How to Cut and Serve Zucchini for Babies at 6, 9, 12 and 18 Months

Babies can eat zucchini from 6 months, when they start solids. Zucchini is a choking risk until age 4 (firm and crunchy when raw), so serve it in the shape for your baby's age below. At 6 months: steamed until very soft, in spears about as long and wide as two adult fingers with the skin on for grip, or mashed smooth. 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

courgette and baby marrow

Start

6 months, when solids begin

Choking risk

Until age 4 (firm and crunchy when raw)

Common allergen

Not one of the nine major allergens

Textures

Mashed and finger food

How to cut and serve zucchini by age

6 to 8 months

1 2

1. Spears two fingers wide, skin on
2. Mashed smooth

Steamed until very soft, in spears about as long and wide as two adult fingers with the skin on for grip, or mashed smooth. 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.

Texture: mashed and finger food

9 to 11 months

1 2

1. Cooked soft, pieces about 1 cm
2. Grated, cooked into other dishes

Cooked soft and cut into pieces about 1 cm, the size of a chickpea, or grated and cooked into other dishes. 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.

Texture: finger food

12 to 17 months

1 2 3

1. Cooked soft pieces, about 1 cm
2. Thin cooked slices, in dishes
3. Grated raw, mixed in

Cooked soft, in pieces about 1 cm, or thin cooked slices stirred into egg, grain or lentil dishes. Grated raw can be mixed in; raw slices wait until 18 months.

Texture: finger food

18 months until age 4

1 2 3

1. Cooked slices or sticks
2. Raw, sliced paper-thin
3. Raw, grated

Cooked slices or sticks as the family eats them, or raw zucchini sliced paper-thin or grated. Thicker raw sticks and chunks wait until age 4.

Texture: finger food

Age 4 and up

1 2

1. Raw sticks and slices
2. Cooked, as the family eats it

Once your child chews well, raw zucchini sticks and slices, or cooked zucchini as the family eats it, eaten sitting down; if not, raw only paper-thin or grated.

Texture: finger food

Choking: why the shape matters

Why zucchini is a choking risk: firm and crunchy when raw. Until age 4, serve it only in the shapes above. The AAP names raw vegetables among the foods to keep from children under 4.

The AAP also advises supervising mealtimes, having children sit down when they eat, and taking a CPR and first aid course.

Nutrients

USDA figures per 100 g (Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt): iron 0.37 mg, zinc 0.33 mg, calcium 18 mg, vitamin A 56 mcg and vitamin C 13 mg. Household measures from USDA: 1 slice is about 10 g and 1 cup is about 180 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.

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQ

When can babies eat zucchini?

From 6 months, when your baby starts solids. Zucchini is a choking risk until age 4, so follow the shape for each age.

How do you cut zucchini for a 6-month-old?

Steamed until very soft, in spears about as long and wide as two adult fingers with the skin on for grip, or mashed smooth. 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 cut zucchini for a 9-month-old?

Cooked soft and cut into pieces about 1 cm, the size of a chickpea, or grated and cooked into other dishes. 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 cut zucchini for a 12-month-old?

Cooked soft, in pieces about 1 cm, or thin cooked slices stirred into egg, grain or lentil dishes. Grated raw can be mixed in; raw slices wait until 18 months.

Sources

1. AAP HealthyChildren: Choking Prevention for Babies & Children
2. CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
3. CDC: Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit
4. NHS: Your baby's first solid foods
5. NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children
6. USDA FoodData Central: Squash, summer, zucchini, includes skin, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt
7. AAP HealthyChildren: Movement Milestones: Babies 4 to 7 Months
8. CDC: Important Milestones: Your Baby By One Year
9. ESPGHAN: Complementary Feeding: A Position Paper by the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition (2017)