From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

💠

Can Babies Eat Borage? Safety and Risks

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.

⛔ High in nitrates and liver-harming alkaloids; skip it and offer cooked peas or broccoli instead.

Skip borage for babies. Its leaves are high in nitrates, which have been linked to blue baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) in infants, and the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can harm the liver. Young babies are especially sensitive to nitrates, and the alkaloids are a concern at any age, so leave borage off the tray and offer cooked peas or broccoli instead.¹²³

Some foods have rules. YummyYucky remembers them for you. Track what your baby eats and the app flags foods like borage the moment they come up, watches every new allergen for three days after the first taste, and keeps the whole record dated and pediatrician-ready.

Start tracking for free →

When to introduce: Not recommended for babies or toddlers
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, nitrates and liver-harming alkaloids, so this is a food to enjoy yourself and leave off your baby's tray.

Prep School: borage by age, and what to offer instead

🍴 Baby-led weaning

Under 12 monthsSkip borage entirely in the first year. Borage leaves are very high in nitrates, and borage puree fed to babies has been traced to cases of blue baby syndrome, where the blood carries less oxygen.

12 months+Continue to leave borage off the menu. Toddlers do not need it, and its pyrrolizidine alkaloids can harm the liver.

What to offer insteadFor soft green finger foods, offer freshly cooked broccoli florets or soft zucchini sticks. They carry none of borage's risks.

🥄 Purées

12 months+Continue to leave borage off the menu. Toddlers do not need it, and its pyrrolizidine alkaloids can harm the liver.

What to offer insteadFor a fresh, herby note, stir a little freshly cooked, finely chopped peas or broccoli into a puree.

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 can damage the liver, with the risk rising the longer and more often they are eaten.¹ Young babies are especially sensitive to nitrates, and the alkaloids can harm the liver at any age, so borage is not a food for babies or toddlers.¹³ If you want a green with a fresh, herby note, reach for a lower-nitrate vegetable such as peas or broccoli instead, and serve it freshly cooked.¹³ Call Poison Control right away (1-800-222-1222 in the US, or your local poison center) if you think your baby has eaten or swallowed something poisonous, even if they seem fine, because signs of poisoning can take time to show. Take away anything that is left, and do not try to make your baby vomit. Call 911 (or your local emergency number) right away for trouble breathing, a seizure, or a baby who goes floppy or limp, or is suddenly sleepy or hard to wake. Call 911 too for skin or lips that turn pale or blue, or for fast breathing, which can be signs of blue baby syndrome.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

Broccoli · Zucchini · 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.

More vegetables to explore

🥒

Bottle gourdAround 6 months

🥔

BreadfruitAround 6 months

🥦

BroccoliAround 6 months

🥦

BroccoliniAround 6 months

🥬

Brussels sproutsAround 9 months

🥕

BurdockAround 9 months

Common questions

Can my baby have borage?

No, it is best to skip borage for babies and toddlers. The leaves are high in nitrates linked to blue baby syndrome, and young babies are especially sensitive to nitrates. The plant also contains alkaloids that can harm the liver at any age.¹²³

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, and keep borage off your baby's food going forward. Call Poison Control right away (1-800-222-1222 in the US, or your local poison center) if you think your baby has eaten or swallowed something poisonous, even if they seem fine, because signs of poisoning can take time to show. Take away anything that is left, and do not try to make your baby vomit. Call 911 (or your local emergency number) right away for trouble breathing, a seizure, or a baby who goes floppy or limp, or is suddenly sleepy or hard to wake. Call 911 too for skin or lips that turn pale or blue, or for fast breathing, which can be signs of blue baby syndrome.³

Is borage seed oil the same concern?

Borage seed oil can carry small amounts of the same liver-harming pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and at 1 to 2 grams of oil a day that can go over a recommended daily limit, which is why even adult supplements should be certified free of them.¹² It is not something to give a baby, and neither are the leaves and flowers this page is about.

Sources

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 free

Last 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.