From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

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Can Babies Eat Pho? Yes, From About 9 Months

Pho works from about 9 months with two changes: an unsalted or diluted broth, and noodles cut short. Restaurant broth is heavily salted, and a long rice noodle is an awkward choking shape. Fish sauce also puts fish on the allergen list, and hoisin at the table adds soy and usually wheat.

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When to introduce: From about 9 months
Common allergen?: Fish sauce in the broth means pho usually contains fish, and hoisin at the table adds soy and often wheat
Texture: Soft noodles and tender meat in warm broth; cut the noodles short and serve the broth warm, never hot
Key nutrients: Protein and iron from the beef or chicken, carbohydrate from rice noodles, plus a lot of sodium in a restaurant broth

Yes, babies can eat pho, and it is one of the easier family dishes to make baby friendly. Most babies are ready around 9 months, when soft noodles and finely shredded meat are comfortable to manage. Pho has three honest issues and none of them are mysterious. The broth is the salty part: a restaurant bowl is built on hours of seasoning, fish sauce and often a stock base, and a baby's kidneys are still maturing. The noodles are the choking part: a long rice noodle is slippery and hard for a new eater to break up, so it gets cut short. And the fish sauce that gives pho its depth means the bowl usually contains fish, one of the common allergens. Ladle a small portion, dilute it or build it from an unsalted home broth, cut everything short, and your baby gets the same dinner as everyone else.

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

Around 9 monthsSet aside your baby's broth before the fish sauce and salt go in, or dilute a ladle with an equal amount of hot water. Cut the rice noodles into pieces about half an inch long with kitchen scissors, straight in the bowl. Pull the beef or chicken into fine short strands so it is easy to gum, and cook it through rather than using the rare slices. Fish out whole star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving, since the hard pods are a choking risk. Serve warm, not hot, and check the temperature yourself first.

12 to 18 monthsShort noodles still beat long ones, but you can leave them around an inch now as chewing and pincer grip improve. Keep the broth low in salt, and serve the noodles and meat on a plate with a few spoonfuls of broth rather than a deep bowl of liquid, which is easier to manage and less messy. Soft cooked greens like bok choy can go in. Cook any bean sprouts into the broth rather than adding them raw from the garnish plate.

18 months and upYour toddler can manage a small bowl close to the family version, still with less broth and no fish sauce or hoisin added at the table. Restaurant pho stays an occasional meal because of the salt. Tear the herbs small, offer lime for the flavor, and keep the chili sauce on your side of the table.

🍪 A soft chicken and rice bowl they can manage →

Is pho safe? Choking & prep

The three things to manage with pho are salt, noodle shape and allergens. Restaurant and takeout broth is heavily salted, and babies should not eat much salt because their kidneys are still maturing, which is why the NHS says not to add salt to a baby's food and to skip stock cubes and gravy.¹ Build your baby's portion from an unsalted broth, or dilute a ladle with an equal amount of hot water, and keep the fish sauce and hoisin off their bowl. The noodles are the choking part: a long rice noodle is slippery and hard for a new eater to break up, so cut it short. The AAP asks for pieces no larger than half an inch for infants and young children, with your child sitting upright and supervised for every bite.² Pull the meat into fine strands as well, since the CDC lists tough or large chunks of meat among choking hazards for infants and toddlers.³ Whole spices belong in the pot and not the bowl, so fish out star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving, and check the broth temperature yourself. Two more things travel with this dish. Fish sauce is made from anchovies, so a standard pho broth contains fish, one of the common allergens, and some broths and hoisin brands also carry shellfish, soy, wheat and sesame, so read the label if an allergen is new to you. And the garnish plate is raw by design: the FDA says people who are more vulnerable to foodborne illness, children included, should avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind, so cook the bean sprouts into the broth rather than piling them on top.⁴ Rare beef goes the same way. Cook your baby's beef through.

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Nutrition

Pho is a genuinely decent meal underneath the salt. Beef or chicken brings protein, iron and zinc, and the iron in meat is the form a baby absorbs most easily, which matters a lot in the second half of the first year. Rice noodles give easy carbohydrate and are naturally gluten free. Herbs, lime and soft cooked greens add small amounts of vitamin C, and vitamin C alongside iron helps absorption. Sodium is the part that needs managing rather than the nutrition: the CDC advises against feeding foods high in salt to young children, and a restaurant broth is exactly that.⁵ Build the baby bowl from a low salt broth and pho turns into a warm, iron friendly dinner your whole table is already eating.

Goes well with

Rice noodles · Chicken · Beef · Bok choy · Lime · Broccoli

Storage & freezing

Store the broth, noodles and meat separately in the fridge and use them within 3 to 4 days. Noodles left sitting in broth go soft and fall apart, which makes them harder to cut into clean short pieces. Cool leftovers quickly rather than letting a big pot come down to room temperature on the stove; divide the broth into shallow containers so it chills fast. Reheat broth until it is steaming hot all the way through, then let it cool to warm before it goes near your baby. Broth freezes well for about 3 months. Cooked rice noodles do not freeze well, so make those fresh. Throw out anything your baby has already been eating from.

More grains to explore

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Spring rollsFrom about 12 months for a cut-up roll, and the filling on its own from about 9 months.

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DumplingsFrom about 9 months for a cut-up steamed dumpling, and the mashed filling on its own from about 6 months.

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Pad thaiFrom about 12 months

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Pierogi6 months+

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Pita breadAround 9 months, once baby is comfortable with soft finger foods

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PizzaFrom about 12 months

Introducing this allergen

Common questions

Can babies eat pho?

Yes, from about 9 months. Use a low salt or unsalted broth for their portion, cut the rice noodles into pieces about half an inch long, pull the meat into fine strands, and keep the fish sauce and hoisin off their bowl.

At what age can a baby have pho?

Around 9 months is the usual point, once soft noodles and finely shredded meat are comfortable to manage. A restaurant bowl is better held until closer to 12 months, and even then it is an occasional meal because of the salt in the broth.

Is pho broth too salty for a baby?

A restaurant broth usually is. Babies should not eat much salt because their kidneys are still maturing. Make your baby's portion before the fish sauce and salt go in, or dilute a ladle of broth with an equal amount of hot water. Do not add salt back in.

Are pho noodles a choking hazard?

A long rice noodle is slippery and hard for a new eater to break up, so it needs cutting. Snip the noodles into pieces about half an inch long with kitchen scissors, keep your baby seated upright, and stay with them for every bite.

Does pho contain allergens?

Usually yes. Fish sauce is made from anchovies, so most pho broth contains fish. Hoisin at the table adds soy and often wheat, some broths and sauces include shellfish, and sesame turns up in chili oils. Read the label when an allergen is new to your baby.

Can babies eat the rare beef in pho?

No. The thin raw slices that cook in the hot broth do not reliably cook through. Use beef that has been fully cooked in the broth, then pull it into fine strands.

Can my baby have the bean sprouts and herbs on the side?

Cook the bean sprouts into the broth first. The FDA advises that people more vulnerable to foodborne illness, including children, avoid raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind. Herbs are fine, torn small so there are no long stringy pieces.

How do I make pho baby friendly at home?

Simmer the broth with the aromatics but hold the fish sauce and salt until you have taken your baby's portion out. Fish out whole star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves, snip the noodles short, shred the meat finely, and serve it warm rather than hot.

Sources

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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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