Rice for Babies: When to Start and How to Serve It by Age

• From around 6 months
• Not a common allergen
• No rice drinks under 5

Rice can be offered from around 6 months, once your baby has started solids. Sticky rice pressed into small balls or patties is easy to hold, and soft rice mixed into purées and stews works on a spoon. Rice naturally contains a little arsenic, so vary your baby’s grains with oats, pasta and bread, and don’t give rice drinks to children under 5. Cool leftover rice quickly and reheat it only once.

📲 39 Bibful recipes with rice

How to serve it by age

1. 6–8 months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Sticky rice pressed into small balls or flat patties to hold.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Soft rice mashed into vegetable purée, or a smooth rice porridge.

3. 9–12 months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Rice balls or patties with vegetables, or soft rice grains to pick up.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Soft rice with lentils, vegetables, fish or chicken; risotto.

5. 12+ months

   ✋ Finger food (BLW)

   Rice from family meals, cooked without salt, and rice balls.

   🥣 Purée or spoon

   Risotto, rice with dhal, and rice pudding without sugar.

Have rice at home? See what you can cook

Add a second ingredient to see matching Bibful recipes.

✓ 🍚 Rice+ 🫘 Lentils+ 🍗 Chicken+ 🥕 Carrot+ 🫛 Peas+ 🥚 Egg

39 Bibful recipes with rice

• 
  Cheesy Courgette & Spring Onion Rice13 min · from 6 months
• 
  Corn & Black Bean Rice with Smashed Avocado18 min · from 6 months
• 
  Egg Fried Rice with Bok Choy18 min · from 6 months

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Preparation tips

• Vary the grains. Rice contains a little arsenic, so mix it up with oats, pasta, bread and other grains rather than relying on rice.
• No rice drinks. Rice drinks aren’t suitable for children under 5, as they can contain too much arsenic.
• Leftovers, safely. Cool cooked rice within an hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than a day, and reheat it only once, until steaming hot.

• Foods to avoid before 12 months
• How to introduce a new food

Frequently asked questions

When can babies eat rice?

From around 6 months, once your baby has started solids, as soft rice, rice balls or rice porridge.

Is arsenic in rice a worry for babies?

Rice naturally contains small amounts of arsenic. Rice in meals is fine as part of a varied diet; the main advice is to vary grains and not to give rice drinks before 5.

Can I reheat rice for my baby?

Yes, once. Cool it within an hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than a day, and reheat it until it’s steaming hot all the way through.

More first foods

• 🍎 Apple
• 🥑 Avocado
• 🍌 Banana
• 🥩 Beef
• 🫐 Blueberries
• 🍞 Bread
• 🥦 Broccoli
• 🎃 Butternut squash
• 🥕 Carrot
• 🥦 Cauliflower
• 🌿 Celery
• 🧀 Cheese
• 🍗 Chicken
• 🫘 Chickpeas
• 🥥 Coconut
• 🥒 Courgette
• 🥚 Egg
• 🫛 Green beans
• 🍖 Lamb
• 🫘 Lentils
• 🥭 Mango
• 🥛 Cow’s milk
• 🥣 Oats
• 🍝 Pasta
• 🥜 Peanut
• 🍐 Pear
• 🫛 Peas
• 🥔 Potato
• 🦐 Prawns
• 🫑 Red pepper
• 🐟 Salmon
• 🥬 Spinach
• 🍓 Strawberries
• 🍠 Sweet potato
• 🥄 Tahini
• Tofu
• 🍅 Tomato
• 🌰 Walnut
• 🥛 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.