Baby’s favorite foods baked into little Baby Food Oatmeal Bites that they can easily feed themselves.
I can’t believe Brookie is already eating “real” food! She’s been eating for 2 months now and she loves it…
She could care less about her bottle anymore. She’s all about the food. She caught on to feeding herself so quickly (much quicker than her brothers did). We’ve done baby-led weaning with all our babies now and have had such great experiences. All of them have been awesome eaters. They gain so much confidence and pride once they get the hang of feeding themselves and it makes mealtime so much easier and enjoyable for all.
Brookie will eat anything we put in front of her, but her favorite foods so far are baked sweet potato wedges, bananas, steamed broccoli, baked apple slices, peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes and these baby food oatmeal bites…
Girlfriend can take ’em down! She loves them! They’re so easy to make and full of healthy foods that she should be eating but that are hard for her to feed herself (since we don’t spoon-feed her) unless they’re baked into these little bites.
Oatmeal, pumpkin, applesauce, banana and avocado all come together in these yummy bite-sized muffins. Brookie will eat a few for breakfast and sometimes a few for lunch or as a snack throughout the day giving her good energy to play but also keeping her belly full for a good long nap.
She’s gotten so great at eating them and makes less of a mess every time. I’ve come to embrace the meal-time mess for a few months when they’re first learning to feed themselves knowing that once they get the hang of it, it’s so awesome!
So if you’re looking for something to bake for your baby that’s nutritious and delicious, these bites are so great. They’re easy to bake, made of simple healthy ingredients that your baby is probably already eating, and are the perfect size for them to feed themselves.
I’ll usually bake a batch at the beginning of the week to keep in the refrigerator so she has plenty to eat throughout the week. You can easily substitute your baby’s favorite pureed or mashed foods for the pumpkin, applesauce, banana and/or avocado. I’d recommend leaving the banana and applesauce for natural sweetness though.
I hope your little love(s) enjoys them as much as Brookie does…
xoxo,
Baby Food Oatmeal Bites
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 24
- Category: Breakfast
Description
Baby’s favorite foods baked into little oatmeal bites that they can easily feed themselves.
Ingredients
- 2–1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup pure pumpkin
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large banana, mashed (about ½ cup)
- 1 medium avocado, mashed (about ½ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder and cinnamon.
- Make a well in the center and add the pumpkin, applesauce, mashed banana and mashed avocado. Stir until well combined.
- Scoop batter evenly among the 24 mini muffin cups, filling each one completely full. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set. Avoid over-baking them. You don’t want the tops to be too crisp or browned. They should be set and soft enough for your baby to easily eat.
- Let the bites cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Notes
To freeze, place cooled bites on a cookie sheet and freeze for about an hour. Then transfer them to an airtight bag or container and store in the freezer. When you’re ready to give them to your baby, remove however many you want and let them thaw at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
I followed the recipe and instructions exactly and mine came out just pure goo. Won’t come out of the muffin tins as muffins because they are so liquid almost as if they weren’t completely cooked. Any suggestions?
Hi Rebecca! It definitely sounds like you needed to bake the muffins longer. They should look set before removing them from the oven. How long did you bake them? Oven temperatures vary so testing the muffins for doneness is important. Did you make any recipe ingredient substitutions? The batter should be very thick and it sounds like yours was too wet to start with.
Mine still seem quite mushy and didn’t rise. Is this normal? Not sure what type of consistency to expect. I baked for 12 minutes
Hi Tawnya! The texture should look like they do in the pictures in this post. They should be moist, not necessarily mushy. Sounds like yours needed to bake longer. Oven temperatures definitely vary. Did you fill each muffin cup completely full? And did you remember to add the baking powder?
Hi, I tried baking these today and it seems like 2.5 cups of quick oats is a lot and I still have quite a bit of leftover after filling up the baking tray of 24. Is there a size difference between trays? My muffins also turned out to be much lighter in colour than yours, wonderful why as I followed your exact recipe. Yours look like there is cinnamon on the side of the muffins too. Maybe it’s just the photography. Thanks for sharing your recipes, that look great and will try some of your cookies ones.
Hi June! Did you fill each of the mini muffin pans all the way full? How much batter did you have leftover? There is cinnamon in the recipe so that combined with the pumpkin is what creates the darker color to the bites. Were your muffins baked all the way through? If so, the color doesn’t really matter as long as the texture was just right for your little one to enjoy. Hope this helps!
Hi. We are just starting Baby led weaning at 6 months. Would this be an appropriate first food or should I wait until Baby is a little older? Right now he just sucks on fruits and veggies. Thanks!
Hi Megan! I let mine start gnawing on these pretty early, usually around 6.5-7 months. If he’s already had a few weeks of sucking on foods and seems ready for more, I’d give them a try. If you feel he needs a few more weeks, you can always freeze them and defrost when you think he’s ready. Hope this helps and I hope he loves them!
Hi,
I was wondering if the muffins would have a softer consistency if the oats were cooked first? Or is that necessary? I have some quick 3 minute steel cut oats from Quaker. We didn’t do blw but little one is over purees and I’m looking for meal ideas that are a good transition.
If you used cooked oats would you still need 2 1/2 cups?
Thanks so much!
Hi Jessica! I couldn’t say for sure how the recipe would turn out if the oats were cooked before because I haven’t tried it. It’s certainly worth a try and yes, I would mix in 2 1/2 cups cooked. Or you could try blending the oats into an oat flour first instead of cooking them. Hope this helps and hope they turn out just as great! Enjoy!
Hi Maegan,
I tried the recipe with oat flour. After baking for about 12 minutes the inside is still fairly mushy. Is that the consistency you get with the rolled oats? Just curious… nervous about little one being able to work it around and swallow it. Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks again!
Hi Jessica! I haven’t tried these with oat flour, but when using quick-cooking oats the middle should very moist, but I wouldn’t say mushy or raw. I would recommend baking yours a little longer if they are still raw in the middle. Hope this helps and that your little one enjoys!
My 9 month old loved these! Was thinking about adding almond butter to the next batch, have you tried that? Thanks!
Hi Shannon! Yay, so happy to hear your little one loves them. I did start adding peanut butter to them when mine started eating it and it worked great. I would recommend replacing 1/2 cup of the pumpkin, applesauce, banana OR avocado with the almond butter. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Hi Maegan,
Is the baking powder required or can I omit these? I’m a bit scared because I haven’t introduced anything with baking powder to bub yet. She’s 10 months old but has eczema and peanut allergy.
Thanks!
Hi Cara! Yes, you can omit the baking powder. The bites will turn out flatter, but they’ll still taste great for your little one. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi. Can I use fresh carrots or butternut squash instead of the canner pumpkin? Thank you.
Hi Azenith! Absolutely, either one should turn out great. Just mash and measure to 1 cup. Enjoy!
Liking the look of this recipe but wish to substitute the pumpkin what would you recommend? I was thinking either sweet potato or butternut squash would either of those work?
Hi Wendy! Yes, both of those would work great as substitutes for the pumpkin. Enjoy! 🙂
I love this recipe – making my 2nd batch right now! I have 1 year old twins and they gobble these up. I try to use what I have on hand – so I sub the pumpkin for sweet potatoes.
Hi,
My daughter does do well with bananas for some reason. How would you recommend I make these without the banana?
Thanks,
Lauren
Hi Lauren! I would suggest substituting the 1/2 cup mashed banana with 1/2 cup more of the pumpkin, applesauce or avocado. Hope this helps and I hope your daughter loves them! 🙂