Background Mealtimes are a central component of care and according to the Swedish national guidelines for meals in elderly care, a caring meal should be person-centred. One important part in person-centred care is participation, which is also emphasized as a central aspect in the guidelines for mealtimes. During mealtimes in nursing homes, both residents, their relatives and health care professionals could participate and when participating, there could be moments of learning. Aim To explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the potential for participation and mutual learning between residents, their relatives and colleagues during mealtime situations in nursing homes. Method Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews with 23 health care professionals (nursing assistants, licenced practical nurses and nurses) working in nursing homes in a municipality in south-eastern Sweden. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Result Three themes were developed, (I) Participation and learning needs prerequisites at multiple levels – at the organisational level, these were influenced by the meal environment and the structure of work. At the group level, team communication and climate were central and at the individual level a person´s knowledge and view of humanity were important. (II) Participation and learning could be expressed in multiple ways– these could manifest as the possibility to choose where to sit and what to eat, the possibility to choose to not participate and, to explain and educate one another. (III) Participation and learning as positive yet challenging – both were perceived to contributing to well-being and personal development, but challenges could arise, for example, when the resident´s preferences conflicted with what was considered best for the group. Implications/conclusions The result shows that participation and learning between healthcare professionals, residents and their relatives in nursing homes are complex processes, requiring active efforts at all levels of the organisation.