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

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

Today’s baby cereal pancakes recipe is one of my favorite recipes with baby cereal because it’s a simple three-ingredient concoction that’s fast and easy for busy moms.  And, these baby pancakes use either oatmeal or rice baby cereal, both of which can be store-bought or made at home.

Also, these baby banana pancakes are perfect finger foods for babies and are thus a great banana pancake for baby-led weaning. Since they are soft pancakes, they work well for babies with teeth who are first learning to gum foods!  While you can cook them in the traditional round pancake form, you can also cut these baby cereal pancakes into long strips to help babies grasp them better.

I’m loving this recipe as we are totally relying on finger foods right now in our household as my daughter refuses to eat anything from a spoon.

Since she’s an incredibly picky eater, I’ve been stressing how to incorporate iron-fortified baby cereal or other iron-rich foods into her diet so she can get the necessary vitamins and minerals she needs for healthy growth.

We’ve tried mixing baby cereal with milk, formula, purees, and more, but she will just NOT eat it.

Thus, this simple finger food recipe: baby cereal pancakes. She gobbles up these iron-rich pancakes.  Bonus points because it includes a fruit as well as an egg!  Plus, they are dairy-free, which is great for our MSPI daughter who also has severe reactions to even “hidden” milk.

I want to let you in on 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 actually are!)

What baby cereal can you use for this recipe?

I’ve tried both boxed rice cereal and oatmeal cereal and they work great.  If you do use boxed cereal, I recommend an organic cereal.

You can also make your own oatmeal “cereal” by putting oats in a food processor and processing until in tiny, small pieces.  Just know that it won’t be iron-fortified.

I love that you can tailor these to be either rice cereal pancakes or oatmeal cereal pancakes with equally good results.

Rice cereal is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than oatmeal cereal is.  Oatmeal cereal, however, is less likely to cause constipation since it has a laxative effect.

There has been some concern in the recent past regarding arsenic in baby rice cereal, so it’s advised not to eat too much rice cereal.  (There has been significantly less concern with the arsenic content of oatmeal cereal.)

When I’ve been making these pancakes for my younger daughter now, I’ve been using Gerber oatmeal cereal instead of the Beech-Nut rice cereal.  Both commercially available cereals are iron-fortified, and that’s what is most important for my picky eater!

Baby Food Pancakes How To:

Required Ingredients:

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

• 1  ripe banana, mashed nice and smooth (forks work great!)
• 1 medium egg
• ¼ cup baby cereal (you can make pancakes with rice or oatmeal baby cereal. My photo shows rice cereal, but I’ve lately been using oatmeal cereal.)

To make baby cereal pancakes:

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

2. Heat a griddle (what I used! We LOVE our griddle) or non-stick skillet over low to medium heat.  If the griddle is too hot, they will burn.  (I set mine to 275 degrees.)

The batter sticks much less when the griddle is greased, but we wanted to be super healthy and instead dealt with some sticky pancakes  If you don’t want sticky or slightly malformed pancakes, I recommend non-stick cooking spray or butter/coconut oil, especially if you are using a skillet.

Spoon batter onto skillet into the desired size of pancakes. I like small pancakes because they make good finger foods!

3. Cook until bottoms are lightly browned. Flip over and cook until banana pancake is cooked through. I like to give them a squish with the spatula after the flip to thin them and ensure they are well-cooked through.

It only took about a minute per side for my tiny pancakes!  You have to watch them or they WILL BURN and stick to the griddle.

Also, since they are just banana, egg, and cereal, they will still have a mushy consistency after being cooked through. 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,  check with a food or meat thermometer to make sure the inside is at least 160 degrees F.

4. Serve baby pancakes with baby food fruit puree (homemade or jarred) as topping or dipping sauce, if desired.  My daughter used to LOVE dipping things as a baby.  One of her first ten words, as a matter of fact, was “dip!”

Baby Food Pancake Storage:

First of all, the beauty of these baby cereal pancakes is that they freeze great for you moms who like to cook ahead!  To avoid sticking, freeze flat on a parchment sheet and then place in a plastic bag or freezer-safe container.  They keep for up to 3 months.

The pancakes can then be reheated on the griddle again, or the microwave works well too.  Just don’t overheat.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours.

Fun Twists to Baby Pancakes

So I already mentioned you can cut these pancakes into strips.

However, something we’ve been doing with my second daughter is making other fun shapes!  We make them into letters, hearts, squiggles, and so much more!  She LOVES that!

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!  Some of the shapes were a sticky mess, but some of the baby cereal pancakes turned out so cute and fun!

Allergen and Safety Precautions

As a reminder, make sure 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.

If you liked our baby cereal banana pancakes recipe, check out more recipe ideas!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Three-Ingredient Baby Cereal Pancakes

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

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 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 egg
• ¼ cup rice or oatmeal baby cereal

Instructions

• Stir all three ingredients together in a bowl.
• Heat a griddle (what I used!) or non-stick skillet over LOW heat. (I set mine to 275 degrees.) If the griddle is too hot, the pancakes WILL BURN AND STICK. If you're not wanting sticky or slightly malformed pancakes, you will need to use a nice layer of non-stick cooking spray or butter/coconut oil.
• Spoon batter onto griddle into desired size of pancakes. I like small pancakes because they make good finger foods! If it turns out your pancakes are too squishy or runny for your tastes, try adding a little extra rice 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. I like to give them a squish with the spatula right after the flip to make them thinner and ensure they are well cooked through. It only took about a minute per side for my tiny pancakes! Since they are just banana, egg, and cereal, they will still have a VERY mushy consistency after being cooked through, which is why they're perfect for babies with no teeth! Check with a thermometer to make sure they're at 160 degrees if needed. You also have to watch them pretty closely or they will burn and stick to the griddle if you leave them on too long. 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

They also freeze well for you moms like me who love to cook ahead!

And if you're wondering if they're cooked through due to the consistency, check with a food or meat thermometer and make sure the inside registers to at least 160 degrees.