Raspberries
Soft, tangy and easy to squash. A berry that melts with gentle pressure.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat raspberries from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve raspberries by age
6 months+
Squashed flat or mashed
Press each ripe raspberry flat between your thumb and finger, or mash a handful with a fork and stir into foods your baby already eats, like iron-fortified cereal or plain full-fat yogurt (once dairy has been introduced on its own).
- Size
- Each raspberry pressed flat, or mashed and served on a pre-loaded spoon.
- Check before serving
- Squash a raspberry between your thumb and finger. A ripe one falls apart with almost no pressure. If it holds its shape, mash it.
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 soft pieces
Offer flattened raspberries, or tear or cut them into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice.
- Size
- Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch): flattened berries, or berries torn or cut into small pieces.
- Check before serving
- Each piece should squash flat between your thumb and finger.
12 months+
Flattened, pieces or in dishes
Keep flattening raspberries or cutting them into pieces. Stir them into oatmeal or yogurt, or bake them into pancakes and muffins. Stay with your toddler while they eat.
- Size
- Pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch): flattened or cut berries.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test with firm or under-ripe berries.
18 months+
Pieces or in dishes
Serve raspberries cut up or flattened as a snack, mashed onto toast, or in oatmeal, yogurt and baked goods. Make sure your toddler sits down to eat, and stay with them.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or flattened berries.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test with firm or under-ripe berries, and check that no whole berries are left.
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 raspberries
- 1
Rinse the raspberries gently under running water, then pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
- 2
Pick out any moldy or mushy berries and any stems.
- 3
Squash each berry flat or mash them with a fork (6 months), or tear or cut them into small pieces once your baby can pick up small pieces.
- 4
Using frozen raspberries? Frozen berries are safest cooked until steaming hot for babies, then cooled, so cook them into a sauce (see the frozen berries question below). Fresh raspberries, washed well, are fine. Don't give them frozen: frozen berries are hard.
How much to offer
Start with a few squashed berries or a teaspoon or two of mash. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of squashing and smearing is normal at first.
Common mistakes
Serving them uncut
The CDC lists uncut berries as a choking hazard for young children. Even soft berries should be squashed flat or cut up.
Mistaking a red mouth for an allergy
Redness only where the juice touched, which fades after you wipe it off, is usually skin irritation. Spreading hives are different: talk to your pediatrician. Swelling of the face, lips or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting or floppiness is an emergency: call your emergency number right away.
Offering frozen berries for teething
Frozen raspberries are hard, and safest cooked for babies. Simmer them into a soft sauce from frozen and let it cool instead.
Only offering sweet foods
Berries are easy to love. Also offer vegetables that aren't sweet, like broccoli and spinach, from the start.
Where US and UK guidance differ on raspberries
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
The AAP advises cooking most fruit until soft before 12 months, except mashed banana, and lists fruit chunks among foods to avoid under 1. If you follow US advice, mash ripe raspberries.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS suggests soft fruit as a finger food from around 6 months, and says to cut small round fruits like berries into quarters. Use only ripe berries that pass the squash test.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can raspberries be a choking hazard for babies?
Ripe raspberries are soft, but the CDC still lists uncut berries as foods to avoid for young children. Squash each berry flat, mash it, or cut it into small pieces, and stay with your child while they eat.
Can babies be allergic to raspberries?
Raspberries are not a common allergen. Like strawberries, they can cause a red rash around the mouth, chin or hands where the juice touches the skin. This is usually a skin reaction, not an allergy: it stays where the food touched and fades once you wipe the skin. Hives that spread, swelling of the lips, face or tongue, vomiting or breathing trouble are signs of an allergic reaction. If your baby has hives, stop offering raspberries and talk to your pediatrician. For swelling of the lips, face or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting or floppiness, call your emergency number.
Are raspberries healthy for babies?
Raspberries have fiber and vitamin C: about 6.5 g of fiber and 26 mg of vitamin C per 100 g (about ¾ cup). Vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron in plant foods, such as beans, lentils and iron-fortified cereal.
Can babies eat raspberries?
Yes, from around 6 months, squashed flat or mashed. As your baby learns to pick up small pieces, offer flattened berries or small pieces.
Are raspberry seeds safe for babies?
Yes. You may see seeds or bits of berry in your baby's diaper. Undigested pieces of food in poop are normal after starting solids, as your baby's digestive system matures.
Can raspberries help with constipation?
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of fiber, and the NHS suggests plenty of them, along with enough to drink, to help prevent constipation in children. If your child is often constipated, talk to your pediatrician.
Can babies eat frozen raspberries?
Yes, cooked. Frozen berries are safest cooked until steaming hot for babies, then cooled: simmer them from frozen with a splash of water and let them bubble for at least a minute, then mash and cool. Fresh raspberries, washed well, are fine. The CDC says freezing doesn't kill the hepatitis A virus, which has caused outbreaks linked to frozen berries, and that heating to over 85°C (185°F) for 1 minute inactivates it. Don't serve them frozen: they're hard.
If your baby refuses raspberries
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Try another form: mashed into oatmeal or yogurt, or baked into pancakes.
- Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
- Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. Raspberries can taste sharp, and 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 raspberries
- Keep fresh raspberries in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C). They're delicate, so use them soon.
- Mashed raspberries keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Keep frozen raspberries in the freezer and use them by the date on the bag. For babies, cook them from frozen until steaming hot, then let them cool, rather than only thawing them.
- 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:
- A rash after raspberries spreads beyond the skin the food touched or turns into raised hives. That is not a simple skin reaction, so talk to your pediatrician or GP before offering raspberries again. If it comes with swelling of the face, lips or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting, or your baby is floppy, call your emergency number instead (see below).
- 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 raspberries
Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- NHS: Preparing food safely for babies
- NHS South West London Healthier Together: Contact reactions to foods in babies and toddlers
- AAP: When can babies start solid foods?
- NHS: Constipation in children
- USDA FoodData Central: Raspberries, raw
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin C
- FDA: 7 tips for cleaning fruits and vegetables
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- CDC Yellow Book: Hepatitis A
- NHS: Help your baby enjoy new foods
More first foods
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