YummyYucky

From the YummyYucky team, founded by Nancy Nash

🍮

Can Babies Eat Shrikhand? From About 12 Months

Shrikhand is strained yogurt sweetened and flavored (often with saffron, cardamom, and nuts). From about 12 months, a small taste on an occasion is fine, and added sugar is best kept rare before age 2. Before then, the plain strained yogurt, set aside before the sugar goes in, is the baby version. The catch is the sugar and the tree nut garnish, not the yogurt itself.

Log shrikhand today →

Free, no account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.

When to introduce
From about 12 months, as a small taste on an occasion; added sugar is best kept rare before age 2
Common allergen?
Milk and tree nut (from the nut garnish)
Texture
Smooth and thick; naturally spoonable, no choking risk from the base
Key nutrients
Protein, calcium, and probiotics from strained yogurt

Shrikhand is one of those dishes that tastes like a celebration: strained yogurt whipped thick and creamy, sweetened, and perfumed with saffron and cardamom, usually with a scatter of pistachios or almonds on top. In plenty of Gujarati and Maharashtrian homes it is the sweet that shows up for festivals, weddings, and lazy weekend lunches. So it is a very reasonable thing to want to share a spoonful with the baby who is eyeing your bowl. Good news: the base of shrikhand is just strained yogurt, which is a friendly early food. The parts to adjust for a baby are the added sugar (there is usually a lot) and the nut garnish (a choking shape and an allergen). Before 12 months, set aside some of the plain strained yogurt for your baby before the sugar goes in, and after that a small portion of the sweetened dish now and then is fine. Skip the nuts unless they are ground in smooth, and you have a gentle introduction to a dish your family already loves.

⚠️ Shrikhand is strained yogurt (milk), sweetened, and usually topped with nuts (tree nut). Before 12 months, offer the plain strained yogurt set aside before the sugar goes in; the sweetened dish is an occasional small portion after that. Skip the whole nuts, and introduce each allergen on its own first.1

Why it matters: Shrikhand is a real family sweet with a yogurt base that suits babies well; the honest advice is to keep the good part (strained yogurt) and adjust the sugar and nuts.

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

🍴 Baby-led weaning

Before 12 monthsShrikhand itself waits, but its base does not: set aside a spoonful of the strained yogurt before it is sweetened and let your baby scoop it from a preloaded spoon or with their hands. Leave whole and chopped nuts off entirely.
12 months+A small portion of the family shrikhand now and then is fine. Whole nuts stay off the plate until age 5, so blend them to a smooth paste or use a fine nut flour if you want the nutty flavor.

🥄 Purées

Before 12 monthsOffer the strained yogurt set aside before sweetening, plain, on a preloaded spoon. The saffron and cardamom can stay; what you are leaving out is the sugar.
12 months+A small portion of the family shrikhand works now and then rather than as a daily bowl. Grind any nuts to a smooth paste or a fine flour and stir them in, since whole nuts stay off until age 5.

Is shrikhand safe? Choking & prep

Shrikhand is strained yogurt, so it carries milk, and it is very often garnished with pistachios or almonds, which carry tree nut. Milk and tree nut are two of the common food allergens, so if either has not been introduced yet, offer a tiny amount on its own first and watch for a reaction before serving the full dish.1 The bigger everyday concern is the added sugar. Traditional shrikhand is quite sweet, and health authorities recommend avoiding added sugar for babies, so before 12 months offer the plain strained yogurt set aside before sweetening, and after that keep the sweetened dish to an occasional small portion. Whole and chopped nuts are also a choking hazard for babies and young children, so leave them off entirely or grind them smooth. The yogurt base itself is smooth and spoonable and poses no choking risk.

Log baby's first taste of shrikhand and note whether milk and tree nut went down without a hitch.

Log shrikhand today →

Free, no account needed. Takes about 10 seconds.

Nutrition

Strained yogurt is a genuinely useful food for a growing baby: it delivers protein and calcium in a soft, easy texture, plus the live cultures that come with yogurt. The saffron and cardamom that flavor shrikhand add aroma without salt or heat. The trade-off is the added sugar, which brings no nutrition a baby needs, so the value here is in the yogurt, not the sweetener. Serving a small unsweetened taste keeps the good parts and dials back the rest.

Goes well with

Soft banana slices · Warm oatmeal or ragi porridge · Mashed mango · Soft cooked pear · A little plain unsweetened yogurt to dilute

Storage & freezing

Keep shrikhand covered in the fridge and use it within 2 to 3 days; it is a dairy dish and does not sit out well. Serve baby's portion in a separate bowl rather than dipping the shared serving spoon back in. It does not freeze well, since strained yogurt tends to separate and turn grainy after thawing.

More dairy foods to explore

🥛
SkyrAround 6 months, plain and whole-milk
🥛
Sour creamAround 6 months
🧀
String cheese6 months+
🧀
Swiss cheeseAround 6 months
🥒
TzatzikiAround 6 months, made at home with no added salt and the cucumber finely grated or blended in
🍨
Whipped creamFrom about 12 months, as a small taste on an occasion; added sugar is best kept rare before age 2

Introducing this allergen

Related reading

Common questions

Can babies eat shrikhand?

Yes, in a small way. The sweetened dish waits until about 12 months and then stays an occasional small portion. Before then, the plain strained yogurt it is made from is a fine baby food. Either way, skip the nut garnish.

At what age can a baby try shrikhand?

From about 12 months, a small taste on an occasion is fine, and added sugar is best kept rare before age 2. Plain strained yogurt, set aside before the sugar goes in, can come earlier.

Is shrikhand a choking hazard for babies?

The yogurt base is smooth and spoonable and is not a choking risk. The whole and chopped nuts on top are, though. Leave the nuts off for babies and young children, or grind them into a smooth paste.

What allergens are in shrikhand?

Milk, because it is made from strained yogurt, and tree nut, because it is usually garnished with pistachios or almonds. If your baby has not had either yet, introduce each one on its own first and watch for a reaction.

How do I make shrikhand baby-safe?

Before 12 months, set aside some of the strained yogurt before sweetening and offer that plain. After that, a small portion of the finished shrikhand is fine now and then. Either way, leave off all whole and chopped nuts.

Is the sugar in shrikhand a problem for babies?

Traditional shrikhand is quite sweet, and added sugar is something babies are better off without. That is why the plain strained yogurt is the baby version, and the sweetened dish waits until about 12 months as an occasional small portion. The saffron and cardamom flavors, on the other hand, are fine.

Can I keep the saffron and cardamom for my baby?

Yes. Saffron and cardamom add aroma, not salt or heat, so they are fine for babies. The part you are adjusting is the sugar and the nut garnish, not the spices that give shrikhand its flavor.

Can babies have the pistachios or almonds on top?

Not as whole or chopped pieces. Whole nuts are a choking hazard for babies and young children until about age 5.3 If you want the flavor, blend them into a smooth paste or use a fine nut flour stirred in, and only after tree nut has been introduced safely.

Sources

  1. CDC, Foods and Drinks to Limit
  2. CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods (introduce potentially allergenic foods when you introduce other foods)
  3. NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Further reading

😋 🤢

Track it in YummyYucky

Log first tries and reactions, with an automatic allergen tracker when a food needs one, all in one place you can share with your pediatrician.

Start tracking for free

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.

Some links in our guides are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only suggest things we'd actually use, and it never changes our guidance.