6 Month Baby Food: Chart, Quantity and Best First Foods

October 28, 2026 Hoola Health

Starting solids is a milestone every parent looks forward to and quietly panics about. How much? How often? What if she chokes? This guide gives you a clear six month baby food chart, real quantities, and the Indian first foods that work.

The single most important thing to hold on to: at six months, food is practice, not nutrition. Breastmilk or formula is still your baby’s main source of calories and will stay that way until twelve months. Solids are about learning to move food around the mouth, meeting new textures, and topping up iron.

Is your baby ready?

WHO and most national guidelines put the start of solids at around six months. Look for these signs together, not just one:

Sits upright with support and holds their head steady
Reaches for food and opens their mouth for the spoon
Has lost the tongue-thrust reflex — food isn’t automatically pushed back out
Shows interest in what you’re eating

If your baby was born early, go by corrected age and check with your child health professional first.

Not sure your baby’s growth is on track? Growth is tracked on more than weight — see our newborn head circumference chart for what those measurements at each check-up actually mean.

Best first foods at 6 months

Keep it single-ingredient, smooth and unseasoned. One new food at a time, then wait three days before the next so you can spot any reaction.

Fruits: mashed banana, steamed and mashed apple, stewed pear, ripe papaya, avocado

Vegetables: steamed and mashed carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, sweet potato, potato

Grains and dals: ragi porridge, rice porridge, moong dal water, suji porridge, oats porridge

Ragi deserves its reputation. Finger millet is high in calcium and iron, digests easily, and works as a porridge with either water or your baby’s usual milk. It’s the most useful single ingredient in the Indian first-foods list.

6 month baby food chart

Time	Feed	Quantity
6:30 am	Breastmilk or formula	1 feed
9:00 am	Mashed banana or ragi porridge	2–3 tsp
11:30 am	Breastmilk or formula	1 feed
1:00 pm	Rice and moong dal mash, or steamed carrot mash	2–3 tsp, building to 2–3 tbsp
4:00 pm	Breastmilk or formula	1 feed
6:30 pm	Steamed apple or pumpkin puree	2–3 tsp
8:30 pm and overnight	Breastmilk or formula	On demand

Start with one solid meal a day. Move to two after a couple of weeks, and three by around seven months. Don’t run the full chart from day one.

How much is enough?

Week 1–2: 2–3 teaspoons, once a day
Week 3–4: 2–3 tablespoons, once or twice a day
By 7 months: 2–3 tablespoons, two to three times a day

Follow your baby’s cues. Turning the head away, closing the mouth, or pushing the spoon back means finished — even if the bowl isn’t empty. Refusing a food isn’t a verdict. It can take ten or more offers before a baby accepts something new, so keep offering without pressure.

What to avoid before 12 months

Honey — risk of infant botulism, even cooked into food
Cow’s milk as a drink — small amounts in cooking are fine
Salt and sugar — a baby’s kidneys can’t handle salt, and sugar sets a preference you’ll spend years undoing
Whole nuts, whole grapes, popcorn, raw hard vegetables — choking risk. Nuts as a fine powder are fine
Packaged foods with added sugar, maltodextrin or artificial flavours — read the ingredient list, not the front of the pack

That last one is worth taking seriously. A lot of infant cereals and “health” powders marketed for babies list sugar or a sugar substitute in the first three ingredients. Here’s exactly what we screen for and refuse to stock →

Foods that support weight gain

If your baby needs extra calories, reach for density rather than volume: mashed banana, avocado, sweet potato, a small spoon of ghee stirred into khichdi, or full-fat curd once dairy is introduced. Steady gain is the goal, not fast gain.

FAQs

What is the best first food for a 6 month old?

Mashed banana, ragi porridge or a smooth rice-and-dal mash. Any single-ingredient, soft, unseasoned food works — there’s no magic first food.

How many times a day should a 6 month old eat solids?

Start with once a day and build up to two or three meals by seven months.

Can I give curd at 6 months?

Small amounts of plain homemade curd are generally fine from six months. Introduce it on its own and watch for any reaction.

Should I stop breastfeeding when solids start?

No. Breastmilk or formula stays the main source of nutrition until twelve months. Solids are in addition to milk feeds, not instead of them.

Do I need to buy special baby food?

No. Home-cooked mashed food is ideal. If you do buy packaged, check for no added sugar, no salt and no artificial additives.

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