HeySolids
Choking risk
Picked clean, crab is a moderate choking risk for babies, since stray bits of hard shell and cartilage are the hazard, not the soft meat.
Pick out all shell and cartilage, then finely flake the white meat into a soft dish. See how to serve for age-by-age prep.
Allergens
Crab is a shellfish, and shellfish is a common food allergen. There's no reason to delay it, though - waiting doesn't prevent allergies, and allergens can start alongside other solids from around 6 months.[2]
Fish and shellfish are separate allergens, so doing fine with one doesn't tell you anything about the other. If your baby has severe eczema or an existing food allergy, check with your pediatrician before starting allergens.
Start with about 1/4 teaspoon of well-cooked, finely shredded crab mixed into a familiar food, earlier in the day, not near bedtime. Watch for a reaction over the next couple of hours. Build up gradually from there, and keep shellfish in the diet a few times a week.[3]
If baby refuses
Crab is sweet and mild, so refusal is usually about the soft, stringy texture. Stir finely flaked white crab into mashed potato, avocado, or a mild sauce, where the texture disappears into the food. Keep offering it - tastes change with repeat tries.
Food safety
Cook crab until the meat is opaque and piping hot all the way through, and never serve it raw or undercooked. Raw and undercooked shellfish can carry Vibrio bacteria, and babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults.[4]
Refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat from the tub is already cooked and works well - just pick through every piece for bits of shell.
Skip dressed crab and crab sticks. Dressed crab is heavily salted, and crab sticks aren't crab at all - they're imitation crab, made from fish, salty and processed.[5]
How to serve
6+ months old
Finely flaked into soft food
A spoonful stirred through a soft food
Finely flake or mash well-cooked white crab meat and stir it through mashed potato, avocado, or soft vegetables. Pick through every piece for bits of shell - no hard or firm fragments left.
Stick to the white meat: the brown meat is richer but carries more of the metals crab picks up from the sea - for young children it's an occasional taste at most, not a regular food.
How to cook
Steam or boil fresh crab until the meat is opaque and piping hot all the way through, and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults.
Or skip the pot: refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat from the tub is already cooked - keep it well chilled, and pick through every piece for bits of shell.
9+ months old
Small soft flakes, on their own or in a dish
Small flakes to pick up, or mixed into a soft dish
As the pincer grasp develops, offer small soft flakes of cooked white crab for picking-up practice, on their own or mixed into pasta, scrambled egg, or mashed potato. Pick through every piece for bits of shell and cartilage. Stick to the white meat: the brown carries more metals from the sea - an occasional taste at most for young children.
How to cook
Steam or boil fresh crab until the meat is opaque and piping hot all the way through, and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Or skip the pot: refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat from the tub is already cooked - keep it well chilled, and pick through every piece for bits of shell and cartilage.
12+ months old
Small soft flakes in family meals
Offer small amounts of soft white crab mixed into family meals - pasta, rice, or soft crab cakes made at home without added salt - and let your toddler practice with a fork.
Cook family dishes without added salt and season the grown-ups' bowls at the table. Pick through every piece for bits of shell and cartilage. Stick to the white meat: the brown carries more metals from the sea - an occasional taste at most for young children.
How to cook
Steam or boil fresh crab until the meat is opaque and piping hot all the way through, and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Or skip the pot: refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat from the tub is already cooked - heat it through in the dish, keep it well chilled until then, and pick through every piece for bits of shell and cartilage.
Sources
- Choking Hazards (Infant & Toddler Nutrition) - CDC
- Shellfish - FARE
- When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter & Other Common Food Allergens - AAP HealthyChildren
- Vibrio and Oysters (cook seafood thoroughly) - CDC
- Foods and Drinks to Avoid or Limit (honey, added sugar, salt) - CDC
- Crustaceans, crab, cooked, moist heat (FDC 172008) - USDA FoodData Central