Potato, what it looks like
Potato
Based on IAP, ICMR-NIN and 3 more sources
Safe from 6 months
Not a common allergen

Soft mashed potato can start from six months, cooked until it falls apart and mashes smooth. The ICMR-NIN names mashed potato among its own six-month first foods, and it gives easy energy. On its own it is a starchy food, not an iron or protein one, so keep it as one food among many, not the daily filler.

How to serve

6+ monthsStart here
9-12 months
12+ months
Smooth mashed potato6+ months

Pick firm potatoes for her, and throw away any that have sprouted or turned green. Cut the small eyes out before cooking.

We can start her on plain potato, boiled until a piece gives way easily when you press it, then mashed smooth. Loosen the mash with a splash of her usual milk, breast milk or formula, until it is soft to spoon and thick rather than runny. A teaspoon of unsalted butter stirred in makes it creamier.

A soft dal or a mashed vegetable cooked into it is the usual way families serve potato, and you can offer it that way too. Keep it plain, with no added salt while she is little and no added sugar before she is two. Start small and let her appetite lead from there.

Soft small pieces9-12 months

Now she can pick up soft, bite-sized pieces of cooked potato herself, alongside the mash she still takes. Cut them small, no bigger than half an inch, and keep them soft enough to squash in her gums. Lifting each little piece is how she practises her pincer grasp.

If you leave the skin on, she may chew it and spit it out for a while, and that is fine as she gets used to it. Give just a small amount each time and follow what she shows you.

Spoon, fingers, or both? (coming soon)
Soft family pieces12+ months

After she turns one, potato becomes part of the family meal, made as everyone else has it and simply kept soft. Small bite-sized pieces work well now, whether she is practising a fork or eating with her hands.

Keep her plate light on salt and spice, and break any firm or dry pieces into soft ones she can manage. She decides how much she wants now, next to the rest of her meal.

Spoon, fingers, or both? (coming soon)
Myth busted

A soft, well-cooked potato sits fine with most babies in normal amounts. You do not need to limit it or hold it back over worries that it causes gas.

Why?

You may have heard at home that aloo is a heavy, gas-forming food that a baby is better off without for now. A soft, cooked potato sits gently on most tummies, and there is no need to avoid it or wait past six months. Many families stir a pinch of jeera or hing into the mash, though nothing says it is needed. A little ghee for taste is fine too, and you do not need to drown it in ghee or leave potato out.

What other moms wonder

Real questions from moms, answered by Anu.

My eight-month-old keeps gagging on mashed potato and it frightens me. Is she choking or just gagging?
That gag over a spoon of aloo is frightening to watch, I know. A stiff or lumpy mash is the usual culprit, and a little of her milk loosens it smooth again so it goes down easily. Nothing has gone wrong. Try again in a bit, calmly.
Choking vs gagging ›
She turns her head from plain boiled potato every time, and I feel like I'm doing something wrong.
Plenty of babies turn their face from plain aloo, and it is no sign you are getting anything wrong. Folding a little of it into a food she already likes often helps. Keep gently offering, new foods can take many tries.
When she refuses food (coming soon)

More questions

Should I try baby-led weaning with potato?
Both forms work for potato. She begins at six months on a smooth mash off the spoon, then from about nine months you can hand her soft pieces to pick up, which builds her pincer grasp. By around nine months the IAP has babies moving off mash and onto finger food. Spoon, fingers, or both? (coming soon)
Is it good to give potato every day to help her put on weight?
Giving potato every day for weight is not the way to go, even though it does fill her up. It gives energy and starch, not the iron and protein a growing baby needs more of, so relying on it daily pushes those richer foods off her plate. The WHO treats starchy foods like potato as ones to go easy on. Offer it as one food among many, a few times a week. How much she should eat (coming soon)
Is it safe to add a little ghee or salt to potato for taste?
A little ghee, yes. Salt, not yet. She does not need any added salt while she is little, and no added sugar before two, so the mash is best kept plain that way. For taste and a few easy calories, a little unsalted ghee or butter stirred in is perfectly fine. That is enough to make plain aloo more inviting without the salt.
Can potato cause an allergy?
Potato allergy is uncommon, so for most babies it is not a worry. A baby who already has eczema, another food allergy, or a pollen or latex allergy may rarely react, so with her, offer a small amount the first few times and watch over the next few days. Any swelling of the lips or face, or trouble breathing, needs urgent help. Starting egg, nuts and other allergens ›
Can I refrigerate leftover boiled potato and give it the next day?
Yes, that is fine with some care. Once it is cooked, cool it down quickly, inside an hour or so, and store it in the fridge, eating it up inside two days. Warm it a single time only, right through until piping hot, then bring it back to a comfortable warmth for her. If she leaves some in the bowl, throw it away instead of keeping it for later.

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Educational only, and never a replacement for your paediatrician. Read the full note ›