101 foods for babies with no teeth

Wondering what finger foods for your baby with no teeth? Here are some of the foods that they can safely manage to eat!

I did Baby Led Weaning with both of my kids. That means that at the age of 6 months (assuming they can sit very well in a high chair) they started getting whole foods.

No baby food, no mush, no purees. Actual normal human food.

I know this is scary for a lot of parents and caregivers and I’m not here to pressure you to feed your baby any way or another!

But I specifically remember being at the library’s mommy and me class with Luke and a mom asking what he eats. I told her he ate a hamburger for lunch. He was probably 7 or 8 months old at the time.

The other mom scoffed at me and said well her baby didn’t have any teeth.

I remember looking at Luke drooling on the rug with his one sad little bottom middle tooth and laughing to myself if she thought that tooth was really tearing into the burger meat!

I don’t mean that to laugh at the other mom at all. Just to say that babies don’t really need teeth to eat.

There are a lot of finger foods for 6 month old babies with no teeth. There are a lot of snacks for babies with no teeth!

Their gums are great at smashing and chewing solid food, teeth or not!

That being said, I steered clear of anything overly sharp or crunchy. Though, my daugther is currently 9 months old with only 2 bottom teeth and eats a LOT of goldfish.

We offer our kids 3-5 things at each meal. Go with small amounts of each and give seconds if needed!

Regardless, starting solids is a personal choice for the parents. If you are introducing finger foods – usually 6 to 10 months of age – here are some ideas to get you started!

A note about choking

I’m not going to lie. Choking is TERRIFYING. It’s horrific to imagine and as babies start eating, they are going to gag and choke a little bit. Here are some things that made me feel better.

Watch YouTube videos showing choking vs. gagging. It will make you feel more comfortable and know what to look out for.

Familiarize yourself with the best and safest way to cut foods. It’s actually easier for small babies to eat long sticks than food cut into small pieces (until they develop the pincher grip). We have this Baby Led Feeding book and it has great diagrams on how to cut foods.

Make an OK sign with your thumb and pointer finger. Never serve anything round smaller than that circle. Smush blueberries, and quarter anything else.

Get CPR and heimlich maneuver certified for children and adults.

If it makes you feel better, keep a Dechoker on hand and know how to use it.

**Always consult with a doctor if you are concerned about your child’s diet. I am not a doctor, just a mom!*

The best food for babies with no teeth

Here are some of my kids’ favorite foods before they got teeth! I organized this list by food type, so find exactly the thing you need to complete you next meal!

1. Banana- cut in half moons
2. Smooshed blueberries
3. Sliced strawberries
4. Mandarin oranges
5. Diced canned/pop top peaches, drained
6. Wedges of watermelon (for sucking)
7. Blackberries – cut in half or quartered lengthwise
8. Diced mango (an absolute favorite for both my kids!)
9. Pineapple tidbits – canned or fresh
10. Diced apples, sautéed with butter and tossed with cinnamon
11. Diced pears – fresh, they go brown quickly
12. Sliced prunes (great for constipation)
13. Raisins – beware, they can rehydrate inside their bellies and come out… large
14. Kiwi – peeled and sliced
15. Grapes – quartered
16. Slices of lemon or lime – people do this to be mean but our son LOVED them at restaurants
17. Applesauce – in a pouch or on a spoon
18. Fresh peaches – diced (you can leave the peel on small pieces!
19. Raspberries – cut or torn in half
20. Smoothie (cup with a straw)
21. Roasted sweet potatoes – peeled wedges or sticks, with skin removed
22. Baked or sautéed carrots (cut in half moons)
23. Mashed potatoes (pre-loaded spoon)
24. Mashed sweet potatoes (pre-loaded spoon)
25. Roasted squash – sticks or half moons
26. Mashed avocado or mild guacamole preloaded on a spoon
27. Zucchini noodles with sauce
28. Diced tomatoes
29. Green peas – by the handful
30. Chick peas – roasted and smashed so they are no longer round
31. Avocado chunks – toss with breadcrumbs or coconut to make less slippery
32. Cucumber – peeled and cut into sticks
33. Cooked corn – I use canned
34. Broccoli – roasted, cut into very small pieces
35. Pickles – quartered lengthwise or sliced into half moons
36. Plain full fat yogurt (pre-load a spoon)
37. Shredded cheese
38. Sliced cheese – torn into fingernail sized pieces
39. Block cheese – cut into small sticks
40. Fresh mozzarella, torn
41. Cheese sticks – cut in half moons or quartered in sticks
42. Babybel cheese, whole or broken up
43. Shredded chicken
44. Meatballs (both our kids’ first foods was a meatball!)
45. Meatloaf – cut into bite sized pieces
46. Chicken nuggets – cut into small bites
47. Fish sticks – but into small bites
48. Pepperoni – diced or torn
49. Deli meat – torn into bite sized pieces
50. Bacon – thin cut, don’t cook it too crispy, cut into 1/2″ wide slices
51. Sausage – quartered lengthwise
52. Hamburger – broken into bite sized pieces
53. Corn dogs – quartered lengthwise
54. Ground turkey
55. Ground beef
56. Ground chicken
57. Ground pork
58. Sausage or hotdogs – quartered lengthwise and sliced
59. Shredded/flaked fish
60. Shredded pork
61. Black beans
62. Veggie burger – cut in sticks or squares
63. Scrambled egg chunks
64. Hardboiled egg – diced
65. Omelet cut into strips or diced
66. Fruit and Veggie Melts
67. Baby puff cereal
68. Goldfish crackers
69. Cheerios
70. Animal crackers
71. Vanilla wafers – broken in half or mini size
72. Teddy grahams or Annies bunnies – broken in half
73. Belvita breakfast crackers
74. Veggie straws – whole
75. Peanut butter bambas
76. Dehydrated carrots – broken up
77. Round crackers (like you’d use for cheese and crackers)
78. Toasted bread with butter, peanut butter, or jelly
79. Hash browns – whole or broken up
80. Rice cakes – minis broken in half or large ones quartered
81. Mini pancakes – halved
82. Toast strips with mashed avocado (a fave for millennial parents)
83. Waffles – cut into strips
84. Biscuits – torn into bite sized pieces
85. Muffins – torn into bite sized pieces
86. English muffins – toasted, torn into strips
87. Bagels – sliced into 1/2″ thick slices
88. French fries whole or torn up
89. Sweet potato fries – whole or torn up
90. Pizza – cut into squares
91. Spaghetti with sauce of choice
92. Lo mein noodles (our daughter slurps them up!)
93. Lasagna, cut into bite sized pieces
94. Macaroni and cheese (tubes are easier than shells for little babies)
95. Microwave cheese quesadilla on taco shells – cut into strips
96. Corn cakes, cut into bite sized pieces
97. Couscous (we like the pearl) on a spoon or messily by hand
98. Pasta – we love penne, cut in half lengthwise for small babies
99. Taco shell pizzas (taco shell with sauce + cheese, baked) cut into strips or bites
100. Pita, torn into bites, with dip
101. Hummus, pre-loaded on a spoon

What are your favorite foods for babies without teeth?

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