Pecan

Choking risk

Whole pecans are a high choking risk - hard and chunky, exactly the shape that can block a young airway. No whole or chopped nuts before age 4.

Serve pecan only as thinned pecan butter or finely ground pecan - a thick glob of nut butter is a choking risk too, so keep it spread thin or stirred in. See how to serve for age-by-age prep. See how to serve for age-by-age prep.

Allergens

Pecan is a tree nut, one of the nine most common food allergens.^[3] There's no reason to delay it - offer it around 6 months, then keep it in the diet regularly. Older advice said to hold nuts back until age two or three, but that's changed: waiting doesn't reduce the risk of allergy.

Offer pecan on its own the first time, earlier in the day and when you can watch baby afterward. Start with a small taste, around a quarter teaspoon of thinned pecan butter, and watch for a reaction. Build up gradually if all's well, and once tolerated, keep it in the diet a few times a week.^[2]

If your baby has severe eczema or an egg allergy, talk to your pediatrician before introducing nuts.

Offer it on its own, start with a small amount, and watch for a reaction. Once your baby is comfortable with it, keep it in their regular diet.

If baby refuses

Pecan butter is rich and sweet, and works best thinned. If baby turns away, stir a little into a familiar food and build up from there. Keep offering it now and then rather than dropping it - once a nut is in the diet, it's worth keeping there, and new foods often take a good few goes before they land.