Baby Oatmeal
This easy homemade baby oatmeal is the perfect first food for babies starting solids. Made with finely ground oats and your baby’s usual milk, it’s quick to cook and easy to customize with fruit or spices.
Why Make Homemade Baby Oatmeal
- Gentle on tiny tummies and easy to digest
- Naturally iron-rich and more nutrient-dense than rice cereal
- Super quick to prepare in a pan or microwave with just 2 ingredients
Ingredients You Will Need
Ingredient Notes, Substitutes, & Allergy Swaps
- Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats or quick cook and grind them into a fine powder (similar to homemade oat flour) for a smooth texture. Steel cut oats are not suitable.
- Milk: Use your baby’s usual milk—full-fat dairy milk, breastmilk, or formula, (full-fat milk is suitable for babies 6+ months in meals, but not as a drink/replacement for a formula or breastmilk feed.)
- Dairy-free? Unsweetened soy, oat, or almond milk can be used for cooking, but always check with your pediatrician for allergen guidance.
- Flavors: I like the combination of apple purée and cinnamon, but you can stir through so many other flavors including: pear purée, banana purée, blueberry purée, or vanilla.
Illustrated Step By Step Guide
Below are illustrated step-by-step instructions to make my baby oatmeal recipe, if you prefer just the written instructions then head straight to the printable recipe card below.
Step one: Grab some rolled oats—nothing fancy or pre-flavored—and pop them into a food processor or high-speed blender. You want about a cup if you're making a stash.
You can use regular rolled oats or even quick oats if that’s what you have on hand. Just avoid steel-cut oats here—they’re too coarse and slow-cooking for tiny tummies.
Step two: Give the oats a good blitz until they look like a soft powder—kind of like flour but a little coarser. I like to store mine in a clean jar or container in the pantry, so I’ve got baby oatmeal ready to go all week.
Tip: If you’re already juggling a hangry baby, do this ahead of time and you’ll thank yourself later.
Step three: When you’re ready to cook, scoop 1 tablespoon of your oat powder into a small saucepan, and add 3-4 tablespoons of your baby’s usual milk. That might be breastmilk, formula, or full-fat dairy milk if your baby is 6+ months and already started solids.
We’re not making a huge pot here—just a little single baby-sized portion. Stir to combine.
Step four: Turn the heat to low and let it gently bubble for 2–3 minutes, stirring often. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture thickens and you can drag your spatula through it and leave a little channel behind.
You can always thin it out with more milk if it thickens too much—some babies like it looser, some like it thicker.
Microwave method more your speed? I’ve got you—pop it in a microwave-safe bowl, cook for 20 seconds, stir, then another 20 seconds.
Step five: Plain baby oatmeal is great, but this is where the fun starts. Stir in a spoon of fruit purée—like apple, pear, banana, or peach—or try a sprinkle of cinnamon or a drop of vanilla.
This is also a nice way to introduce new flavors one at a time.
Step six: Spoon the warm oatmeal into a baby bowl or suction plate, add some soft fruit on the side, and let your little one go to town. This batch had banana and peaches on the side and a little pink spoon perfect for chubby baby hands.
Every baby eats differently—some will want to self-feed, with theiur hands others are happier with spoon help. Either way, this is a cozy, filling start to the day.
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Top Tips
Here is how you can make these baby oatmeal perfectly every time!
- Blitz a cup or so of rolled oats at a time. Store the extra ground oats in a dry, airtight container for quick prep
- Use finely ground oats for the smoothest texture—ideal for younger babies, increase the texture (i.e. less grinding as your baby grows).
- Serve the oatmeal with soft fruits, bananas, peaches, raspberries, or very ripe pears all work well.
FAQs
Absolutely—mix 1 tablespoon ground oats + 3 tablespoon milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, and microwave again for 20 seconds until thickened.
Always chat to your healthcare professional about what is best for your baby. Oatmeal tends to be more nutrient-dense and less constipating than traditional rice cereal. It’s a great first food for babies.
Yes, but grind them into a fine powder first to make them easier to digest and quicker to cook.
How to Make This Recipe Suitable For Baby Led Weaning
Oatmeal is a spoonable texture, making it suitable for both traditional spoon feeding and baby-led weaning. It's fine for babies to eat and explore oatmeal off their fingers. You can also pre-load short-handled soft baby spoons with the oatmeal for self-feeding.
Baby Oatmeal
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Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oats (finely ground)
- 4 Tablespoons milk (full fat)
Optional (Apple Cinnamon)
- 1 Tablespoon Apple sauce (unsweetened)
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine oats and milk in a small saucepan.
- Stir over low heat for 2–3 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Cool slightly before serving.
- (Optional:) Stir through the apple and cinnamon
Notes
- Microwave method more your speed? I’ve got you—pop it in a microwave-safe bowl, cook for 20 seconds, stir, then another 20 seconds.
- Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats or quick cook and grind them into a fine powder (similar to homemade oat flour) for a smooth texture. Steel cut oats are not suitable.
- Milk: Use your baby’s usual milk—full-fat dairy milk, breastmilk, or formula, (full-fat milk is suitable for babies 6+ months in meals, but not as a drink/replacement for a formula or breastmilk feed.)
- Dairy-free? Unsweetened soy, oat, or almond milk can be used for cooking, but always check with your pediatrician for allergen guidance.
- Flavors: I like the combination of apple purée and cinnamon, but you can stir through so many other flavors including: pear purée, banana purée, blueberry purée, or vanilla.
- Blitz a cup or so of rolled oats at a time. Store the extra ground oats in a dry, airtight container for quick prep
- Use finely ground oats for the smoothest texture—ideal for younger babies, increase the texture (i.e. less grinding as your baby grows).
- Serve the oatmeal with soft fruits, bananas, peaches, raspberries, or very ripe pears all work well.
Quick Start Guide To BLW
Baby led weaning doesn’t need to be complicated, grab my quick start guide to begin your little ones food journey.