Peanut

Also called peanuts, groundnut, groundnuts, moongphali

Safe from6 months

Iron-richNo

Rich inHigh-protein · Healthy fats

How to serve, by her age

Thinned smooth peanut butter

From around six months, we start with a small amount of smooth peanut butter, thinned to a runny drip with water, breast milk, or formula, or fine peanut powder blended into a little liquid. It always goes in thinned or finely ground, never a thick spoonful from the jar and never a whole nut. If you are starting her later, around nine or ten months, begin the same gentle way.

Because peanut is a common allergen, that first taste goes on its own, just a small pinch, with no other new foods for the next few days while you watch her.

Once she has taken it well, it can go through the soft foods she already eats: her cereal, porridge, mashed fruit, or curd. Keep it plain, with no added salt while she is little, no added sugar before she is two, and no honey before she turns one, because it can bring on botulism, a serious illness. Let her appetite lead.

Peanut at 9-12 months: Stir through porridge — Stir through porridge

Peanut at 9-12 months: Roll in ground peanut — Roll in ground peanut

Peanut still goes in finely ground or as smooth peanut butter thinned down, never a whole nut or a piece she picks up. What changes at nine months is that she feeds herself, so the same ground peanut or thinned butter now stirs through the thick, scoopable foods she manages on her own.

She can also hold a soft food herself. Roll a piece of soft fruit she already takes in a little ground peanut, and it becomes easier to grip. A thick spoonful on its own is never safe, one plain scoop of peanut butter can choke her. A small amount a few times through the week is plenty.

Spoon, fingers, or both? ›

Ground into family meals

From a year, the same ground peanut and thinned peanut butter simply move into the family's food, stirred through whatever soft meal she shares. The rolling trick still works too.

The form never changes: still thinned or finely ground. Whole peanuts stay off her plate for a long time yet, since a whole nut stays a choking risk.

Spoon, fingers, or both? ›

About peanut

We can start peanut from around six months, given as smooth peanut butter thinned right down, or finely ground into a soft food she takes. The WHO and NHS both say to bring it in early and keep it going rather than hold it back, since that is what lowers the chance of an allergy later. Its fats and protein make it a filling, nourishing food for her.

The doubts we clear

CHOKINGWill she choke on peanut?

A whole peanut, or a thick sticky glob of peanut butter, can block a baby's small airway. Whole nuts and thick nut butter are among the most common choking foods for babies. Always give peanut as smooth peanut butter thinned to a runny drip with water, breast milk, or formula, or as finely ground peanut powder stirred into her food, never a whole nut or a thick spoonful on its own. A whole peanut stays a choking risk for a long time yet, so keep it off her plate completely.Choking vs gagging ›

ALLERGENWhat does a reaction look like?

Peanut is one of the more common foods a baby can react to, so we give it on its own first and watch her over the next few days before adding anything else new. Going slowly like this just helps you spot a reaction, like a rash, swelling, or an upset tummy, early. If your baby already has eczema, or a food allergy runs in the family, it is worth checking with your paediatrician before you begin.Starting egg, nuts and other allergens ›

MYTHA little smooth, finely ground peanut is a normal, nourishing food she can have right through the year. There is nothing in it that heats her up.

Many of us grew up hearing that peanut is 'garam' and too heating for a small baby. A peanut simply does not change a baby's body warmth. It is a normal, nourishing food in any month of the year. If it settles worries at home, begin with a tiny amount, well thinned, offered earlier in the day so you can watch how she takes it.

Questions moms ask

Everyone keeps saying peanut is the scariest allergen. How do I give her that first taste without panicking?

Peanut is the allergen that scares almost everyone, so this nervousness is completely normal. The calm way in is a tiny amount of smooth peanut butter, thinned right down and given on its own, earlier in the day so you can watch her.Starting egg, nuts and other allergens ›

My toddler is small and picky, so I give peanut butter with avocado for weight. Sensible?

Reaching for dense foods when she is small and picky makes complete sense. Peanut butter is rich in protein and fats, so a little of that smooth, thinned peanut she already takes adds real nourishment. Small and steady is fine, and if her weight still worries you, check with your paediatrician.Her weight and growth ›

I keep hearing peanut allergy is really just a Western thing that doesn't happen to Indian babies. Is that true?

The IAP does note that peanut allergy is less common in Indian children, and that part is true. But less common is not the same as never, and peanut sits on India's own list of common allergens too. So it does happen here, which is exactly why we start it early and gently, on its own, and watch how she takes it.

Should I try baby-led weaning with peanut, can she feed herself or does it have to be off a spoon?

Peanut is a little different from most first foods, because it always goes in thinned or finely ground, never as a piece she picks up herself. At six months it comes stirred into a soft food on a spoon. From around nine months, as she starts feeding herself, you can stir a little through the soft foods she is already holding. Neither way is wrong, it just follows her age.Spoon, fingers, or both? ›

How much peanut, and how often?

A pinch of finely ground peanut, or a little smooth peanut butter thinned into her food, is all she needs, with nothing to measure. Once she has taken it well a few times, keeping peanut in her meals regularly helps her body stay used to it. That steady exposure is part of how starting early lowers the chance of an allergy. Let her appetite lead the amount.How much she should eat ›

You may see some Indian diet charts start groundnut a little later, closer to a year. Why, and what does this page follow?

Different homes and charts begin peanut at different ages, and it is fair to wonder why. Some Indian diet charts, like ICMR-NIN's own, place groundnut a little later, around nine to twelve months. Current allergen guidance from the WHO and AAP starts peanut from around six months, and holding an allergen back does not lower the chance of an allergy. This page starts from around six months, always in that thinned or finely ground form. Whatever age you begin, the gentle first steps stay the same.

Still have a question?

I read every message myself and reply.

WhatsApp me

Every page is checked against ICMR-NIN, IAP and WHO guidance.

Sources: IAP, ICMR-NIN and 3 more sources ›

Educational only, and never a replacement for your paediatrician. Read the full note ›