Chicken for babies: when to start, safe cooking and how to serve

Babies can eat chicken from around 6 months, once they've started solids, and it makes a good early food because it's a source of easily absorbed iron. Australia's ASCIA's guide to introducing solid foods, from Australia's allergy specialists, lists poultry among the iron-rich foods to offer from around 6 months, and suggests strips of chicken as a finger food when your baby is ready.

The two things that matter most are cooking chicken right through and serving it in a texture your baby can manage. This guide covers when to start, how to prepare chicken at each stage, how to tell it's cooked, leftovers and reheating, nuggets and salt, and how to lower the risk of choking.

When can babies eat chicken?

All three countries say from around 6 months, as part of your baby's first foods.

Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby, the Australian Government's parenting service, lists puréed red or white meat among the first iron-containing foods, and soft cut-up meat with no bones among the finger foods most babies manage at about 8 months. The NHS guide to feeding from around 6 months includes chicken in the protein foods that are suitable from around 6 months, and says these foods contain iron and zinc.

In the US, the CDC's solids guide says babies can begin solid foods at about 6 months, not before 4 months. The AAP's starting solids page suggests foods made with meat for iron and zinc, and lists well-cooked, finely chopped chicken as a finger food.

Is chicken a good source of iron for babies?

Yes. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne iron fact sheet, from Australia, explains that iron in meat, poultry and fish (haem iron) is absorbed well by the body, more easily than iron from plant foods. It suggests offering iron-rich foods, including iron-fortified cereals and puréed meat or chicken, when your baby starts solids, and gives 11 mg a day as the Australian recommended intake for babies aged 7 to 12 months. It says this doesn't have to be reached every day.

Red meat, fish, egg, legumes and iron-fortified cereal are other good sources, so rotating them through the week helps. Serving chicken with vegetables also helps your baby get iron from both. Iron-rich first foods has the full picture, and beef for babies covers red meat.

How do I prepare chicken for my baby at each age?

Start with a texture your baby already manages and move on as their eating skills grow. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says to start with smooth purées and progress to minced and chopped food, and to introduce lumpy food by 9 months. By 12 months most babies can eat a wide variety of family foods.

If you're following baby-led weaning, the NHS first solid foods guide lists meat without bones, such as chicken, among finger foods, and says pieces about the size of your own finger work well. Australia's ASCIA also suggests strips of chicken as a finger food. Baby-led weaning or purées compares the two approaches.

A few practical points:

1. Remove the skin, fat and bones. The NHS guide to preparing food safely says to remove all bones and any skin and fat to make meat easier to swallow, and to cut meat into strips as thinly as possible.
2. Choose moist cooking methods. Poaching, steaming, slow-cooking or baking in a sauce keeps chicken soft. Many families find thigh meat stays moister than breast.
3. Shred or mince it finely at first. A fork, food processor or blender works well; add cooking liquid made without salt to loosen it.
4. Cool it before serving. Stir and check the temperature, especially after microwaving.

For how textures progress overall, see food textures by age.

How do I know chicken is cooked through?

Chicken can carry germs right through the meat, not just on the surface. The UK Food Standards Agency's guide to cooking your food says poultry can have bacteria all the way through, so cut into the thickest part and check there is no pink meat left and the juices run clear. The CDC's safer food choices for children under 5 says young children have a higher risk of food poisoning because their immune systems are still developing, and that it can lead to diarrhoea and dehydration.

Each country gives its own temperature for the centre of the meat:

Australia's healthdirect food safety guide gives 75°C for poultry and suggests using a food thermometer. The Victorian Government's Better Health Channel in Australia says to aim for 75°C or hotter, and that a whole chicken should have no pink meat and clear juices. The Food Standards Agency also accepts other combinations, such as 75°C for 30 seconds. The CDC says to check with a food thermometer.

Handling raw chicken safely

• Don't wash raw chicken. The NHS guide to meat in your diet says washing meat increases your risk of food poisoning because water droplets splash germs onto surfaces, and the CDC's food poisoning prevention page says raw chicken doesn't need washing.
• Keep raw away from cooked. Better Health says germs can spread from raw to cooked food through hands, chopping boards and utensils, and suggests keeping raw meat and poultry at the bottom of the fridge.
• Thaw it in the fridge. The NHS says to thaw meat in the fridge, or use the microwave's defrost setting if you'll cook it straight away, and to use thawed raw meat within 2 days.

Can I give my baby leftover or reheated chicken?

Yes, if it's cooled, stored and reheated carefully. The advice is similar across countries:

The NHS guide to storing and reheating baby food says to defrost frozen food in the fridge or in the microwave, never at room temperature, and to eat it within 24 hours of defrosting. It also says to throw away half-eaten portions rather than saving them. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby adds that you should never reheat food that has already been reheated, or that has been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand's advice for vulnerable people, a group it says includes newborn babies, is stricter: use cooked chicken and meat leftovers within a day of cooking and reheat them until steaming hot. It also lists pre-cooked cold chicken bought whole, in portions, slices or diced as a higher-risk food, with freshly cooked chicken as the safer choice. If your baby is young or unwell, following the one-day limit is a simple extra margin.

The Food Standards Agency says properly cooked leftovers that were cooled and put in the fridge within two hours can also be eaten cold. Freezing small portions of puréed or shredded chicken in an ice-cube tray is an easy way to have some ready.

Are chicken nuggets and other processed chicken OK for babies?

They're best kept occasional, mainly because of salt. The NHS salt guide says babies under 1 should have less than 1 g of salt a day, and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g, because babies' kidneys are not fully developed. It notes that meat products and ready meals are among the everyday foods that already contain salt.

• Processed meats. The CDC's list of foods to avoid or limit names processed meats such as lunch meats, sausages and ham, and some frozen dinners, as high in salt. The NHS suggests limiting how often you give processed meat, though small amounts are fine as part of a balanced diet.
• Stock cubes and gravy. The NHS list of foods to avoid says not to add salt to your baby's food or cooking water, and not to use stock cubes or gravy because they're often high in salt.
• Store-bought meals. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests reading labels and avoiding foods high in salt, and lists processed foods with fat, sugar or salt, such as fried foods, as unsuitable for babies.

If you do serve nuggets or other frozen coated chicken, cook them following the pack instructions until they're steaming hot all the way through, and cut them into thin strips. Homemade chicken strips, baked without salt, are an easy swap.

How do I lower the risk of my baby choking on chicken?

Chicken is soft when cooked well, but dry, stringy or chewy pieces are harder for a baby to break down. The CDC's choking hazards list includes tough or large chunks of meat and bones in meat, and the AAP lists chunks of meat among foods to avoid in the first year. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne in Australia says meat should be minced or cut into small pieces and served without bones.

• Keep chicken moist, and shred it finely or mix it into a sauce or mash.
• Offer thin strips your baby can hold, rather than cubes or large chunks.
• Check carefully for small bones, especially in thigh and drumstick meat.
• Keep your baby sitting upright and stay with them for every meal. The NHS says to always stay with your baby when they're eating in case they start to choke.

The NHS guide to choking and gagging says gagging is a normal reflex as babies learn to chew and swallow, and it's loud. Choking is quiet: your baby can't cough, cry or breathe properly. Choking vs gagging explains the difference.

If your baby is choking and can't breathe, cough or cry, shout for help and call 999. The NHS first-aid steps for a choking baby are up to 5 back blows, then up to 5 chest thrusts, repeated until help arrives. If your baby becomes unresponsive, start CPR and follow the call-taker's instructions. Get medical help afterwards, even if the food came out. The Royal Children's Hospital recommends that anyone caring for children does a first-aid course, and an infant first-aid course lets you practise these steps before you need them.

What's worth noting when you offer chicken?

A quick note of how you cooked the chicken, the texture and roughly how much your baby ate helps you see which preparations work and when they're ready for the next stage. If you batch-cook, labelling frozen portions with the date makes the storage limits easy to follow.

When should I get help?

Chicken isn't on Australia's ASCIA's list of the most common allergy foods, but Australia's ASCIA notes that other foods can also cause allergic reactions, so watch your baby whenever you offer something new.

Call 999 now if your baby:

• is choking and can't breathe, cough or cry
• has sudden swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficult or noisy breathing, after eating
• becomes pale, floppy or much sleepier than usual, or is hard to wake
• has green or yellow vomit
• has had no wet nappy or wee for 12 hours

The NHS urgent-help guide lists swollen lips, tongue or throat, difficulty breathing and no pee in the past 12 hours among the reasons to call an ambulance.

Get medical help today if your baby:

• needed back blows or chest thrusts, even if they now seem well
• has hives or welts beyond the mouth area, swelling of the face or eyes, or vomiting after a food, with normal breathing (stop the food and watch closely)
• has vomiting or diarrhoea and is refusing feeds, has fewer wet nappies than usual, or has blood in their poo. The NHS food poisoning guide says to get urgent advice for a baby under 12 months who is unwell with food poisoning, and signs of dehydration has more.

Talk to your GP or health visitor if:

• your baby is still refusing all meat and other iron-rich foods after several weeks of trying
• your baby keeps gagging on textures beyond 9 months and you'd like help moving on
• you have questions about iron in your family's diet (call NHS 111 after hours)