Rhubarb
Bright pink and very sour. Stalks only, cooked soft with sweet fruit.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat rhubarb from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve rhubarb by age
6 months+
Stewed and mashed, with sweet fruit
Use the stalks only: cut off every bit of leaf and throw it away. Peel any stringy outer layer from thick stalks, chop them, and simmer with a splash of water and some chopped apple or strawberries until the rhubarb collapses. Blend or mash until smooth, and stir it into a food your baby already eats, like mashed banana, cooked pear or oatmeal. Don't add sugar.
- Size
- Cooked until it falls apart, then mashed or blended and stirred into a sweeter soft food, or served on a pre-loaded spoon. No raw rhubarb.
- Check before serving
- Rub a little between your thumb and finger. It should be smooth, with no strings or firm pieces left.
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+
Stewed, lumpier
Cook rhubarb with apple or pear until it falls apart, then mash it roughly. Stir it into oatmeal, iron-fortified cereal or plain full-fat yogurt (once dairy has been introduced on its own).
- Size
- Soft stewed pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), mashed roughly into a lumpy sauce.
- Check before serving
- Squash a piece between your thumb and finger: it should flatten easily, with no strings.
12 months+
Stewed, as a topping or in dishes
Spoon stewed rhubarb and apple over oatmeal, yogurt or pancakes for the whole family. Keep sweetening it with fruit: US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4, and rhubarb crumbles, pies and jams are usually made with a lot of it. Still no raw rhubarb. Stay with your toddler while they eat.
- Size
- Soft cooked pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or smooth.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test, and check for strings.
18 months+
Stewed or baked into soft dishes
Serve stewed rhubarb with soft fruit, or bake it with apple into soft family dishes sweetened with fruit only. Raw rhubarb sticks are not for young toddlers: they're hard, stringy and very sour. Make sure your toddler sits down to eat, and stay with them.
- Size
- Bite-sized soft pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or smooth.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test and the string check, even in baked dishes.
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 rhubarb
- 1
Use the stalks only. Cut off every leaf, right down to the top of the stalk, and throw the leaves away where children can't reach them: rhubarb leaves are poisonous.
- 2
Rinse the stalks under running water, trim both ends, and peel off any stringy outer layer from thick stalks with a vegetable peeler. Chop into chunks about 2 cm (¾ in) long.
- 3
Put the rhubarb in a pan with a splash of water and a peeled, cored, chopped apple or a handful of hulled strawberries. Cover and simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring, until the rhubarb falls apart. Don't add sugar, honey or syrup.
- 4
Mash or blend to the texture your baby is ready for. Let it cool, and check it's only just warm before serving.
How much to offer
Start with a teaspoon or two of stewed rhubarb mixed into a sweeter food. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth. Rhubarb is very sour and high in oxalate, so we suggest small portions now and then, alongside other fruits.
Common mistakes
Leaving leaves on the stalks
Rhubarb leaves are poisonous: they contain oxalic acid, and a medical journal has reported the death of a child who ate them. Cut off every leaf before cooking, and never cook or serve them.
Offering raw rhubarb sticks
Raw rhubarb is hard and stringy, like celery, and the CDC lists hard raw fruit and vegetables as a choking hazard for young children. It's also very sour. Always cook it until it falls apart.
Sweetening it with sugar
Most rhubarb recipes add a lot of sugar. Babies don't need it, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4. Cook rhubarb with sweet fruit like apple, pear or strawberries instead.
Sharing crumble, pie or jam
These are usually high in added sugar. Take your child's portion of stewed rhubarb and apple out before you sweeten the family dish.
Where US and UK guidance differ on rhubarb
United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting
For babies under 1, the AAP says most fruits and vegetables other than mashed banana should be cooked until soft, as rhubarb always is. An AAP page says to avoid foods and drinks with added sugar for children under 2. The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines go further and say to avoid added sugar for children aged 4 and under, which this site follows.
United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting
The NHS suggests harder fruits cooked without adding sugar as first foods, and says to avoid food and drink with sugar for children aged 4 and under. Cook rhubarb with sweet fruit rather than sugar.
We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.
Questions parents ask
Can rhubarb be a choking hazard for babies?
Raw rhubarb is a choking risk because it's hard and stringy, like celery: the CDC lists pieces of hard raw vegetables and fruit as a choking hazard for young children. Cooked until it falls apart and mashed or blended, rhubarb is soft and easy to swallow. Peel the strings off thick stalks, cook it soft, and stay with your child during meals.
Can babies be allergic to rhubarb?
Rhubarb is not a common allergen.
Is rhubarb healthy for babies?
Raw rhubarb stalks have about 8 mg of vitamin C, 1.8 g of fiber and only 1.1 g of sugar per 100 g, which is why they taste so sour. Rhubarb is not a major source of iron (about 0.2 mg per 100 g).
Are rhubarb leaves poisonous?
Yes. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid. MedlinePlus (NIH) says eating them can cause burning and blisters in the mouth and throat, vomiting, breathing trouble and seizures, that serious poisonings can lead to kidney failure, and that deaths have been reported but are rare. One medical report from 1960 describes a child who died after eating rhubarb leaves. The stalk can be eaten: cut off every leaf, throw it away, and only ever cook the stalks. If your child chews or swallows a leaf, take it away, have them spit out what's left, and don't try to make them sick. Get help straight away: in the US, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222; in the UK and elsewhere, call your emergency number. If their mouth, lips, tongue or throat swell, or they have trouble breathing or swallowing, a seizure, or are hard to wake, call your emergency number right away.
Can babies eat rhubarb?
Yes, from around 6 months: stalks only, cooked until very soft and mashed or blended. It's very sour, so cook it with sweet fruit such as apple, pear or strawberries rather than sugar. A small amount stewed with apple makes a purée much like the Apple and pear purée recipe.
Can babies eat rhubarb often?
We suggest keeping it an occasional food in small portions. Rhubarb stalks are high in oxalate. A medical case report described acute kidney injury after a large amount of rhubarb in an adult with type 1 diabetes whose kidneys had been working normally, and the authors said people with existing kidney trouble, such as mild diabetic kidney disease, may be at higher risk. Offer a variety of other fruits too. If your child has kidney problems, ask your pediatrician before offering rhubarb.
Can I use frozen rhubarb?
Yes. Frozen chopped rhubarb can go straight into the pan and cooks the same way. Check the bag for added sugar, and cook it until it falls apart.
If your baby refuses rhubarb
- Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
- Rhubarb is very sour. Mix a little into mashed banana, cooked apple or pear, and slowly add more.
- 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 rhubarb
- Keep fresh rhubarb stalks in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C), with the leaves cut off.
- Stewed rhubarb keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Stewed rhubarb can be frozen in small portions and used within 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours of thawing, and stir it into oatmeal or yogurt.
- 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 child may have chewed or swallowed a rhubarb leaf. Take the leaf away and have them spit out what's left, and don't try to make them sick. Get help straight away: in the US, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222; in the UK and elsewhere, call your emergency number (in the UK, the NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if a child may have swallowed something harmful). If their mouth, lips, tongue or throat swell or blister, or they have trouble breathing or swallowing, a seizure, or are hard to wake, call your emergency number right away.
- Your child has kidney problems. Rhubarb is high in oxalate, so ask your pediatrician before offering it.
- 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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Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- AAP: When can babies start solid foods?
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- HHS: Fact sheet on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030
- AAP: How to reduce added sugar in your child's diet
- Tallqvist and Väänänen: Death of a child from oxalic acid poisoning due to eating rhubarb leaves (Ann Paediatr Fenn, 1960)
- MedlinePlus (NIH): Rhubarb leaves poisoning
- Albersmeyer et al.: Acute kidney injury after ingestion of rhubarb: secondary oxalate nephropathy in a patient with type 1 diabetes (BMC Nephrology, 2012)
- AAP: Poison prevention and treatment tips for parents
- NHS: Poisoning
- USDA FoodData Central: Rhubarb, raw
- FDA: 7 tips for cleaning fruits and vegetables
- USDA FSIS: Leftovers and food safety
- AAP: Is it OK to make my own baby food?
- NHS Best Start in Life: Storing and reheating food
More first foods
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