Baby-Led Weaning Foods to Explore with Your Little One

What age should I start baby-led weaning?

Most Australian health authorities, including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Raising Children Network, recommend starting solids at around six months (never prior to four months). This timing ensures that babies are developmentally ready.

Developmental readiness is essential for BLW. Look for signs such as:

• Sitting upright without support for short periods
• Good head and neck control
• Ability to grasp food and bring it to the mouth
• Interest in food, such as watching others eat or reaching for food

Waiting until these readiness cues are apparent can help reduce choking risk and ensure babies can safely handle finger foods. If your baby is not showing these signs of readiness they may not be ready for BLW. All babies should be starting on solid food by 6 months of age. If BLW is not suitable for your baby by this age it doesn’t mean you should delay introducing solid foods. Instead try more appropriate textures such as pureed foods and slowly progress to finger foods as it suits your child. Babies who start BLW before these skills are in place may struggle to move food around their mouth or coordinate swallowing. If you have any concerns about your baby’s readiness to start solids or start BLW, talk to your healthcare professional.

Choosing the best baby-led weaning foods

When choosing first finger foods, prioritise options that are nutrient-rich, soft enough to mash with gums, and in shapes and sizes that are easy for small hands to hold. Iron-rich foods are especially important at this age, as babies’ iron stores from birth start to deplete around six months. Ideal baby led weaning foods that are soft, nutrient-rich, and easy for babies to hold can include:

Baby finger foods that are iron-rich

Iron is essential for healthy brain development, energy production, and immune function. Including iron-rich foods from the start helps meet babies’ high iron needs at this age.

• Strips of slow-cooked beef or lamb (soft enough to shred with gums)
• Flaked salmon, sardines, or other oily fish
• Omelette strips
• Tofu cut into finger sized sticks
• Chickpea hummus spread thickly on toast
• Iron-fortified infant cereals shaped into small, soft  patties for self-feeding.  Additionally, iron-fortified cereal can be sprinkled onto any finger foods, or eaten as a puree separate to their finger foods.

(pictured: beef and lentil meatball, chicken drumsticks, salmon fillet, omelette, tofu)

Baby finger foods - Vegetables

• Steamed carrot sticks
• Soft-cooked broccoli florets
• Steamed sweet potato wedges
• Steamed zucchini batons
• Steamed corn on the cob (hard and resistive food - see tip below)

Vegetables offer essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Cooking them until soft allows babies to practise chewing while still being able to squash the food easily between their gums.

(pictured: corn on the cob, zucchini, sweet potato, broccoli, carrot)

Baby finger foods - Fruits

• Avocado slices
• Banana halves
• Large ripe strawberry
• Peeled and steamed pear wedges
• Mango seed (hard and resistive food – see tip below)

Ripe fruits are naturally soft and hydrating, and their sweet flavours make them a great introduction to self-feeding. Choose finger-length shapes to help babies grip food with their whole hand. Keeping in mind with baby led weaning foods the bigger the piece the lower the choking risk. 

(pictured: mango seed, avocado, banana, watermelon, cooked and peeled pear)

TIP: While most baby-led weaning foods should be soft enough for babies to mash with their gums, offering occasional hard or resistive foods that are unbreakable such as the core of a ripe mango seed, a lamb chop or a cooked corn on the cob, can be beneficial. These items encourage chewing practice, jaw strengthening, and oral exploration, supporting the development of oral motor skills. They should always be large enough to prevent choking and offered under close supervision.

(pictured: quinoa patties, wholegrain toast, rice ball, cooked pasta, turkey meatball)

Best baby led weaning foods by age

While every baby develops at their own pace, the following guide lists some key blw foods by age.

BLW foods for 6 month-old to 8 months

• At this age larger shapes are safer. Baby weaning food should be large enough for baby to hold in their fist with some of the food sticking out, think adult finger length and approximately the width of two adult fingers.
• Food should be soft enough to mash between two fingers, or be a hard and resistive unbreakable food to act as a teether.
• Large soft pieces of food such as cooked and peeled pear, steamed apple or roasted zucchini and sweet potato, or soft omelette strips.
• Iron-rich options like strips of salmon, slow-cooked meat strips, or soft beef rissoles.

BLW foods for 9 month-old to 11 months

• At this age babies begin to develop their pincer grip, which is picking up things between their thumb and first finger. This means smaller foods can be introduced to help practice this new skill.
• New textures during this age might include grated foods like grated firm tofu, cheese, or carrots. Bite sized pieces of soft foods like steamed or roasted vegetables, omelettes, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced strawberries.
• Continue to include iron rich foods progressing texture to include foods like shredded chicken, diced silken tofu, boiled egg cut into bite sized pieces, flattened legumes, and beef rissole broken into smaller pieces.

BLW foods for 12 month-old to 18 months

• By 12 months babies who have had ongoing exposure to and practice with a variety of foods and textures will be able to progress to mostly family foods with some minor modifications.
• Firmer textures and more complex combinations: mini sandwiches, a variety of pasta shapes, homemade muffins, cooked grains, whole canned or cooked legumes.
• By this stage, babies are refining chewing, biting and tearing, and pincer grip skills
• Mealtimes can increasingly resemble the family’s plate, with modifications for salt and sugar
• Continue to avoid foods that are an increased choking risk such as sticky foods (thick nut butter, marshmallows), round foods (hot dogs, cherry tomatoes, grapes), whole raw foods unless grated (carrots, apple) and hard to chew foods (popcorn and whole nuts).

Once your baby is confident with self-feeding, explore some BLW recipes.