From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash
Can Babies Eat Beets? Cook Soft, Serve Calm
Also known as beetroot.
Beets are an earthy-sweet, folate-rich veg for around 6 months. Cook until soft, mash or offer small soft pieces, and expect a harmless pink surprise in the diaper.
Free, no account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.
- When to introduce
- Around 6 months
- Common allergen?
- No (not a common allergen)
- Texture
- Cooked until soft, then mashed or in small soft pieces
- Key nutrients
- Folate, fiber, potassium, natural sugars
Beets are one of those vegetables that look intimidating and taste like candy. Roast or steam one until it is fork-soft and it goes deep, earthy, and genuinely sweet, which is exactly the kind of flavor a lot of babies lean into. They are also easy to serve: cook them soft, then mash them or cut them into small soft pieces your baby can manage. There is no need for salt here, because the beet brings its own sweetness and a baby's kidneys do better without it. The one thing worth knowing before you start is the pink surprise. The same pigment that stains your cutting board can pass through and tint your baby's pee or poop a startling pink or red. It is harmless, and once you have seen it once you will stop bracing for it. Beets are not a common allergen, so you can offer them without the extra caution some first foods call for.
Why it matters: Beets are a sweet, folate-rich vegetable that babies often take to, but they need to be cooked soft and served mashed or in small pieces to be safe, they need no salt because they are naturally sweet, and their pigment can harmlessly turn pee and poop pink.
Prep School: how to prepare beet for baby-led weaning (BLW) and purées
🍴 Baby-led weaning
🥄 Purées
Is beet safe? Choking & prep
Beets can turn a baby's poop red, and sometimes their pee too.1 The color comes from the beet pigment and is harmless. If you see red in a diaper and your baby has not had beets, or you are not sure, call your pediatrician.
Log beets as a try with a yummy, meh, or yucky verdict and the date, and see whether that earthy-sweet flavor wins your baby over.
Log beet today →Free, no account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.
Nutrition
Beets give babies folate, which supports the fast cell growth of the first year, along with fiber to keep things moving and potassium for healthy muscles and nerves. They carry natural sugars that make them taste sweet, which is part of why they land well with babies, and they need no added salt or sugar to be appealing. Roasting or steaming keeps more of their nutrients than boiling in a lot of water, and pairing beet with an iron-rich food like meat or lentils lets its vitamin C help that iron absorb.
Goes well with
Lentils · Yogurt · Sweet potato · Apple · Chicken · Oats
Storage & freezing
Cooked beet keeps 1 to 2 days in the fridge, or 1 to 2 months in the freezer.4 Store it in a sealed container, and freeze it as a puree or in soft pieces. Expect it to stain containers pink, which is cosmetic. Cook raw beets within a week or so of buying.
More vegetables to explore
Related reading
- Best first vegetables for babies →
- How to cut food to prevent choking →
- Signs your baby is ready for solids →
- Baby-led weaning vs. purées →
Common questions
Can babies eat beets?
Yes, from around 6 months, once they are cooked until soft. Beets are not a common allergen, so you can offer them without extra caution. Cook them until fork-soft, then mash them or cut them into small soft pieces your baby can manage, and skip the salt.
Why did beets turn my baby's pee or poop pink?
That is beeturia, and it is harmless. The reddish pigment in beets passes through some babies and tints their pee or poop pink or red. It looks alarming, and it clears on its own. If you are ever unsure whether a red diaper is beet or blood, think back to whether beets were on the menu, and ask your doctor if you cannot rule it out.
How do I prepare beets for a baby?
Roast or steam them until a fork slides in easily, then mash them smooth for younger babies or offer small soft pieces or thin sticks for babies who are grabbing food. Cooked-soft beet is easy to gum, which is what you want in a first vegetable.
Do beets need salt?
No. Beets are naturally sweet and earthy, so they taste good plain, and babies under 12 months do better without added salt because their kidneys are still developing. Let the beet's own flavor do the work.
Are beets a choking hazard?
Raw or firm beet can be, because it is hard and slippery. The fix is to cook beets until soft enough to squash between your fingers, then mash them or cut them small. Always serve your baby seated and supervised.
Are beets a common allergen?
No, beets are not among the common food allergens, so they do not call for the extra caution that foods like egg, peanut, or fish do. As with any new food, watch your baby the first time, but a reaction to beet is uncommon.
Can babies have canned or pickled beets?
Hold off on jarred pickled beets, and the reason is sugar more than salt. USDA lists about 11 g of sugars per 100 g of canned pickled beets and only about 149 mg of sodium2, and the CDC says children younger than 2 should not have added sugars3. Plain canned beets with no added salt can work in a pinch, but rinse them and check the label, since fresh roasted or steamed beet is easy to make and lets you control what goes in.
What are the benefits of beets for babies?
Beets offer folate for growth, fiber to support digestion, and potassium for muscles and nerves, all in a sweet, easy-to-love package. Their vitamin C also helps your baby absorb iron from foods served alongside, like lentils or meat.
Can beets cause constipation or loose stools?
Beets are fairly high in fiber, which usually helps keep things moving rather than the opposite. The bigger surprise is color, not consistency: the pink or red tint from beets is harmless, so a rosy diaper after beets is usually just the pigment.
Sources
- AAP HealthyChildren: Starting Solid Foods (beets may turn stool, and sometimes urine, red)
- USDA FoodData Central: Beets, pickled, canned, solids and liquids (FDC 170480), 149 mg sodium and 11.05 g sugars per 100 g
- CDC: Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit (no added sugars under 24 months)
- FoodSafety.gov: Children Under Five, Safe Storage of Puréed and Solid Baby Food (homemade baby foods: 1 to 2 days refrigerated, 1 to 2 months frozen)
Further reading
- American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Starting Solid Foods
- CDC: Infant and Toddler Nutrition
Track it in YummyYucky
Log first tries and reactions, with an automatic allergen tracker when a food needs one, all in one place you can share with your pediatrician.
Start tracking for freeLast updated September 2026. Next review December 2026. How we write these: built from current published guidance from the AAP, CDC, FDA/EPA, NIAID, WHO, and other pediatric and public-health authorities, with sources cited on the page. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these, and how we double-check the food advice.
This is general information, not medical advice, and is not individualized for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.
Some links in our guides are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only suggest things we'd actually use, and it never changes our guidance.