Finger food ideas from 7 months!

From 7 months, once your baby has gotten to grips with grabbing food, it’s time to offer lots more variety and new textures!

At 7 months, your baby can hold a stick-like object + start to control it better, learning how to feed themselves. During this time, their little gums are starting to toughen up, so you can try offering them soft foods with more texture too.

What finger food can I give a 7 month old?

From 7 months, give your baby soft-cooked veggies + soft, ripe fruits as well as some other cupboard + pantry favourites.

How do I prepare + cut finger food for my 7 month old?

Veggie preparation

Vegetables should be cut into sticks, the size and shape of your index finger, so that your little one can easily hold + grab. Boil, steam or roast depending on the veggie so it’s soft, squishable between your finger and thumb + easily gummed. Make your you remove any hard skin, naughty pips or fibrous bits.

Fruit preparation

Fruits should always be soft enough for your little one to easily gum, too. Make sure you remove any seeds, stones or pips + peel before serving. Steam or bake harder fruits like pears + apples so they’re soft enough for your baby to eat and cut into batons.

What vegetables are good for 7 month old baby

What vegetables are good for 7 month old baby:

Broccoli: Steam broccoli florets until they’re soft + tender + offer your little one the florets cut into halves or quarters, lengthways to try themselves.

Carrots: Cut carrots into sticks your little one can hold easily + steam or boil until soft.

Cauliflower: Steam cauliflower florets until they’re soft + tender + offer your little one the florets to try themselves, cut into halves or quarters lengthways.

Courgette: Cut courgette into sticks your little one can hold easily + steam, roast or boil until soft.

Cucumber: Cut soft peeled cucumber into sticks for your little one to hold.

Sweet potato: Cut into sticks or wedges your little one can hold easily + steam or roast until they’re very soft.

What fruits can a 7 month old eat as finger food

Offer sticks the size and shape of your index finger of these fruits to your little one to try themselves:

Bananas

Melon

Kiwi

Soft avocado: you can leave half of the stick with peel to help with grip

Peaches: fresh or tinned, peeled

Plums: peeled

Apples: boiled or steamed until very soft, cut into wedges

Pears: boiled or steamed until very soft, cut into wedges

If you’ve been weaning your little one with nut butters, you could even try offering your baby cooked apple or pear slices with a little almond butter.

What other solid foods are good for 7 month olds?

Cheese: You can give your little one small cubes of soft, pasteurised cheese to try.

Pasta: Offer pasta pieces like well-cooked penne with a scrummy squishy tomato sauce.

Scrambled eggs: Cook until well-scrambled but soft + offer in chunks.

Toast or pitta bread: Cut into fingers + offer with cream cheese or hummus spread!

Why not combine these + try our easy cheesy eggy bread recipe for 7 months+

FAQs about finger foods at 7 months

When can babies start eating puffs + melty sticks?

Babies can start eating Ella’s Kitchen Melty Sticks + Munchy Fingers from 7 months for fun + tasty finger food made for playing and learning, with less mess + packed full of the good stuff.

Discover more finger food for 7months+ in our online shop!

Can my 7 month old have yogurt with fruit?

Yes! Your little one can have yogurt from as young as 6 months, especially smooth, plain, full-fat + unsweetened yogurt. It's a great source of calcium + protein for growing babies. If you’re giving your baby yogurt for the first time, introduce it gradually + look out for allergic reactions like itching, a rash + or tummy problems. Check out our handy allergen guide for more information on introducing allergens.

What should I not feed a 7 month old?

Cheeses: Avoid soft, unpasteurised cheeses or mould ripened cheeses like brie! It's OK to give unpasteurised cheeses if they're cooked into a meal.

Honey: Avoid giving your baby honey until they’re at least 1 years old, as it contains bacteria that could be harmful to tiny tummies.

Eggs: It's OK to give your baby a runny egg, if your baby is okay with eating eggs and if the egg has a lion stamp. If it doesn't have the lion stamp, make sure the egg is well cooked before giving it to babies.

Added salt: Babies under 1 year old need less than 1g of salt - or 0.4g of sodium - a day, so added salt is a no-no. Processed foods not made for babies, like pasta sauces, breakfast cereals, and stock cubes could have lots of added salt in them.

Some fish + shellfish: Some fish, including shark, marlin and swordfish, can contain high levels of mercury. Avoid giving these for the first year and only in small amounts after that. Shellfish can carry risk of food poisoning if it's undercooked, so be very careful to cook it all the way through!

Added sugar: Your baby doesn’t need sugar so avoid sugary snacks with added sugar or fruit juices + only give them natural sugars in fruit. Make sure you brush your little one's teeth regularly!

Whole nuts + peanuts: Nuts are choking hazards for babies. Whole nuts + peanuts should not be given to children under 5 years old.

Discover more foods to avoid giving your baby from our nutritionist Claire!

Choking hazards, baby allergens + important stuff!

Always supervise: Always supervise your baby while they are eating + especially whilst they’re eating finger foods + getting used to new tastes + textures.

Baby allergens: Always make sure when introducing your baby to allergens, you do it one at a time and monitor them for any allergic reactions to food such as dairy, nut butters + eggs.

Choking hazards: Avoid giving a baby hard, round + small foods like whole grapes, raw vegetables and whole nuts, which are choking hazards to little ones. Explore our article on gagging vs choking.

Preparing food: When preparing finger food for your baby, it should always be soft + cut into pieces that are easy to grip, gum + chew.

Yummy recipe ideas for 7 months+

Dairy Free Sweetcorn and Chive Pancake Fingers

These Dairy Free Sweetcorn and Chive Pancake fingers are the perfect way to keep your little ones tums happy + include Ella's Kitchen Sweetcorn Sweetcorn Sweetcorn!

Mushroom + lentil burgers

Get the whole family involved with creating these marvellous mushroom and lentil burgers. A tasty treat, sure to be a hit with all the family!

our helpful 7 months weaning planner!

Start to introduce more texture + exciting tastes with the help of our handy 7 months weaning planner.

Shop Melty Sticks

A fun + tasty finger food made for playing + learning, with less mess. Melty Sticks are just the right size + shape to help little ones from 7 months learn to get food into their mouths and keep their little gums busy, whilst being super melty.