Is Your Baby Ready for Solids? Our Pediatric RD Picked the Best Baby Cereals For Your Little One (2024)

Baby cereal is a convenient and versatile part of a nutritious diet for babies. Typically made of finely ground grains and fortified with the most important nutrients for new eaters, baby cereals can be mixed with breastmilk, formula, or water or blended with other foods to create an easy-to-eat and easy-to-digest food for babies.

Baby cereals once had a bad rap for containing potentially unsafe levels of heavy metals like arsenic, but a lot has changed with them in recent years. For example, the FDA has issued stricter safety requirements regarding heavy metals (including arsenic) in baby cereals, requiring all commercially sold baby foods to be below the established safety threshold of these potentially harmful contaminants. Rice cereals typically have a higher risk of having heavy metals, so opting for other whole-grain alternatives can give you more peace of mind. Our team of experts, including a pediatrician and two pediatric dietitians, recommends opting for whole-grain-based cereals (like oats) or corn-based products.

With these experts’ guidance, we dove deep into the nutritional pros and cons of baby cereal, researched cereals for ease and accessibility, and found the seven best baby cereals on the market.

Our Favorites

• Best Overall: Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Infant Cereal
• Best Budget: Gerber Single Grain Oatmeal
• Best Third-Party Tested: Else Nutrition Cereal
• Best Multigrain: Earth's Best Organic Multi-Grain
• Best for Constipation Relief: Beech Nut Organic Baby Oatmeal
• Best for Food Allergy Prevention: Ready Set Food Organic Baby Oatmeal
• Best Corn-Based: Beech Nut Golden Corn (Maize) Cereal
  

Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Baby Oatmeal Cereal

Why We Like It

A reliable name in the baby food world, Earth's Best Whole Grain Baby Oatmeal Cereal has USDA organic oats with added key nutrients. It’s got everything you love about oatmeal, plus it’s fortified with some of the most important nutrients for young babies. Just one serving has 45% of the daily iron needs for a six-month-old and is also fortified with vitamin E.

Fortified oatmeal-based baby cereals are the top choice of all the experts we spoke to because they’re easy to digest and have a lower arsenic content than rice-based cereals. Pediatric dietitian Pegah Jalali, MS RD, recommends Earth’s Best for its ease of preparation, affordability, and convenience. While you can serve it alone as a traditional oatmeal mixed with formula or breast milk, Jalali highlights its versatility. She suggests it can also be mixed with fruit or veggies or even made into pancakes, muffins, and meatballs to help expose your baby to a wider variety of tastes and textures.

Just as important as what’s included in a baby cereal is what’s not. You won’t find any added sugar, sodium, artificial colors, or flavors. Additionally, Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Baby Oatmeal Cereal is made from non-GMO ingredients.

But Take Note

While oats do not naturally contain wheat (or gluten), they can carry wheat and gluten proteins from cross-contamination in production unless they are tested as Certified Gluten-Free. This product is not Certified Gluten-Free, so it would not be appropriate for babies with gluten or wheat allergies.

Product Details:

• Type: oatmeal
• Age/Stage: 4 months up/1st stage
• Fortified with: iron, B vitamins, zinc, vitamin E, calcium
• Iron per serving: 4.95 milligrams (45% Daily Value)

Best Budget: Gerber Single Grain Oatmeal Baby Cereal

Why We Like It

Gerber Single Grain Oatmeal baby cereal is a nutritious, accessible, and budget-friendly option. Oatmeal-based cereals have replaced rice as a first choice cereal due to their tolerability and lower concentration of heavy metals. Each serving will give your baby a whopping 60% of their daily iron needs while costing you about 25 cents per serving.

In addition to iron, this cereal is fortified with B vitamins, vitamins C and E, calcium, and zinc. Each serving also contains two grams of protein, slightly more than most of the other oatmeal-based and other single-grain baby cereals. It’s also made with non-GMO ingredients.

But Take Note

This cereal is not suitable for babies with wheat or gluten allergies. It also contains 5 milligrams of sodium and one gram of added sugar. Additionally, this product is not USDA organic, if that’s something that’s important to you and your family.

Product Details:

• Type: oatmeal
• Age/Stage: 4 months and up/stage 1
• Fortified with: iron, B vitamins, vitamin C, Vitamin E, zinc, calcium
• Iron per serving: 6.75 milligrams (60% Daily Value)

Best Third-Party Tested: Else Nutrition Cereal

Why We Like It

If you want a baby cereal that is ensured to have a safe level of contaminants, we like Else Nutrition Cereal because it’s unlike anything else on the market. Made from almonds, buckwheat flour, and tapioca and fortified with 20 plus vitamins and minerals, it’s full of healthy fats, protein, and other nutrients to support growing babies. Else is the first baby cereal in the United States to receive the Clean Label Project Purity Award, so you can be confident it’s free of potentially harmful contaminants like heavy metals, pesticide residues, and plastics. It’s also USDA organic.

Cinthia Scott, RD IBCLC, The Baby Dietitian, recommends Else Nutrition Cereal as one of the best cereals for babies because it works double duty. It provides a nutritional punch and serves as easy exposure to tree nuts for allergy prevention. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends early introduction of potential food allergens, like nuts and wheat, around six months of age, unless your baby is presenting with eczema and/or an egg allergy, in which case they may be more prone to food allergies. In this case, babies may need food allergy testing before the introduction of other allergens. It’s always best to consult a healthcare professional to see what allergy introduction protocol is best for your baby.

Else Nutrition Cereal is dairy, soy, and gluten-free. We also like that it comes in multiple flavor varieties, including plain, banana, vanilla, and mango, so you can expose your child to different tastes if desired.

But Take Note

Else is one of the more expensive baby cereals, and because it’s made with almonds, it’s not appropriate for babies with identified tree-nut allergies. It’s also lower in iron than other options on our list, containing just 15% Daily Value (DV) of iron for infants 6–12 months and 20% DV for children 1-3. However, they do offer a high-iron formulation with 50% DV for 6–12 months and 80% 1–2 years of age.

Also note that this cereal should not be a first food, and is made for babies 6+ months of age.

Product Details:

• Type: buckwheat and almond blend
• Age/Stage: 6 mo+
• Fortified with: iron, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, thiamine, B vitamins, zinc, choline, potassium
• Iron per serving: 1.5 milligrams (15% Daily Value)

Best Multigrain: Earth’s Best Organic Multi-Grain

Why We Like It

If you’re looking to branch out from oats, this pick has you covered. Earth's Best Organic Multi-Grain Infant Cereal is one of Jelali’s top picks for providing nutritional diversity with three whole grains—oats, barley, and spelt—while maintaining everything that’s great about baby cereal. Another perk: because it’s rice-free, there’s less concern for arsenic exposure.

Earth’s Best Organic Multi-Grain Infant Cereal is quick and easy to prepare and easy for babies to tolerate and digest. Each serving provides almost 50% of a baby’s recommended daily iron needs. It’s also fortified with other key nutrients like B vitamins (including folate), vitamin E, zinc, and calcium.

Earth’s Best is a reputable name in the baby food world. This cereal is made without artificial or GMO ingredients and is USDA Organic.

But Take Note

This cereal is not suitable for babies with wheat or gluten allergies.

Product Details:

• Type: oats, barley, spelt
• Age/Stage: 4 months and up/stage 1
• Fortified with: calcium, phosphate, folic acid, Vitamin E, vitamin B3, zinc, Vitamin B1 Vitamin B12, vitamin B2, vitamin B6
• Iron per serving: 4.95 milligrams (45% Daily Value)

Best for Constipation Relief: Beech Nut Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal

Why We Like It

Beech-Nut Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal is another one of Jelali’s top picks for first baby food. It has a creamy, easy-to-digest texture that you can customize with the amount of added liquids or even by mixing with solids, like mashed fruit.

We love that Beech Nut Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal is fortified with crucial nutrients for babies—each serving provides 60% DV of iron, 25% DV of zinc, and 20% DV of Vitamin D—and nothing extra like sodium, sweeteners or preservatives. It is also USDA Organic and non-GMO.

Iron can be constipating, so the two grams of fiber in Beech Nut Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal—double the amount of most other baby cereals—make it our top choice for babies struggling with constipation.

But Take Note

This cereal is not suitable for babies with wheat or gluten allergies. It’s highly fortified, so if you are giving your baby any vitamin or mineral supplements, or fortified baby formula, make sure you are not exceeding the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for any nutrient.

Product Details:

• Type: oatmeal
• Age/Stage: 4 months and up/stage 1
• Fortified with: iron, B vitamins, folic acid, vitamin D3, vitamin E, zinc
• Iron per serving: 6.8 milligrams (60% Daily Value)

Best For Food Allergy Prevention: Ready. Set. Food! Organic Baby Oatmeal

Why We Like It

Ready Set Food Organic Baby Oatmeal is USDA Organic, third-party tested, and a Clean Label Project Purity Award winner, but it’s not your traditional baby cereal. For starters, it includes the top nine food allergens. This oatmeal is part of a multi-step food allergy introduction program developed by a medical advisory board of pediatricians and allergists, designed to make allergen exposure simple and safe.

Another distinguishing factor is that this organic baby oatmeal provides four grams of protein per serving. That’s four times or more the amount of other baby cereals, but keep in mind most six-month-olds only need around 11 grams of protein per day.

This oatmeal comes in various options, including Original, Pumpkin Cinnamon, Banana Apple, Peanut Butter Banana, and more, so you can expose your baby to different flavor combinations if desired.

While Ready Set Food Organic Baby Oatmeal is amazing for taking the guesswork out of allergen maintenance exposure, it falls short on iron compared to alternatives. It provides five milligrams of iron per serving, which is 45% of an infant's daily needs.

But Take Note

It’s not cheap (roughly three times the price of many other baby cereals) and is only safe once you’ve introduced all allergens individually or follow their program from stage one. Note that this cereal should not be a first food, and it is made for babies 6+ months of age.

Product Details:

• Type: oatmeal
• Age/Stage: 6+ months
• Fortified with: iron, vitamin E
• Iron per serving: 5 milligrams (45% Daily Value)

Best Corn-Based: Beech Nut Golden Corn (Maize) Cereal

Why We Like It

A corn-based cereal isn’t typical, but it’s just as nutritious as other options. Recommended by Pegah Jalali, Beech Nut Golden Corn makes it easy to experiment with feeding a baby different flavors. Like other baby cereals, this corn-based option has an easily modifiable texture and can be made into pancakes.

If you’re big on nutrient fortification, this is a great choice for you. It’s a nutritional powerhouse due to generous vitamin and mineral fortification. Each serving provides 60% of the daily recommended iron needs, 25% of the daily recommended dose of zinc, and 20% of the recommended levels of vitamin D. It’s good to note it's slightly less protein than most of the oatmeal-based alternatives, which isn’t a big deal because babies can still get what they need from formula/milk.

Beech Nut Golden Corn is free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, and GMO ingredients and has no added sweeteners or salt. It’s also gluten-free.

But Take Note

Similar to the other Beech Nut product on our list, it’s highly fortified, so if you are giving your baby any vitamin or mineral supplements, or fortified baby formula, make sure you are not exceeding the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for any nutrient. Also, this product is not USDA organic, if that’s something that’s important to you and your family.

Product Details:

• Type: corn
• Age/Stage: 4 months up/stage 1
• Fortified with: iron, vitamin E, zinc, vitamin D3, calcium, B vitamins
• Iron per serving: 6.8 milligram (60% Daily Value)

Should My Baby Eat Baby Cereal?

Once considered the gold standard for its simplicity and safety, baby cereal is no longer the default first food recommendation for all babies. However, it’s still a practical and nutritious option due in large part to fortification with iron and often other important nutrients.

Does your baby need baby cereal to be healthy? Not at all. Can it provide a number of nutritional benefits? Certainly, and especially if your baby was exclusively breastfed. Many pediatricians advise offering baby cereals as an early food. We consulted with Dr. Tomomi Hayashi, a pediatrician, who recommends non-rice-based baby cereals to families to limit arsenic exposure. Iron fortification is a major draw, but Dr. Hayashi also appreciates that cereals have an easily modifiable consistency, so they can meet a baby’s needs wherever they’re at with eating solids.

Because breastfed babies need more iron at around 4 months of age, when the stores they are born with begin to deplete, iron-rich foods are an important focus. Jalali says it can be difficult for young eaters to meet their iron needs through unfortified and other whole foods alone, especially if they adhere to a vegetarian or vegan diet. She suggests including oatmeal-based or mixed-grain baby cereals in the early diet.

Scott also points out that baby cereals can be a safe option for babies due to low allergy risk. Our experts agree that there’s no data to suggest that one type of cereal is easier to digest than another.

However, Scott notes that because iron-fortified products can contribute to constipation, fortified baby cereals may not be best for children already experiencing constipation or other gastrointestinal issues.

When To Start Feeding Your Baby Cereal

Baby cereal is safe and appropriate for babies as soon as they show signs of readiness to eat solid foods, usually around six months.

When mixed with formula or breast milk, baby cereal can serve as a bridge between an all-liquid and diverse diet for new eaters, but that doesn’t mean you should rush to offer it before your child is ready. There’s no benefit to earlier food introduction, and the thought that baby cereal can promote sleep is an old wive’s tale.

The AAP now recommends serving baby cereal alongside other foods, textures, and flavors. Our experts highlight that in addition to mixing easily with formula and breastmilk, baby cereal can be incorporated into baby pancakes. Jalali suggests adding fruits, vegetables, meats, nut butter, and/or eggs to baby cereal for more flavor and texture diversity.

Our Food Review Process

Our team works hard to be transparent about why we recommend certain supplements or foods.

We support supplements and foods that are evidence-based and rooted in science. We value certain product attributes that we find to be associated with the highest quality products.

Experts we spoke to for choosing the best baby cereal include:

• Tomomi Hayashi, M.D., a pediatrician at Silicon Valley Pediatrician
• Pegah Jalali, MS, RD, an expert in feeding infants and toddlers
• Cinthia Scott, RD, IBCLC, founder of The Baby Dietitian
  

How Much Baby Cereal Do Babies Need?

Baby cereal is not a dietary requirement, so there is no daily minimum or maximum. That said, two to four tablespoons a day served a few times a week can go a long way in delivering valuable nutrients, including iron, which is crucial for a baby’s developing brain, nervous system, and immune system.

Ingredients

It is essential to carefully read the ingredient list and nutrition facts panel of a baby cereal to know which ingredients and how much of each ingredient is included, relative to the recommended daily value of that ingredient. Please bring the baby cereal label to a healthcare provider to review the different ingredients contained in the food and any potential interactions between these ingredients and other supplements and medications your child is taking.

Less is more when it comes to baby cereals—simple ingredients (with optional vitamins and minerals added) are best. Look for a single whole grain or mixed whole grain ingredients. All of our experts recommend limiting rice cereal, which can have a higher concentration of heavy metals.

Avoid cereals with added sugars and salt. These two ingredients should be minimized before 12 months.

You’ll likely notice lots of added vitamins and minerals on a baby cereal nutrition label. These might have long names, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. In fact, you want nutrient fortification in baby cereals. That’s a big part of what makes baby cereals so great for babies. However, keep in mind that if you are supplementing your baby with iron or other supplements or are feeding your baby fortified formula, make sure you are not exceeding the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) for any nutrient.A healthcare professional can help you with this.

If you haven’t already introduced them to your child’s diet, you should look out for potential allergens. Wheat is the most common potential allergen in baby cereals (usually oatmeal ones). If present, any of the top nine food allergens will be clearly listed after the ingredients on the nutrition facts label.

Taste and Texture

Part of what makes baby cereals great is that you can modify the texture as your baby becomes more adept at eating.

On its own, baby cereal is plain. That used to be part of its appeal. However, exposing young babies to a variety of flavors early in their eating journey is now thought to be beneficial, and baby cereal can be a vehicle for adding more complex flavors and textures.

Scott recommends adding different amounts of liquid when cooking to expose a child to textures from thin purees to thicker mashes. She also suggests mixing cereal with nutrient-dense foods like nut and seed butters; ricotta; hemp, flax, or chia seeds; or peanut powder to boost nutrients like omega-3s, fat, iron, and zinc and offer more flavor exposure.

Iron

Starting at around four to six months, babies need to consume 11 grams of iron a day to meet their needs. This can be challenging for breastfed babies because breastmilk is an insufficient iron source. That means getting iron, a mineral that's critical for growth and development, from food is a must.

Iron fortification is one of the best qualities of commercial cereals for babies. Most provide around 40–60% of a baby’s daily needs.

Other Nutrients

Baby cereals made with oats and quinoa are sources of whole grains, which naturally provide fiber, protein, and minerals. On their own, they have minimal amounts of protein and fat, depending on the brand and type of cereal.

Iron is the most important and most common fortified nutrient. The ingredient label also often lists a long list of B vitamins, all of which are important for babies to get enough of. In other words, they’re a good thing.

Safety and Recalls

You may have heard that baby cereal, mainly rice-based, contains arsenic and other toxic heavy metals. Rice absorbs more arsenic, which is present in air, water, and soil, than other crops, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and exposure to even a small amount of heavy metals can be harmful to a baby’s little body.

Scott points out that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends providing rice cereal in moderation or avoiding it altogether due to its higher arsenic content. She notes that rice cereal is also lower in nutritional value than oatmeal, quinoa, or buckwheat-based infant cereals, making it a less desirable option. The AAP recommends serving a variety of grain cereals to reduce exposure to arsenic.

You might also have heard that putting baby cereal in a bottle promotes sleep. Unlike the potential risk for arsenic in rice cereals, this one’s not true and is also unsafe. The AAP advises against serving baby cereal in a bottle and instead recommends baby cereal, either on its own mixed with breastmilk or formula or incorporated with other foods, once a baby shows signs of readiness to eat. Jalali notes that serving thickened liquids or solids in a bottle can increase the risk of gagging, choking, aspirating, and overfeeding.

Who We Are

Jennifer Friedman is a pediatric dietitian and mom to a baby and toddler. She helps picky eaters become more comfortable, confident eaters and wishes someone had told her about the benefits of baby cereal sooner.

Anne Cook Carroll, MS, RD, CDN is a Registered Dietitian who works with patients and families to meet their health goals. She educates patients on the appropriate usage of supplements to optimize their nutritional status and overall health. She also specializes in supplement research and analysis.