When can babies eat soy milk?

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

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Soy milk

The plant milk closest to cow's milk, once soy is already on the menu.

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

Quick answer

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

From 12 monthsLow choking risk as servedAllergen: Soy

How to serve soy milk by age

12 months+

Unsweetened, fortified soy drink in an open cup

Offer soy drink once your child has eaten soy foods such as tofu without a reaction. Choose unsweetened soy drink with added calcium and vitamin D, served in an open cup or a straw cup, not a bottle. Breast milk can continue alongside it. If soy drink will be your child's main milk, talk to your pediatrician or a dietitian.

Size: A few sips to a small cup with meals and snacks.
Check before serving: Check the label: unsweetened, with calcium and vitamin D added. In the UK, drinks labelled organic can't be fortified.

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 soy milk

1
Buy soy drink that's unsweetened and fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Check the ingredients for sugar or syrup.
2
Pour a small amount into an open cup or a straw cup. Serve it cold or at room temperature.
3
Offer it with meals and snacks, alongside food. Offer water between meals.
4
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

Start with a few sips in a cup. The CDC says fortified dairy alternatives can be part of a balanced diet from 12 months but are not a substitute for food, so serve it as a drink with meals. If soy drink is replacing cow's milk, ask your pediatrician or a dietitian how much your child needs. Your child decides how much to drink.

Common mistakes

Giving it as a drink before 12 months

Soy drink doesn't replace breast milk or formula, which stay the main drink until 12 months. NHS dietitians say soya milk can be given with food from 6 months once soy foods have been eaten without a reaction, and to choose a plant milk with added calcium and at least 40 calories and 1 g of protein per 100 ml. The unsweetened soy drink in FoodData Central has enough protein (about 2.9 g per 100 g) but only about 33 calories, so check the label. The CDC says milk alternatives should not be given before 12 months. If you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula in your baby's food instead.

Mixing up soy drink and soy formula

Soy infant formula is a different product, made for babies. The NHS says to use soy formula only if a health visitor or GP recommends it. Never use soy drink from the store in place of formula.

Choosing a sweetened or flavored version

Flavored and sweetened soy drinks have added sugar. The CDC says your child doesn't need added sugars, and US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4.

Making soy the only protein

UK expert advisers say children following a vegan diet can eat a lot of soy, which raises their intake of isoflavones (natural plant compounds), and suggest a variety of plant proteins rather than relying only on soy products. Rotate beans, lentils and other protein foods.

Where US and UK guidance differ on soy milk

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The AAP says soy milk is nutritionally equivalent to cow's milk and an acceptable alternative, and doesn't recommend other plant milks in place of dairy milk. Since April 2026, the CDC says unflavored, unsweetened dairy alternatives fortified with calcium and vitamin D, including soy, can help meet a child's dairy needs from 12 months, and that milk alternatives should not be given before 12 months. If you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula in your baby's food instead until then.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says unsweetened, calcium-fortified soya drinks can be given from age 1 as part of a healthy, balanced diet. NHS dietitians say soya milk can be given with food from 6 months once soy foods have been eaten without a reaction. UK expert advisers say soya drinks are closer to cows' milk in protein than oat or almond drinks, and that plant drinks labelled organic can't be fortified.

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

Questions parents ask

Can soy milk be a choking hazard for babies?

Soy drink is a low choking risk. Have your child sit upright to drink, and use an open cup or a straw cup rather than a bottle.

Can babies be allergic to soy milk?

Soy is one of the most common food allergens in young children. NHS dietitians suggest starting with soy as an ingredient in food, then soy yogurt, and moving on to soy drink once those are eaten without a reaction. Soy allergy usually shows up in babies and children under 3, and many children outgrow it. Being allergic to soy doesn't mean a child is also allergic to peanut: they are separate allergies. If your child has a cow's milk allergy, ask their doctor before using soy drink: the AAP says about half of infants with cow's milk protein allergy may also react to soy.

Is soy milk healthy for babies?

Unsweetened soy drink with added calcium and vitamin D has about 2.9 g of protein, 124 mg of calcium and 1.2 mcg of vitamin D per 100 g, close to whole cow's milk (3.2 g, 113 mg and 1.3 mcg). It has about half the calories (33 vs 61 per 100 g) and less fat.

Is soy milk the best plant milk for toddlers?

It's the closest to cow's milk. The AAP says soy milk is nutritionally equivalent to cow's milk and an acceptable alternative, and Healthy Eating Research says fortified soy is the only plant milk currently considered a dairy equivalent. UK expert advisers also say soya drinks are the better choice for children who may not get enough protein. Choose unsweetened and fortified.

Can babies have soy milk?

Not as a drink before 12 months: breast milk or formula is the main drink. NHS dietitians say soya milk can be given with food from 6 months once your baby has had soy foods without a reaction. They suggest a plant milk with added calcium and at least 40 calories and 1 g of protein per 100 ml; unsweetened soy drink usually has the protein but can be under the calories (about 33 per 100 g in FoodData Central), so check the label. The CDC says not to give milk alternatives before 12 months, so if you follow US advice, use breast milk or formula in food instead. Soy infant formula is a separate product, used only on a health professional's advice.

Can my child have soy milk if they're allergic to cow's milk?

Ask your doctor first. The AAP says about half of infants with cow's milk protein allergy may also react to soy. Your doctor or dietitian can help you choose a milk alternative.

If your baby refuses soy milk

Many children need several tries to get used to a new taste. Keep offering it in a cup with meals.
Try it in other forms: in oatmeal, on cereal or in a sauce.
Drink some yourself at the same meal. Toddlers copy what they see.
If your child won't drink milk or a milk alternative at all, ask your pediatrician about other ways to get enough calcium and vitamin D.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing soy milk

Store unopened cartons as the label says. Once opened, keep soy drink in the fridge and use it within the time on the label.
Throw away soy drink left in your child's cup after the meal.
Oatmeal and sauces made with soy drink keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Reheat 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 baby vomits a few hours after having soy. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that soy 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.
Your child has a cow's milk allergy. Ask before switching to soy drink, because the two allergies often go together.
You'd like soy drink to be your child's main milk. Ask how much to give and how to cover calcium and vitamin D.
Your child has had any reaction to soy, even a mild one. Stop offering it until you've talked to your pediatrician.
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 soy milk?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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