10 Easy Homemade Cereal Recipes for Babies

Babies usually start having solid food at around six months of age, but some begin at around four. While mothers usually run to the store to pick up jars of baby cereal at this point, it is safer and better for your babies to have cereal that you have prepared for them fresh at home. If you were not aware that you could make cereal at home, now you know that you can.

Video: 5 Homemade Baby Cereal Recipes ( For 6+ Months Old Babies)

How to Make Homemade Cereal for Babies

Rice cereal may be the popular choice, but it is not the only thing your baby can start a solid diet on. Mashed avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots can also make for great first foods for your baby and are very nutritious. Here are some delicious homemade cereal recipes that you can try at home.

1. Rice Cereal

Here is how to make homemade rice cereal for babies.

What You Need 

• Brown rice powder, ¼ cup
• Water, 1 cup
• Breast milk/ Formula milk

How to Make 

• Grind brown rice into powder in a food processor.
• Boil water and then slowly add the rice powder; stir continuously.
• Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let it cool.
• Mix in some breast milk or formula. Add as much as you need to get the perfect consistency for your baby.

Age Group  

Six months old

Cooking Time 

15 minutes

How to Store 

Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge before adding the milk or formula. However, it is best made fresh.

2. Oats and Apple Cereal

Here is how to make oats and apple cereal.

What You Need 

• Apple half, peeled and diced
• Ground oats, ¼ cup
• Water, ¾ cup

How to Make 

• Simmer the oats, apple and water for about 10 minutes. Cook the apples until they are soft enough to mash.
• Once cooked, take off the heat and allow to cool.
• Add as much formula or breast milk as you want to thin out the meal.

Age Group 

Six months

Cooking Time 

15 minutes

How to Store 

Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, but it is healthier and best served freshly made.

3. Dal and Rice Cereal

Here is how to make dal and rice cereal.

What You Need 

• Dal, 1 tbsp
• Rice, 3 cups

How to Make 

• Wash and dry the dal well.
• Do the same with the rice.
• Toast the rice and the dal separately on a dry pan.
• Once cooled, grind it into powder.
• When ready to use, use water to make 2 spoons of water into a paste.

Age Group 

 Six months

Cooking Time

15 minutes

How to Store

Store the powder in an airtight container for about 10 to 15 days.

4. Oatmeal Cereal

Here is how to make homemade oatmeal cereal for babies.

What You Need 

• Oats (ground in a food processor), ¼ cup
• Filtered water, 1 cup
• Breast milk/ Formula milk

How to Make 

• Bring water to a boil and then add the oats.
• Stir consistently.
• Simmer on low heat until the desired consistency is reached.
• Let it cool and then add milk/formula milk.
• Slip in some fruits and nuts.

Age Group 

 One year

Cooking Time

15 minutes

How to Store 

Store in a fridge in an airtight container. Best when served freshly made

5. Barley Cereal

 Here is how to make barley cereal.

Source: Pinterest

What You Need 

• Barley powder, ¼ cup
• Water, 1 cup
• Breast milk/ Formula milk

How to Make 

• Bring water to a boil and then add in the barley powder.
• Stir consistently.
• Simmer for about ten minutes until the desired consistency is reached.
• Take off heat and let cool.
• Add nuts and fruits if you want.

Age Group 

One year

Cooking Time 

15 minutes

How to Store 

Can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container but best served freshly made.

6. Multi-Grain Cereal

Here is how to make multi-grain cereal.

What You Need 

• Hand pound rice, 1 cup
• Foxtail millet, ½ cup
• Kodo millet, ½ cup
• Moong dal, ½ cup
• Gram dal, ½ cup
• Dry ginger powder, ½ tsp

How to Make 

• Dry roast each of the ingredients, except for the dry ginger powder, separately.
• Allow it to cool and then grind it to a fine powder.
• Add the dry ginger powder.
• Mix in some water to one spoon of powder to make multi-grain cereal.

Age Group 

Seven months

Cooking Time 

20 minutes

How to Store 

Store in an airtight container.

7. Homemade Lentil Cereal

 Here is how to make homemade lentil cereal.

Source: Pinterest

What You Need 

• Brown rice, 1 ½ cup
• Urad dal, 1 cup
• Green gram, 1 cup
• Moong dal, 1 cup
• Bhuna chana, 1 cup
• Masoor dal, 1 cup
• Dalia, 1 cup
• Sabudana, ½ cup
• Chana dal, ½ cup
• Corn, ½ cup
• Almonds, ½ cup
• Cashew, ½ cup
• Cardamom, 10 pods

How to Make 

• Soak everything except the cashews, almonds and cardamom in water overnight.
• Roast grains of rice until fluffy and big.
• Roast the dalia and pulses until golden brown.
• Roast the sabudana until it becomes a bit dry and crispy.
• Bhuna chana should be roasted until dry and crispy.
• Roast corn until crispy.
• Roast almonds and cardamom until aroma is released.
• Roast cashews until golden brown.
• After everything is cool, grind all the ingredients together to form a fine powder.
• Mix with warm milk into a paste to feed your baby.

Age Group 

 Eight months

Cooking Time 

30 minutes

How to Store 

 Store the powder in an airtight container. Can be kept for about three months.

8. Wheat Cereal

Here is how to make homemade wheat cereal for babies.

Source: Pinterest

What You Need 

• Wheat flour, 3 tbsp
• Water, 200 ml
• Banana, 1 small
• Ghee, 1/8 tsp

How to Make 

• Add water to flour and mix into a smooth paste.
• Cook on medium heat until it becomes thick.
• Take off heat and pour in ghee.
• Cool and then add mashed banana.

Age Group 

 Eight months and older

Cooking Time 

20 minutes

How to Store 

Best made fresh.

9. Ragi Cereal

Here is how to make homemade ragi cereal.

What You Need 

• Ragi, 1 kg

How to Make 

• Wash and soak the ragi for about 12 hours or overnight.
• Make a potli by putting the ragi in white cotton cloth.
• Leave in a cool place and for 12 hours.
• Once sprouts start growing, transfer to a plate and leave it in the shade for another six hours until it is completely dry.
• Dry roast and leave to cool.
• Once cool, grind into a fine powder and run it through a sieve.
• Take a couple of spoons of the powder and add to boiling water, and cook well.

Age Group 

 Nine months

Cooking Time 

30 hours (for drying ingredient), two minutes to make

How to Store 

The powder can be stored in an airtight container for about three months

10. Sooji Cereal

Here is how to make sooji cereal for your baby.

What You Need 

• Sooji, 1 cup
• Elaichi powder, 1 pinch
• Water, three cups

How to Make 

• Dry roast the sooji.
• Bring the water to a boil and then slowly add the roasted sooji.
• Keep mixing to prevent lumps from forming.
• Once done, take it off the heat and add milk or formula.

Age Group 

Six months and older

Cooking Time 

15 minutes

How to Store 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge, but it is better to make it fresh.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about homemade cereal.

1. What Type of Rice is Used for Making Homemade Cereal?

Baby cereal can be made with oats and whole grains as well as rice, but the most popular among mothers is rice. Rice cereal is every mother’s go-to as the first solid meal for their baby. The ones found on the market, however, are always filled with a lot of added sugar which is not good for the little ones. This is why many mothers are now looking to make their own baby food at home. Rice cereal can be made with any rice, but the most popular for health is brown rice. The others that are commonly used for making baby cereal are basmati and jasmine rice. Short-grained rice is the best to use as it turns out much softer than long grained rice after it is cooked.

2. Can Homemade Cereal be Frozen?

Yes, it can be frozen; however, the texture of the cereal after it thaws out is known to be rubbery and not very pleasant for the most part. It is better to simply roast and grind the cereal into powder and make enough for the day rather than freezing ready-made portions. If you do want to try freezing your cereal, do it in small portions in case you are not happy with the texture of it. You can store it using the ice cube method.

3. Which is the Simplest Way to Cook Homemade Cereal For Baby?

The best way to cook homemade cereal for your baby is to first make the powders and keep them ready. You can then simply mix them with water on the stove and maybe add milk, fruits and nuts if your baby is old enough to have them added to the meal.

4. Do I Need to Cook Cereal Powder before I Serve It?

Yes, it is necessary to cook the cereal powders before serving it. This can be done while you are boiling the water. The reason is that the rice or grains are not actually cooked before being ground into powders, making it difficult to digest. Your baby will need to have something soothing and easy to digest.

While it may seem like an added task in addition to the work involved in raising a new baby, making homemade cereal is very important because in the end you will be giving your child some quality and healthy food made with love and not feeding him or her processed, sugar-filled food.

Also Read:

Baby Food Chart (1 to 12 Months)
What You Should Feed Your Baby for Lunch?
Nutritional Benefits of Makhana for Babies