Kiddo Kitchen · Resources · Nutrition

Foods that cause constipation in babies (and what to swap them for)

A practical guide to the most common dietary triggers, including a few that might genuinely surprise you, and simple swaps for each one.

By Karen · Kiddo Kitchen · 5 min read

Here in Brisbane, I gave Theo apple purée for three days in a row thinking I was helping. He was constipated and apple seemed like a good fruit option. I had no idea it was making things worse. Foods that cause constipation in babies are not always the obvious ones. Some of the most popular, most confidently recommended first foods happen to be genuinely binding, and nobody tells you this until you have already been serving them for a week.

Here is the list I wish I had had. The Better Health Channel is clear that diet is the primary factor in managing constipation in children, so this is worth understanding properly.

For the full picture on constipation after starting solids, what it is, why it happens, and when to call the GP, see Baby constipated after starting solids?

Rice cereal

The great irony of baby nutrition. Rice cereal has been the traditional first food for decades, and it is genuinely low in fibre. The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne specifically recommends cereals that are less processed: bran cereals, shredded wheat, whole grain cereals and oatmeal, and advises avoiding refined cereals. Rice cereal falls firmly in the refined category.

I made the swap to oat porridge when Theo was about five months in and never looked back. The flavour difference is barely detectable once you stir a bit of pear through, and the difference in how his gut responded was noticeable within a week.

The swap: oat porridge is the most straightforward replacement. It contains soluble fibre that softens stools and feeds the good bacteria in the gut. Mixed grain options are even better for gut diversity.

Unripe bananas

A ripe banana, yellow with brown spots, is fine in moderation. An unripe or firm banana is high in resistant starch, which the gut cannot break down easily. The greener the banana, the more binding it is. This trips up a lot of parents because banana is such a portable, convenient first food, and it is easy to grab one without checking the ripeness.

The swap: if constipation is present, swap unripe banana for kiwi, mango or papaya. Very ripe banana is acceptable occasionally once constipation has resolved, but worth keeping out of heavy rotation if your baby tends toward the binding end of the spectrum.

Cheese and dairy products

Cheese is not the enemy. The problem is when it becomes the entire meal plan.

Dairy is an important source of calcium and fat, and there is no reason to remove it from the diet. The issue is when it crowds out higher-fibre foods, or when it is consumed in large amounts. Low fibre plus high casein protein can contribute to firm stools in some babies.

The swap: keep dairy in the mix, but balance it with plenty of fruit and vegetables at the same meal. Full-fat yoghurt with live cultures is a better choice than hard cheese when constipation is present, because the probiotic cultures actively support gut health.

Refined grains

Baby puffs are basically edible air with a logo on the packet. Nutritionally, they are doing nothing useful.

White bread, plain pasta, refined crackers and baby puffs have all had the bran layer removed during processing. What is left digests quickly but does essentially nothing for gut motility. They are not harmful in small amounts, but a diet heavy in refined starch will reliably slow things down.

The swap: wholegrain or wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, oat-based crackers and snacks. The texture is slightly different but most babies adapt quickly, especially when introduced early before strong preferences are established.

Apple purée

This is the one that caught me out. I gave Theo apple purée for days thinking I was offering a healthy fruit option. But cooked, blended apple loses most of its fibre effectiveness through the cooking process, and the pectin that remains can actually have a binding effect. Apple feels like it should help. It does not, not in purée form anyway. The swap: pear purée. Just as sweet, and pear retains more of its sorbitol content when cooked. The Raising Children Network recommends increasing fruit as a first-line approach to constipation, and pear is the most reliably effective option. I keep pear purée stocked at all times now.

Iron-fortified formula

If your baby is formula-fed and constipated, the formula itself can be a contributing factor. Iron-fortified formulas are nutritionally important and should not be changed without speaking to a health professional. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby notes that formula can be a cause of constipation in babies. Do not change formula without a GP conversation.

The quick swap guide for foods that cause constipation in babies

What to build into the regular rotation instead

The most effective long-term strategy is not just removing binding foods but actively building fibre-rich options into the daily rotation. Pears, plums, prunes, peaches, kiwi and papaya are the fruit staples. Cooked and pureed peas, broccoli and spinach bring fibre from the vegetable side. Lentils and legumes from around six to seven months are excellent. The Children’s Health Queensland guide specifically recommends plenty of fruit and fibre-rich foods for children with constipation.

The thing that changed my week was having constipation relief purées already in the freezer. On a rainy Sunday here on the Gold Coast, I batch cook using the KiddoKook Pro and freeze the portions in the PureePops Tray. The whole session takes under an hour. If you are in the middle of a constipation week, having a batch already in the freezer is the difference between a calm morning and a scramble.

Ready to put these swaps into practice? The 5 baby and toddler recipes to relieve constipation has five dishes built around exactly these ingredients. If your baby is over twelve months and constipation is becoming a pattern, see Toddler constipation: why it gets worse around age 1 to 3.

Batch cook the swaps, stock the freezer

The KiddoKook Pro steams and blends pear, prune and kiwi purées in one bowl. Freeze them in the PureePops Tray and you have constipation relief ready to go. 30-day risk-free trial. Same-day dispatch on orders before 11am.

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