What Order to Introduce Foods When Starting Solids

Starting solids is one of the most exciting milestones of the first year — and one of the most confusing for many parents. With so much conflicting advice circulating about what to give first, what to avoid, and how quickly to progress, it can be difficult to know where to start. The good news is that the underlying principles are straightforward: start simple, progress gradually, and follow your baby's lead.

When to Start

Current NHS guidance recommends starting solids at around 6 months, and not before 17 weeks (4 completed months). Signs that your baby is ready include being able to sit with minimal support and hold their head steady, showing interest in food, and being able to move food to the back of their mouth and swallow (rather than pushing everything out with their tongue).

It is important to understand that "around 6 months" means some babies will be ready slightly before and some after. If you are considering starting before 6 months, speak to your health visitor first.

First Tastes: What to Offer Initially

There is no single "right" food to start with. NHS guidance no longer specifies a particular order of introduction, and many international health bodies have moved away from recommending vegetables before fruit or any specific sequence. What matters is that first foods are:

• Appropriate in texture (smooth purees or very soft finger foods)
• Free from added salt, sugar, and honey (honey should be avoided until 12 months due to the risk of botulism)
• Not a choking hazard
• Not raw honey, unpasteurised cheese, whole nuts, or certain fish (shark, swordfish, marlin)

Good first food choices include:

• Cooked and pureed or mashed vegetables: sweet potato, butternut squash, parsnip, carrot, courgette, broccoli
• Pureed or mashed fruit: pear, apple, banana, avocado
• Baby rice or baby porridge mixed with your baby's usual milk
• Soft cooked and pureed or mashed lentils or legumes

Offering a variety of vegetables early — including bitter-tasting ones like spinach and broccoli — may help establish a broad palate, though the evidence base for this being a firm window of opportunity is not as strong as some suggest.

Texture Progression

The transition from smooth purees to family foods is gradual and should be led by your baby's readiness, not a strict timetable. However, a rough progression looks like this:

Around 6 months: Smooth purees and very soft mashed foods. Soft finger foods (banana, soft cooked broccoli florets, well-cooked pasta) if doing baby-led weaning or a combined approach.

7–9 months: Move toward lumpier, mashed-rather-than-pureed textures. Minced or finely chopped proteins, soft pasta shapes, small pieces of soft cooked vegetable. If you have been doing smooth purees, introduce lumps now — the research suggests that introducing lumps before 9 months is associated with more varied eating at 7 years old.

9–12 months: Finely chopped or soft pieces of most family foods, with appropriate modifications (no added salt, nothing that is a choking risk). By the end of the first year, your baby should be eating a wide variety of textures.

A common mistake is staying too long at smooth purees. Babies who are not offered lumpier textures by 9 months tend to have more difficulty accepting them later. If your baby seems to gag on lumps initially, that is normal — it is the gag reflex doing its job — and it usually resolves with continued exposure.

Introducing Protein

Protein is a crucial nutrient for growth and development and should be introduced early in the weaning process. There is no need to delay protein beyond the first few weeks of weaning.

Animal proteins: Well-cooked, mashed or finely minced chicken, beef, lamb, fish, and egg are all appropriate from around 6 months. Remove all bones from fish carefully. Ensure meat is cooked through and soft enough to mash easily.

Plant proteins: Cooked lentils, well-cooked and mashed legumes (butter beans, chickpeas, kidney beans), soft tofu, and nut butters are all excellent plant protein sources.

Red meat is particularly valuable as a source of iron. Babies' iron stores begin to deplete around 6 months, and iron-rich foods should be a consistent part of the weaning diet from early on.

Introducing Iron-Rich Foods

The NHS specifically highlights iron as a nutrient to prioritise during weaning. Good iron sources for babies include:

• Red meat (beef, lamb, pork)
• Dark poultry meat
• Oily fish
• Cooked egg yolk
• Lentils and beans
• Fortified cereals
• Dark green leafy vegetables

Including a source of vitamin C alongside plant-based iron sources (e.g. a little kale with lentil puree, or broccoli alongside beans) enhances non-haem iron absorption.

Finger Foods Timeline

Finger foods can be introduced from the very start of weaning at 6 months if you choose a baby-led or combined approach. The key criteria for safe finger foods at this stage are:

• Soft enough to squash between your fingers
• Long enough to stick out of a closed fist (strips and spears rather than small pieces, initially)
• Not round or hard (avoid whole grapes, whole cherry tomatoes, whole blueberries, raw carrot sticks, popcorn)

As your baby's pincer grasp develops through the second half of the first year, they will be able to manage smaller pieces. By 9–10 months, soft fruit cut into quarters or small pieces of soft cooked vegetables are appropriate.

A 4-Week Introductory Plan Outline

This is an illustrative framework, not a strict prescription. Adapt to your baby's pace.

Week 1: One taste a day, offered from a spoon. Start with one or two simple pureed vegetables (sweet potato, butternut squash) or fruit (pear, banana). Offer small amounts — a few spoonfuls. Milk feeds remain the priority.

Week 2: Increase to two tastes a day. Introduce two or three new vegetables or fruits. Try mixing flavours (carrot and parsnip, pear and apple). Introduce first protein: soft mashed lentils or pureed chicken.

Week 3: Introduce allergens one at a time — begin with smooth peanut butter dissolved in a puree or soft scrambled egg. Continue expanding vegetable and fruit variety. Offer a small "meal" once a day.

Week 4: Move toward two small meals a day. Introduce lumpier textures if your baby is tolerating smooth purees well. Offer finger food options alongside pureed food. Continue introducing new allergens.

Throughout the first four weeks, milk (breast or formula) remains the primary source of nutrition. Food at this stage is primarily about exploration, learning, and broadening the palate.

Common Questions

Should I try one food at a time? For everyday foods, offering a variety from the start is fine. Reserve the one-at-a-time approach for the 14 major allergens, so that if a reaction occurs, you can identify the cause.

What if my baby refuses everything? Refusal in the early weeks is very common and does not predict future fussiness. Continue offering, keep the atmosphere relaxed, and do not pressure or force. It can take ten to fifteen exposures before a new food is accepted.

Do I need to buy special baby food? No. Home-cooked family food (without added salt, sugar, or honey) is ideal. Commercial baby foods can be useful occasionally but should not form the majority of your baby's diet.