Babies can eat sweet potato from 6 months, when they start solids. At 6 months: roasted or steamed until soft, in finger-length wedges, or mashed onto a preloaded spoon. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
- Other names and forms
- kumara
- Start
- 6 months, when solids begin
- Common allergen
- Not one of the nine major allergens
- Iron
- 0.72 mg per 100 g
- Textures
- Mashed and finger food
How to serve sweet potato by age
6 to 8 months
Roasted or steamed until soft, in finger-length wedges, or mashed onto a preloaded spoon. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
9 to 11 months
Soft pieces about 1 cm to pinch, or mashed with a few lumps left in. Why smaller now: between about 9 and 12 months babies learn to pick food up between thumb and finger, and small soft pieces let them practice. Babies who don't move on to lumpy food by about 9 to 10 months are more likely to have feeding difficulties later.
12 months and up
Cooked wedges, cubes or mash from the family meal, made without added salt.
Sito shows this card at your baby's exact age, for 583 foods.
Nutrients
USDA figures per 100 g (Sweet potato, cooked, boiled, without skin): iron 0.72 mg, zinc 0.2 mg, calcium 27 mg, vitamin A 787 mcg and vitamin C 13 mg. Household measures from USDA: 1 whole is about 151 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 sweet potato?
From 6 months, when your baby starts solids.
How do you serve sweet potato to a 6-month-old?
Roasted or steamed until soft, in finger-length wedges, or mashed onto a preloaded spoon. Why so big: babies this age grab with the whole hand, so a finger-sized piece with a bit sticking out of the fist is easiest to hold and gnaw, and gnawing helps them learn to chew. Feeding themselves carries no more risk of choking than being fed with a spoon; always stay with your baby while they eat.
How do you serve sweet potato to a 9-month-old?
Soft pieces about 1 cm to pinch, or mashed with a few lumps left in. Why smaller now: between about 9 and 12 months babies learn to pick food up between thumb and finger, and small soft pieces let them practice. Babies who don't move on to lumpy food by about 9 to 10 months are more likely to have feeding difficulties later.
How do you serve sweet potato to a 12-month-old?
Cooked wedges, cubes or mash from the family meal, made without added salt.
Sources
- 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: Sweet potato, cooked, boiled, without skin
- AAP HealthyChildren: Movement Milestones: Babies 4 to 7 Months
- CDC: Important Milestones: Your Baby By One Year
- ESPGHAN: Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition (2017)