Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal
Medically reviewed by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN).
This smooth and creamy Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal recipe has an earthy and robust taste and is loaded with protein, fiber, iron, folate and magnesium. It’s great served as a meal itself or mixed with baby’s favorite fruit or vegetable puree. Baby food for 4-6 months and up – stage 1 baby food.
Baby cereal doesn’t have to be plain and boring 🙅♀️!
No way! Not for our adventurous babies!
Not only do we want a delicious tasting baby cereal, but we also want it to be loaded with nutrients to help our growing babies. Are we asking too much? I don’t think so!
Enter – our trusted superfood grain – quinoa 👏!
First time making homemade baby food? Then, I would suggest that you start by reading my very in-depth Guide on how to Make Homemade Baby Food – which goes over all the important information such as the best cooking tools to have on hand, safe storage, how to know when baby is ready for solids, how to introduce purees, the best first foods for baby, and more! You can also check out my best-selling cookbook for even more information and recipes!
Quinoa Baby Cereal Video
Watch this video to see how easy this recipe is to make for your baby!
REASONS TO LOVE THIS Quinoa Cereal
- great baby food for 4+ months
- 1-ingredient
- super smooth and creamy
- delicious
- great for digestion
- easy to make – less than 20 minutes
- freezer-friendly
- budget-friendly
- homemade
- healthy
- organic – can easily use organic quinoa in this recipe
Health Benefits of Quinoa
Quinoa is so healthy that it literally has superpowers!
- Protein: quinoa is a good source of protein for baby. It’s actually a complete protein, meaning it has all of the essential amino acids that our body cannot make on its own. Lysine is one of these, which is rare to find in a plant source. Protein helps support the growth and development of babies.
- Fiber: this ancient grain contains almost twice as much fiber as brown rice, which makes it great for babies’ sensitive digestive organs and helps things get going ‘down there’ in a gentle way.
- Iron: has a good amount of iron, which is especially important for babies around 6 months of age as their iron reserves start to diminish. Quinoa is a natural way to boost their reserves without using iron-fortified products.
- Magnesium: excellent source of magnesium, which aids in bone and teeth growth.
- Folate: quinoa has more folate than any other whole grain, which is important for making DNA and hemoglobin and for brain development.
WHEN CAN BABY EAT QUINOA?
Baby can have quinoa as one of their first foods. When a baby can start on solids is determined by their own rate of development, which generally comes between 4-6 months of age. Some of the developmental milestones babies need to reach in order to start solids include: if your baby has solid control of their head and neck, if your baby has doubled in weight, and if your baby is reaching for or opening their mouth when you eat (see my guide here). Before you start baby on purees, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure your child is developmentally ready.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Besides all of the amazing health benefits from quinoa, it is also a super easy baby cereal to make.
- Cook: make a batch of your favorite quinoa.
- Blend: transfer the cooked quinoa into a blender or food processor. Add in a little water or other liquid to get the grains completely smooth.
- Serve: serve to baby by itself or paired with another fruit or veggie puree.
- Freeze: you can store this puree in the fridge for up to 4 days or you can freeze the cereal to use on another day.
Type of Quinoa to Use: I made this recipe using the trio color blend of quinoa, which has 3 different types of quinoa in it. But any color of quinoa will work with this recipe and usually, the white quinoa is the easiest to find in almost all grocery stores.
GREAT Quinoa COMBINATIONs
While Quinoa Puree is great by itself, it’s also super easy to mix and match with other nutrient-dense baby food purees. Give these fun flavor combos a try!
- Apples
- Apricots
- Butternut Squash Baby Food
- Bananas
- Sweet Potato
- Mashed Banana or Avocado
- Creamy Mango-licious Baby Food Puree
- The Best Broccoli Baby Food
- Carrot Puree Recipe for Baby (Stage 1)
- Pumpkin
- Yogurt
ADDING SPICES
While the most popular option is adding cinnamon to baby cereal, you can also add in a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, cardamom or pumpkin pie spice.
Tip on Spices: I always added spices to my baby food purees, but you can add or leave out spices in all of your baby food. You do you! Either way, this puree will taste amazing.
HOW TO STORE Quinoa Cereal
REFRIGERATOR
You can store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FREEZER
This puree can be frozen for up to 4 months.
- Spoon puree into a freezer storage container (this is my favorite freezer storage container) – do not overfill.
- Place the lid on the storage container or cover with a piece of saran wrap and label with date and recipe name.
- Place the tray into the freezer and let freeze completely – preferably overnight.
- Pop-out the baby food cubes and place in a zip-lock baggie or stasher bag – don’t forget to re-label the baggie or stager bag for future reference.
Need more information on how to store your baby foods – head over to my Best Baby Food Storage Containers – Plus 6 Tips on Freezing and Thawing post!
Tools Needed
Favorite Kitchen Tools: Get a list of my favorite kitchen tools to make the best baby food here!
DID YOU MAKE THIS QUINOA BABY CEREAL?
I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A ⭐️ RATING BELOW 👇
Get the recipe: Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal (4+ months)
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, low sodium broth or bone broth
- 1/2 cup quinoa (see notes)
- extra liquid for blending
Instructions
- Cook: In a small saucepan, bring the liquid to a boil. Add quinoa and stir. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 12 minutes. Take off of heat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Puree: Transfer the quinoa to a blender or food processor and puree for 2 minutes for a completely smooth puree or pulse for 1 minute for a chunky puree. If the puree is too thick, you may need to add in additional liquid. Start by adding in 1/4 cup of liquid at a time until you reach your desired consistency. I added 1/4 cup of water to get the perfect consistency for me (what you see in the photos).
- Serve: let cool and serve to baby or spoon into a storage tray and freeze for future use.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @babyfoode on Instagram and hashtag it #babyfoode!
50 Comments on “Homemade Quinoa Baby Cereal”
I have loved every one of your stage 1 recipes! Somehow my quinoa became glue. So thick and sticky. Not sure what I did wrong!
So sorry this didn’t work out for you. I think some more liquid might have helped during the pureeing step. Or you could add a small amount of the quinoa puree to other fruit or veggie purees to help it become less thick and sticky.
Just made this for our first child that turned 6mo today. She loved it and it has become the first solid food she finished the full serving.
We made the quinoa in our nutribullet everygrain cooker, and then pureed it with about 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of breast milk to get the right consistency.
So glad your little one loved this recipe!
Hi! I love your recipes! I’ve tried several of your fruit abs veg purees with great success. Any tips on how to make the oatmeal and quinoa recipes less gummy and sticky? I’ve added water. Thank you!!!!
Grain purees are going to be sticky because of the natural starch that is in them. You can wash your quinoa or rice to get rid of some of the starch. You can also add in some cooked grains to purees you already love during the blending step – cook your veggies/fruits per the recipe and then add in 1/3-2/3 cup of cooked quinoa or oatmeal to the blender and puree as usual. This will help you serve grains but not have them be sticky. Hope this helps.
After cooking the quinoa can you add breast milk or formula to blend instead of water?
Yes! You definitely can blend the quinoa with ether of those.
Baby loves it! We added cinnamon and apples.
So glad baby loves this cereal! And love that you added cinnamon and apples!
Do you have any recipes or ideas for babies with allergies? My grandson is allergic to eggs, wheat, oats, and possibly milk.
Yes, all of the fruit and veggie purees will be free from those allergens. I am updating my category page and this will have an allergy filter, so stay tuned for that amazing feature.
This recipe rocks and it was very super delicious, we tried it last night.! Love all of your simple and super healthy baby recipes. Thank you for sharing,
Hi Michele,
I love your site. It help a lot with introducing solids to our little one. We tried quinoa today and she didn’t want to eat it. My question is – can I mix it with some apples or pears or should I try plain one several times? Thank you.
Quinoa puree is a little bland by itself, so I can see why she might turn her head. You can definitely mix it with other purees. Let me know how she does when mixed with other purees.
Hi there, is it alright to introduce grains such as millets and Quinoa to a six months old baby?
Thank you
Yes, those are great ancient grains to introduce to baby!
Can I mix the quinoa with other purees before freezing? My little one likes everything all mixed.
First timer here. I’m confused on the amounts given for this recipe. I added in the 1 cup of breastmilk to the 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa in the food processor. Super runny. Though I don’t believe that’s the consistency it should be, I’m fine with it as long as it’s fine for baby. Is that ok? Why does it call for a whole cup if you said you only added in 5 tablespoons?
Sorry for the confusion – you cook the 1/2 cup of dry quinoa in the 1 cup of water (or other liquid). Once cooked you might have to add in a few tablespoons of water to the blender while pureeing if the quinoa is too thick. Hope that clarifies. I will update the recipe.
If making with breast milk, do you bring that to a boil instead of the water or add after blending? Thanks!!
I would add it in while pureeing the grains (instead of the extra water) or when you are defrosting it to thin it out a bit.
Hi Michelle!
I tried blending the tri quinoa for my 4mth old but after adding a butt load of water, I still can’t get it to blend completely smooth! I’m not sure if it will then be safe to give him! Is there a particular coloured quinoa that will blend more easily/smoothly?
Strange, mine always turned out smooth. I’ve made this recipe with the tri-colored and the white quinoa and both turned out great. Let’s see.. are you cooking your quinoa until it is tender? Which blender are you using?
Did you let it cool before blending? I’m having the same consistency issue with it being too think and sticky even after adding water. Thought it might help to let it cool in the fridge next time.
I let it cool a little bit but not completely and then I puree it. You do need quite a bit of water or liquid in the puree – roughly 1 cup. Also, make sure you aren’t over-cooking the quinoa. That will make the cereal a little more starchy.
Hi Michele, thank you for posting this; it very helpful. I have a 4 month old. This may be a dumb question, but can your quinoa recipe be served in a bottle?
I am also curious if I can mix with formula?
Yes, you can mix this with formula.
Hi Michele, thank you for posting this; it very helpful. I have a 4 month old. This may be a dumb question, but can your quinoa recipe be served in a bottle?
How do you make it so it does become almost like a rubber ball? I am not sure what I did wrong but it is very gummy.
You might have to add in a little additional liquid to make it smoother.
How do you make it so it does become almost like a rubber ball? I am not sure what I did wrong but it is very gummy.
You might have to add in a little additional liquid to make it smoother.
I absolutely love your site! Such great inspiration. I was wondering what you would advise on the ratio when mixing this quinoa cereal with vegetable purees. 1 cube of quinoa and 1 or 2 vegetable cubes? I am also using larger trays. Is there a limit as to how much quinoa to feed in one meal? One cube is around 1.5 -2 ounces. Thank you x
That’s a great question. I would start with a 1 cube quinoa to 2-3 cubes of veggie or fruit puree and go from there. No, you can serve baby as much purees as they seem to need or want. Some babies will only eat 1 ounce of purees at a sitting and others will eat upwards of 10 ounces.
I absolutely love your site! Such great inspiration. I was wondering what you would advise on the ratio when mixing this quinoa cereal with vegetable purees. 1 cube of quinoa and 1 or 2 vegetable cubes? I am also using larger trays. Is there a limit as to how much quinoa to feed in one meal? One cube is around 1.5 -2 ounces. Thank you x
That’s a great question. I would start with a 1 cube quinoa to 2-3 cubes of veggie or fruit puree and go from there. No, you can serve baby as much purees as they seem to need or want. Some babies will only eat 1 ounce of purees at a sitting and others will eat upwards of 10 ounces.
I just want to start by saying I LOVE your site! We just started feeding our five month old, EBF baby this week and we hit the ground running with this quinoa cereal. It was definitely a hit! That being said I think the recipe needs a big old disclaimer WARNING messy as hell going in AND coming out! Maybe it’s just my quinoa blend but holy cow- those little black dots get everywhere. I just finished changing my first solid food diaper (I’m traumatized) and then hosing off the baby, the change table, the diaper pail, the pretty white sleeper she was in…(insert wide eyed, semi-manic face.) But it’s still worth it to get my little off to the best start we can. So thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, and I only hold you partially responsible for previous traumatic event.
I hate to say this, put your comment had me laughing! The first solid diaper is completely traumatizing no matter what the food is! I totally forgot about this but thank you for bringing that experience in parenthood back to me;)
I am so glad you liked the recipe even though it was a bit messy.
xo, Michele
I just want to start by saying I LOVE your site! We just started feeding our five month old, EBF baby this week and we hit the ground running with this quinoa cereal. It was definitely a hit! That being said I think the recipe needs a big old disclaimer WARNING messy as hell going in AND coming out! Maybe it’s just my quinoa blend but holy cow- those little black dots get everywhere. I just finished changing my first solid food diaper (I’m traumatized) and then hosing off the baby, the change table, the diaper pail, the pretty white sleeper she was in…(insert wide eyed, semi-manic face.) But it’s still worth it to get my little off to the best start we can. So thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, and I only hold you partially responsible for previous traumatic event.
I hate to say this, put your comment had me laughing! The first solid diaper is completely traumatizing no matter what the food is! I totally forgot about this but thank you for bringing that experience in parenthood back to me;)
I am so glad you liked the recipe even though it was a bit messy.
xo, Michele
Would it be safe to make this with unsweetened coconut milk? My baby is 8 months old, she’s my first, and introducing foods is very new to me..
Yes! As long as it is the canned version of coconut milk. Coconut milk is filled with a ton on healthy fats, vitamins and minerals that are great for baby. You may have to add in a little additional liquid while making the quinoa because of how thick coconut milk is, but give it a try and let us know how it goes.
xo, Michele
Would it be safe to make this with unsweetened coconut milk? My baby is 8 months old, she’s my first, and introducing foods is very new to me..
Yes! As long as it is the canned version of coconut milk. Coconut milk is filled with a ton on healthy fats, vitamins and minerals that are great for baby. You may have to add in a little additional liquid while making the quinoa because of how thick coconut milk is, but give it a try and let us know how it goes.
xo, Michele
How well does this warm up from frozen cubes and how do you do so? I don’t want to turn the cereal into a rubbery glob.
It warms up great! The cover picture is actually warmed up cereal. I just took a couple of cubes and heated in the microwave for roughly 45 seconds, stirring every 20 seconds or so. You can also heat up on the stovetop. If it is too thick, you can add in a little water, breast milk or formula to get your desired consistency.
xo, Michele
How well does this warm up from frozen cubes and how do you do so? I don’t want to turn the cereal into a rubbery glob.
It warms up great! The cover picture is actually warmed up cereal. I just took a couple of cubes and heated in the microwave for roughly 45 seconds, stirring every 20 seconds or so. You can also heat up on the stovetop. If it is too thick, you can add in a little water, breast milk or formula to get your desired consistency.
xo, Michele