How to wean baby to plant-based milk. Whether you’re breastfeeding, formula-feeding, or a combination, it’s normal to have questions about weaning, including when to introduce plant-based milk. Find step-by-step tips for switching baby to plant-based milk here.
It’s normal to have a lot of questions around weaning your baby, including when (and how) to introduce them to plant-based milk if you’re choosing to go dairy-free.
There’s no one “right” way to approach the details of weaning, and you’ll find a groove that works best for you. We both moved our babies from breast milk to plant-based milk and went through a lot of trial and error (like everything else with parenting!).
What’s the best plant-based milk for babies, and when is it appropriate to make the switch? How do you transition safely between fluids? We’re sharing our best tips below.
Best Plant-Based Milk for Babies
First things first. Contrary to what you’ve probably heard before, babies don’t need dairy milk to thrive. So if you’re concerned about nixing cow’s milk from your babe’s diet, don’t be.
While cow’s milk is one way to make sure your baby gets the calories, protein, fat, calcium, vitamins and minerals they need for optimal growth, it’s not the only – or necessarily the best – place to get these.
Making sure a child gets enough of these nutrients without cow’s milk doesn’t have to be difficult.
In addition to offering foods rich in bone health nutrients (particularly calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K) as you start offering your baby solid foods, choosing the right plant-based milk is also critical.
We recommend using unsweetened, fortified non-dairy milks, such as pea milk or soy milk, for new eaters as these contain the same (and sometimes more) calcium than a serving of cow’s milk.
Plus, fortified plant milks can also help meet littles meet their daily needs for vitamin D, protein, and fat.
Look for plant milks that contain between 20-40% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin D and calcium per serving. Some brands of plant milks will also contain added vitamin B12 or DHA omega-3.
Additionally, pea and soy milk contain the essential amino acid lysine, which can be limited on a plant-based diet. Soy milk is also one of the richest sources of choline, and important nutrient for brain health.
While nut milks and unfortified plant milks certainly aren’t “bad”, they don’t contain the calories and nutrients needed to support a baby’s growth and shouldn’t be relied upon as a beverage at this age. Use these sparingly, if at all, in the first few years to get the most nutritional bang for your buck.
How to Introduce Plant-Based Milk
When it comes to plant-based milk, we recommend starting by offering 1-2 glasses of fortified pea or soy milk per day at 12 months of age.
For instance, you might give your baby one cup first thing in the morning and one cup as an afternoon snack or right before bedtime.
Keep your baby’s plant-based milk intake to under 16 ounces per day. This helps prevent them from filling them up too much, which could displace other crucial nutrients from solid foods, like iron.
You can also incorporate plant milks into smoothies or use it to make oatmeal and baked goods, like baby-led weaning muffins.
Sample Feeding Schedule
Baby should still be receiving breast milk on demand from 6-12 months. We know from experience that this can make it hard to navigate when – and how much – plant-based milk and solid foods should be offered.
Since plant-based milk shouldn’t be introduced as a beverage until 12 months, here’s an example feeding schedule.
- 7am: Breast milk or plant milk
- 8am: Breakfast food
- 10am: Mid-morning snack food
- 12pm: Lunch food
- 3pm: Mid-afternoon snack food + Breast milk or plant milk
- 6pm: Dinner food
- 7pm: Breast milk or plant milk
Keep in mind that this is just a starting place to help you find what works best for you and your baby. Together you’ll make a natural progression toward relying less on breast milk, making room for plant milk and foods.
At 12 months old, your baby should predominantly be offered solid foods while offering breast milk or plant-based milk a few times per day.
It’s normal to have lots of questions around how to wean baby to plant-based milk and when to introduce plant-based milk to your little. If you’re thinking of switching baby to plant-based milk, we support you! Keep the tips above in mind when choosing the best option and designing a good schedule for your baby.
Chime In: Share your own experiences introducing your baby to plant milks below!
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I had the idea that it was OK to start plant based mylk at 9 months old if I was breastfeeding and baby was eating a variety of foods.
I wanted to give breast milk 2 times a day and give pea milk when I wasn’t there (2 other times in the day). Because I work and pumping my milk is sometimes hard!
Thanks!
Hi Paméla; plant-based milks in cooking/occasional smoothies are OK before age 1 but really aren’t nutritionally equivalent to breastmilk or formula and therefore aren’t recommended as a beverage until then. We know how hard pumping is! If you aren’t producing enough breastmilk for her at this age, then we’d recommend formula until she turns one.
Our two year old gets two 8 ounce servings of pea milk per day. Sometimes, she finishes one and then asks for more. Should we limit it to just 16 ounces per day, or if she wants another 2-4 ounces, is that an issue? She still has a decent appetite for food.
Thank you!
hi Aliza, if she wants another 2-4 ounces and still has a good appetite then we wouldn’t worry. The concern comes when children are displacing food intake with too much milk or are drinking too much milk (especially with meals) that can lead to decreased iron absorption.
If anyone has a child who doesn’t want to drink anything but water out of a bottle or sippy cup, here’s what my pediatrician suggested and it worked!
My son wouldn’t drink soy milk, so I started by putting a splash of it in his water. He noticed the taste but he’d drink it. I was really consistent with it and eventually began adding more soy milk to change the concentration. Within a few weeks, he was happily chugging his soy milk.
Hi! I appreciate all of this information, you are always my reference when trying to find new data on plant based diet in children. I have recently seen that NASPGHAN (2020 position paper) has reccomended not to introduce plant based milks to children´s diet beofre 3 years old, do you have any opinion on this? Is quite recent but I am trying to decide which is the recommendation that I should follow and give to my patients (also a nutritionist here). I know the breast milk is the best option but have a tremendous doubt on what to give after 1 year old exclusive BF if plant milk or a formula without added sugar. Hope you can answer my question and thanks for the valuable information, greetings from Peru!
Hi Mariel! We are aware of that paper and agree with much of it– we agree that plant-based milks must be fortified with at least calcium, D and that almond milk and other low-nutrient milks are usually not a suitable alternative especially in cases where weight gain/growth is a concern and appetite is smaller. I believe that position paper does state that soy and soy formula are the best cows milk alternatives and that pea and oat are likely OK as well. If choosing oat, we like a fuller-fat oat milk like Oatly.
Thanks!
Hi – what about Oatly Full Fat Oatmilk? My daughter loves this and it’s got a great nutritional profile – high fat content, 350 mg calcium, b12, vit D and DHA… I do realise that Oats aren’t a complete protein and are low in the Amino Acid Lysine however my daughter loves mangos and black beans which are both high lysine foods.
Hi Megan; that’s a fine option!
Hi, do you have any thoughts on offering a toddler plant-based formula versus soy or pea milk when weaning at 12 month? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, toddler formulas are fine but often not necessary and expensive. We like them for very picky eaters who aren’t able to get enough nutrition through food. For most kids, a fortified milk is enough and isn’t as filling as a formula so they eat more solid foods.
Hi, My daughter will be 1 in June and I wanted to give gey planet oat. Everyone is telling me not to give her plant based milk because it will affect her growth and development. I know the doctor is going to tell me to give her cows milk but when I was pregnant I couldnt drink cows milk anymore at all and I still can’t. Any advice? I would really like to stick to plant based milk.
Hi Briana– what about soy or pea? We like either of those options because of the protein and for soy specifically, the choline content. We only recommend fortified options. Cows Milk or Soy milk is what’s recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for 1-3 years old. Fortified oat milk can be OK as long as protein and fat needs are met in the diet — not sure if Planet Oat adds for fat as some oat milk companies do. As far as growth and development goes– we obviously have lots of data showing that cow’s milk is appropriate for growth and development because it’s traditionally been given for so many years and there isn’t a precedence for plant-based milk and long term outcomes. That said, cow’s milk offers protein, calories, fat, iodine, B12 calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, phosphorus and other trace minerals. All of those can be found in a plant-based diet, especially with the additional of a fortified plant-based milk (ideally at least calcium, D and possibly A and B12) Because of the way iodized solutions get into cow’s milk, we recommend supplementing 1/2 of the RDA for iodine for dairy-free diets.
Hello,
Do you recommend Alpro growing up soy milk for 1 year olds? I have read positives as it contains more vitamins than standard soy milk, however negatives being it contains sugar? Thank you!
Hi Natasha, we prefer an unsweetened fortified version where possible but also know this isn’t available for everyone. We know many individuals in the UK choose that for a plant-based option.
Hi! I’m so glad I follow you guys on Instagram! My daughter just turned a year old and I’m so confused about switching from formula to plant based milk. Could you please recommend specific brands of soy or pea milk just so I don’t have to guess which one has the best nutritional contents and wonder if I’m doing it right or wrong? Is plain, unsweetened Ripple milk ok? I live in northern California, the Bay Area, specifically, if that helps with brand recommendations! I’m going to try going cold Turkey with the switch to see if she likes it. She drinks water from Sippy cups already so I’m going to try in her sippy cup just to take away the association between her bottle and the taste of formula. If she’s not into it so much then I might try the mixing of the two and slowly lessening the amount of formula.
Thank you!!
Ripple unsweetened is fine; we both use the unsweetened soy from Whole Foods– the 365 brand. Here in STL, I’ve found it’s the best price!
is it ok to give a blend of plant milks (ex: coconut and hemp milk)?
Hi Quintara, you can blend two milks, but we’d recommend choosing options that have more protein, like a soy or pea milk. There are some blends on the market (like those from Silk) that combine milks like almond and pea. Most coconut and hemp milks are low in protein.
My pediatrician actually recommended against using soy milk because she said it tends to constipate kids. What has your experience been with this?
Hi Sara, we’ve never had issues with soy milk constipating kids– though too much cow’s milk can be constipating in some kids. Whatever milk you choose, we recommend sticking with ~16 ounces or less per day.
Hello! Huge fan of the PBJ crew! Question regarding weaning while still chest feeding… I’m a strict vegan and my little one is too. I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding and he started solids at 7 months, now at 13 months old he eats 2-3 meals a day and 1 snack. I still feed him 4-8 times and day and hope to continue as long as possible, BUT I see the value of offering fortified soy/pea mylk for meeting his calcium needs during this critical development stage. I can’t wait find research to say which is the better source for calcium (breast or mylk), but assume mylk is more reliable? How do you “wean” (introduce fortified mylk) while still actively breastfeeding? Thanks in advance!
Hi Caitlin– human milk contains ~280 mg of calcium per liter– which is of course less than fortified nondairy milk. There are of course plenty of benefits and reasons to continue chestfeeding as long as works for you and your son. Our recommendation is that it really depends on overall diet– how calcium rich is the diet? The RDA for calcium at that age is 700 mg a day. If you feel like it’s not as rich in calcium, then cooking or offering a nondairy fortified milk with 300mg per cup can help to meet that gap. That could be, for instance, in an oatmeal, smoothie, cereal, ect. (Also– here from the IOM shows the various properties in milk. We also have this in the back of our book as a reference– although there is a typo for the calories! the rest is accurate: Institute of Medicine. Nutrition During Lactation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1991.)