When can babies eat tongue?

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

Tongue

Slow-cooked until it shreds, fresh tongue is soft, rich and mild.

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

Quick answer

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

From 6 monthsMedium choking risk as servedNot a common allergenIron-rich

How to serve tongue by age

6 months+

Tender strips or finely shredded

Simmer fresh beef, lamb or pork tongue until a knife slides in easily, peel off the tough outer skin while it's warm, and cut away the fatty, gristly root. Pull the meat into soft finger-length strips, or shred it finely and stir it into mashed potato or vegetables. Use fresh tongue only: pickled, cured or smoked tongue is too salty for babies.

Size: Soft strips about the size of an adult finger, roughly 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in), or finely shredded and mixed into mash.
Check before serving: Squash a strip between your thumb and finger. It should fall apart into soft shreds. If it's springy, cook it longer or shred it finer, and check that no skin is 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.

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 tongue

1
Buy fresh tongue. Labels such as pickled, corned, cured, smoked or salt tongue mean it has been preserved with salt (see the mistakes below). There's no need to rinse raw meat: the NHS says washing it splashes bacteria onto surfaces. Wash your hands, board and knife after handling it.
2
Cover the tongue with water, add no salt, and simmer it gently, covered, until a knife slides easily into the thickest part. This usually takes 2½ to 4 hours for beef tongue and less for smaller lamb or pork tongues. USDA FSIS says to cook organ and variety meats, including tongue, to at least 160°F (71°C), checked with a food thermometer.
3
While it's still warm, peel off the thick outer skin and throw it away. Cut off the root end with its fat and gristle.
4
Shred the meat, or slice it thinly and chop it, then do the squash test. If you use the cooking liquid to moisten it, chill it first and lift off the fat.

How much to offer

Start with a strip or two, or a spoonful of shredded tongue mixed into mash. Tongue is a rich meat: FoodData Central lists about 22 g of fat per 100 g of cooked beef tongue, so serve it with vegetables and starchy foods. Your baby decides how much to eat: stop when they turn away or close their mouth.

Common mistakes

Leaving the skin on

The outer skin of tongue is thick and rough and stays tough after cooking, and the CDC lists tough meat as a choking hazard. Peel it off while the tongue is warm, and trim off the gristly root.

Not cooking it long enough

Tongue needs long, slow cooking to become tender. Cook it until a knife slides in easily, and to at least 160°F (71°C) (USDA FSIS), then shred it or chop it small.

Offering pickled, cured or smoked tongue to a baby

These are processed meats, preserved with salt (NHS), and the CDC says to avoid processed meats high in salt for young children. FoodData Central has no figure for cured tongue, so check the label: more than 1.5 g of salt (0.6 g sodium) per 100 g is high (NHS), and babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day. Soaking doesn't fix it: USDA FSIS says very little salt is removed by rinsing or soaking a cured meat.

Serving cold deli tongue

Sliced deli tongue is a ready-to-eat deli meat. The CDC says people at higher risk of listeria, including newborns, should have deli meat only when it's reheated to 165°F (74°C) or until steaming hot. We suggest the same for toddlers, as on our ham page: heat it until steaming, let it cool, then chop it finely.

Where US and UK guidance differ on tongue

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

USDA FSIS says to cook organ and variety meats, such as heart, kidney, liver and tongue, to 160°F (71°C), checked with a food thermometer. The CDC names processed meats (lunch meats, sausages, hot dogs, ham) among high-salt foods to avoid for young children, so skip pickled, cured and deli tongue or serve it only now and then.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS doesn't give temperatures. It lists offal among the meats to cook all the way through, until no pink is left. It says babies shouldn't eat salty foods, and suggests no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged 1 to 3, which includes the salt in cured tongue.

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

Questions parents ask

Can tongue be a choking hazard for babies?

Slow-cooked tongue is tender, but its outer skin and the gristly root stay tough, and the CDC lists tough or large chunks of meat as a choking hazard for young children. Peel and trim it, cook it until it shreds easily, and serve soft strips, fine shreds or small pieces. Never give whole slices of deli tongue. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to tongue?

Tongue is not one of the common food allergens. Cured and deli tongue can have added ingredients, so check the label if your child has a food allergy.

Is tongue healthy for babies?

A source of protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12. FoodData Central lists about 2.6 mg of iron and 4.1 mg of zinc per 100 g of cooked beef tongue, so about 40 g gives about 1 mg of iron. Babies aged 7 to 12 months need 11 mg of iron a day from all their food, and meat iron includes heme iron, which the body absorbs more easily than iron from plant foods (NIH).

Can babies eat tongue?

Fresh tongue, yes, from around 6 months. Slow-cook it until it shreds easily (and to at least 160°F / 71°C), peel off the skin, trim the root, and serve soft strips or fine shreds. Pickled, cured, smoked and deli tongue are too salty for babies.

Can toddlers eat pickled or deli tongue?

From 12 months, a little now and then, the same way as ham. It's a processed meat preserved with salt, and the CDC says to avoid processed meats high in salt for young children. The NHS suggests no more than 2 g of salt a day for children aged 1 to 3. Heat it until steaming hot, let it cool, and chop it finely into soft food. Fresh tongue is the everyday choice.

Do I need to peel tongue?

Yes. The thick outer skin stays tough even after long cooking. It peels off easily while the cooked tongue is still warm.

Is tongue high in vitamin A, like liver?

No. FoodData Central lists no vitamin A in cooked beef tongue, so the once-a-week advice on our liver page doesn't apply.

If your baby refuses tongue

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Try another form: soft strips, shredded into mash, or stirred into rice.
Moisten it with a little of its skimmed cooking liquid, breast milk or formula.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.

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

Buying and storing tongue

Keep fresh raw tongue in a sealed container on the bottom shelf of the fridge, and cook or freeze it within 1 to 2 days. Keep cured and deli tongue by the date on the pack.
Cooked fresh tongue keeps 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.
Cooked tongue and stews made with it can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and use within 24 hours of thawing. Reheat only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let it 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 has a fever, diarrhea or vomiting, or is feeding less and seems irritable, after eating cold deli or cured tongue. The NHS lists cold, cooked sliced meats and cured meats as a cause of listeriosis, so get medical advice the same day: call your pediatrician (in the UK, ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111). If your child has a seizure, is floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, seems suddenly confused, has a stiff neck, or has a rash that doesn't fade when you press it, call your emergency number instead.
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 tongue?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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