Baby Cereal Pancakes: Easy Three-Ingredient Banana & Egg Pancakes

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This baby cereal pancake recipe is one of my favorite recipes with baby cereal for several reasons.

First, you can make these three-ingredient pancakes with oatmeal or rice baby cereal, which can be store-bought or made at home.

They also have fruit and egg in them (yay for protein!) and are dairy-free, which is perfect for my MSPI daughter, who has severe reactions to even “hidden” milk.

Next, since they’re such soft pancakes, they work well for baby-led weaning and babies with no teeth who are first trying finger foods.

Last, my daughter is such a picky eater, and it’s nice that she will eat iron-fortified baby cereal that’s cooked into the pancakes.

We’ve tried mixing baby cereal with milk, formula, purees, and more, but she turns her nose at them.

All this to say, we make a lot of these iron-rich baby cereal pancakes in our house.

Check out this easy recipe so you, too, can make banana pancakes for your baby. (And for yourself, too, because you’ll be surprised how good these are!)

What baby cereal can you use for this recipe?

You can tailor these to rice cereal pancakes or oatmeal cereal pancakes with equally good results; I’ve tried boxed rice and oatmeal cereal, and both work great.

If you use store-bought, boxed cereal, I recommend organic cereal.

You can also make your own oatmeal “cereal” by putting oats in a food processor and processing them into tiny, small pieces. However, this won’t be iron-fortified.

There has been concern in the past regarding arsenic in baby rice cereal, so it’s advised for babies not to overeat rice cereal. (There is significantly less concern with the arsenic content of oatmeal cereal.)

I’ve been making these pancakes for eight years now, and recommendations have changed over time as have the availability of materials.

My current favorite baby cereal given changes over time is Gerber organic oatmeal cereal.

Most commercially available cereals are iron-fortified, though, which is the most important for my picky eater!

How to Make Baby Cereal Pancakes

Baby Pancake Ingredients:

Here’s what you need to find in your kitchen.

• 1  ripe banana, mashed nice and smooth (a fork works great for smushing!)
• 1 medium or large egg (I’ve transitioned to using cage-free brown eggs now for maximum health benefits.)
• ¼ cup baby cereal (Again, you can make pancakes with rice or oatmeal baby cereal. I now prefer oatmeal.)

How To Make Baby Cereal Pancakes

1. First, stir all three ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Next, heat a griddle (We LOVE our griddle!) or non-stick skillet over low to medium heat.

If the griddle is too hot, the pancakes will burn and stick. (My griddle stays at 275 degrees when cooking with eggs.)

Also, the batter sticks much less if the griddle is greased!

When my babies were their youngest, I didn’t grease in order to be super healthy, but this does result in sticky pancakes, especially if you are using a skillet.

However, as my daughters have gotten older, I’ve started using coconut oil or olive oil non-stick cooking spray to make sure my pancakes are less malformed and sticky.

3. Now, spoon batter onto the skillet into the desired size of pancakes.

I like small pancakes because they make good finger foods, and they also cook through more easily without burning.

4. Cook until the bottoms are lightly browned.

Then, flip over and cook until the banana pancake is cooked through. I like giving the pancakes a squish with the spatula after the flip to thin them and ensure they are well-cooked.

It only takes a minute per side for my tiny pancakes!

Also, you have to watch them, or they WILL BURN and stick to the griddle if too much time passes.

And, since they are just bananas, eggs, and cereal, they will still have a mushy consistency after being cooked.

They will toughen up a little once refrigerated if not served immediately.

If you’re worried about food safety and aren’t sure if your baby pancakes are cooked through, please check with a food or meat thermometer to ensure the inside is at least 160 degrees F.

5. Serve baby pancakes with baby food fruit puree (homemade or jarred) as topping or dipping sauce, if desired.

My daughter LOVED dipping things as a baby. In fact, one of her first ten words was “dip!”

Baby Food Pancake Storage:

First of all, the beauty of these baby cereal pancakes is they freeze great for you moms who like to cook ahead! 

To avoid sticking, freeze flat on a parchment sheet and place in a plastic bag or freezer-safe container.

They keep for up to 3 months if kept air-tight.

They can also be stored in the refrigerator safely for up to 48 hours. 

To reheat, use your griddle or skillet for the best consistency, but the microwave works well also.

Just make sure not to overheat them!

How to Make Baby Pancakes More Fun

First, while you can cook these baby cereal pancakes in the traditional round pancake form, you can also cut them into long strips to help babies better grasp them for BLW.

Also, we’ve been making other fun shapes with my second daughter! We make them into letters, hearts, squiggles, and more! The batter is a little thick, so there’s only so much accuracy, though.

I’ve even tried making cookie-cutter banana pancakes.

All I did here was spray the inside of a metal cookie cutter and place it on the griddle.

Then, I poured the banana pancake mixture inside and cooked it! Some shapes were a sticky mess, but some baby cereal pancakes turned out so cute and fun!

Allergen and Safety Precautions

As a reminder, ensure babies are developmentally ready for finger foods before feeding these banana baby pancakes so as to not be a choking hazard.

Also, since these contain eggs, watch out for a possible allergic response if this is your baby’s first time encountering eggs.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Three-Ingredient Baby Cereal Pancakes

These baby cereal pancakes are a healthy finger food for babies and have just three ingredients! They are easy to make and great for the transition to solids. Perfect for baby led weaning and a great, iron-rich finger food.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baby led weaning, finger foods

Servings: 1 serving

Cost: $2.00

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized ripe banana mashed nice and smooth
• 1 medium or large egg
• ¼ cup rice or oatmeal baby cereal

Instructions

• Mix all three ingredients together in a bowl.
• Heat a griddle (what I used!) or non-stick skillet over LOW heat (275 degrees.)

  If the griddle is too hot, the pancakes WILL BURN AND STICK.

  If you don't want sticky or slightly malformed pancakes, you also need to use non-stick cooking spray or coconut oil.
• Spoon batter onto griddle into desired size of pancakes. Small pancakes make better finger foods and are also easier to cook throuhg.

  If your pancakes are too squishy or runny, add extra cereal to firm them up so you can turn them more easily.
• Cook until bottoms are lightly browned.
• Flip over and cook until pancake is cooked through. Do not overcook, as they will burn and stick.

  Giving them a squish with the spatula after the flip to help them cook better.

  It only takes one minute per side for my tiny pancakes, but check with a food thermometer to make sure the temperature hits 160 degress.

  Also, since they are just banana, egg, and cereal, they will still have a VERY mushy consistency, which is why they're perfect for babies with no teeth!

  They will be less mushy once cooled and refrigerated, if not served immediately.
• Serve with baby food fruit puree as topping or dipping sauce, if desired.

Notes

Store in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freezer for 3 months.

Reheat in the microwave or in your griddle/skillet. 

Always watch for allergies in babies, as these do contain eggs.