SAFE FROM
6 months
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age.
CDCCDC
| Age | Can they have it? | How to serve it |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months | Wait | Not yet — see above. |
| 6 months | Yes | Cooked very soft and mashed or pureed — hummus is a suitable form. The CDC names whole beans as a choking hazard. |
| 9 months | Yes | Cooked very soft and mashed or pureed — hummus is a suitable form. The CDC names whole beans as a choking hazard. |
| 12 months | Yes | Cooked soft and squashed; not served whole and round. |
| 18 months | Yes | Cooked soft and squashed; not served whole and round. |
| 2 years | Yes | Cooked soft and squashed; not served whole and round. |
FROM 6 MONTHS
Cooked very soft and mashed or pureed — hummus is a suitable form. The CDC names whole beans as a choking hazard.
FROM 12 MONTHS
Cooked soft and squashed; not served whole and round.
Cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch. Cut cylindrical foods (hot dogs, sausage, string cheese) into short thin strips — round pieces can get stuck in the airway. Cut small spherical foods (grapes, cherries, berries, tomatoes) into small pieces. Cook hard vegetables and fruit until they mash easily. Remove seeds, hard pits, skin and bones.
Yes — Beans (black beans, chickpeas) are one of the foods the AAP and CDC name on their choking-hazard lists. The danger is almost always the shape rather than the food itself, which is why the serving form above is the whole answer. Cut everything to no larger than half an inch, cut cylindrical foods into short thin strips rather than rounds, and quarter anything round.
Beans (black beans, chickpeas) are not one of the common allergens. Introduce it on its own anyway and wait 3 to 5 days before the next new food, so if your baby does react to something you know what it was.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
The CDC names beans among the vegetables to offer from around 6 months, and separately names whole beans as a choking hazard — so the answer is beans yes, whole beans no.
Getting your kitchen ready for solids? These are the feeding sets, first-foods spoons and storage containers parents actually reach for — general baby gear, not the food on this page, and nothing here changes the answer above.
Baby feeding & food-storage essentials on Amazon ↗
Ad · Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It links to general baby-feeding gear, never the food on this page, and it never changes our answer.
If you are working through the Vegetables group, the same serving and allergen questions come up for sweet potato, squash (butternut, zucchini) and edamame. Each one has its own introduction age and choking guidance — they are not interchangeable.
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age. The CDC names beans among the vegetables to offer from around 6 months, and separately names whole beans as a choking hazard — so the answer is beans yes, whole beans no.
From 6 months: Cooked very soft and mashed or pureed — hummus is a suitable form. The CDC names whole beans as a choking hazard. From 12 months: Cooked soft and squashed; not served whole and round.
Beans (black beans, chickpeas) are on the AAP and CDC choking-hazard lists. Cut food into pieces no larger than half an inch, cut cylindrical foods into short thin strips rather than rounds, and cut small round foods into small pieces. Keep the highest-risk foods away until at least 4 years, judged on your own child.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Offer one single-ingredient new food at a time and wait 3 to 5 days before the next one, so a reaction is easy to trace. The emergency signs are at the top of this page.