels are mostly refined starch and can be very salty. In USDA data, salted hard pretzels have about 1,240 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 3.1 g of salt) and ready-to-eat soft pretzels about 775 mg (about 1.9 g of salt), both above the NHS 'high salt' line. Unsalted soft pretzels have about 252 mg (about 0.6 g of salt). Enriched flour adds some iron, about 3.8 mg per 100 g of soft pretzel, but a strip or two is a small amount.

When can kids eat hard pretzels?

The CDC lists pretzels as a choking hazard for young children without giving an age. The AAP says hard, round and slippery foods are a choking hazard for children under 4 years old, and advises keeping high-risk foods from children until 4 or older, depending on each child. So this page says hard pretzels from at least age 4, sitting down (after age 5 if you follow UK advice: see the note below). Salted ones are also high in salt.

Can babies eat soft pretzels?

A plain soft pretzel is a bread, so it can be served like bread from around 6 months: unsalted or with all the coarse salt brushed off, the chewy knots removed, cut into strips. Keep it occasional, because babies shouldn't eat salty foods (NHS).

Are pretzels a good teething snack?

No. Hard pretzels are a choking hazard (CDC), and babies shouldn't eat salty foods (NHS). See our teething and eating guide for safer ideas.

If your baby refuses pretzels

There's no need to keep offering pretzels. Plain toast strips do the same job with less salt.
If your toddler wants the pretzels others are eating, offer a piece of soft, unsalted pretzel or a snack they already like.
Try soft pretzel with a dip they already know, such as plain yogurt or hummus once sesame has been introduced.
Eat the same snack yourself. Toddlers 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 pretzels

Soft pretzels go stale and hard quickly. Serve them fresh, and don't give your baby a soft pretzel that has dried out and turned hard.
Store hard pretzels and snack mixes in a sealed container, up high and out of your child's reach.
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 wheat, even a mild one. Stop offering pretzels and other wheat foods until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your child keeps coughing after a choking episode, even if they seem fine. Get medical help: the NHS says part of the food might have been left behind. If they're wheezing, breathing noisily or struggling to breathe, call your emergency number now.
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 pretzels?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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