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Can Babies Eat Cubanelle Peppers? Yes, From 6 Months

Cubanelle peppers are sweet, light-green frying peppers with thin walls, which makes them soft and mild once cooked. From around 6 months, saute or roast them until tender, peel, remove the seeds, and serve in strips or mashed.

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When to introduce: Around 6 months
Common allergen?: Not a common allergen
Texture: Cooked soft, peeled, deseeded, cut into strips
Key nutrients: Vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, fiber

Cubanelle peppers are the pale-green, tapering peppers beloved across Caribbean and Italian kitchens as frying peppers. They are sweet and mild, with thin walls that turn meltingly soft in the pan, which is exactly what you want for a baby. There is no real heat to worry about here, just the usual pepper skin. From around 6 months, saute or roast a cubanelle until it is tender and sweet, peel off the skin, take out the seeds, and serve it in soft strips or folded into other foods.

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

Around 6 monthsSaute or roast the cubanelle in a little oil until very soft and the skin loosens, then peel, remove the seeds and stem, and serve in soft strips or mash into a purée.

9 to 12 monthsOffer soft cooked strips for self-feeding, or chop the flesh into rice, beans, pasta, or soft egg. The thin walls make cubanelle especially tender for little fingers.

12 months and upFold cooked cubanelle into family meals, keeping it soft and cut small. As chewing improves you can leave a bit more texture, but hold off on raw pepper for now.

Is cubanelle pepper safe? Choking & prep

Cubanelles are sweet and mild, so heat is rarely an issue, though it is always worth tasting a piece first. The main thing is texture: pepper skin can peel away and bunch up in a small mouth, and firm raw pepper is a choking risk, so cook the cubanelle until soft, peel it, remove the seeds, and cut it into strips rather than rounds¹. Serve it soft, keep your baby seated and supervised, and introduce it on its own the first time so any reaction is easy to notice, though peppers are not a common allergen. Skip added salt when cooking peppers for a baby.

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Nutrition

Cubanelle peppers offer a nice dose of vitamin C to help with iron absorption, plus vitamin A, folate, and a little fiber. Their thin walls mean they cook down soft quickly, which is gentle on a baby's digestion, and their natural sweetness makes them an easy first pepper to enjoy. Served with iron-rich beans, egg, or meat, the vitamin C helps a baby get more from the whole meal.

Goes well with

Soft-cooked pasta or rice · Mashed beans or lentils · Scrambled or mashed egg · Shredded chicken or soft fish · Tomato-based sauce or mashed potato

Storage & freezing

Store fresh cubanelle peppers in the fridge and use within about a week. Cooked, peeled flesh keeps covered in the fridge for two days, or freezes in small portions for a few months. Thaw in the fridge, use promptly, and reheat leftovers only once until hot, then cool to warm before serving.

More vegetables to explore

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CucumberAround 6 months, as a large peeled spear or grated

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HuitlacocheAround 9 months, always cooked

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DaikonAround 6 months

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Dandelion greensAround 6 months

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Delicata squashAround 6 months

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Drumstick (moringa pod)Around 9 months

Common questions

Can babies eat cubanelle peppers?

Yes, from around 6 months. Cubanelles are sweet, mild frying peppers. Cook them soft, peel and deseed them, and serve in soft strips or mashed. Introduce on their own the first time.

Are cubanelle peppers spicy?

No, cubanelles are sweet and mild with essentially no heat, which makes them a friendly first pepper. It is still worth tasting a piece before serving, just in case.

Do cubanelle peppers need to be peeled for a baby?

Yes for early eaters. The skin can bunch up in a small mouth. Cooking the pepper soft loosens the skin so it slips off, leaving tender flesh that is safer to chew.

What is a good first way to serve cubanelle to a baby?

Saute or roast it until very soft, peel and deseed it, then mash the flesh into a purée or serve it in soft strips for self-feeding. Cut into strips rather than rounds.

Sources

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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.

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