Find our favorite silicone plates for babies and toddlers—with tips for how to use and was them to prevent the silicone kitchenware from tasting like soap.
Silicone Plates
Choosing kids plates made from food-grade silicone is an affordable, nontoxic, BPA-free, and phthalate-free option that lasts for years–and often through subsequent kids. To help you sort through the options on the market, I’m going to share the best ones we’ve found that can withstand years of testing, washing, and using in real life.
They are easy to wash, dishwasher-safe, and microwave-safe. Many can even go into the oven. They are resistant to shatters and cracks, and almost never break due to their quality construction.
You can choose a divided silicone plate, which is helpful if you want to serve a mix of foods (including ones that are more liquidy) since it easily contains the mess. Or you can choose a flat silicone plate. There are also silicone suction mats, which stick to the table and can be a great option for a baby who’s self-feeding. Many silicone kids plates have a suction base that helps the plate adhere to the table.
For tips on how to prevent plates from absorbing odors, or to remove odors they have picked up, jump to the end of the post.
(You may also like my guide to every kind of kids plates.)
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Lalo is one of the most popular brands of kids kitchenware and they make silicone plates in both the divided plate and flat plate style. Their colors are modern and include the options shown above as well as white, black, and a range of subtle hues. You can buy the plates separately or with coordinating silverware and cups.
We like this brand since the plates are a nice size for a baby or toddler, the suction works well on most surfaces, and they are easy to clean.
A silicone mat can be a great option for a baby eating in the baby-led weaning style of feeding or who’s eating finger foods. The entire bottom surface of the mat adheres to the table, making it harder for baby to toss it to the floor (though not impossible!). It’s also easy to clean and available in a range of colors.
EZ PZ makes a few sizes of their popular mat, including the original Happy Mat and the smaller Mini Mat.
Note: If you plan to use this on a high chair, you will want to check the dimensions to be sure it will fit on the tray.
We love Bumkins Baby for their quality and range of fun colors and patterns, and their silicone plates are some of our favorites. They are thicker than most other brands, with a sturdy raised edge that keeps food in place. This means they are a little more durable, which can be a plus when feeding kids.
They make divided silicone plates, flat silicone plates, dishes with lids, and larger silicone trays.
They make a pretty gray marble color and off-white, plus a variety of bright colors, including a beautiful purple, pink, and bright blue, in their plates so you can choose ones to coordinate with your kitchen or go with your kids’ favorites. Each plate has a silicone gripper on the bottom to keep it on the table.
(Always check the dimensions of the divided silicone plates to ensure they will fit where you plan to use them.)
Bumkins Silicone Novelty Plates
Bumkins Baby also makes a variety of fun novelty plates in designs including Winnie the Pooh, dinosaurs, unicorns, and more. They are also easy to wash and super durable with a gripper on the bottom.
How to Wash Silicone Plates
To wash and care for your silicone kids plates, you need to keep one thing in mind: The material readily absorbs oils and fragrance, so you must use fragrance-free soap to avoid having plates that taste and smell like soap.
It is best to put them into the top rack of the dishwasher (using fragrance-free dishwashing soap) or hand-wash with fragrance-free soapy water.
Sometimes, the smell of food can embed in the plates, especially with acidic foods such as tomato sauce, and foods with strong flavors. To remove that, follow the instructions below.
What to Do When Silicone Plates Taste Like Soap
To remove unwanted tastes and smells from silicone plates, use one of the following tips to deep-clean them:
- Rub with fresh lemon and let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
- Add to a big pot of boiling water and sterilize as if you were sterilizing a baby bottle.
- Bake in the oven according to the manufacturer’s directions on the package or website.
And to prevent this from happening to your kids’ dishware in the future, be sure to use soap without fragrance. If these tips don’t work, call customer service for the brand you’re using.
Best Tips for Success
- Look at the base of the plate when ordering to see if it doubles as a suction plate.
- Choose a divided silicone plate to reduce spills and make cleanup a little easier.
- Choose a silicone plate with a lid to make food storage simple. You can also use this style of plate for toddler meal prep.
- If buying a silicone mat, measure to make sure it will fit on the high-chair tray.