Tacos

Tacos made with soft corn tortillas and age-appropriate fillings can be modified and shared as soon as baby is ready to start solids, which is generally around 6 months of age.

Tacos are as diverse as the kitchens in which they are made. While the exact origin of the taco is unknown, Indigenous peoples across Central and South America have been wrapping food in corn tortillas long before Taco Tuesday entered weekly meal plans worldwide. In Mexico, home of the modern taco, tortillas may be filled with beans, vegetables, fish, or offal meats like heart, liver, and tongue, then topped with mole or salsa. Global interest in Mexican cooking has led to new taco interpretations influenced by different cultures and ingredients, such as wheat tortillas stuffed with spicy Korean barbecue, crispy tacos filled with tangy Filipino sisig, and French tacos that resemble a burrito stuffed with doner kebab.

Yes. While ingredients vary, tacos generally offer carbohydrates from the tortilla for energy, protein and iron from meats and beans to fuel growth, fat for brain development and energy for play, calcium from cheese to support bone health, and fiber from salsa and beans, which supports the developing microbiome in baby’s gut. Opt for tacos made with pasteurized cheese, as eating raw/unpasteurized cheese carries a significantly increased risk of foodborne illness, to which babies are more susceptible.

Taco ingredients are endless, so get creative as the child’s eating skills develop. For example, experiment with proteins such as meat, fish, or tofu, grains like rice and quinoa, and vegetables such as mushrooms, nopales, peppers, or squash. Top tacos with your favorite sauces like chimichurri, guacamole, or plain yogurt, herbs like cilantro and chives, and cheese.

Yes. Depending on the type, tacos may include dairy, egg, finned fish, shellfish, sesame, soy, and wheat. Corn tortillas may contain wheat; wheat tortillas may contain wheat or soy, and taco fillings may contain dairy, fish, sesame and shellfish allergens.

It is important to introduce each common food allergen and rule out a food allergy before sharing prepared foods that contain multiple potential food allergens. This way, when you are ready to share a taco, you will be confident that baby has already eaten any common food allergens in it. This approach can also help you narrow the possibilities of which food is responsible if baby has an allergic 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.

They can be. Wheat tortillas can get gummy in the mouth, and some tacos have hard, crunchy taco shells or challenging-to-chew fillings like cubes of meat or chunks of cheese, qualities that increase the risk of choking. To reduce the risk, prepare and serve tacos in an age-appropriate way as described in the How to Serve section. As always, make sure you create a safe eating environment and stay within an arm’s reach of baby during meals. 

Learn the signs of choking and gagging and more about choking first aid in our free guides, Infant Rescue and Toddler Rescue.

Dishes that contain taco seasoning as an ingredient may be introduced as soon as baby is ready to start solids, which is generally around 6 months of age. While some taco seasonings can be high in sodium, a taste here and there of a dish containing taco seasoning is fine as part of a varied diet. Note that some taco seasonings contain common food allergens, so make sure to read the label before serving.

Yes, but it depends on the specific type of hot sauce and baby's individual tolerance for spicy food. Hot sauces can cause a burning sensation in the mouth, and we want to try and offer enjoyable eating experiences early on in baby’s solids journey. That said, some hot sauces are quite mild, and every person’s individual tolerance to spice is different and can change with time, so whenever you do decide to let a child taste hot sauce, start with a tiny amount of a mild variety and let them choose how much they would like (i.e. drip a small amount onto their plate for dipping rather than drizzling onto their food). Offer it alongside a cooling food, like sour cream, mashed avocado, or yogurt to help balance the spiciness.

Try offering small amounts of the taco’s components separately on a plate for toddlers. For example, you could place cooked ground meat, a slice of avocado, small scoops of salsa and sour cream, and a bit of shredded cheese on the child’s plate, as well as an age-appropriate piece of tortilla on the side. See our serving by age section for more details on how to offer deconstructed tacos that are safe for babies and kids.