Can Babies Eat Fontina? How to Serve It Safely

Fontina is a semi firm Italian cow's milk cheese with a mild, buttery, slightly nutty flavour. Choose a pasteurised version and babies can try it from around 6 months. The two things to manage are the shape, since firm cheese can be a choking risk, and salt, so keep servings small.

When to introduce

6 months+

Common allergen?

Yes - dairy (cow's milk)

Texture

Grated or thin slices, never cubes

Key nutrients

Protein, calcium, fat, B12

Fontina melts beautifully and has a gentle, savoury taste that most babies take to. Because it is a firmer cheese, the way you cut it matters more than the cheese itself. Grated or shredded, or cut into thin flat slices, it is easy for a new eater to manage. As small rounds or cubes it becomes a choking hazard, so skip those shapes in the early months.

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

Is fontina safe? Choking & prep

Choose fontina made from pasteurised milk, which most supermarket fontina is, so the milk has been heated to kill bacteria that can make a baby ill.¹ Firm cheeses like fontina are a choking risk if served in cubes or coin shapes, so grate or shred it, or cut a thin slice into strips, until your baby is a confident chewer.² Cheese is also fairly salty, and babies' kidneys cannot handle much salt, so keep portions to a small amount and pick a lower salt cheese when you can.³ Cow's milk is a common allergen, so if fontina is one of your baby's first dairy foods, offer a little on its own first and watch for a reaction.

Nutrition

Fontina brings protein and fat for growth, plus calcium for building bones and teeth and vitamin B12. Like most cheese it is calorie dense, which suits a baby's small stomach, but it is also a source of saturated fat and salt, so it works best as one part of a varied plate rather than an everyday staple in large amounts.

Goes well with

Mashed potato · Soft cooked pasta · Steamed broccoli · Pear · Wholemeal toast fingers · Scrambled egg

Storage & freezing

Keep fontina wrapped in the fridge and use it by the date on the pack. Wrapping it in waxed or greaseproof paper rather than tight plastic helps it breathe and last longer. If the surface dries out you can trim it. You can grate and freeze fontina for cooking, though the texture softens once thawed.

More dairy foods to explore

Introducing this allergen

• Introducing the big 9 allergens →
• Signs of a food allergy in babies →

Related reading

• When can babies have yogurt and cheese? →
• How to cut food to prevent choking →
• Signs your baby is ready for solids →
• Baby-led weaning vs. purées →

Common questions

Sources

1. CDC: How Listeria Spread - Soft Cheeses and Raw Milk (choose pasteurized)
2. CDC: Choking Hazards (grate or cut cheese into strips)
3. NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Further reading

• American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org): Starting Solid Foods
• CDC: Foods and Drinks to Encourage and Limit

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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