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Can Babies Eat Borage? How to Cook and Serve

Borage is a pretty blue-flowered herb, but it is one to skip for babies. The leaves are high in nitrates, which have been linked to blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) in infants, and the plant also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can harm the liver over time. Offer a gentler green instead.

When to introduce
Not recommended in the first year
Common allergen?
Not a common allergen
Texture
Best avoided for babies
Key nutrients
Some vitamin C, but skip for babies

Borage shows up in gardens and on foraging lists for its cucumber-tasting leaves and star-shaped blue flowers. It is a lovely plant, and you may have seen it floated in a summer drink. For a baby, though, it lands on the caution list rather than the plate. The concern is not one thing but two, and both matter most in the first year, so this is a food to enjoy yourself and leave off your baby's tray.

Prep School: how to prepare borage for baby-led weaning (BLW) and purées

6 to 9 monthsSkip borage entirely at this age. For a herby green flavor, stir a little well cooked, finely chopped spinach or chard into a puree instead, in small amounts.
9 to 12 monthsStill not for babies. If you want soft green finger foods, offer cooked broccoli florets or soft courgette sticks, which carry none of borage's risks.
12 months+Continue to leave borage off the menu. Toddlers do not need it, and the liver-related concern applies to young children most of all.

Is borage safe? Choking & prep

Borage leaves are naturally very high in nitrates, and in infants a large nitrate load can trigger methemoglobinemia, sometimes called blue baby syndrome, where the blood carries less oxygen. Cases in Europe have been traced back to borage puree fed to babies.1 On top of that, the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds that are toxic to the liver and are of most concern in children.2 Because young children are the most sensitive group for both risks, borage is not a food to introduce in the first year. If you want a green with a fresh, herby note, cooked spinach or chard in small amounts, or a milder herb, is a safer route.3

Nutrition

Borage does contain some vitamin C, minerals, and the fatty acids that make borage seed oil popular as a supplement. But for a baby, the nutrition does not outweigh the nitrate and alkaloid concerns, and everything borage offers is available from foods that carry no such risk. There is no nutritional reason a baby needs borage.

Goes well with

Cooked spinach (small amounts) · Chard · Broccoli · Courgette · Peas

Storage & freezing

If you grow or forage borage for adult use, treat the leaves like a delicate herb: keep them dry, wrapped loosely in the fridge, and use within a day or two before they wilt. None of this changes the advice for babies, since drying, storing, or cooking does not remove the pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

More vegetables to explore

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Bottle gourdAround 6 months
🥔
BreadfruitAround 6 months
🥦
BroccoliAround 6 months
🥦
BroccoliniAround 6 months
🥬
Brussels sproutsAround 9 months
🥕
BurdockAround 9 months

Related reading

Common questions

Can my baby have borage?

No, it is best to skip borage in the first year and beyond for now. The leaves are high in nitrates linked to blue baby syndrome, and the plant contains alkaloids that can harm the liver, and young children are the most sensitive group for both.

What if a few borage flowers were in a dish?

A single decorative flower is a much smaller exposure than a serving of leaves, so try not to panic if it happened once. Going forward, keep borage off your baby's food and mention it to your pediatrician if you have any concerns.

Is borage seed oil the same concern?

Borage seed oil is a separate product and the alkaloids are largely not carried into the oil, but supplements are still not something to give a baby without a doctor's guidance. This page is about the leaves and flowers as food, which are the ones to avoid.

Sources

  1. Memorial Sloan Kettering: Borage
  2. NIH LactMed: Borage
  3. Nationwide Children's: Nitrates in homemade baby food

Further reading

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Last updated July 2026. Next review January 2027. How we write these: grounded in widely published pediatric guidance (the AAP, WHO, the NIAID 2017 allergen guidelines, and the LEAP study), and pending independent review by a pediatric professional. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these.

This is general information, not medical advice, and has not been individually reviewed 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.