Baby Oatmeal Recipe (Adjust For Toddlers and Older Kids)
ThrivingNest
How to make oatmeal for babies: choose homemade oatmeal cereal, quick oats, rolled oats or steel cut oats to make smooth baby oatmeal for 6 months old babies or coarser porridge for 9 months old babies, toddlers and older kids.
Optionallyaddextra liquid (breast milk, plant milk, water) or purees
Instructions
Thin Baby Oat Porridge (6 months)
Bring the water to a boil, add the powdered rolled oats. If you want to add anything else like fruits or vegetables, add them now - you can mash, puree or finely dice them and then puree. Cook for 3-5 minutes and mix occasionally until done.
Alternatively you can cook the rolled oats first with water and diced fruit (in this case I used 1/3 of banana). Bring to a boil on medium heat, then cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat until smooth and soft.
Remove from heat. If the oats are too thick add milk (breast milk or some plant milk), formula or water to thin. As a final step mix with a blender until smooth.
Baby Oatmeal Porridge (8 months +) And Toddlers
Add rolled oats and water into a pot. Heat over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until it starts to boil. Add extras, if any (diced fresh fruits, dried fruits, seeds, vegetables) before it starts to boil, it will infuse more flavor into the porridge. Let it boil for about 1-2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Stirring the oats several times while cooking will brake down their texture even more making them mushier and creamier.
Remove from heat and let it the oatmeal cool. Then you can add some more liquid of your preference to thin it out.
Notes
Change The Type Of Oats
Instant Quick Oats - bring the water to a boil then add the instant oats along with any spices you are using. Turn down the heat to low and cook the oats for 1-2 minutes. Let cool. Blend to a smoother consistency if serving to babies younger than 8 months. Add more liquid if needed.
Steel Cut Oats - Add the steel cut oats to a food processor and ground into a coarse powder. Bring water to a boil and add the ground oats. Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes or until the porridge looks soft and puffed. Let cool. Or you cancook the steel cut oats first and then blend to a smooth consistency if serving to babies younger than 8 months.
If you want uncontaminated gluten free oats, look for certified gluten free oats. Also make sure you use organic oats as the conventional ones are usually heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. I'm using this gluten free organic rolled oats in my household.
Add -Ins:
Fruit or vegetable purees or finely diced for older babies
Yogurt (look for plant based if allergic do dairy)
Whole seeds or nut butters (for older babies once verified for allergies)