FirstNom
Dinner · Finger food
Roasted broccoli trees with garlic and lemon
Cut broccoli into tall trees with a long stalk and your baby gets a built-in handle and a soft, sweet top to gnaw. Roasting under foil first, then uncovered, gives the adults their golden edges while keeping the stalks soft enough for a first-time eater. The vitamin C in broccoli also helps your baby absorb iron from the rest of the meal.
Ingredients
Makes 12 baby portions of 3 or 4 broccoli trees, about 50 g. The tray is a side for 2 adults and the baby, with about 4 baby portions over for the next day..
- 2 medium heads (about 600 g) broccoli, cut into tall florets with a stalk about the length of an adult finger
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1/2 unwaxed lemon, finely zested (keep the juice for the adults)
- 3 tbsp water
Method
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Heat the oven to 200 °C / 400 °F (180 °C fan). Cut each head into tall trees, keeping a long stalk on each one. Peel the tough outer skin off the thick central stem with a vegetable peeler and cut it into finger-length batons; they roast just as soft.
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Mix the oil, garlic and lemon zest in a large bowl, add the broccoli and toss with your hands until every floret is lightly coated.
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Spread the trees in a single layer on a large baking tray, sprinkle over the water and cover tightly with foil. Roast for 12 minutes; the trapped steam softens the stalks.
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Remove the foil and roast for another 8 to 12 minutes, turning once, until the tops are lightly golden. A knife should slide into the thickest stalk with no resistance, and a stalk should squash flat between your finger and thumb.
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Lift out the baby's trees first, choosing the softest and least crisp ones. Anything with dark, brittle edges goes to the adults, as charred tips snap off hard.
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Cool the baby's trees for a few minutes until just warm, then check the centre of a stalk is not hot before serving.
Prep tip
Roast the broccoli on the same tray as salmon fillets or chicken thighs for the last 15 minutes, and the whole family dinner comes out of one oven with one tray to wash.
How to serve it by age
The same recipe changes shape and texture as your baby’s grip and chewing change. Find your baby’s age band.
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6–8 months
One or two whole trees at a time, stalk first, so your baby can hold the stalk in a fist and gnaw the soft top. Both stalk and florets should squash easily between your finger and thumb.
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9–11 months
Whole trees to bite, or the soft florets pulled into small pieces about the size of a pea for pincer practice. Offer alongside an iron-rich main such as meatballs or lentils.
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12 months+
Trees as the family eats them, with the adults' lemon squeezed over if your toddler likes it. Keep the cooking soft rather than crunchy; raw broccoli still waits.
Choking: what to watch
Broccoli is low risk when it is cooked genuinely soft, but raw or crunchy broccoli breaks into hard fragments that are a choking risk. The foil-steaming stage softens the stalks before the tops colour, the peeled stem removes the stringy skin, and you serve the baby the softest trees, not the crisp, charred ones. Squash test every batch.
Whatever you serve, stay within arm’s reach, keep your baby upright in a supportive seat, and never let them eat in a moving car, buggy or carrier. Gagging is loud and normal. Choking is silent.
Allergens
This recipe contains none of the nine most common food allergens. Any food can cause a reaction, though, so offer new ingredients one at a time and watch for hives, vomiting, swelling or a change in breathing.
Iron
~0.5 mg per portion
Estimate: summed from the iron per serving on our broccoli, garlic and olive oil pages (USDA FoodData Central), divided across twelve baby portions. Broccoli is not an iron-rich food; pair it with meat, beans, lentils or egg.
Storing and freezing
Cool, then refrigerate within two hours; it keeps two days in the fridge. Roasted broccoli goes watery when frozen and thawed, so it is better eaten fresh or chopped into a pasta sauce. Reheat once, until piping hot, then cool before serving.
How sure is this?
- Guideline. Vegetables such as broccoli can be offered from around six months, cooked soft, per the NHS and the CDC.
- Guideline. Hard, raw vegetables are a choking hazard for young children, so vegetables should be cooked until soft, per the CDC and the AAP.
- Common practice, little evidence. Serving broccoli as long-stalked trees for babies to hold is a common baby-led weaning practice that follows the choking advice on size and texture, but it has not been studied on its own.
Common questions
My baby only sucks the top and drops the stalk. Is that enough?
Yes. At 6 to 8 months, gnawing and sucking is how babies learn to move food around their mouths, and the taste still counts as an exposure. Keep offering it; bitter greens often take ten or more tries before they are eaten properly.
Can I use frozen broccoli?
Yes. Roast it from frozen with no water and leave the foil off, adding 5 to 10 minutes. Frozen florets are often small with short stalks, so they are easier for older babies; for a 6-month-old, fresh heads give you the long handle.
How do I make it tastier for the adults?
Take the baby's trees out, then add salt, chilli flakes, the lemon juice and some grated parmesan to the rest of the tray and return it to the oven for 2 minutes.
Reference material
Guidance on this page follows the sources listed below.
