Strawberries
Sweet, juicy and bright red. Mash them or slice them thin for tiny hands.
Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review
Quick answer
Babies can eat strawberries from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.
How to serve strawberries by age
6 months+
Mashed or thin slices
Mash ripe strawberries with a fork and serve on a pre-loaded spoon, or stir into foods your baby already eats. If you offer slices, choose large, very ripe berries and slice them thin from top to bottom. Skip firm, pale berries.
- Size
- Mashed and served on a pre-loaded spoon, or a large, ripe strawberry cut lengthwise into thin slices.
- Check before serving
- Squash a slice between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. If it's firm or crunchy, mash it instead.
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
Cut ripe strawberries into small pieces for pincer-grasp practice. Small strawberries can be cut into quarters from top to bottom.
- 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.
12 months+
Small pieces or thin slices
Offer small pieces or thin slices as a snack, or stir them into oatmeal or plain yogurt. Keep cutting small strawberries into quarters. Stay with your toddler while they eat.
- Size
- Pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or thin slices.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test with firm or under-ripe berries.
18 months+
Pieces, slices or in dishes
Serve strawberries cut up as a snack, mashed onto toast, or baked into muffins and pancakes. Keep cutting them up: round, firm fruit can still block a toddler's airway. Make sure your toddler sits down to eat, and stay with them.
- Size
- Bite-sized pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), or thin slices.
- Check before serving
- Still do the squash test with firm or under-ripe berries, and check that small berries are cut into quarters, top to bottom.
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 strawberries
- 1
Rinse the strawberries under running water, gently rubbing them, then pat them dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.
- 2
Cut off the green leafy tops and any bruised or soft spots.
- 3
Mash them with a fork (6 months), slice large berries thinly from top to bottom, or cut them into pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) once your baby can pick up small pieces.
- 4
Using frozen strawberries? 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 strawberries, washed well, are fine. Don't give them frozen: frozen berries are hard.
How much to offer
Start with a teaspoon or two of mash, or a few thin slices. 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 whole
The CDC lists uncut berries as a choking hazard for young children. Mash them, slice them thin, or cut them into small pieces.
Using firm, under-ripe berries
Pale, firm strawberries are hard to gum and can break into chunks. Choose deep red, ripe berries, or mash them.
Mistaking a red mouth for an allergy
A red rash 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 strawberries are hard, and safest cooked for babies. 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. Simmer them into a soft sauce from frozen and let it cool instead.
Where US and UK guidance differ on strawberries
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 strawberries.
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 strawberries 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 strawberries be a choking hazard for babies?
Whole strawberries are a choking hazard for babies and toddlers: the CDC lists uncut berries as foods to avoid for young children. Mash them, slice large berries thinly from top to bottom, or cut them into small pieces, and stay with your child while they eat.
Can babies be allergic to strawberries?
Strawberries are not a common allergen. A red rash around the mouth, chin or hands after eating strawberries is common in babies and is usually a skin reaction to the acidic juice, not an allergy. It stays where the food touched and fades once you wipe the skin. Rubbing a little petroleum jelly around the mouth before meals can help. 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 strawberries and talk to your pediatrician. For swelling of the lips, face or tongue, breathing trouble, repeated vomiting or floppiness, call your emergency number.
Are strawberries healthy for babies?
A good source of vitamin C: raw strawberries have about 59 mg per 100 g (about ⅔ cup), and a few berries (30 g) give about 18 mg. NIH recommends 50 mg a day for babies 7–12 months (from milk and food together) and 15 mg a day for children 1–3 years. Vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron in plant foods, such as beans, lentils and iron-fortified cereal.
Can babies eat strawberries at 6 months?
Yes. Strawberries can be one of your baby's first foods from around 6 months, mashed or in thin slices of a large, ripe berry.
Why does my baby get a rash around the mouth from strawberries?
Acidic fruits like strawberries often redden the skin they touch. If the redness stays around the mouth and hands, isn't swollen and fades after wiping, your baby can keep eating them. If the rash spreads or turns into hives, talk to your doctor. Call your emergency number right away if your baby has breathing trouble, swelling of the face, tongue or throat, or hives with repeated vomiting.
Can strawberries 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.
If your baby refuses strawberries
- 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, thin slices, or baked into pancakes.
- Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.
- Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. Strawberries 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 strawberries
- Keep fresh strawberries in the fridge, at or below 40°F (4°C).
- Cut or mashed strawberries keep for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge.
- Keep frozen strawberries 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 strawberries 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 strawberries 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 strawberries
Helpful guides
Sources
- CDC: Choking hazards
- AAP: When can babies start solid foods?
- NHS: Preparing food safely for babies
- NHS: Help your baby enjoy new foods
- NHS South West London Healthier Together: Contact reactions to foods in babies and toddlers
- NHS: Constipation in children
- USDA FoodData Central: Strawberries, 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
More first foods
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