Can babies have hummus?

The verdict

Yes. The NHS names hummus directly. Writing about protein for young children, it says beans, pulses, fish, eggs, foods made from pulses such as tofu, hummus and soya mince, and meat are excellent sources of protein and iron.

The components are all standard weaning foods in their own right. Chickpeas are named by the NHS among pulses suitable from around 6 months and among legumes worth grating, mashing, steaming or simmering for very young children. The Canadian Paediatric Society lists well-cooked legumes including beans, peas and lentils among iron-rich first foods. ASCIA names legumes such as chickpeas and lentils among iron rich foods to offer around 6 months.

Sesame, which is the interesting part

Hummus contains tahini, which is sesame paste, and sesame is one of the common allergens on every list here.

The NHS names seeds, particularly sesame seeds, among foods that can trigger an allergic reaction, with the instruction to serve seeds finely ground. Tahini is sesame ground to a paste, which satisfies that requirement precisely. ASCIA lists sesame among the common allergy causing foods to introduce in the first year and keep in the diet at least once a week. HealthLink BC names sesame seed among the allergens to introduce when a baby starts solid foods at about 6 months, and includes smooth seed butters, blended with an equal amount of warm water, among first foods. The AAP names sesame tahini in the same breath as peanut and other nut butters when it describes appropriate allergen portions.

So hummus is one of the easiest ways to introduce sesame in a form that is already ground, already smooth and already mixed into other food. Introduce it on its own rather than alongside two other new foods, so any reaction can be traced.

Salt, which is the practical obstacle

The NHS sets the limit for children under 1 year old at less than 1g of salt a day, no more than 2g a day between 1 and 3, and no more than 3g between 4 and 6, because babies' kidneys are not fully developed and cannot process salt.

Shop-bought hummus varies widely. Some tubs are relatively low in salt; others carry a meaningful share of a baby's daily allowance in a couple of spoonfuls, and flavoured versions with caramelised onion, roasted pepper or chilli are usually higher again. The NHS's general instruction for packaged food at this age is to check food labels and to look for products with green and amber colour-coded labels on the front of the packaging.

Home-made hummus removes the problem entirely and takes minutes: tinned chickpeas rinsed well, tahini, lemon juice, a little olive oil, garlic if you want it, and no salt. Rinsing tinned chickpeas thoroughly also washes off some of the salt in the canning liquid, and unsalted tinned chickpeas are widely available.

How to serve it

Hummus is smooth and soft, so it carries no choking risk on its own. The thing to watch is thickness, because it belongs to the category guidance treats carefully.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health classes thick pastes such as nut or seed butter as a choking risk, because they can fit to the shape of a child's airway or stick to the side of it, and instructs that smooth thick pastes be used sparingly, spread thinly and evenly onto bread. Hummus is thinner and wetter than tahini or peanut butter, but a heaped spoonful of very thick hummus is close enough to that description to be worth avoiding. Loosen it with a little water, lemon juice or olive oil, and spread it thinly.

On toast is the easiest form. The NHS says white bread can form a ball shape with a dough-like texture in the throat if it is not chewed properly, so lightly toast white bread or use brown, and cut it into narrow strips.

As a dip, it works with soft-cooked vegetable batons rather than raw ones. The NHS says to cut vegetables like carrots, peppers, cucumber and celery into narrow batons, and for very young children to grate, mash, steam or simmer firm vegetables. Raw carrot sticks are on several choking lists, including the AAP's and HealthLink BC's.

It also stirs through other food: into mashed potato, through well-cooked pasta, or as a sauce for shredded chicken.

Chickpeas and fibre

Chickpeas are high in fibre, which is generally good, but very high fibre intakes are not ideal for a baby's small stomach. Ireland's HSE makes the point about bran specifically, saying it reduces a baby's absorption of iron, calcium and other micronutrients and can fill a baby's stomach very quickly or cause tummy upset.

Hummus made from well-cooked, blended chickpeas is a long way from bran, and there is no guidance restricting it. But it is a reason to treat hummus as one component of a meal rather than as the meal itself.

Whole chickpeas

Blended into hummus, chickpeas are smooth. Whole, they are a different proposition: firm, round and roughly the size that choking guidance is written about. HealthLink BC has a specific warning that a child who has swallowed or choked on dried peas or beans needs immediate medical attention, because dried peas and beans swell when they absorb water, causing a more complete airway blockage.

Well-cooked chickpeas served whole should be squashed between finger and thumb first, or mashed. The NHS's instruction for legumes like butter beans and chickpeas for very young children is to grate, mash, steam or simmer them.

Where guidance differs

Not at all on hummus itself. The UK names it explicitly as a protein and iron source for young children. Canada, Australia and Ireland all treat well-cooked legumes as ordinary early foods, and all four treat sesame as an allergen to introduce early rather than avoid.

The only country-level nuance worth noting is that Canada and Australia are the most explicit about frequency, asking for iron-rich foods at least twice a day and for introduced allergens to stay in the diet at least weekly. Both of those are arguments for hummus rather than against it.