When can my baby have peanut butter?

From around 6 months, when solids start. Use smooth peanut butter without added salt or sugar, stirred into a familiar purée — never whole nuts.

How much peanut butter per serving?

Start with half a teaspoon in a familiar purée and build up to about a teaspoon over 2–3 days. After that, keep it coming roughly weekly.

My baby has eczema — is peanut safe?

Early introduction matters especially for babies with severe eczema or an existing food allergy, but start in consultation with your GP or health visitor — supervised or earlier introduction may be advised.

My Baby Stages← to the homepage

Introducing peanut to your baby

It sounds scary, but the advice is to introduce peanut early: from around 6 months, when your baby starts solids. Early and regular introduction reduces the risk of a peanut allergy. Here's the safe build-up.

Why introduce it early?

Research shows that babies who get peanut early and then regularly are far less likely to develop a peanut allergy than babies for whom it's delayed. That's why NHS guidance says peanut (and egg) can be introduced from around 6 months, alongside other solids — there's no benefit in waiting.

How to build it up

Use smooth peanut butter with no added salt or sugar — never whole nuts or chopped pieces.
Day 1: half a teaspoon stirred into a purée your baby already knows.
Days 2–3: increase a little each time, up to about a teaspoon.
After that: keep offering peanut regularly (roughly weekly) — one-off introduction without follow-up undoes the protective effect.
No whole nuts before age 5 — choking hazard (NHS).

Eczema or food allergy in the family?

If your baby has severe eczema or an existing food allergy, talk to your GP or health visitor first — earlier or supervised introduction may be advised for this group.

What to watch after serving

Offer a new allergen earlier in the day so you can keep an eye on your baby for a few hours. Mild reactions (a few spots around the mouth) are usually harmless but worth mentioning to your GP. With swelling of the face or tongue, difficulty breathing, severe vomiting or floppiness: stop and call 999.

Want this matched to your own baby?

Enter a birth date once and see what matters this week — free, no account needed.

Create your own overview →

Also handy: introducing egg to your baby and the full weaning guide with 60-day plan

Guidance by age: 0–6 weeks · 6–12 weeks · 3–4 months · 4–6 months · 6–9 months · 9–12 months · 12–18 months · 18–24 months · 2–3 years · 3–4 years · 4–5 years