FirstNom
Vegetable
Broccoli for babies
Broccoli comes with its own handle: the stalk. Steamed until floppy, a whole floret is one of the most self-serve foods you can put on a 6-month-old's tray.
When can babies have broccoli?
From around 6 months. Broccoli is often recommended as an early vegetable specifically because babies are more likely to accept bitter greens early than later — taste preferences narrow around the first birthday, so the window for an easy introduction is now.
How do you serve broccoli to a baby?
The shape is what makes a food safe, and it changes as your baby’s grip and chewing change. Find your baby’s age band.
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6–8 months
Steam whole florets with a long stalk left on, 8–10 minutes, until the stalk squashes easily. Hand over one floret at a time and let your baby hold the stalk like a lollipop and gnaw the top.
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9–11 months
Chop steamed florets into small pieces for the pincer grasp, or keep offering whole ones — many babies still prefer the handle.
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12–18 months
Small florets, chopped into pasta, or roasted until the edges char. Roasting makes broccoli sweeter and wins over a lot of toddlers who reject it steamed.
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18–24 months
Family portions, cooked soft. Still no raw broccoli.
Prep tip
Roasted broccoli tastes noticeably sweeter than steamed. If your toddler has started refusing it, roasting at 200 °C with a little olive oil is worth trying before you give up on it.
Storage
Cooked broccoli keeps two to three days refrigerated. It goes sulphurous as it sits, so cook smaller batches more often if your baby is fussy about smell.
Is broccoli a choking hazard for babies?
Low risk when steamed until genuinely soft. Raw or crunchy-steamed broccoli is a different matter — the florets break into hard fragments that are exactly the wrong size, so hold off on raw broccoli and crudités until well past 4 years. The safe test is the same as always: the stalk should squash between your fingers.
Whatever you serve, stay within arm’s reach, keep your baby upright in a supportive seat, and never let them eat in a moving car, buggy or carrier. Gagging is loud and normal. Choking is silent.
Is broccoli a common allergen?
Broccoli is not one of the nine most common food allergens. Any food can trigger a reaction, though, so offer it on its own the first time and watch for hives, vomiting, swelling or a change in breathing over the next two hours.
Is broccoli healthy for babies?
Broccoli is one of the best vegetable sources of vitamin C, which does double duty: it is needed in its own right and it substantially increases how much iron your baby absorbs from plant foods eaten in the same meal. It also brings vitamin K, folate and fibre. Steam rather than boil — boiling can strip well over half the vitamin C into the water.
| Vitamin C | Very high |
|---|---|
| Vitamin K | High |
| Folate | Good source |
| Fibre | Good source |
| Iron per serving | ~0.4 mg |
Common questions about broccoli
Will broccoli give my baby gas?
It might. Broccoli contains raffinose, a sugar that gut bacteria ferment. Some babies are noticeably windy after it and some are not. It is uncomfortable rather than harmful, and it usually settles as the gut matures — there is no need to avoid broccoli over it.
My baby spits out broccoli every time.
That is normal and it is not a verdict. Bitter greens routinely take ten to fifteen exposures before a baby accepts them. Keep offering it without pressure, alongside something they do like, and try roasting it for a sweeter flavour.
Can babies eat broccoli stems?
Yes, and the stem is the best part for a 6-month-old to hold. Peel the tough outer layer off a thick stem and steam it until soft; it is milder than the florets.
Reference material
Guidance on this page follows the sources listed below.
Foods parents look at next
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Cauliflower
A steamed floret is a built-in handle — the milder cousin of broccoli.
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Green beans
A ready-made baby-sized spear — steam them soft and they need no cutting at all.
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Spinach
Iron and folate in a leaf — but the iron is harder to absorb than the packaging suggests.
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Carrot
Safe when cooked soft, one of the highest-risk foods when raw — the shape matters more here than almost anywhere.