How to Cut Food Safely for Your Baby, by Age

How you cut a food matters as much as which food you choose. A shape that is easy to hold at 6 months is not the same as one that suits a 10-month-old practising their pincer grasp. This guide follows the way the BabyJoy food guide is organised: 6 to 9 months, 9 to 12 months, and 12 months and up, with examples for each.

Whatever the age, the basics stay the same. Always supervise meals, seat your baby upright, and never leave them alone while eating.

Three rules for every age

1. Texture: food should be soft enough to squish between your fingers.
2. Shape: cut food into finger-length strips for easy gripping.
3. Size: avoid small round foods, or quarter them lengthwise.

6 to 9 months: big, soft and long

At this age, finger-length strips and wedges are the easiest shapes to grip. Cook firm foods until very soft.

• Banana: serve with the top half peeled for grip, or cut it lengthwise into strips.
• Avocado: thick wedges with the skin on for grip, pit removed completely.
• Carrot: steam or roast until very soft, then cut into sticks, as in our roasted carrot sticks.
• Apple: steam or cook until soft, because raw apple is a choking hazard at this age. Our baked apple slices are a simple option.
• Chicken: slow cook until very tender and serve as long strips or a drumstick.
• Cheese: thin slices, shredded, or melted on other foods.
• Blueberries: smash, quarter or flatten each berry.
• Peas: cook until very soft, then smash or mash flat, since small round whole peas are best avoided at this age.
• Chickpeas: smash or flatten each one, or serve as smooth hummus.

9 to 12 months: smaller pieces and the pincer grasp

As your baby’s pincer grasp develops, you can offer smaller pieces. Keep foods soft.

• Banana: rounds or half rounds, or mashed for spreading.
• Carrot: once cooked soft, cut it into thin sticks or small flattened pieces, never round coins, which are a choking hazard. Keep cooking it until tender.
• Apple: very thin slices of raw apple, or keep serving it cooked; avoid thick raw pieces.
• Chicken: shredded pieces, or ground and shaped into soft flat patties or fingers.
• Cheese: small cubes of soft cheese.
• Blueberries: larger berries can be halved, but small ones still need flattening.
• Peas: soft-cooked whole peas are good pincer practice; squash them lightly if your baby is still learning to chew.
• Chickpeas: soft chickpeas can be served as they are, and they work well in patties.
• Corn: offer corn on the cob cut into rounds. Loose kernels are a choking hazard at this age.

12 months and up: more variety, same hazards

After the first birthday, many foods can be served in larger pieces as chewing improves. Some foods still need cutting for years, though.

• Chicken: larger pieces as chewing improves.
• Carrot: can be served slightly firmer, but raw carrot is still a choking hazard.
• Apple: from 12 months, raw apple slices as chewing improves. Never leave your child alone while they eat.
• Blueberries: can be served whole once your child shows good chewing.
• Corn: corn on the cob or loose kernels, as your child manages.
• Raisins: before 12 months, only offer them soaked and finely chopped, never whole or dry. From 12 months, whole raisins can be offered once your child chews well, ideally with meals.

Foods that need cutting at every age

Some foods stay on the “always cut” list well past the first birthday.

• Grapes: quarter lengthwise and never serve them whole. Keep quartering until age 4.
• Cherry tomatoes (tomato guide): quarter them at every age; they still need cutting after 12 months.
• Cherries: remove every stone and stem, then quarter or smash flat. Keep pitting and quartering until at least age 4.
• Nuts: whole or chopped nuts are a choking hazard for children under 5. Offer ground almonds stirred fully into porridge or yogurt, or a smooth nut butter thinned with water.
• Peanut butter: thin it with water or mix it into other foods, and never serve it thick. After 12 months it can be spread a little thicker, but never by the spoonful.

Popcorn, whole nuts and hard seeds, and hard raw vegetables are also on the high-risk list for young children.

Cutting tips that make it easier

• Check temperature before serving anything warm.
• Remove pits, stones, bones and tough skins. For example, take the skin off tomatoes if it is tough, and check fish carefully for bones.
• Use the squish test on cooked vegetables: if it doesn’t squash easily between your fingers, cook it a little longer.
• Go back a step if needed. If your baby is struggling with a new size, return to the shape they managed before.

Gagging and choking

Gagging is a normal part of learning to eat. It is loud: your baby coughs forcefully, their eyes may water and their face turns red, and it usually resolves quickly. Choking is silent or near silent: your baby cannot cough, breathe or cry, and their skin may turn blue or purple. Choking is an emergency that needs immediate help.

Want simple shapes to start with? Our sweet potato fingers and steamed broccoli trees are built around the finger-length strip.

This guide is based on choking guidance from the AAP (Choking Prevention) and the CDC (Choking Hazards), the AAP’s Starting Solid Foods, and the NHS page Foods to avoid giving babies and young children.