This porridge fingers recipe is so easy to make and is great for weaning babies and toddlers alike. Ideal for baby led weaning.
Last week I hopped on the Tube to west London for a Piccolo Pop In – a lunch, chat, nutrition session and generally lovely time with Alice from baby food company My Little Piccolo and Leyla from This Day I Love.
Who are My Little Piccolo?
My Little Piccolo is a baby food company with a difference.
All of their recipes are inspired by Mediterranean goodness so you can expect to find plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as lots of lovely herbs.
The spring greens with pear, apple and mint has been a big hit here. The company has recently introduced a couple of new stage 1 pouches, which are vegetarian – carrot, sweet potato and squash, and courgette, pea and leek.
The stage 2 pouches – for when your baby is ready for slightly chunkier food – include sweet tomato and ricotta spaghetti and a three grain vegetable risotto.
Alice showing me how to make porridge fingers
Alice Fotheringham is one of the founders of My Little Piccolo. She’s a trained nutritionist, and while My Little Piccolo is primarily a baby food company, she had a wealth of knowledge and understanding about children’s nutrition and eating.
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to her about my kids and their eating. She also made me realise that in many ways R is actually a good eater. He might not touch fruit or veg if he can avoid it but he’ll happily tuck into a curry. So it’s not all bad.
Egg cups
Alice shared some of her recipes with us, such as these simple egg cups.
They are so easy to make and make a great snack or lunch for babies and toddlers. All you need to do is finely chop up some vegetables, pour over some beaten egg and bake in a greased muffin tin.
These are great for toddlers and if you’re doing baby led weaning.
We also made a lovely pea hummus, some savoury muffins and porridge fingers.
Porridge fingers
My Little Piccolo has kindly let me share the porridge fingers recipe with you.
As your baby gets older you can make these a bit more exciting by adding other spices such as all spice and dried chopped fruit or make a savoury version with some mixed herbs and grated parmesan.
You can buy My Little Piccolo baby pouches in Asda, Waitrose and Ocado amongst others – see their website for a full list of stockists.
If you like this recipe you might like my courgette, lemon and blueberry overnight oats, these blueberry and banana porridge bars or read this post about how much fruit and veg kids should really be eating with advice from Alice in it.
Read more about cooking for babies.
How to make porridge fingers:
Porridge fingers
Ingredients
- 10 heaped tbsp porridge oats or a mix or oats, millet flakes or barley flakes to provide a mix of grains to your baby’s diet
- 10 tbsp full fat cow’s milk or no added sugar almond milk, oat milk or any nut milk alternatives
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ mashed banana optional
Instructions
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Pour the oats into a small, flat bottomed microwave proof dish and pour over the milk. Add the cinnamon and the banana (if using) and mix together. Press the oat mix down into the dish with the back of the spoon and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.
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Cut into fingers and serve once cool.
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If you don’t want to use the microwave, these work just as well in the oven. Heat the oven to 190°C/375F/Gas Mark 5 and cook for 15 minutes.
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Once cool, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Disclaimer: I was invited along to a My Little Piccolo Pop In for the purposes of this post. I have received no payment and all opinions are my own.
Natalie Durndell
When do you put the banana in?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Natalie – after you’ve mixed the oats and milk together – just mash it and stir it in.
Christina
Hi there! In the US… Do you know what the equivalent to porridge oats are here? We have intant (quick cook), rolled oats, or steel cut oats. Thanks so much! I look forward to making these in a few months when we start BLW.
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Christina, thanks for your question. I think that rolled oats is probably what you need – whatever you’d use to make standard porridge (oatmeal). I’m not sure about steel cut but I don’t think quick cook would work. Hope you enjoy them!
Maria
These look so easy to make , thank you
Mandy Mazliah
They are very easy Maria – hope your baby enjoys them!
Zoë
What texture are these supposed to be? Mine came out of the microwave still soft.
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Zoe, they are like a very soft flapjack but they should hold together. It’s really tricky with microwaves as they all have different powers but perhaps try cooking it for longer at 10 second intervals until it’s done? Let me know how you get on.
Jiayi
How long can i keep these?
Mandy Mazliah
You can keep them for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. They can go in the freezer as well for a month or so.
Kitty
Can you suggest an alturnative to milk for these? I don’t want to give my baby milk until after he’s turned o e.
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Kitty, you can make them with formula or breast milk. I would also imagine you could use oat milk or almond milk or similar as well although this hasn’t been tested. Let me know how you get on.
Jo
What age would you recommend these from?
Mandy Mazliah
You can serve these from six months
Jennifer
I’m so sad! This did not work at all for me. I used breastmilk and it was a big, crumbly mess. Wonder if that’s why it wouldn’t stick together??
Mandy Mazliah
Oh so sorry to hear that! I haven’t tested it myself with breastmilk but I’m pretty sure Piccolo must have done.
April
That’s a real bummer! We’ll have to experiment with the user of breast milk.
Krystan
If you don’t have a microwave what temp and time for the oven?
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Krystan, it’s at the bottom of the recipe – 190 degrees for 15 minutes x
Jilly Dalton
As I am trying to ward off sugar I am trying to eat healthy foods instead, fruit included I am going to try a small amount of these and see if I like them. I hope the oats get cooked enough? I might try these instead of breakfast.
Mandy Mazliah
Hope you enjoy them – the oats do get thoroughly cooked.
Joy
Do you think I could use breastmilk instead of the other kinds of milk?
Mandy Mazliah
I haven’t tried it Joy but I can’t think of a reason why not – let me know how it turns out x
Babyandpug
Did this work out? I want to make these with breast milk
Terri
Can you freeze these?
Thanks
Mandy Mazliah
Hi Terri, I haven’t tried but I can’t think of a reason why not. Will experiment next time I make them
Feed_me_mama
I make porridge bites using silicone molds which are really similar. One of the first things I ever made for the tiny man! Fabulous post, Mandy.
Mandy Mazliah
Or not so tiny any more – he’s just turned two right?
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
I make something similar which is great for Slimming World. These look delicious. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Kirsty – they’re great for kids and grown ups alike to snack on!
Eb Gargano / easypeasyfoodie.com
Oooh, lovely recipe – similar to my cranberry porridge squares, in fact! Great minds and all that 🙂 I really like using milk instead of sugar to make the oats stick together – much healthier than a whole load of sugar! I like the addition of banana too – I might have to try that, instead of the maple syrup/honey I normally use to sweeten my porridge squares. Eb x
Mandy Mazliah
They are a lot like your porridge squares aren’t they – surprisingly easy to make flapjacks without all the butter and syrup isn’t it x