Portobello (Portabella) Mushroom

Fungi

Age Suggestion

6 months

Iron-Rich

Common Allergen

two portobello mushrooms before being prepared for babies starting solids

When can babies eat portobello mushrooms?

Portobello mushrooms (also marketed as portabella mushrooms) may be introduced as soon as a baby is ready to start solids, which is generally around 6 months of age. Heard you should wait? There’s no evidence to support delaying the introduction of edible mushrooms.

How do you prepare portobello mushrooms for babies with baby-led weaning?

Every baby develops on their own timeline, and the suggestions on how to cut or prepare particular foods are generalizations for a broad audience.

a Solid Starts infographic with the header How to Cut Portobello for Babies: cooked slices for 6 mos+, cooked bite size pieces for 9 mos+, raw slices if desired for 18 mos+

6 to 9 months old:

Offer long slices of cooked portobello caps for baby to munch and suck on. If they are too slippery, try rolling them in hemp seeds or breadcrumbs. You can also fold cooked and finely chopped portobello mushrooms into an omelet, then cut the omelet into strips for your baby to munch on.

9 to 12 months old:

At this stage, your baby’s pincer grasp (where the thumb and pointer finger meet) is developing, which makes it a great time to offer smaller pieces of food. Serve bite-sized pieces of cooked portobellos or chopped portobello folded into other dishes, like lentils, pasta, or quinoa. And swap in portobello mushrooms anytime in our mushroom ramen recipe! At this age, you can also try offering very thinly sliced (shaved) pieces of raw portobello mushroom. Just keep in mind that these slices may stick to baby’s tongue or the roof of their mouth and cause some gagging.

12 to 24 months old:

Offer cooked mushrooms (chopped or thinly sliced) on their own or folded into casseroles, eggs, grains, pastas, vegetables, or other dishes. At this age, you can also try serving thin slices of raw portobello. Explore using mushrooms as a substitute for meat in recipes, and if you’re feeling up for a project, use mushrooms to make your own umami-packed seasoning sauce that can be used a substitute for soy sauce. If you haven’t already, this is a great time to introduce a utensil, preloading as needed for your toddler to self-feed.

For more information on how to cut food for babies, visit our page on Food Sizes & Shapes.

Videos

Eunoia, 7 months, tastes cooked portobello mushroom slices.

Amelia, 9 months, eats portobello mushrooms for the first time.

Isar, 12 months, eats noodles with portobello mushrooms.

Are portobello mushrooms a common choking hazard for babies?

Yes. Mushrooms caps can be chewy and challenging for new eaters to break down in their mouths—and mushroom stems have a cylindrical shape that in the right size, can increase the risk. To reduce the risk, simply slice or chop the mushrooms, making sure you also slice through the stem, so it is no longer round. As always, make sure to create a safe eating environment, to stay within an arm’s reach of a baby during mealtime, and to check out our age-appropriate serving suggestions.

For more information, visit our section on gagging and choking and familiarize yourself with common choking hazards.

Are portobello mushrooms a common allergen?

No. Mushroom allergy is rare, although not unheard of. That said, mushrooms contain chitin, a common carbohydrate also found in crustaceans and insects that may contribute to an allergic response. Spores released by many mushrooms can be allergenic and cause problems for people with respiratory issues or sensitivities to airborne allergens. Individuals with Oral Allergy Syndrome (also called “pollen-food” allergy syndrome) may also be sensitive to mushrooms. Oral Allergy Syndrome typically results in short-lived itching in the mouth and is unlikely to result in a dangerous reaction.

As you would when introducing any new food, start by offering a small quantity for the first few servings. If there is no adverse reaction, gradually increase the quantity over future meals.

Are portobello mushrooms healthy for babies?

Absolutely. Mushrooms offer some protein and particular types of fiber that are not common in foods. They also contain vitamin D and most B vitamins, including B12 (typically available from animal meat) and folate to help fuel a baby’s cellular growth, and minerals like copper, selenium, and zinc—all essential nutrients that children need to thrive.

Mushrooms also have a superpower: they contain nutrients found in both plants and animals, as well as nutrients that are unique to fungi. What’s more, mushrooms contain some phytonutrients that may offer antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

There are thousands of varieties of mushrooms in the world, and many are not safe to eat. Always purchase mushrooms from a trusted source to minimize the risk of toxic exposure from accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms.

★Tip: Bring on the sun! Commercially grown mushrooms may contain less vitamin D than wild fungi, but exposing your farm-grown mushrooms to just 10 to 15 minutes of direct sunlight before cooking can increase levels of this vital nutrient.

Background and origins of portobello mushrooms

A mushroom is neither a fruit nor a vegetable, but a fungus, a scientific classification that distinguishes it from plants and animals for its unique biological attributes. More than 2,000 known edible mushroom varieties exist on our planet, each with a distinctive smell and taste, but portobello mushrooms are among the most widely consumed. Portobello mushroom is the same strain of fungus as the ubiquitous button mushroom; it has simply been allowed to grow to its mature size and develop a meatier, more robust flavor. Like button mushrooms, portobellos sprout in the wild (they originated in Europe and thrive worldwide today), but the fungi at your favorite grocer were most likely cultivated on a dedicated indoor mushroom farm, where growers can control air, moisture, and other environmental conditions.

Our Team