Can babies have Greek yogurt?

The verdict

Yes. Greek yogurt is ordinary yogurt that has been strained, and it sits in exactly the same place in infant feeding guidance: a pasteurised full-fat dairy food suitable from around 6 months.

The AAP names it outright. Writing about how to introduce allergenic foods, its allergy specialists say that while whole cow's milk is not recommended before 1 year of age, you may introduce processed dairy products such as whole milk yogurt or Greek yogurt mixed with a fruit that your baby has already had in their diet. That is as direct an endorsement as infant feeding guidance ever gives a named product.

The NHS does not use the phrase Greek yogurt, but its rule covers it: pasteurised full-fat yoghurt is suitable from around 6 months, and full-fat unsweetened or plain yogurts are the good choice because they contain no added sugars.

What straining actually changes

Greek yogurt is made by draining whey out of set yogurt. Three things follow, and they matter differently for a baby.

It is thicker

Useful. A thick yogurt stays on a preloaded spoon, which suits a baby learning to self-feed, and it holds fruit puree stirred through it instead of separating. It is also easier to use as a base for thinning peanut butter into, which is the method the AAP recommends for introducing peanut.

Thickness is not a choking risk in itself. Yogurt is not a thick paste in the sense that concerns choking guidance; the food that guidance is aimed at is nut and seed butter, which the New Zealand Ministry of Health says should be used sparingly and spread thinly rather than given in a lump.

It has more protein per spoonful

Neutral to mildly useful. Babies under 1 are not short of protein if they are still having breast milk or formula, so this is not a reason to choose Greek yogurt, and it is not a reason to avoid it either. What babies at this age are more often short of is iron, and no yogurt is a good iron source. The Canadian Paediatric Society's advice is to start with iron-rich foods such as meat, poultry, cooked whole egg, fish, tofu and well-cooked legumes, and to offer them at least twice a day. Yogurt is a supporting food, not one of those.

It has less lactose

Largely irrelevant, and often misunderstood. Less lactose does not make Greek yogurt suitable for a baby with cows' milk protein allergy, because the allergy is to the milk proteins, not the sugar, and straining does not remove them. The NHS warns against cutting out a major food such as milk without advice, because of the nutritional consequences, and says to talk to a health visitor or GP who may refer you to a registered dietitian.

Which tub to buy

The searches parents actually run are for nonfat Greek yogurt and vanilla Greek yogurt for babies, and both of those are the wrong product.

Nonfat and 0% are wrong because of fat. The NHS recommends full-fat cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais up to the age of 2, on the grounds that young children under 2 need the energy provided by fat and some vitamins are only found in fat. Australia's Raising Children Network says to avoid reduced-fat dairy until 2 years. Straining already concentrates the protein; taking the fat out as well leaves a food that is dense in protein and thin in energy, which is the opposite of what a baby wants.

Vanilla, honey, fruit-on-the-bottom and "high protein" flavoured pots are wrong because of sugar, and in one case because of honey. The NHS is unambiguous that a baby does not need sugar and that avoiding sugary foods helps prevent tooth decay. Any yogurt with honey in it is out altogether before 12 months, because honey can carry the spores that cause infant botulism, a rule the NHS, the Canadian Paediatric Society and HealthLink BC all state without exception.

Buy plain full-fat Greek or Greek-style yogurt and flavour it at home with mashed banana, stewed apple or pear, blended berries or unsweetened fruit puree.

Greek yogurt and Greek-style yogurt

These are different products in most supermarkets. Authentic Greek yogurt is strained. Greek-style yogurt is often thickened with cream or milk powder instead. For a baby it makes very little practical difference: both are fine if they are pasteurised, full-fat and unsweetened, which is what the label needs to tell you.

What you should check on either is the ingredient list rather than the front of the pack. Milk and live cultures is what you want to see. Sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, honey or fruit preparation is what you do not.

How much and how often

No authority sets a yogurt limit for a baby under 1. Breast milk or first infant formula remains the main source of nutrition through the first year, with solids building up around it, and a few spoonfuls of yogurt with a meal on most days sits comfortably inside that.

From age 1, the NHS suggests at least 350ml of milk a day, or two servings of foods made from milk such as cheese, yoghurt or fromage frais.

If your baby is having yogurt as part of an allergen maintenance plan, the principle from ASCIA is to keep introduced allergens in the diet at least once a week in age appropriate servings, because continued exposure is what maintains tolerance.

Where guidance differs

It does not, in any way that changes what you do. The UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand all treat plain full-fat pasteurised yogurt, strained or not, as a normal food from around 6 months, all prefer unsweetened, and all keep reduced-fat versions back until at least 2 years.

The only country-level nuance is emphasis. The AAP frames Greek yogurt as a deliberate allergen strategy for dairy protein, while the NHS and HSE simply file it under dairy foods from 6 months and put their emphasis on the sugar in flavoured pots.