Porridge Fingers

Porridge fingers (oatmeal fingers) are a really easy way for babies to eat oatmeal. Serve them plain or add different fruits, vegetables and spices to add variety. They only take a couple of minutes in the microwave, perfect for when your baby wakes up looking for food in a hurry!

Why You’ll Love Porridge Fingers

You probably won’t be rushing to make these for yourself but they are perfect for babies.

• Super quick to prepare and cook
• Being finger formed they are easy for babies to pick up (resulting in a much quicker clean up at the end!)
• Serving food in different ways allows babies to get used to different textures and food experiences.
• You still get all the nutritional benefits of oatmeal, just in finger form.
• Customisable -flavour this easy breakfast with all sorts of ingredients!

Video – Watch How to Make Them

Ingredients

Two simple ingredients is all you need to make porridge fingers

• Oats – Rolled (porridge) or quick oats work. Steel-cut oats are NOT suitable.
• Milk

However, you can flavour oatmeal fingers with a range of fruits, vegetables and spices. Three flavours that my boys enjoyed included

• Raspberry and Coconut (addition of crushed raspberries and desiccated coconut)
• Carrot Cake (addition of grated carrot, apple puree, ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg)
• Apple Pie (a particular favourite) (addition of grated apple, apple puree and cinnamon)

Process Steps and Images

1. Mix Porridge Finger Ingredients Together. For the plain version this will just be milk and oats, for the flavoured versions it will include all the other ingredients. Allow the mixture to sit for a couple of minutes, until mushy.
2. Press the mixture into a small, flat-bottomed microwavable dish. Use the back of a spoon to do this until the mixture is flat. I used a dish approx. 13cm x 10cm (5x4inch) and the mixture was around 3-5mm thick. If your dish is bigger you don’t have to fill the whole space, the mixture shouldn’t spread much.
3. Cook in Microwave for 2 mins on high. The timings will vary depending on the microwave. The first time you make them you will want to keep checking it. The cooked mixture will be soft but you should be able to cut through it.
4. Cut the fingers while still hot and serve once cooled. I find that I need to “tidy up” the fingers as I cut.

Can You Make These in the Oven?

If you do not have a microwave, you can make the oatmeal fingers in the oven. Bake, in an ovenproof dish, for around 15 mins at 190C / 375F. However, you may not wish to heat the oven for such little quantities. These fruity baked oatmeal cups are a similar idea that have been specifically developed for baking, I would suggest trying this recipe instead.

Storage Instructions

• REFRIGERATE: Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
• FREEZE: Freeze on a tray until frozen, transfer to an airtight container / freezer bag and freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the refrigerator.

Other oat breakfast ideas that you may like…

• Blueberry Breakfast Balls
• Banana Overnight Oats
• Mango and Coconut Oat Breakfast Bars

*First Published May 2015, the post has been updated to include process shots, video and more detailed recipe information.