Whether you’re choosing to spoon-feed your baby or follow a baby-led weaning approach, introducing solids for the first time is a huge milestone in your baby’s life. As well as mentally preparing for some mess and having a generous supply of bibs to hand, choosing the right weaning spoons for your family can certainly help take some of the stress out of your daily mealtime routine.
With so many weaning spoons to choose from, available in different sizes, shapes and materials, it can be challenging to know where to start. To bring you our pick of the best weaning spoons you can buy today, we enlisted the help of some enthusiastic mini-testers, helping put each spoon set through their paces, before them for their overall design, durability and ease of cleaning.
What spoons do I need for weaning?
Unlike regular spoons that you’ll find inside your kitchen’s cutlery drawer, weaning spoons are created specifically for babies' small mouths and gums. Made from soft and flexible materials such as plastic or silicone, weaning spoons tend to have shorter and shallower tips, allowing you to easily control the amount of food you give your child.
What factors should I consider when shopping for baby-weaning spoons?
Here are some things to consider when selecting the right type of weaning spoons for your baby
Best baby weaning spoons at a glance:
Vital Baby Silicone Spoons
Best: Overall
A pack of three super soft silicone spoons, the Vital Baby Nourish Silicone Spoon set comes in features a selection of modern yet neutral shades including lilac, mustard and turquoise.
Whether your baby is scooping up food themselves or patiently awaiting the arrival of an ‘aeroplane’ filled with a scoop of pureed banana, the spoons have a short shallow scoop that allows manageable portions while reassuringly preventing gags, splutters and choking.
We love the integrated foot that’s been incorporated into the design, allowing you to hygienically pop it down on your counter or high chair between mouthfuls without leaving a sticky mess behind.
If your baby is taking the reins, they’ll also find these chunky handles really easy to grip and control, helping them master scooping with confidence.
Overall, a great all-rounder for the start of your baby’s weaning journey, although you may want to switch to a deeper spoon as your child gets more confident at mealtimes.
Buy now £8.00, John Lewis
Vital Baby Nourish Start Weaning Spoons
Best: Budget
If you’re seeking a more affordable choice, this multipack of Vital Baby Nourish Start Weaning Spoons offers excellent value for money, with five brightly coloured spoons setting you back less than £3. The budget-friendly price tag makes them ideal for stocking up, ensuring you always have spare spoons that are clean and available when you need them.
Best suited to spoon-feeding first tastes, the small and shallow tip on these spoons are well suited to serving soft foods and purees, while the soft BPA and latex-free plastic is kind on your baby’s gums, even when teething.
While less suited to self-feeding, we love how the long narrow handle is comfortable for parents to hold, with a flexible tip that allows you to easily scoop up every last spoonful from the bowl and prevent waste. Just like their silicone equivalent, these spoons each have an integrated footrest, helping keep the tip away from your surfaces and prevent exposure to unwelcome bacteria and germs.
Buy now £2.89, Amazon
Kidly 3-pack weaning spoons
Best: Silicone
Silicone makes a great material for weaning spoons, not only because it's super soft, lightweight and flexible, but it’s also surprisingly durable, withstanding hot temperatures to see you through many mealtimes without splitting or breaking.
Part of Kidly's coordinating range of spoons, bowls and divider plates, this pack of three silicone spoons is available in several colourways including ocean, lilac and apricot mixes. Not only are they dishwasher safe, but they’re also suitable to pop in the microwave too - making them a breeze to use when reheating leftovers.
We love the smooth, soft and chunky feel of the handles and the shallow tip on these spoons, allowing babies to gain their independence by scooping up their food without assistance. With no white colours in sight, they’re also less prone to staining than some weaning spoons, so you can confidently serve up berries, tomatoes or carrots without the risk of discolouring.
Buy now £6.00, Kidly
Pippeta My First Spoon and Fork Set
Best: Self-feeding spoons
While it can be a tad more messy, encouraging self-feeding can be a great way to build your baby’s confidence, allowing them to experiment and master their hand-to-eye coordination as they explore new tastes.
While it doesn’t come cheap, we love how the Pippeta My First Spoon and Fork set has short, easy-to-grip handles that are perfectly sized for babies to curl their fingers around. The shallow scoop spoon and flexible pronged fork help encourage independence, whether they’re scooping up spoonfuls of cereal or proudly spearing small pieces of fruit and vegetables by themselves.
The brand describes this set as ‘unbreakable’ and they can certainly withstand some force from even the most enthusiastic of diners. They’re also really easy to clean, with a durable silicone design that can be conveniently cleaned on the top shelf of your dishwasher.
Buy now £12.00, Amazon
Munchkin Soft Tip Toddler & Baby Spoons
Best: Multipack
In those early days of weaning, it can feel like a never-ending cycle of preparing meals for your baby and frustratingly, not all of them will be a hit. As such, much like bibs, having a generous supply of spoons ready to go can be really helpful.
This multipack of Munchkin Soft Tip Toddler & Baby Spoons includes six spoons in several bold and bright shades, so you can always lay your hands on a clean one - even if the others are in the dishwasher or bowls piled up in your kitchen sink.
The small and shallow tips are great for those first early tastes like pureed vegetables, baby rice or porridge. While soft and gentle plastic, they’re also sturdy enough to scrape the bottom of the bowl or jar, break apart pasta or cut soft vegetables into smaller pieces.
Ergonomic bumps in these long-handled weaning spoons make them really easy to hold for spoon feeding, although due to their length, they wouldn’t be our first pick for a baby attempting to feed themselves.
Buy now £3.00, Amazon
Doddl Baby Spoon and Fork Set with Travel Case
Best: For outside the home
If you’re keen to give your baby some independence and allow them to take the lead during weaning, this handy spoon and fork set is a great match for a ‘baby-led’ approach. Not only are they perfectly sized for first tastes; they make a great transition to adult-sized cutlery, helping develop your baby’s pincer grip as they learn to pierce foods with a fork and scoop up mouthfuls using the spoon.
While they work out a little more expensive than some weaning spoons, we love how the short chunky handles prevent a baby from putting the spoon too far inside their mouths - preventing triggering the gag reflex with their enthusiasm, no matter how ravenous they may be.
The handy travel case was also a big hit - keeping the set clean and hygienic while doubling up as a protective case to store them until you get home. There’s even a handy storage clip, allowing you to easily fasten it to your pushchair, changing bag or handbag as you leave the house.
Buy now £12.00, Amazon
Bibado Dippit Multi-Stage Weaning Spoon
Best: baby-led weaning spoons
Dual-ended weaning spoons with a wide anti-gag reflex handle, we loved the unique shape of the Bibado Dippit Multi-Stage Weaning Spoon. The split handle not only offers good visibility but it can also easily be grabbed by both hands, improving your baby’s hand-to-eye coordination and confidence as they navigate from bowl to mouth.
Best suited to babies 6 months plus, the ‘dippet’ end allows babies to confidently explore new tastes and flavours without committing to larger mouthfuls. Made from super soft silicone and approved by dentists, they’re also a great comfort for teething babies, helping soothe sore gums as those pearly whites start to make an appearance.
On the days when they’re enthusiastic and ready to enjoy their meal, the deeper spoon helps them scoop up more significant mouthfuls, but the downside? The lighter of the two pastel shades did discolour slightly from tomato-based sauces and carrots.
Buy now £8.00, Amazon
Verdict: While the right weaning spoons for you and your baby will depend upon a number of factors including method of feeding, the Vital Baby Silicone Spoons make a great all-rounder for most families. Available in a pack of three, these super soft spoons with chunky handles are suitable for both spoon-feeding and baby-led weaning, with a robust and durable design that won’t make a mess during mealtimes.
