Egg
ProteinsGreat first food- AGE
- 6 months +
- COMMON ALLERGEN
- Egg
- CHOKING RISK
- Low · prep still matters
- IRON
- Iron-rich
- GOOD FOR
- Protein · Iron · Vitamin D · Folate
When can babies have egg?
From 6 months (corrected age) — and it’s one of our curated great first foods.
- Yolks are a concentrated source of choline, which supports brain development
- Provides complete protein plus iron in a form babies can eat from the first weeks of solids
- One of the few everyday foods that naturally contains some vitamin D
How do I serve it at each age?
Safe form at 6–8 months
A hard-cooked yolk mashed smooth with a spoonful of breast milk, formula, or water, or a plain omelette cooked firm all the way through and cut into strips about two adult fingers wide.
Pass/fail test: Cut the egg open and check the center: yolk and white must be fully set with nothing glossy, wet, or runny. A mashed yolk should be moist and lump-free, not dry and crumbly.
Why this form: At this age babies grip with the whole fist, so a wide omelette strip gives them a handle to gnaw, while a moistened yolk mash is easy to move around a mouth that can't yet chew. Full cooking is non-negotiable for infants — runny yolks and soft-set whites carry Salmonella risk.
How to prepare
- Hard-cook an egg (boil 10–12 minutes) or cook a thin plain omelette until firm with no wet spots, then cool.
- Mash the yolk with 1–2 teaspoons of breast milk, formula, or water until smooth, or cut the omelette into strips two adult fingers wide.
- First time: serve early in the day, a small amount, and watch for 2 hours.
- Serve alongside familiar foods, never another new food, so any reaction can be traced to the egg.
Common mistakes
- Serving a soft-boiled or runny yolk — infants need eggs fully cooked, every time.
- Offering plain crumbled yolk with no liquid: it's dry, pasty, and hard for a new eater to swallow.
- Adding salt or cooking the omelette in heavily salted butter.
How much?
A teaspoon or two of yolk mash, or half an omelette strip — on introduction day a taste is a win.
About twice a week once tolerated, to keep egg familiar.
Amounts are starting points, not targets — watch the baby, not the numbers.
How do I get the texture right?
- Boil a 10–12 minute egg: at that point the yolk is uniformly pale and powdery-firm at the edge — that's your visual proof it's fully cooked.
- A dry yolk mash is the most common failure — mix in breast milk, formula, or water a teaspoon at a time until it's the texture of thick hummus.
- For omelette strips that hold together in a fist, cook the omelette thin (one egg in a small pan) and let it set completely before cutting.
- Hard-cook a few eggs at the start of the week and refrigerate in the shell — a safe, fully cooked serving is then two minutes away.
Is egg a choking hazard?
Low risk in the forms above — shape and texture do the safety work. Any food can be a hazard served the wrong way, so match the form to your baby’s age.
Is egg a common allergen?
Common allergen: Egg
Yes — introduce it early in the day, alongside familiar foods, and watch for 2 hours. See the Egg introduction program →
What nutrients does it bring?
Iron tip: vitamin C boosts iron absorption — pair with apple, apricot, bell pepper.