When can babies eat sushi?

From around 6 months, once your baby is ready for solids, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

Sushi

Plain rice, cooked fillings and tiny flakes of nori: a sushi night your baby can share.

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

Quick answer

Babies can eat sushi from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsHigh choking risk as servedAllergen: Fish

How to serve sushi by age

6 months+

Soft rice fingers with cooked fish

Use plain rice cooked very soft, with no sushi seasoning. Mash it and shape it gently into fingers, as on our rice page. Serve it with large, boneless flakes of fully cooked salmon (once fish has been introduced on its own), or strips of soft-cooked sweet potato or carrot. You can stir a tiny pinch of crumbled plain nori into the rice. Never raw fish.

Size: Soft mashed rice gently shaped into fingers about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), with large flakes of cooked fish or strips of soft-cooked vegetable.
Check before serving: Squash a rice finger between your thumb and finger. It should flatten easily. Feel every flake of fish for bones.

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.

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 sushi

1
Wash your hands. Cook plain rice until soft, with no vinegar, sugar or salt, and use it freshly cooked.
2
Cook fish to 145°F (63°C), until it's opaque and flakes easily, and shellfish until the flesh is pearly and opaque. Or use canned salmon or canned light tuna, which are already cooked. Feel for bones.
3
Serve the rice warm, or cool it quickly in a shallow dish, ideally within 1 hour, and keep it in the fridge until you serve it. Don't leave it out on the counter.
4
Shape and cut it for your baby's stage, and crumble or snip plain nori into tiny pieces.
5
First time with fish or shellfish? Pick a day your baby is well and at home, so you can stay nearby for several hours afterward. Fish can cause a delayed reaction: see when to call the doctor.

How much to offer

Start with a rice finger or two and a few flakes of fish. For ages 1 to 3, the FDA suggests a fish serving of about 1 oz (28 g), twice a week, from its 'Best choices' list. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Offering raw fish or shellfish

The CDC lists raw or undercooked fish and shellfish, including sushi and sashimi, as riskier choices for children under 5, and the FDA says children should avoid them. Freezing kills parasites but not all harmful germs, so 'sushi-grade' or previously frozen fish is still raw. Use cooked fish or vegetable fillings only.

Using seasoned sushi rice

Sushi rice is usually seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt: a vegetable sushi roll has about 361 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 0.9 g of salt), close to the NHS limit of less than 1 g a day for babies under 1. Babies shouldn't have added salt, and the NHS says to avoid sugar up to age 4. Use plain cooked rice for your child.

Dipping in soy sauce

Soy sauce has about 5,490 mg of sodium per 100 g. A tablespoon (about 16 g) has about 2.2 g of salt, more than the NHS daily limit of 2 g for children aged 1 to 3. Leave it out of your child's portion.

Leaving sushi out

Cooked rice can carry spores of Bacillus cereus that survive cooking, and the longer it sits at room temperature, the more likely it is to become unsafe. Serve sushi straight away or keep it in the fridge, and eat it within 1 day.

Where US and UK guidance differ on sushi

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The CDC lists raw or undercooked fish and shellfish, including sushi, sashimi and ceviche, as riskier choices for children under 5, and the FDA says children should avoid them. The FDA also lists refrigerated smoked fish, such as lox, among foods to avoid unless it's cooked in a dish.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says not to give babies and young children raw or lightly cooked shellfish. Its baby pages don't give separate advice on raw fish, so we follow the US advice for every child: cooked fish only.

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

Questions parents ask

Can sushi be a choking hazard for babies?

Sushi as it's usually served is a high choking risk for babies and young children. Sticky rice can clump, nori sheets are thin, dry and chewy, and a whole piece is a big mouthful. The CDC advises avoiding small, sticky or hard foods, and lists uncooked dried vegetables and whole seeds among choking hazards. Use soft rice in small portions, crumble or snip nori into tiny pieces and mix it into the rice instead of wrapping it, cut rice into small pieces, and skip toppings of whole sesame seeds. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to sushi?

Sushi can contain several common allergens: fish, shellfish such as shrimp and crab, soy and wheat (in soy sauce), sesame (seeds and sesame oil) and egg. Imitation crab (surimi) is made from fish blended with salt and often starch (sometimes wheat starch) or egg white (FDA), and it's salty: about 529 mg of sodium per 100 g (FoodData Central), about 1.3 g of salt. Skip it, as on our crab page. Introduce each one on its own first, in a small amount, and watch for signs of a reaction. People allergic to one type of fish often react to other types, and the same goes for shellfish; cooking doesn't make a reaction less likely (NHS). If your baby reacts to a fish or shellfish, talk to your pediatrician before offering others.

Is sushi healthy for babies?

A vegetable sushi roll made with seasoned rice has about 361 mg of sodium per 100 g; the FoodData Central recipe for it includes salt, sugar and vinegar in the rice. Cooked fish such as salmon adds protein and omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA).

Can babies eat sushi?

Not sushi made with raw fish or shellfish. From around 6 months, babies can try a sushi-style meal made at home: soft plain rice, fully cooked fish or soft-cooked vegetables, and a tiny pinch of crumbled nori stirred in.

Is 'sushi-grade' or previously frozen fish safe for kids?

No. It's still raw. The FDA says freezing kills parasites but doesn't kill all harmful germs, and it lists children among the groups who should avoid raw or undercooked fish and shellfish, including sushi and sashimi.

Which fish can I use in my child's sushi?

Fully cooked fish from the FDA's 'Best choices' list, such as salmon, real crab (not imitation crab), shrimp, pollock or canned light tuna. Avoid the high-mercury fish the FDA lists as choices to avoid, including bigeye tuna, king mackerel, shark, swordfish and marlin. Skip lox and other refrigerated smoked fish unless it's cooked in a dish.

When can children eat sushi with raw fish?

The CDC lists raw fish and shellfish, including sushi and sashimi, as riskier choices for children under 5, and the FDA lists children among the groups who should avoid them. So keep to cooked fish and fillings for young children, at least until age 5, and ask your pediatrician about raw fish after that.

If your baby refuses sushi

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Offer the parts separately: soft rice fingers, a few flakes of fish, and a soft vegetable.
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 sushi

Make sushi with freshly cooked rice and serve it straight away, or cool the rice within 1 hour and keep it in the fridge.
Eat sushi and leftover rice within 1 day (24 hours). Rice can be eaten cold if it was cooled quickly. If you reheat rice, do it only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it cool before serving.
Don't keep sushi in a lunch box or on the table: rice left at room temperature can become unsafe even if you reheat it later.
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 eating rice or fish. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy, and both rice and fish can trigger it. 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.
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 sushi?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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