Breakfast Ideas For Baby
If your little one is tired of oatmeal, then take a look at our list of breakfast ideas for baby… and find a new way to get his day off to a healthy start!
NOTE: The ideas suggested here may not be suitable for all ages, as some may require your baby to be at the “self-feeding” stage.
Please see our finger foods page for more information about allowing your child to safely feed himself.
Remember – if any of these foods are new to your baby, then introduce them separately, following the four day rule. This will help you prevent and identify potential food allergies and digestive problems. ALWAYS discuss the introduction of any new foods with your child’s doctor.
Breakfast Ideas for Baby…
- Sliced fresh fruit with a natural yogurt dip
- Scrambled eggs with wholewheat toast (see this page for more information about introducing eggs). Try adding diced avocado for a really nutritious treat!
- An alternative whole grain breakfast, with fresh fruit
- Wholewheat toast fingers with a natural yogurt dip (you can add pureed fruit to the yogurt for variety)
- Cottage cheese with fresh fruit slices
- Lightly toasted bagel pieces, topped with cream cheese
- Homemade sweet potato muffins
- French toast squares – or try our egg free French toast recipes
- Cheerios soaked in applesauce, or your baby’s favourite fruit puree
- Wholewheat toast with cream cheese (try our homemade yogurt cheese recipe… it’s easy and delicious!)
- Grilled cheese/cheese on toast (learn more – When Can My Baby Eat Cheese?)
- Banana and Apple Bread Pudding (it’s in our dessert section but makes a great breakfast too!)
- Pitta bread with hummus (also known as humus or houmous – click here for more information about introducing hummus and try our homemade hummus recipes)
- Breakfast burritos with scrambled egg (see this page for more information about introducing eggs)
- Blueberries
- Homemade English muffins topped with cream cheese and fruit puree
- Baked fluffy eggs – a fun finger food!
Don’t miss our Healthy baby breakfast recipe…
Experts agree that breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day…
and, as your baby begins to rely more on solid foods and less on milk to meet his needs (generally towards the end of his first year), then breakfast is the perfect opportunity to fill him up with some really nutritious foods!
We’ve always found that our children have eaten breakfast much more readily than other meals – maybe because they have gone for a longer period without eating than at other times of the day!
It’s a good idea – if possible – for the whole family to eat breakfast together. This establishes a healthy eating pattern for your baby to follow.
And, of course, babies are much happier to eat with everyone else, than alone!
The ideal baby breakfast will be nutritious and balanced and some of the suggestions on our list of breakfast ideas for baby include more than one food type – wholewheat toast with yogurt, for example, which provides fibre, vitamins, minerals and calcium all in one meal
And don’t be afraid to look beyond traditional breakfast ideas for baby…
This list includes a few items which may not be considered “typical” breakfast foods – but if they’re healthy and your baby likes them, then why not give them a try?
What we consider to be “breakfast food” depends largely on our culture and upbringing – and, when it comes to food, we all know that stepping outside your cultural “boundaries” can be fun!
bonus tips for delicious oatmeal/porridge
Parents sometimes ask us if it’s OK to give their babies instant oatmeal (or porridge, depending from where in the world you’re visiting us).
The main difference between plain, instant oatmeal and regular oatmeal is that the oats are sliced more thinly to help them cook more quickly.
Flavoured oatmeal, on the other hand, tends to contain quite a lot of sugar and you should avoid giving it to your baby.
- Make your baby’s oatmeal with milk instead of water. Ideally, use breastmilk or formula – but small amounts of cow’s milk can be used in cooking for your baby after 6 months of age (see introducing dairy foods for more information and discover why it is important to use whole milk in your baby’s foods.)
- Do not use sugar to sweeten your baby’s cereal – instead, try applesauce, or your baby’s favourite fruit puree. For older babies, happy coping with lumps, then try chopped fruit. The fruit you use in your baby’s breakfast can be fresh, or canned/tinned (in natural juice, not syrup). Alternatively, try adding dried fruit like apricots, raisins or sultanas (for younger babies, try soaking them first, then mashing them with a fork).
- If your baby doesn’t enjoy oatmeal with fruit, then you could add a little molasses (blackstrap molasses is a good source of iron) or maple syrup, but DO NOT SWEETEN ANY FOOD WITH HONEY IF YOUR BABY IS UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE. Honey can sometimes contain botulism spores, which can be fatal for a young baby.
Ideas from our readers…
Louise – London, UK
Weetabix with hot formula milk and a little jam – or rusk with formula milk/hot water and a bit of jam … the jam of course being optional.
Do you have any breakfast ideas for baby that you’d like to share? Then please contact us – we’d love to hear from you!
Natalie – Dayton, US
Since I introduced eggs to my daughter she won’t have anything to do with her cereal or oatmeal.
But to give our morning ritual a little twist I cook them differently.
I make omeletes with veggies and cheese, asparagus is a favorite, or I scramble them or fry them. It is a good way to get veggies in her diet!
Another way to get her to eat something besides eggs is sharing with her. I’ll give her a bite of my cottage cheese and she’ll give me a bite of egg. We make a game out of it!
Karin – Abbotsford, Canada
I really like being able to find recipe ideas for my son so I thought I might send a couple that are a big hit in my house that other moms might want to try.
My 13-month-old son is a huge oatmeal lover.
He can’t stand the packaged variety so I use quick cooking oats and add some fresh fruit to it.
I double the single serving directions on the package and let it cool. Then add 1 whole banana and one other fruit; Pears, peaches, blueberries or strawberries (if baby’s over a year).
I blend it all together for a few seconds with a hand blender making sure that I leave it a little chunky.
I put the oatmeal in ice cube trays and freeze. Before bed I take out 3-4 cubes and let it defrost overnight in the fridge.
My son likes his oatmeal cold, so I give it to him right out of the fridge but you may want to warm it up a bit. I’m sure baby will love it!
Blueberry pancakes are another big hit but I avoid the syrup and spread a thin layer of strawberry cream cream cheese on top. I make mini pancakes for him so he can feed himself. He can polish off 2-3 of these!
Be sure to have some milk to wash it all down!
Erin – Bunbury, Australia
For my 8 month old’s breakfast I add boiling water to 2 Weetabix, just enough to get them soggy, then add some cold boiled water that I keep in a jug in the fridge.
Then I add half a roughly mashed banana and mix it all up. It’s a great texture for her age and it’s nice and filling. She has a big appetite!
from our blog:
Potato pancakes for baby led weaning…
Iriena – Pearland, United States
My 9 month old loves avocado oatmeal yogurt.
For 2 feedings: 1 small avocado
4 oz of breast milk/formula
1/2 cup organic oatmeal baby cereal
1 jar of baby yogurt
Irena – Sydney, Australia
My favorite breakfast idea is semolina porridge made with rice milk.
It’s cooked in minutes and you can top it up with anything you want: fresh fruit, yoghurt, maple syrup or honey (for over 1 year-olds), jam, cottage cheese, crumbled biscuit etc.! And when its cold it gets firmer, so you can serve it as a pudding. Delicious!
More useful links from our site…
My baby won’t eat lumpy foods!
