Babies can eat prunes from 6 months, when they start solids. Prunes are a choking risk until age 4 (sticky and chewy when whole), so serve them in the shape for your baby's age below. At 6 months: soaked or simmered until soft, pitted, then mashed smooth or stirred into porridge or yogurt.
- Other names and forms
- dried plum
- Start
- 6 months, when solids begin
- Choking risk
- Until age 4 (sticky and chewy when whole)
- Common allergen
- Not one of the nine major allergens
- Iron
- 2.8 mg per 100 g, an iron-rich food
- Textures
- Puree, mashed and finger food
How to cut and serve prunes by age
6 to 8 months
Soaked or simmered until soft, pitted, then mashed smooth or stirred into porridge or yogurt.
9 to 11 months
Soaked soft, pitted and finely chopped into tiny pieces about 0.5 cm, to pick up or stir into food.
12 months until age 4
Pitted, soaked soft and finely chopped, alone or stirred into oatmeal and into baking made without added sugar before age 2; whole prunes wait until age 4.
Age 4 and up
Whole pitted prunes, once your child chews well; eaten sitting down; keep soaking and chopping them if not.
Sito shows this card at your baby's exact age, for 583 foods.
Choking: why the shape matters
Why prunes are a choking risk: sticky and chewy when whole. Until age 4, serve them only in the shapes above.
The AAP also advises supervising mealtimes, having children sit down when they eat, and taking a CPR and first aid course.
Iron and other nutrients
USDA figures per 100 g (Prune puree): iron 2.8 mg, calcium 31 mg, vitamin A 100 mcg and vitamin C 4.3 mg. Babies aged 7 to 12 months need 11 mg of iron a day, according to the NIH, so iron foods matter from the first meals. Household measures from USDA: 1 tablespoon (mashed) is about 18 g and 1 teaspoon (mashed) is about 6.0 g.
Starting Solids in the Sito app
Sito is our app. From 4 months, the home screen is Starting Solids: the signs of readiness, how to serve each of 583 foods at your baby's age, and a quick log for every taste. Spears to grip or mashed on a spoon, each food's card shows the shapes that fit your baby's age, and swipes ahead to how it changes as they grow.
The Allergen Ladder takes 9 common allergens, one at a time, with a check-in after each. At 12 months the full app opens on its own: meals from a photo, 18 nutrients, and how to cut every food until age 4.
Every first food, served right
Add your baby and Starting Solids opens at 4 months.
FAQ
When can babies eat prunes?
From 6 months, when your baby starts solids. Prunes are a choking risk until age 4, so follow the shape for each age.
How do you cut prunes for a 6-month-old?
Soaked or simmered until soft, pitted, then mashed smooth or stirred into porridge or yogurt.
How do you cut prunes for a 9-month-old?
Soaked soft, pitted and finely chopped into tiny pieces about 0.5 cm, to pick up or stir into food.
How do you cut prunes for a 12-month-old?
Pitted, soaked soft and finely chopped, alone or stirred into oatmeal and into baking made without added sugar before age 2; whole prunes wait until age 4.
Sources
- AAP HealthyChildren: Choking Prevention for Babies & Children
- AAP HealthyChildren: When Can Babies Start Solid Foods?
- AAP HealthyChildren: Cow's Milk Alternatives: Parent FAQs
- CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
- CDC: Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit
- NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
- NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
- USDA FoodData Central: Prune puree
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Iron
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Zinc