Best Peanut Butter for Babies: Safe Buying Guide

Why introduce and use nut butter?

Nut butter is one of the easiest ways to introduce nuts when starting solids — and an even easier way to keep regular allergen exposure going afterwards.

We do recommend mixing nut butter into something else so it isn’t thick or sticky. A large blob of nut butter can be quite claggy, so thinning it with yoghurt, breastmilk, formula or a puree helps make it safer and easier for babies to manage.

The good news is that we now have plenty of nut butter options available, which means you don’t need to be grinding or grating nuts at home every week just to maintain exposure.

Simple, practical and realistic for busy families — which is exactly what we want.

Nutrition

Nuts aren’t just helpful for allergen exposure — they’re also incredibly nutritious.

They provide healthy fats to support growth and brain development, along with protein and fibre to help keep little tummies satisfied. Nuts also contain antioxidants (called phytochemicals), which support overall health.

They’re a natural source of nutrients including:

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin B6

• Niacin

• Folate

• Plant iron

• Calcium

• Magnesium

• Zinc

• Copper

Not bad for such a small food!

Whether you’re choosing peanut, almond, cashew or another nut butter, there are a few simple things we recommend looking for.

What to look for

Choose a nut butter that is:

• 100% nuts (or peanuts)

• Smooth in texture

• No added salt

• No added sugar

• No added palm or vegetable oils

Keeping it simple is best — nuts don’t need much added to them.

So what options are out there?

As your little one gets older, small amounts of added salt in nut butter become less of a concern as part of an overall balanced diet. Ideally, we look for options without added salt, but it’s important to keep the bigger picture in mind.

If the nut butters available within your budget contain a small amount of added salt, that’s okay. Nutrition isn’t about perfection — it’s about overall patterns. If most of your baby’s diet is made up of fresh foods and lower-sodium options, a small amount of added salt from a nut butter is unlikely to have a significant impact.

We do recommend avoiding crunchy nut butters until around 5 years of age, as larger nut pieces can pose a choking risk for young children.

The options listed above aren’t an exhaustive list, and products change regularly. Think of these as helpful examples of suitable choices that are widely available and easy to find in most local supermarkets.

WHAT ABOUT NON PEANUT OPTIONS?