When can babies eat quiche?

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

Quiche

A soft, set egg filling cut into strips. Crustless mini quiches are an easy start.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedAllergens: Egg, Milk, Wheat

How to serve quiche by age

6 months+

Crustless quiche strips

Make a crustless quiche at home: egg whisked with a splash of milk, poured over finely chopped soft-cooked vegetables, with no salt. Bake until the egg is set all the way through, let it cool, then cut it into finger-length strips. Offer it once your baby has had egg and dairy on their own. If you add cheese, use a little grated pasteurized cheese once dairy has been introduced. Skip ham and bacon.

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: Cut into the middle: no wet or runny egg. A strip should squash easily between your thumb and finger, and any vegetable in it should squash too.

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 quiche

1
Rinse vegetables under running water, cook them until very soft and chop them finely. Wash your hands, utensils and work surfaces with hot, soapy water after contact with raw egg.
2
Whisk eggs with a splash of milk (breast milk, formula or cows' milk in cooking: see the guidance note below). Don't add salt. For the first tries, leave out cheese, ham and bacon.
3
Pour the egg over the vegetables in a greased muffin tin or dish and bake until puffed and set all the way through. Egg dishes should reach 160°F (71°C), or 165°F (74°C) if they contain meat or poultry.
4
Let it cool, then cut it into strips or pieces for your baby's stage.
5
Offer quiche only once your baby has had egg and dairy, and wheat if there's pastry, each 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. Family and shop-bought quiche is salty: a typical slice (about 192 g) of cheese quiche has about 690 mg of sodium (about 1.7 g of salt), and the NHS says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day. Make your baby's own, or keep shop-bought quiche to a small piece now and then from 12 months.

Common mistakes

Leaving the middle wet

USDA FSIS says the center of egg dishes such as quiche should reach 160°F (71°C), and the CDC says 165°F (74°C) if the quiche contains meat or poultry. Bake until the middle is set, with no wet or runny egg.

Giving babies the pastry

Shortcrust pastry is buttery and salty: FoodData Central lists about 467 mg of sodium (about 1.2 g of salt) and 29 g of fat per 100 g of baked pie crust. Crisp edges are also hard to manage. Go crustless for babies, or give the filling only.

Adding ham or bacon before 12 months

The NHS says babies shouldn't eat salty foods, naming bacon, and the CDC lists processed meats such as ham among foods high in salt for young children. Keep your baby's quiche to vegetables, and from 12 months use only a little, chopped small.

Serving shop-bought quiche cold

USDA FSIS says egg dishes such as quiche can be refrigerated for serving later but should be thoroughly reheated to 165°F (74°C) before serving. Heat chilled quiche until steaming hot, then let it cool.

Where US and UK guidance differ on quiche

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

USDA FSIS says the center of egg dishes such as quiche should reach 160°F (71°C), and the CDC says 165°F (74°C) for egg dishes that contain meat or poultry. 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 quiche 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. It says hens' eggs without the British Lion mark should be cooked until the white and yolk are solid, and that unpasteurised cheese can be used in a cooked recipe because cooking kills listeria. For babies, we suggest pasteurized cheese and a quiche set all the way through.

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

Questions parents ask

Can quiche be a choking hazard for babies?

Quiche is a medium choking risk. The set egg filling is soft, but crisp or flaky pastry edges are hard to manage, and fillings like ham, bacon or firm vegetables can be chewy or hard. The CDC advises avoiding small, sticky or hard foods that are difficult to chew and swallow, and lists tough chunks of meat as a choking hazard. Go crustless for babies, cook vegetables soft and chop them finely, chop any meat small, and trim crisp crust. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to quiche?

Quiche usually contains three common allergens: egg, milk (in the cream, milk, cheese and butter) and wheat (with gluten) in the pastry. Crustless quiche has no wheat. 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 any reaction. Most reactions start within a few minutes to 2 hours, but cows' milk allergy can take up to 3 days to show. Check the label on shop-bought quiche for other allergens, and offer any new one on its own first.

Is quiche healthy for babies?

A cheese quiche has about 12 g of protein and 267 mg of calcium per 100 g, with about 1 mg of iron. It is also high in fat (about 29 g per 100 g) and has about 361 mg of sodium (about 0.9 g of salt) per 100 g. Quiche with meat, such as ham or bacon, has about 570 mg of sodium (about 1.4 g of salt) per 100 g. Both are under the NHS high-salt line of 1.5 g of salt per 100 g, but the meat version is close to it, and a slice is a big portion.

Can babies eat quiche?

Yes, from around 6 months, once your baby has had egg and dairy on their own. A crustless quiche baked until set, with soft vegetables and no salt, cut into strips, is the easiest way. Keep pastry, ham and bacon for later.

Can toddlers eat quiche Lorraine?

Now and then, from 12 months, as a small piece. Quiche Lorraine has bacon and cheese, so it's salty: the NHS lists bacon among salty foods, and says children aged 1 to 3 should have no more than 2 g of salt a day. Trim the hard crust and cut it into small pieces.

Can I freeze quiche?

Yes. USDA FSIS says baked quiche keeps for 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge, reheat only once, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let it cool before serving.

If your baby refuses quiche

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: thin strips, small pieces, or a mini quiche baked in a muffin tin.
Add a vegetable your baby already likes to the filling.
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 quiche

Cook egg mixtures right away, or refrigerate and bake within 24 hours.
Baked quiche keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
Baked quiche can be frozen for 1 to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge and eat it within 24 hours of thawing. Reheat only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it 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 quiche until you've talked to your pediatrician.
Your baby vomits a few hours after eating a food made with milk, such as quiche. 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 quiche?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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