When can babies eat salami?

From around 12 months, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

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Salami

Not yet for babies: very salty and usually not cooked, so it's best skipped, or cooked into a hot dish now and then.

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

Quick answer

Children can have salami from around 12 months. Prepare it as shown below.

From 12 monthsHigh choking risk as servedNot a common allergen

How to serve salami by age

12 months+

Best skipped, or a little cooked into a hot dish

Not before 12 months: salami is very salty, and dry salami isn't cooked. From 12 months, it's still best skipped. If it's in a family dish, use just a few pieces: peel off the casing, chop it finely, and cook it into a hot dish such as a pasta sauce until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let it cool. Never cold slices, round slices, sticks or chunks.

Size: If you use it, very small pieces, no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), stirred into a soft, moist dish.
Check before serving: Look at every piece before serving: no round slices, sticks or chewy chunks. Each piece should be small and mixed into moist food.

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 salami

1
Check the label. Dry or hard salami, such as Genoa salami and sopressata, is made with curing ingredients such as salt and sodium nitrite, then fermented and air-dried, and isn't cooked (USDA FSIS). Cooked salami is cooked in a smokehouse and is softer, but it's still salty.
2
Peel off the casing, then chop the salami finely. Never cut it into round slices or sticks for a young child.
3
Cook it into a hot dish, such as a pasta sauce or a baked pizza topping, until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), then let it cool. The CDC says people at higher risk, including newborns, should only eat fermented or dry sausages reheated this way.
4
Use only a few pieces, mixed into a soft, moist food.

How much to offer

If you use salami, treat it as a flavor, not a food: a few finely chopped pieces in your toddler's dish, and not often. 100 g of Italian pork salami has about 1,890 mg of sodium, about 4.7 g of salt, and the NHS suggests no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged 1 to 3. Your child decides how much to eat from what you offer.

Common mistakes

Serving cold slices from the pack

Dry salami isn't cooked. USDA FSIS says very young children might want to avoid dry sausages, because E. coli O157:H7 can survive the process of dry fermenting, and in 1994 some children became ill after eating dry cured salami. The CDC also lists unheated dry or fermented sausages as a listeria risk for people at higher risk, including newborns. No official page names toddlers and salami, so cooking it into a hot dish until steaming hot is our suggestion, following that advice. Or skip it.

Cutting round slices or giving salami sticks

The CDC lists hot dogs, meat sticks and sausages as choking hazards, and salami is a firm, chewy sausage. Peel off the casing and chop it finely, and never give round slices, sticks or chunks.

Offering salami to babies

It's very salty: FoodData Central lists about 1,890 mg of sodium per 100 g of Italian pork salami (about 4.7 g of salt), and babies under 1 need less than 1 g of salt a day. The NHS says babies shouldn't eat salty foods, naming sausages and chorizo. Offer fresh meat instead.

Making it a regular snack

The NHS counts salami as processed meat and advises limiting it, because products like it are generally high in fat and often high in salt. Keep it to an occasional flavor in a cooked dish.

Where US and UK guidance differ on salami

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

USDA FSIS says dry sausages such as salami and pepperoni aren't cooked, and very young children might want to avoid them. The CDC says people at higher risk of listeria, including newborns, should only eat fermented or dry sausages reheated to 165°F (74°C) or until steaming hot. The CDC names sausages among the processed meats that are high in salt, and says to avoid foods high in salt for young children. If you follow US advice, skip salami or serve it only now and then, cooked into a hot dish.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says babies shouldn't eat salty foods such as sausages and chorizo, counts salami as processed meat, and suggests no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged 1 to 3. It lists cured meats among the chilled foods that most often cause listeriosis. Guidance for UK nurseries says sausages should be avoided because of their high salt content, and to cook food until steaming hot, then cool it.

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

Questions parents ask

Can salami be a choking hazard for babies?

The CDC and AAP list sausages and meat sticks as choking hazards for young children, and salami is a firm, chewy sausage often cut into round slices. Skip salami in the first year. For toddlers, it's best skipped; if you use it, peel off the casing, chop it finely and cook a little into a soft, moist dish, never round slices, sticks or chunks. The AAP advises keeping high-risk foods from children, or changing them before serving, until 4 years or older. Stay with your child while they eat.

Can babies be allergic to salami?

Salami is not a common allergen, but it can contain added ingredients and spices. Check the label if your child has a food allergy. In the UK, allergens are highlighted in bold in the ingredients list.

Is salami healthy for babies?

A source of protein, but very high in salt and fat. FoodData Central lists about 1,890 mg of sodium per 100 g of Italian pork salami (about 4.7 g of salt), more than three times the NHS high-salt level of 1.5 g of salt (0.6 g of sodium) per 100 g. Cooked beef salami has about 1,140 mg (about 2.9 g of salt).

Can babies eat salami?

Not yet. Wait until at least 12 months, and even then it's best skipped. Salami is very salty, about 4.7 g of salt per 100 g, and babies under 1 need less than 1 g of salt a day. Dry salami also isn't cooked, and USDA FSIS says very young children might want to avoid dry sausages. Offer fresh meat, like shredded chicken or pork, instead.

Is pepperoni on pizza OK for a toddler?

Now and then, from 12 months, if the pizza is baked until the topping is steaming hot and you chop the pepperoni finely, or pick it off. Pepperoni is a dry sausage, so it's salty and chewy, and it isn't cooked unless it's baked on the pizza. Cut the pizza into small pieces too. See our pepperoni page for more.

Is cooked salami safer than dry salami?

It has been cooked: USDA FSIS says cooked salami is made from fresh meat that's cured and cooked in a smokehouse, and must be kept in the fridge. But the CDC lists unheated cold cuts as a listeria risk for people at higher risk, and it's still a processed meat and still salty, about 2.9 g of salt per 100 g of cooked beef salami. Heating it until steaming hot is our suggestion for young children; chop it finely and keep it occasional.

How much salt can toddlers have?

The NHS suggests no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged 1 to 3, and less than 1 g a day for babies under 1. That includes salt already in foods like salami, bread and cheese.

If your baby refuses salami

There's no need to offer salami at all. Fresh meat, fish, eggs and beans give the same protein with much less salt.
If your toddler wants what the family is eating, offer the pasta or pizza with the salami picked off or chopped very small.
Many toddlers prefer softer foods. Shredded chicken or pork is an easy swap.
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 salami

A whole, unopened dry salami keeps for 6 weeks in the pantry or indefinitely in the fridge. Once opened, keep it in the fridge and use it within 3 weeks, or freeze it for 1 to 2 months (USDA FSIS). Keep cooked salami in the fridge and follow its use-by date.
Dishes made with salami keep 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.
Reheat dishes made with salami only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them 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 child had a choking episode, even if the food came out and they seem fine. The NHS advises getting medical help, because part of the food could be left behind.
Your child has diarrhea, vomiting or tummy cramps after eating salami that wasn't cooked. Call your pediatrician for bloody poop, a fever higher than 102°F (39°C), diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than 2 days, or signs of dehydration such as very dark pee, a dry mouth or crying without tears. Call your emergency number for blood in the pee, very little or no pee, losing the pink color in the cheeks or inside the lower eyelids, unexplained bruising or a rash of tiny red spots, or being very tired, cranky or less alert: these can be signs of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that can damage the kidneys.
Your child has a fever, aches, diarrhea or vomiting, or is feeding less and seems irritable, after eating salami that wasn't heated until steaming hot. The NHS lists cured meats as a cause of listeriosis, so call your pediatrician the same day and tell them about the salami (in the UK, ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111). If they have a stiff neck, seem confused, have a seizure, are floppy or hard to wake, or have a rash that doesn't fade when you press it, 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 salami?

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