Best Homemade Baby Rice Cereal

Soaking the rice is optional but recommended. It may help it be a little easier for baby to digest, but as long as you cook the rice until very soft, it is not 100% necessary if you're short on time. The directions, timing, and liquid used here are based on soaking the rice and using the short-grain brown rice from Lundberg.

Course Baby Food

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories 80kcal

Author Amy Palanjian

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup short grain brown rice
2 1/2 cups water
1-1 1/2 cups water, breastmilk, or formula, divided

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Optional: Add rice to a pot or bowl and cover with an inch or two of water. Let soak for 2-8 hours.
Drain rice in a fine-mesh sieve, rinsing thorough.
Add rice to a medium pot with 2 1/2 cups water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice is very soft and fluffy and the water is fully absorbed. (If the rice is not very soft, add 1/2 cup additional water and cook a little longer.) Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
(At this point, you can store the rice in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container until ready to proceed if desired.)
Add 2 cups of the rice to a blender with 1 cup water, breastmilk, or formula. Blend, starting on low and working up to high, adding up to an additional 1/2 cup water to make a thin puree. Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
Serve or store for later.

Video

Notes

Store cereal in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 2 days.
Store leftover cereal in the freezer by filling an ice cube tray. Freeze overnight, then transfer to a zip-top freezer bag to store for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge, and add additional warm water, breastmilk, or formula to serve.
Use short-grain rice for the least starchiness.
I prefer Lundberg short-grain brown rice, as it's regularly tested for low levels of arsenic.
If your rice isn't very soft at the end of the cooking time, add 1/2 cup additional water and cook until soft. Different brands and types of rice take a different amount of time to cook, so there will be some variation in the liquid and time if you make this with a different kind of rice, which is fine!
If you skip soaking the rice, you may need additional water and cooking time.
When blending, wait to decide if you need additional liquid until the mixture is as smooth as possible. It thickens up a lot once the rice is very well blended.
Add any baby food puree for additional flavor. I like Butternut Squash Puree, Sweet Potato Puree, Banana Puree, and Apple Puree but any will work.

Nutrition