Loading recipes…
← Browse all ingredientsSee in What to cook →
Cheese
4 recipes use this ingredient
Cheese
Allergen · Milk
Milk is one of the UK's 14 declarable allergens. Offer it from around six months, then keep offering it — regular exposure is what current guidance recommends, not a single try.
How to serve Cheese to babies
6–8 months
Batons
Either grate it or cut it into short, narrow strips. Choose a pasteurised full-fat cheese; avoid mould-ripened, ripened goats' milk and blue-veined cheeses.
9–11 months
Bite-size pieces
Grated over food or in small pieces, still pasteurised and not mould-ripened.
12–24 months
Bite-size pieces
With the family meal — cheese is often salty, so not at every meal.
Watch out for
- Go easyunder 12 months
Added salt is hard on a baby's kidneys. Avoid stock cubes, gravy, soy sauce and cured meats; do not salt cooking water.
NHS: foods to avoid
- Worth knowing
Mould-ripened soft cheese, ripened goats' milk cheese and soft blue cheese carry a higher listeria risk. Pasteurised hard cheese, such as mild cheddar, is fine from 6 months.
NHS: foods to avoid
Weaning guidance from NHS. Not medical advice.
Cooking with Cheese
Pairs well with
The ingredients that most often share a recipe with cheese on Nourishible.
Recipes
Vegetarian Three-Bean Chili
Manual · downshiftology
45 min · Serves 6
dinnermain course
Cottage Cheese Blueberry Pancakes
Reel · noahperlofit
— · Serves 10
breakfastpancakes
Toddler Cracker
Reel · mountain_mothering
35 min
toddler friendlycrackers
Crispy Homemade Hash Browns with Cheese Sauce
Video · Ricette Fresche
30 min · Serves 4
breakfastpotatoes
Cheese: common questions
Answers are drawn from the sources named on this page. Not medical or veterinary advice.
When can babies eat cheese?
The earliest stage on this page is 6–8 months: Either grate it or cut it into short, narrow strips. Choose a pasteurised full-fat cheese; avoid mould-ripened, ripened goats' milk and blue-veined cheeses.
How do I cut and serve cheese for my baby?
6–8 months (Batons): Either grate it or cut it into short, narrow strips. Choose a pasteurised full-fat cheese; avoid mould-ripened, ripened goats' milk and blue-veined cheeses.
9–11 months (Bite-size pieces): Grated over food or in small pieces, still pasteurised and not mould-ripened.
12–24 months (Bite-size pieces): With the family meal — cheese is often salty, so not at every meal.
What should I watch out for when giving cheese to a baby?
Added salt is hard on a baby's kidneys. Avoid stock cubes, gravy, soy sauce and cured meats; do not salt cooking water. Source: NHS: foods to avoid.
Mould-ripened soft cheese, ripened goats' milk cheese and soft blue cheese carry a higher listeria risk. Pasteurised hard cheese, such as mild cheddar, is fine from 6 months. Source: NHS: foods to avoid.
Is cheese a common allergen?
Yes. On the UK allergen list it counts as Milk.
Milk is one of the UK's 14 declarable allergens. Offer it from around six months, then keep offering it — regular exposure is what current guidance recommends, not a single try.
Guides about cheese
- Cooking with less saturated fat: 3 dinners in 60 minutesSee which cooking choices change the saturated fat in a dinner, and how three published recipes handle oil, cheese, cream and protein.
- When can a baby have cow's milk?The NHS says cow's milk can go into cooking from around 6 months but should not be a main drink before 12 months. Its wording, its reason, other milks.