4 Homemade Baby Cereal Recipes – easy recipes that are made with simple and wholesome ingredients! Brown Rice, Oat, Quinoa and Multi-Grain Baby Cereals for the win! These cereals are freezer-friendly, full of essential nutrients for growing baby and perfect for baby’s first bite! 4 months and up.

Graphic for Post - 4 Homemade Baby Cereal Recipes - easy, freezer friendly, 4+ months. Images are a grid of healthy and homemade baby cereals.

Homemade Baby Cereal

Whether you serve baby cereal to baby as their first bite or wait until they are older for their first introduction into grains – baby cereal is an important part of feeding baby a healthy and wholesome diet.

Grains are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals for growing baby.

These homemade baby cereals are inexpensive to make and full of wholesome and delicious ingredients that will actually taste like a real meal – no bland baby food here!

Plus, these homemade baby cereals are easy to make and make enough to give you a good freezer-stash of baby food. You will always want to have some of these baby cereals on hand for fast meals.

Reasons to Love these Baby Cereal Recipes

  • simple and wholesome ingredients 
  • freezer-friendly – great for your freezer stash
  • free from allergens – gluten, dairy, soy, corn
  • full of essential vitamins and minerals for growing baby
  • works great stirred into other baby food purees
  • 4 months and up – stage 1 baby food
  • saves money – less than 90% off of store-bought brands
  • mild taste
  • creamy and smooth
  • easy to make
  • homemade – not from a box
Rice baby cereal in a white bowl - easy and homemade.

Tips for Making Your Own Baby Cereal

  • To Get the Smoothest Cereal: I have found that the best way to get the smoothest homemade baby cereal is to cook the grains first, then blend them into a creamy puree before freezing into single serving quantities. This way you have a great consistency right from the start.
  • How to Thin out the Cereal: all grains are very absorbent, so once defrosted, these cereals might be a little on the thick side. You can thin the cereal back out by adding in other purees (see list below of some of my favorite options), breastmilk, formula or water. Add in a little at a time, stirring in-between.
  • Rinsing the Grains: I would highly recommend rinsing all of the grains in these recipes except for the old-fashioned oats (rice, quinoa, barley, steel cut oats, etc). Rinsing the grains helps get rid of excess starch, which is what will cause the baby cereal to become very thick and sticky.
  • Double Recipe for Freezer Stash: Since grains are so simple to cook, I always recommend making a double batch of whichever recipe you are making so you have a nice big freezer stash for the rest of the month.
  • Organic vs. Conventional Grains: since there usually isn’t too big of a price difference between organic and conventional grains, I would recommend you go with the organic version for all of these recipes. I usually get my grains from the bulk section of a health food store and there prices hover right around the same price as brand name conventional grains.
Bowl filled with homemade oat cereal for baby.

Benefits of grains for Baby

  • Rice: is a great source of protein, fiber, manganese, selenium, magnesium as well other essential nutrients for growing baby which help boost heart health.
  • Oats: are a great source of fiber, minerals, plant-based protein as well as iron, magnesium and selenium that help promote good cholesterol, a healthy heart and helps with digestion. 
  • Quinoa: this grain is loaded with protein, fiber and iron and helps aide in bone and teeth growth as well as muscle and tissue repair. Quinoa is also naturally gluten-free.
  • Multi-grain: using multiple grains gives baby a mixture of essential nutrients. We use quinoa, steel cut oats and barley in this multi-grain cereal to round out fiber, protein and other nutrients that help build stronger bones and promotes a healthy heart.
Homemade baby cereal getting ready for the freezer.

Stage 1 Purees to Pair with these Baby Cereals

Items you Need to Make these Cereals

HOMEMADE BABY RICE CEREAL

Graphic for post - how to make baby rice cereal - with photo of white bowl on blue napkin with a wooden spoon sitting in the bowl with a creamy rice cereal.

Homemade Baby Rice Cereal

4.91 stars (64 ratings)
Using only 1-ingredient, this Homemade Baby Rice Cereal is a simple and easy recipe to make baby!
Get the recipe

BABY OATMEAL CEREAL

graphic for post- oatmeal for babies - purees or baby-led weaning, image is of bowl with pureed oats with spoon resting on top,

Oatmeal for Babies (Stage One)

5 stars (55 ratings)
This Oatmeal Recipe for Baby is made with simple nutrient-dense ingredients in less than 10 minutes, and it's perfect for baby's first bite or added into their favorite fruit or veggie puree. Great for 4-6+ months and up. 
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MULTI-GRAIN PROBIOTIC BABY CEREAL

white bowl filled with a homemade baby cereal of rice, oats and barley and probiotics

MULTI-GRAIN PROBIOTIC BABY CEREAL

4.80 stars (5 ratings)
This creamy baby cereal is filled with 3 different whole grains and probiotics to help promote a healthy gut.
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HOMEMADE QUINOA BABY CEREAL

Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal (4+ months)

4.59 stars (58 ratings)
This smooth and creamy Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal has an earthy and robust taste and is loaded with protein, fiber, iron, folate and magnesium. It’s great served as a meal itself or mixed with baby’s favorite fruit or vegetable puree.
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More RecipeS Baby will Love

Grid of four healthy baby cereals

Get the recipe: 4 Homemade Baby Cereals

5 stars (1 rating)
Easy baby cereal recipes that are made with simple and wholesome ingredients!

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