Broccoli for Babies: How to Cook and Serve It by Age

• From around 6 months
• Not a common allergen
• Cook until very soft

Broccoli can be one of your baby’s first vegetables from around 6 months. Steam or boil it until it is very soft: a cooked floret should squash easily between your fingers. Bitter vegetables often need several tries before a baby accepts them, so keep offering it.

📲 35 Bibful recipes with broccoli

How to serve it by age

1. 6–8 months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Offer large, very soft steamed florets with a long stalk your baby can hold like a handle.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Purée steamed broccoli until smooth, on its own or mixed with potato or another vegetable.

3. 9–12 months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Cut soft steamed florets into bite-sized pieces of about 1 cm.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Mash cooked broccoli roughly and mix it into meals.

5. 12+ months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Offer soft florets as part of a family meal.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Mix chopped cooked broccoli into pasta, rice or omelette.

Have broccoli at home? See what you can cook

Add a second ingredient to see matching Bibful recipes.

✓ 🥦 Broccoli+ 🥔 Potato+ 🧀 Cheese+ 🍝 Pasta+ 🥕 Carrot+ 🍗 Chicken

35 Bibful recipes with broccoli

• 
  Broccoli & Mozzarella Omelette13 min · from 6 months
• 
  Broccoli & Apple Purée15 min · from 6 months
• 
  Peanut Butter Rice Noodles with Broccoli15 min · from 6 months

See the recipes in Bibful

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Preparation tips

• Very soft, every time. Steam broccoli until a floret squashes easily between your fingers. Firm broccoli is harder to chew.
• Keep offering. A frown or spitting it out is a normal first reaction to a bitter taste. Many babies need up to 10 tries.
• No salt. Cook broccoli for your baby without adding salt.

Frequently asked questions

When can babies eat broccoli?

From around 6 months. Steam or boil it until very soft.

My baby spits out broccoli. Should I stop?

No. Bitter vegetables often take many tries. Keep offering a little at meals without pressure, alongside foods your baby already likes.

More first foods

• 🍎 Apple
• 🥑 Avocado
• 🍌 Banana
• 🥩 Beef
• 🫐 Blueberries
• 🍞 Bread
• 🎃 Butternut squash
• 🥕 Carrot
• 🍗 Chicken
• 🥚 Egg
• 🫛 Green beans
• 🫘 Lentils
• 🥣 Oats
• 🥜 Peanut
• 🍐 Pear
• 🐟 Salmon
• 🍓 Strawberries
• 🍠 Sweet potato
• 🥛 Yogurt

This page is general information, not medical advice. It follows NHS Start for Life and World Health Organization guidance on introducing solid foods. Always stay with your baby while they eat, and speak to your health visitor or GP if you have concerns about feeding, allergies or choking.