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From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

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Can Babies Eat Enchiladas? The Salt Is in the Sauce

Enchiladas work for a baby from about 9 months as a homemade plate: soft corn tortilla strips, mashed beans, shredded chicken and a spoon of mild sauce made without salt. The salt lives in canned sauce and cheese, and one restaurant cheese enchilada has about 720 mg of sodium, so restaurant enchiladas wait until about 12 months and stay a few bites.

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When to introduce
From about 9 months, as a homemade plate with mild sauce made without salt, once your baby is handling soft mixed textures. Restaurant enchiladas wait until about 12 months and stay a few bites, because of the salt.
Common allergen?
Yes, milk: most enchiladas are filled or topped with cheese, and many add sour cream or crema. Traditional enchiladas use corn tortillas, which are not a common allergen, but some use flour tortillas or a sauce thickened with wheat flour (wheat), and mole sauces often add sesame, peanuts or tree nuts. Read the label.
Texture
Soft. Tortilla in strips or small pieces, beans mashed or pressed flat, meat shredded fine, and melted cheese cooled and cut short. Leave crisp tortilla edges off.
Key nutrients
Protein, iron and zinc from the chicken, beef or beans, calcium from the cheese, and carbohydrate from the corn tortilla. Restaurant and canned-sauce versions carry a lot of sodium.

Yes, from about 9 months, and the trick is to build your baby's enchiladas on a plate instead of cutting a piece from the pan. Enchiladas are corn tortillas rolled around chicken, beef, cheese or beans, covered in red or green chile sauce, topped with cheese and baked. Almost every part is a food your baby can already eat on its own. The corn tortilla is barely salty, about 11 mg of sodium in one tortilla.1 The salt comes in with the sauce and the cheese. A quarter cup of canned red enchilada sauce has about 300 mg of sodium, and the National Academies put the adequate intake for a baby 7 to 12 months at 370 mg a day from everything they eat and drink.12 One restaurant cheese enchilada has about 720 mg, nearly twice that.1 So the baby version is a plate: soft tortilla strips, mashed beans, shredded chicken and a spoon of mild sauce you made without salt. If you are the one cooking, set aside a plain tortilla, some beans and some chicken before anything gets sauced, and dinner for the baby is already done.

⚠️ The salt is in the sauce and the cheese. A quarter cup of canned red enchilada sauce has about 300 mg of sodium, most of the 370 mg a day that is adequate for a baby 7 to 12 months old.12 Make your baby's sauce at home with no salt, and keep restaurant enchiladas to a few bites from about 12 months.

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

🍴 Baby-led weaning

Around 9 monthsPut the parts on the tray instead of a rolled enchilada: soft, warm corn tortilla strips, beans mashed or pressed flat one by one, and chicken or beef shredded into fine threads with no chunks. Add a spoonful of mild homemade sauce, made without salt, to dip into, and a little melted cheese cooled until it stops stretching. Sit your baby upright and stay with them while they eat.
Homemade mild sauce (9 months+)For red sauce, simmer no-salt-added tomato sauce with a little garlic, onion and cumin and a pinch of sweet paprika for color. For green sauce, simmer tomatillos until soft and blend them with a little onion, garlic and cilantro, leaving out the jalapeño. Add no salt and no stock cube to either. Offer it as a dip for tortilla strips, keep it covered in the fridge, and use it within 2 days.
12 months+Cut a homemade enchilada into small pieces, no larger than half an inch, for your toddler to pick up, with the cheese cooled first. A few bites of a restaurant enchilada now and then are fine, but one restaurant cheese enchilada has about 720 mg of sodium, close to the 800 mg a day that is adequate for ages 1 to 3. Share a few soft pieces from the middle, and leave raw onion and jalapeño slices off.
Until about age 4Keep flattening beans, shredding meat and cutting pieces small. Skip crisp tortilla edges from the top of the pan, which break into hard pieces like the corn chips the CDC lists, and hand over a soft piece from the middle.

🥄 Purées

Around 9 monthsMash beans with a spoonful of mild homemade sauce, made without salt, into a thick, lumpy mash, and stir in chicken or beef shredded very fine, with no chunks. Tear a soft corn tortilla into small pieces and let them soak in the sauce until they mash easily with a fork. Stir in a little melted cheese once it has cooled. Sit your baby upright and stay with them while they eat.
Homemade mild sauce (9 months+)For red sauce, simmer no-salt-added tomato sauce with a little garlic, onion and cumin and a pinch of sweet paprika for color. For green sauce, simmer tomatillos until soft and blend them with a little onion, garlic and cilantro, leaving out the jalapeño. Add no salt and no stock cube to either. Use it to loosen mashed beans, keep it covered in the fridge, and use it within 2 days.
12 months+Mash a homemade enchilada with a fork, leaving soft lumps, or cut it into small pieces, no larger than half an inch, for your toddler to scoop, with the cheese cooled first. A few spoonfuls of a restaurant enchilada now and then are fine, but one restaurant cheese enchilada has about 720 mg of sodium, close to the 800 mg a day that is adequate for ages 1 to 3. Take a few soft bites from the middle, and leave raw onion and jalapeño slices off.
Until about age 4Keep mashing or flattening beans and shredding meat as your child moves on to chopped food. Skip crisp tortilla edges from the top of the pan, which break into hard pieces like the corn chips the CDC lists.

Are enchiladas safe? Choking & prep

Salt is the main thing to manage. USDA FoodData Central lists canned red enchilada sauce at 547 mg of sodium per 100 g, which is about 300 mg in a quarter cup and about 1,550 mg in a 10 ounce can, and a restaurant cheese enchilada at about 720 mg each, or about 1,360 mg for a plate of two.1 The National Academies set the adequate intake for sodium at 370 mg a day for babies 7 to 12 months and 800 mg a day for ages 1 to 3, with advice to reduce intake above 1,200 mg a day at 1 to 3.2 The CDC says to avoid feeding foods high in salt to young children, including some canned foods and some frozen dinners, and the AAP suggests limiting processed foods made for adults, which often contain more salt.34 The tortilla is not the problem, since a plain corn tortilla has about 11 mg. Cheese is the other big source: a quarter cup of shredded Monterey Jack has about 170 mg, so a small sprinkle is plenty.1 Shape is the second thing. The CDC lists whole beans, tough or large chunks of meat, and large chunks of cheese, especially string cheese, as choking hazards for young children, and the AAP says to cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than half an inch.78 Mash or flatten every bean, shred the meat fine, and let melted cheese cool until it stops stretching, then cut any long strands short. Tortillas are often softened in hot oil before they are rolled, and the edges that stick out of the sauce can bake crisp, so pick a soft piece, since the CDC lists corn chips among choking hazards.7 Leave off raw onion too, because pieces of hard raw vegetables are on the same list.7 Keep your baby sitting up and stay with them through the meal.8 Heat is the third. An AAP pediatrician suggests including a little bit of spice from the very beginning, and the AAP's advice for one-year-olds is to skip foods that are heavily spiced or salted.96 Canned sauces come labeled mild, medium or hot, so make your baby's sauce mild and serve their portion before the hot salsa reaches the table. Cheese is the fourth. Use cheese made with pasteurized milk, since the CDC says not to give young children unpasteurized cheeses.3 For higher-risk groups, newborns among them, the CDC's listeria advice is to avoid unheated queso fresco-type cheeses even when they are made with pasteurized milk, and to choose them heated to 165°F or until steaming hot.10 So bake queso fresco into the enchiladas rather than crumbling it cold on top. Baked cheese holds its heat, so cool your baby's portion until it is lukewarm.11 Cook chicken to 165°F and ground beef to 160°F, and reheat leftovers to 165°F.12 Last, allergens. Enchiladas usually contain milk, from the cheese and often sour cream or crema. Like the other foods that can trigger allergic reactions, milk foods such as cheese can go into your baby's diet from around 6 months. If cheese is new for your baby, offer it on its own first: the NHS advises introducing these foods one at a time so you can spot any reaction, and once a food goes well, keeping it in your baby's usual diet.13 Traditional enchiladas use corn tortillas, which carry no common allergen, but some store and restaurant enchiladas use flour tortillas, and some canned sauces are thickened with wheat flour, which brings wheat. Enchiladas in mole sauce are a different dish for allergens, because packaged moles often list sesame, peanuts or tree nuts. Read the label, or ask. After a new allergen, watch for about two hours. Call 911 (or your local emergency number) right away if any of these show up soon after a food, on their own or together: swelling of the lips, face, eyes, or tongue; swelling or tightness in the throat, or trouble swallowing; vomiting; hives that spread beyond the mouth and face; trouble breathing, noisy breathing, or wheezing; a cough that keeps going; a hoarse voice; skin or lips that turn pale or blue; or a baby who goes floppy or limp, or is suddenly sleepy or hard to wake. If the only sign is a new rash or a few hives around the mouth or face, stop the food, watch your baby closely, and call your pediatrician. If anything else about your baby worries you, call 911.161718 If your baby already has eczema or a diagnosed food allergy, talk to your pediatrician before introducing new allergens.13

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Nutrition

Enchiladas can carry a good share of what a baby needs from solid food. Chicken and beef bring heme iron, which the body absorbs more easily than the iron in plants. Beans bring plant iron, which is absorbed better alongside vitamin C-rich foods, and the CDC counts tomatoes, papaya and sweet potatoes among them.14 Children 7 to 24 months need 3 mg of zinc a day, and the CDC lists meats, cheese and beans among its sources.15 A quarter cup of shredded Monterey Jack adds about 210 mg of calcium, and the corn tortilla adds carbohydrate for energy.1 To get a yes, start from what your baby already eats. If tomato sauce on pasta goes down well, red sauce is a short step; green sauce is tangier, so offer it as a dip next to a food they already like. Mashed avocado or a spoon of plain Greek yogurt on the side softens a bold sauce. If the first taste gets a frown, offer it again another day without any fuss. Log the try in YummyYucky with the date and a yummy, meh or yucky, and note whether it was red or green, so you know which sauce to make next time.

Goes well with

Avocado · Black beans · Chicken · Tomatillo · Greek yogurt · Rice

Storage & freezing

Cool leftover enchiladas quickly, ideally within 1 to 2 hours, then put them in the fridge or freezer. Food kept in the fridge for your child is best eaten within 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through (165°F), then let your baby's portion cool until lukewarm, and do not reheat the same portion twice. To freeze, wrap the pan or individual enchiladas well, thaw them in the fridge overnight, and use them within 24 hours of thawing. For quick baby plates, freeze plain shredded chicken, mashed beans and homemade sauce in small portions, and warm a fresh tortilla when you serve them.

More grains to explore

🍞
French toastFrom about 9 months
🍰
FruitcakeTraditional fruitcake is a skip. A homemade alcohol free, nut free version works from about 12 months.
🐠
Cheese crackersFrom about 12 months, as an occasional snack
🧀
Grilled cheeseFrom about 9 months (many wait to 12mo for sodium)
🫓
English muffinAround 9 months
🌾
FarroAround 6 months

Introducing this allergen

Related reading

Common questions

Can babies eat enchiladas?

Yes, from about 9 months, as a homemade plate rather than a piece from the pan. Serve soft corn tortilla strips, beans mashed or pressed flat, finely shredded chicken and a spoon of mild sauce made without salt.7 The plate is about salt: a quarter cup of canned red enchilada sauce has about 300 mg of sodium, close to the 370 mg a day that is adequate for babies 7 to 12 months.12

Is canned enchilada sauce too salty for a baby?

For a baby under 1, yes, at the amounts it usually goes on. USDA lists canned red enchilada sauce at about 300 mg of sodium in a quarter cup, and the National Academies put the adequate intake for babies 7 to 12 months at 370 mg a day from all food and drink.12 A homemade sauce from no-salt-added tomato sauce or cooked tomatillos, with no salt and no stock cube, gives the color and flavor without it.5

Can a 1 year old eat restaurant enchiladas?

A few bites, yes, but not a whole plate. One restaurant cheese enchilada has about 720 mg of sodium and two have about 1,360 mg, while the National Academies set the adequate intake at 800 mg a day for ages 1 to 3 and advise cutting back above 1,200 mg.12 Share a few soft pieces from the middle, leave raw onion and jalapeño off, and fill the rest of the plate with plain beans, rice or avocado.7

Are enchiladas a choking hazard for babies?

Parts of them can be. The CDC lists whole beans, tough or large chunks of meat, large chunks of cheese and corn chips as choking hazards for young children.7 Mash or flatten the beans, shred the meat fine, cool melted cheese until it stops stretching and cut it short, and skip crisp tortilla edges. Keep your baby seated and stay with them while they eat.8

Can babies have spicy enchilada sauce?

Keep it mild. An AAP pediatrician suggests including a little bit of spice from the very beginning, but the AAP's advice for one-year-olds is to skip foods that are heavily spiced or salted.96 Make your baby's sauce without jalapeño or hot chile, and serve their portion before the hot salsa comes out.

Is red or green enchilada sauce better for a baby?

Neither store version is low in salt. Across the canned enchilada sauces listed in USDA FoodData Central, the typical red sauce has about 530 mg of sodium per 100 g and the typical green sauce about 570 mg.1 Made at home with no salt, both work, red from no-salt-added tomato sauce and green from cooked tomatillos, so pick the one your family eats.

Do enchiladas contain milk or wheat?

Usually milk, from the cheese and often sour cream or crema, so treat enchiladas as a milk food and offer cheese on its own first if it is new.13 Traditional enchiladas use corn tortillas, which have no wheat, but some brands use flour tortillas or thicken the sauce with wheat flour, so read the label or ask. Enchiladas in mole sauce often add sesame, peanuts or tree nuts as well.

Can babies have queso fresco on enchiladas?

Yes, if it is made with pasteurized milk and baked in. The CDC says not to give young children unpasteurized cheese, and its listeria advice for higher-risk groups, newborns included, is to avoid unheated queso fresco-type cheeses even when pasteurized and to choose them heated to 165°F or until steaming hot.310 Bake it into the enchiladas rather than crumbling it cold on top, then let your baby's portion cool until lukewarm.11

Can I freeze enchiladas for my baby?

Yes. Cool them quickly, ideally within 1 to 2 hours, freeze them well wrapped, and thaw them in the fridge overnight.11 Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, let your baby's portion cool until lukewarm, and do not reheat the same portion twice.11

Sources

  1. USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: sauce, enchilada, red, mild, ready to serve (174074) 547 mg sodium per 100 g, 1/4 cup 56 g, 1 can 283 g; restaurant, Mexican, cheese enchilada (169855) 528 mg sodium per 100 g, 1 enchilada 137 g, 2 enchiladas 257 g; tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn (175036) 45 mg sodium per 100 g, 1 tortilla 24 g; cheese, monterey (170844) 600 mg sodium and 746 mg calcium per 100 g, 1 cup shredded 113 g. Branded Foods: 189 canned enchilada sauces, median sodium 533 mg per 100 g (red, 131) and 567 mg (green, 58)
  2. National Academies (NASEM), Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019), Summary, Table S-2: sodium adequate intake 370 mg a day at 7 to 12 months and 800 mg at 1 to 3 years; reduce intakes if above 1,200 mg a day at 1 to 3 years
  3. CDC, Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit (foods high in salt; unpasteurized cheeses)
  4. AAP HealthyChildren, Starting Solid Foods (limit processed foods made for adults, which often contain more salt)
  5. NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children (no added salt, no stock cubes)
  6. AAP HealthyChildren, Feeding and Nutrition Tips: Your 1-Year-Old
  7. CDC, Choking Hazards (Infant and Toddler Nutrition)
  8. AAP HealthyChildren, Choking Prevention
  9. AAP HealthyChildren, Ask the Pediatrician: How do I help my picky eater try more healthy foods? (a little bit of spice from the very beginning)
  10. CDC, Listeria Prevention (queso fresco-type cheeses for higher-risk groups)
  11. NHS, Children's food: safety and hygiene
  12. CDC, Preventing Food Poisoning (safe internal temperatures)
  13. NHS, Food allergies in babies and young children
  14. CDC, Iron (Infant and Toddler Nutrition)
  15. CDC, Zinc (Infant and Toddler Nutrition)
  16. NIAID Addendum Guidelines, Appendix D: Instructions for Home Feeding of Peanut Protein
  17. ASCIA: Anaphylaxis
  18. NHS: Anaphylaxis

Further reading

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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.

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