From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

Can Babies Eat Matzo Ball Soup? From 12 Months

Matzo ball soup is a 12 month food as it is usually made, because the broth carries a lot of salt and the ball is dense and round. Never hand a baby a whole matzo ball. Break it into flat pieces, serve them on a plate rather than floating in hot liquid, and give the soft carrot and shredded chicken alongside.

When to introduce

From about 12 months for a traditional bowl, because the broth is usually very salty.

Common allergen?

Matzo meal is wheat and the balls are bound with egg, two of the nine major allergens.

Texture

A dense round ball in a thin hot liquid. Break it into flat pieces smaller than half an inch, and never hand over a whole one.

Key nutrients

Protein, iron and zinc from the chicken, beta carotene from the carrot, and a lot of sodium from the broth.

Yes, from about 12 months, and the reason for the wait is the broth rather than the ball. Chicken soup is salted hard, whether it started from a box or from a whole bird on the stove on a Friday afternoon, and a baby under one has almost no room for salt in a day. The ball, the kneidel, needs respect too. Whether your family makes floaters or sinkers, it is a dense round lump, and a dense round lump is the shape pediatricians warn about. This soup turns up at the Passover seder, where matzo meal instead of flour is the whole point, and on plenty of ordinary Friday nights and at Rosh Hashanah as well. None of that means your baby sits it out. The pot is full of things they can have right now: soft cooked carrot, shredded chicken, a little of the broth spooned over a plate rather than a bowl of it. The line to use when a bowl comes toward the high chair is "He can have the carrots and the chicken, I will break a bit of the ball up for him."

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

🍪 A soft chicken and rice bowl they can manage →

Is matzo ball soup safe? Choking & prep

Three things matter here: salt, shape and heat. Salt is the reason for the 12 month mark. A child under one should have less than 1g of salt a day in total and a one to three year old no more than 2g, which a single bowl of ordinary chicken soup can use up on its own.¹ The CDC puts foods high in sodium on the list to avoid for young children, and canned and boxed broths are among the saltiest things in a normal kitchen.² Family recipes vary enormously, so ask what stock went in rather than assuming, and if it came from a carton or a boxed matzo ball mix, read the label, since some carry soy and added flavorings alongside the salt. Shape is the second. A matzo ball is dense and round, and the AAP is direct that round firm foods should not be given to young children unless they are chopped into very small pieces, with nothing larger than half an inch.³ Never hand a baby or toddler a whole matzo ball, and do not let an older sibling pass one over either. Breaking it into flat pieces reduces the choking risk rather than removing it, so keep your child sitting upright, keep the pieces small, and stay within arm's reach for the whole meal. Heat is the third and the one people forget. Soup is served hot, a matzo ball holds heat in its center long after the broth on top has cooled, and hot liquids scald a small child fast. Do not hold your baby while you carry a bowl, keep bowls away from the table edge, and test everything against the inside of your wrist before it is offered.⁴ On food safety, chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and leftover soup should be reheated to 165 degrees Fahrenheit before it is cooled again for serving.⁵ Finally, the matzo balls carry two major allergens, wheat from the matzo meal and egg from the binding, so if either is new to your baby, introduce it in something plain first.

Nutrition

The nourishing parts of this bowl are the ones people treat as extras. Chicken brings protein along with heme iron and zinc, and heme iron is the form babies absorb most easily, which matters because iron supports brain development and a child's ability to grow, pay attention and learn.⁶ The carrot adds beta carotene, the orange pigment the body turns into vitamin A. The matzo ball itself is mostly energy, matzo meal and egg and a little fat, with the egg contributing protein and choline. The broth, on the other hand, is mostly water and salt, so a bowl that is nearly all broth is not really feeding anyone. Build your baby's plate out of the solid parts of the pot and use the broth to moisten it rather than as the meal.

Goes well with

Shredded chicken straight from the pot · Soft cooked carrot, squashed to check it gives · Cooked celery from the soup, chopped small · Egg noodles, for the lokshen soup families make outside Passover week · Dill and parsley, which season it without salt

Storage & freezing

Cool soup quickly rather than leaving the pot on the stove, and refrigerate it within about two hours. It keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Store the matzo balls separately from the broth if you can, because they keep absorbing liquid and turn heavy overnight. Reheat to 165 degrees Fahrenheit all the way through, then cool it to serving temperature before it goes near a baby. The broth and the chicken freeze well for about 3 months. Matzo balls freeze less gracefully and come back denser, which is a reason to make them fresh for a baby.

Introducing this allergen

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

Related reading

• How to introduce egg to babies →
• Grains for babies: first cereals & whole grains →
• How to cut food to prevent choking →
• Signs your baby is ready for solids →
• Baby-led weaning vs. purées →

Common questions

Sources

1. NHS, Salt in your diet
2. CDC, Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit
3. AAP HealthyChildren, Choking Prevention
4. AAP HealthyChildren, Burn Prevention
5. FDA, Safe Food Handling and Minimum Internal Temperatures
6. CDC, Iron for Infants and Toddlers

Further reading

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

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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