Moms the world over feed their little ones baby cereals, whether homemade or store bought. Either way, there are many reasons you could end up with leftover baby cereal. Maybe you bought a pack you thought your baby would like, but she decided otherwise and you’re stuck with a big pack of cereal! Or maybe you have a pack that’s nearing its expiry date. Or perhaps you just want to add an extra nutritional punch to your kids’ food. Whatever your reason, here are healthy recipes to make with baby cereal – rice, oats, barley and more!

Important Note: Please remember that although these recipes use baby cereal, they are NOT SUITABLE FOR BABIES unless specifically mentioned. You can adjust the recipes to make them healthier, replacing refined flour with whole wheat flour, and avoiding baking soda. We do not recommend sugar, salt, honey and cow’s milk for babies under one year.

15 Healthy Recipes to Make with Baby Cereal

1. Rice Cereal Pancakes

Although the name is rice cereal pancakes, this recipe from Must Have Mom uses oatmeal as well. The ingredient list may seem long, but they offer alternative options for every ingredient, so you can customize the recipe for your baby’s age. The best part is the idea of using fruit puree as a topping!

2. Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies from She Dreams in Stars have used baby oatmeal, but as they say, you can use rice cereal too. The cookies are suitable for toddlers. You can skip the baking soda and replace the sugar with jaggery powder. The kids will have fun chewing on these yummy cookies that also include dry fruits.

3. Baby Cereal Bars with Fruit

Granola bars make great snacks for toddlers and older kids – and adults too! However, the ones in stores are usually packed with unwanted sugar and artificial fruit flavors, not to mention expensive. This recipe from This Mama Loves is a great alternative. It uses Banana Oatmeal cereal and real fruit puree. Go with wholegrain flour for a healthier bar.

4. Baby Green Puffs

These baby green puffs from Buona Pappa are so cute, I feel like having some myself! The combination of applesauce and greens makes this an interesting and super healthy combination. The recipe is suitable for babies over six months, although you can skip the baking powder if you wish.

5. Spinach Oat Pancakes

Speaking of greens, here is another easy peasy recipe that includes baby oatmeal and spinach. These are soft and fluffy and a great option for babies to tear and try to eat on their own! Toddlers can also have it with a hint of spice and a topping of their choice!

6. Mini Chocolate Strawberry Banana Cookies

This is a very easy and healthy recipe that is made more appealing to kids with the inclusion of chocolate chips! The recipe from House of Faui’s uses a strawberry banana oatmeal cereal, but if you can’t find that, you can go with banana oatmeal instead. You can choose to add fresh strawberries or skip it entirely.

7. Banana Oatmeal Cookies

This is a healthy cookie recipe for babies, which uses no wheat or dairy. The vanilla and cinnamon go very well with the bananas, giving out a lovely aroma while being baked! This recipe from Mommy Lives Clean uses only egg yolks so you can modify it to suit your baby. Skip the baking soda, though!

8. Strawberry Oatmeal Crepes

Strawberries are appearing in supermarkets everywhere now, so this is the perfect time to try out these strawberry oatmeal crepes from Adventures of Mel! The recipe uses pretty basic ingredients, including baby oatmeal. The cream filling uses a lot of sugar, so you can skip it or go for a healthier alternative.

9. Oats Khichdi

It can be hard to think of recipes to make with baby cereal that don’t involve baking or that aren’t sweet, but this oats khichdi will change your mind! Made with baby oats cereal and loads of veggies, this is a super healthy recipe that introduces your baby to many new flavors.

10. Chocolate Oatmeal Waffles

Do you have a waffle maker at home? Then you absolutely must try these delicious chocolate oatmeal waffles from Ginger Casa! These would make a great breakfast for a weekend morning, and it’s a great way to get the kids to eat some fresh fruit by serving it alongside!

11. Banana Berry Oatmeal Muffins

Muffins are great – they’re perfect for breakfast, the lunch box and as a snack. They’re also really easy to make, like this recipe from Mommy’s Fabulous Finds! What I love about this recipe is that it uses mashed bananas and applesauce in place of sugar, and the addition of fresh strawberries makes this a fruity recipe!

12. Multigrain Cereal Pancakes

Once your baby is used to individual cereals, you can start mixing things up! This recipe from Wholesome Baby Food is one such recipe, which makes pancakes from baby barley cereal, oatmeal and wheat flour. The apple juice and banana along with the spices add a whole gamut of flavors.

13. Oatmeal Banana Bread

Rave and Review have a great recipe for banana bread that uses baby oatmeal as one of the ingredients. This is a good recipe for older toddlers and kids. You can skip the baking soda and opt for jaggery powder instead of brown sugar.

14. Edible Paint

Yes, you heard that right, edible paint! And all you need for this recipe from Little Life Long Learners is rice cereal and water, along with food colors. Go for fruit or vegetable colors to get the brightness you require. And then let your baby splish, splash and splosh and create his own kind of art! And you don’t have to worry about toxicity!

15. Edible Gluten Free Play Dough

Kids love play dough! Moms are…well, another matter, especially when the dough gets stuck on carpets! They also worry if the little ones will eat it up, but with this recipe from Fun at Home with Kids, you don’t have to worry. The recipe uses baby rice cereal and you can substitute the food coloring with vegetable colors or just leave it plain.

I bet you didn’t expect to find play dough and paint in this list, but you can use baby cereal for that too! Once again, please follow the age recommendations for each recipe and also consider your child’s individual preferences. And it’s not just for your kids – you can try these out yourself too!