Peas for babies: when to start, squashing peas and pea allergy

Peas are a handy first vegetable: quick to cook, easy to keep in the freezer, and good for mashing into other foods. They can be offered from around 6 months, once your baby has started solids. The NHS guide to feeding from around 6 months lists peas among the vegetables to offer, and the CDC's foods to encourage include cooked peas.

Peas need a little more thought than most vegetables for three reasons. They're small and round, so they're squashed or mashed for babies. They're a legume, which the NHS lists among foods that can trigger allergic reactions. And pea protein drinks sold as milk alternatives aren't a substitute for breast milk or formula. This guide covers each of these, along with preparation by stage, frozen and tinned peas, nutrition and when to get help.

When can babies eat peas?

From around 6 months, once your baby shows the signs of being ready for solids described in starting solids.

The ASCIA guide to introducing solid foods, from Australia's allergy body, says solids should start at around 6 months and not before 4 months, that iron-rich foods should be offered at around 6 months, and that other solid foods can be introduced in any order. It groups legumes such as peas, beans and lentils with meat and alternatives. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby includes puréed fruit and vegetables and cooked legumes among first foods. The CDC's guide to introducing solid foods says children can begin eating solid foods at about 6 months.

Are peas a choking risk for babies?

Whole peas can be. They're small and round, and choking advice repeatedly flags that shape:

• New Zealand's Ministry of Health lists raw green peas among small round foods that can lodge in children's airways, and suggests cooking raw or frozen green peas and squashing them with a fork.
• The NHS guide to preparing food safely says firm foods and small round foods can be more risky, and suggests avoiding round shapes.
• The CDC says round pieces can get stuck in a child's airway, and its choking hazards list includes similar small foods such as whole corn kernels and whole beans.

The New Zealand advice is written for early learning services caring for children aged 1 to 6, and only lists whole cooked peas as acceptable for children aged 4 to 6. It also notes that many children don't truly master chewing until four years of age. The AAP's choking-prevention advice similarly says to keep high-risk foods from children until 4 years of age or older, depending on development, and that round, firm foods can be served if completely chopped into tiny pieces. Squashing peas follows the same idea.

Set up every meal the same way. The CDC says to have your child sit upright while eating, feed them in a high chair or another safe spot, avoid meals in the car or pram, and watch them closely the whole time. Gagging is common while babies learn; choking vs gagging explains the difference.

These steps follow the NHS choking first-aid guide, which also says to get medical help even if the object has come out. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne in Australia recommends that anyone caring for children does a first-aid course, and the AAP suggests a certified CPR and first-aid course. An infant first-aid course before or soon after starting solids means you've practised the steps.

How do I prepare peas for my baby at each stage?

Cook peas until soft, with no added salt. The AAP's starting solids page says most vegetables should be cooked until soft and that fresh foods should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning.

Around 6 months. The NHS first solid foods guide says to move from puréed or blended foods to mashed, lumpy or finger foods as soon as your baby can manage them. Pea purée can be gritty with skins; blending longer, or pushing it through a sieve, gives a smoother start. Mashing peas into a softer food helps the mixture stick together on the spoon.

8–9 months. The NHS says to offer more mashed, lumpy and finger foods as your baby becomes a more confident eater, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says it's important to introduce lumpy food by 9 months. Flattened peas give your baby something small to practise picking up; pincer grasp covers how that skill develops.

12 months and beyond. ASCIA says to aim for your baby to be eating soft, cut-up or roughly mashed family meals by 12 months. Peas go into fried rice, pasta, risotto, frittata and soups; take your child's portion out before adding salt or stock, and keep squashing peas that are served whole.

How to squash peas quickly

1. Cook the peas until soft enough to crush easily between your thumb and forefinger, the test New Zealand's Ministry of Health uses for soft food.
2. Drain and spread them in a single layer on a plate or board.
3. Press each one flat with the back of a fork, or roll a flat-bottomed glass over the lot.
4. Cool and check the temperature before serving. The NHS says to cool hot food and test it before giving it to your baby.

Can babies eat frozen or tinned peas?

Frozen peas are fine, as long as they're cooked. New Zealand's Ministry of Health includes frozen green peas in its advice to cook and squash peas. After a 2018 outbreak linked to frozen sweetcorn, Public Health England and the Food Standards Agency reminded people that most frozen vegetables need to be cooked before eating, including when added to salads, smoothies or dips, and named babies among the vulnerable groups. So don't serve thawed, uncooked frozen peas, and don't give frozen peas as a cold snack.

Tinned peas can work if they have no added salt. The CDC's foods and drinks to avoid or limit says some canned foods are high in salt, so choose low-sodium or no-salt-added versions. The NHS 5 A Day guide, written for the whole family, says frozen fruit and vegetables count, and suggests tinned ones with no added sugar or salt. Check the label on tinned mushy peas and other ready-made peas for added salt.

Can babies be allergic to peas?

Yes, though it's not one of the most common food allergies. The NHS page on food allergies in babies lists beans, lentils and peas among the foods that can trigger allergic reactions, and says to introduce these foods one at a time so you can spot any reaction. ASCIA's list of the most common allergy foods (cow's milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, sesame, fish and shellfish) doesn't include peas.

Peas are legumes, like peanuts, soybeans and lentils. ASCIA's lupin allergy page describes lupin as a legume related to peanut and soybean, and says people allergic to peanuts may also react to legumes, including lupin. If your baby has a peanut or other legume allergy, ask their allergy specialist about peas before you start. ASCIA also says infant formulas based on alternative proteins, including pea, are not recommended for preventing food allergy.

For most babies, peas go in like any other new food. ASCIA says allergic reactions usually happen within minutes to two hours, and that a mild rash around the mouth without other signs is not usually an allergic reaction. The CDC suggests one new single-ingredient food at a time, waiting 3 to 5 days between new foods. Introducing allergens covers the common allergy foods, and pasta for babies covers pea and lentil pastas.

Can pea protein milk replace breast milk or formula?

No. Before 12 months, your baby's main milk should be breast milk or infant formula. ASCIA says so directly, and adds that cow's milk shouldn't be the main milk before 12 months either. The NHS guide to drinks for babies says first infant formula is the only suitable alternative to breast milk in the first 12 months.

Pea protein drinks are one of several plant-based milk alternatives, and the guidance on those applies:

• UK: the NHS says unsweetened, calcium-fortified milk alternatives, such as soya, oat or almond drinks, can be given from the age of 1 as part of a healthy balanced diet.
• US: the AAP's guide to drinks for young children says most plant-based milks aren't nutritionally equivalent to cow's milk and may lack protein, vitamin D and calcium, and that, other than soy milk, they're not recommended in place of dairy milk.
• Australia and New Zealand: Food Standards Australia New Zealand says plant-based drinks don't have the same nutrients as cow's milk, that lower-protein ones must be labelled as not suitable as a complete milk replacement for children under 5, and to talk to a dietitian or doctor before using them in place of milk.

If your baby has a cow's milk allergy, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says to follow your doctor's or allergy specialist's advice on alternatives. Moving to cow's milk covers the switch after the first birthday.

What nutrients do peas give my baby?

The NHS page on B vitamins lists peas among good sources of folate, which helps the body form healthy red blood cells, and of thiamin (vitamin B1). In Australia, ASCIA groups peas with beans and lentils in the meat-and-alternatives food group.

Neither the CDC nor ASCIA names green peas among its iron-rich foods. ASCIA's iron-rich foods to offer from around 6 months are iron-fortified cereals, meat, poultry, fish, well-cooked egg, tofu and legumes such as chickpeas and lentils. Peas mix easily with them:

• squashed peas stirred into minced beef or lamb
• peas and red lentils cooked and mashed together
• flattened peas in a well-cooked omelette
• pea and chicken risotto, cooked soft

Expect some changes in the nappy. The AAP says poo becomes more variable in colour once solids start, that peas and other green vegetables may turn it deep green, and that undigested pieces of food, especially the hulls of peas, are normal. First foods and iron explains why iron matters from 6 months.

When should I get help?

Call your local emergency number (000 in Australia, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) now if your baby:

• can't breathe, cough or cry because food is stuck, turns blue or becomes unresponsive
• has sudden swelling of the lips, tongue or throat after eating
• has difficult or noisy breathing, a wheeze or a persistent cough after eating
• becomes pale, floppy or drowsy, collapses, or has a hoarse or weak cry

The NHS urgent-help guide lists swollen lips, tongue or throat and difficulty breathing among reasons to call an ambulance. For signs of anaphylaxis, the ASCIA first aid plan for anaphylaxis from Australia says to hold young children flat, not upright, give an adrenaline device if one has been prescribed, call an ambulance, and start CPR if your baby is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

Get medical help today if your baby:

• has hives or welts beyond the mouth, swelling of the face or eyes, or vomits after a food, and is breathing normally (stop the food and watch closely)
• needed back blows or chest thrusts, even if they now seem well

Talk to your GP or child-health nurse if:

• your baby has a peanut or legume allergy and you'd like advice before offering peas
• you're thinking of using a plant-based drink because of allergy, intolerance or a vegan diet
• your baby still can't manage mashed or lumpy food by around 9 months