Red cabbage

How to serve red cabbage by age

6 months+

Cooked and finely chopped into soft foods

Steam or boil shredded red cabbage until very soft, then chop it finely or blend it. Stir it into mashed potato, sweet potato or lentils and serve on a pre-loaded spoon. It can turn the whole mash purple.

Size

Cooked, then finely chopped or blended and mixed into a mash, with no whole leaves left.

Check before serving

Squash a bit of cooked cabbage between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. Then lift a spoonful and look for whole leaves or long strands; if you see any, chop or blend it again.

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

Chop soft-cooked red cabbage into small pieces and mix it into rice, pasta, lentils or mashed potato. Cut out the hard core and thick ribs.

Size

Pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Each piece should squash flat between your thumb and finger. Check for long strands, which are harder for babies to manage.

12 months+

Chopped or in family dishes

Serve chopped, soft-cooked red cabbage in family meals: braised until tender, in soups and stews, or stirred into rice. Take your toddler's portion out before you add salt.

Size

Small soft pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch).

Check before serving

Still do the squash test: soft enough to flatten with gentle pressure.

18 months+

Soft-cooked, chopped in dishes

Keep serving red cabbage cooked until tender and chopped. Raw red cabbage, as in coleslaw, is crunchy and tough to chew: see the guidance note below. Skip pickled red cabbage, which is salty.

Size

Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or chopped into dishes.

Check before serving

Still check for long strands and firm pieces 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 red cabbage

1. 1

   Remove the outermost leaves, then rinse the cabbage under running water.

2. 2

   Cut out the hard core and thick ribs, then shred or chop the leaves.

3. 3

   Steam or boil for about 8 to 10 minutes, until very soft. Don't add salt to the cooking water.

4. 4

   Let it cool, then chop finely or blend (6 months), or chop into small pieces (9 months+). Do the squash test before serving.

How much to offer

Start with a teaspoon or so of cooked red cabbage mixed into a familiar food. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Lots of picking out and dropping is normal at first.

Common mistakes

Questions parents ask

If your baby refuses red cabbage

• Vegetables that aren't sweet often take 10 or more tries. Keep offering a little, alongside foods your baby already likes.
• Try it mashed into potato, or chopped into pasta, rice or lentils.
• Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
• Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. 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 red cabbage

• Keep raw red cabbage in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C).
• Cooked red cabbage keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Rice dishes are the exception: cool them within 1 hour, keep them in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat them only once.
• Cooked, chopped red cabbage can be frozen and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and reheat it 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).