This is our review of the best baby cereal in 2022.
When your baby is about 6 months old, your pediatrician will probably recommend you to feed your baby cereal mixed with infant formula or breast milk as their first solid food. If your baby is around 4 months, you should check with your pediatrician to see if your baby is ready to solid food because every baby is different.
Related: Signs Your Baby is Ready for Cereal
The most common concern you may face when choosing a cereal is the heavy metal in it, especially arsenic. There are two steps you can take to reduce your child’s exposure to heavy metals:
- Limit the amount of rice cereal your child eats, the most common cereal used as starting solids.
- Give your little one a variety of whole grain cereals that are lower in inorganic arsenic, such as oatmeal, barley, quinoa, and multigrain. One type of them is a just one part of your little one’s balanced diet.
Babycereals.com only pick cereal for babies about 4 to 6 months old, when they’re ready to eat the first solid food. We found that Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oatmeal Baby Cereal is the best overall cereal.
Let’s get started.
Good To Know
Our review is mainly based on 6 factors:
1. Organic prior to conventional, so here 7 of 8 cereals are organic.
2. Oatmeal is better than rice from the aspect of its lower level of arsenic and fiber content. For these two reasons, our list contains only two rice cereal, one is white rice, and the other is brown rice.
3. Brand: Happy Baby, Gerber and Earth’s Best are the 3 top brands that have already built their reputation in the market.
4. Added ingredients: some parents need as few ingredients as possible while others need more vitamins.
5. Allergen: Little babies should avoid the allergen if they’re sensitive.
6. Price: The 8th cereal is price-friendly as it is the only one that is non-organic.
Our Best Baby Cereals
1. Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oatmeal Baby Cereal (Best Overall)
2. Gerber Organic Single-Grain Oatmeal Baby Cereal (Best Oatmeal)
3. Earth’s Best Organic Infant Cereal, Rice Cereal (Best White Rice)
4. WutsupBaby Organic Quinoa Infant & Baby Cereal (Best Quinoa)
5. Earth’s Best Organic Infant Cereal, Whole Grain Rice (Best Brown Rice)
6. Earth’s Best Organic Infant Cereal, Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal (Best Single Grain Iron Fortified)
7. Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oats & Quinoa Baby Cereal (Best Multigrain)
8. Gerber Single-Grain Oatmeal Baby Cereal (Best Budget Friendly)
Best Overall: Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oatmeal Baby Cereal
Ingredients: Milled Organic Whole Grain Oats, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Ferrous Bisglycinate (Iron)
Happy Baby Clearly Crafted Oatmeal is specifically sourced from gluten and GMO free oats, which is allergy-friendly and do not contain wheat or gluten. So your baby can try this cereal if he/she is afraid of food allergies.
This Organic oatmeal can be considered as a pure cereal, which is only made with three ingredients—organic oatmeal, vitamin C, and iron. Perfect for starting to feed your little one and easy to be blended with breastmilk, formula, or water.
Oatmeal has a slightly nutty taste, which is ideal for babies exploring taste. Vitamin C & iron help support your baby’s brain development, vitamin C increases the absorption of iron.
Iron is a necessary mineral for your baby’s growth and development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend starting to take iron-fortified foods at 6 months of age as many breastfed babies cannot acquire enough Iron from breastfeeding after the first 6 months.
Related: When Can Babies Have Oatmeal Cereal?
Best Oatmeal: Gerber Organic Single-Grain Oatmeal Baby Cereal
Ingredients: Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour (contains Wheat), Calcium Carbonate, Choline Bitartrate, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Iron (electrolytic), Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Niacinamide, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Mononitrate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12.
Notice: Contain Wheat
It is Non GMO but contains wheat. If your child is allergic to wheat, please keep him away from it.
Oatmeal cereal is a better first solid food for your baby than rice cereal as the latter has the risk of having higher levels of arsenic.
This cereal is fortified with iron and vitamins, also naturally containing fiber. It is great to feed your baby as a staple in the morning, lunch, or dinner. Your baby will love it.
It may give a metallic smell due to the high levels of iron after mixing with the formula or breastmilk. Maybe you’ll not notice the metallic smell by mixing it with just water. You can make it taste better by adding some yogurt, banana and sweet fruits. Meanwhile, giving a variety and different nutrients.
It can also be used as a thickener to transfer pureed meats and veggies from puree to liquified.
Best White Rice: Earth’s Best Organic Infant Cereal, Rice Cereal
Ingredients: Organic Rice Flour, Alpha Amylase (Enzyme), Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Electrolytic Iron.
This Single-grain organic rice cereal is non-GMO, easily digestible, and iron-fortified.
This one is an ideal first solid food for your baby to develop eating skills. It is easy to prepare by mixing 1 tablespoon of dry cereal with 3-4 tablespoons of breast milk or formula, and adjusting the thickness by adding more breastmilk or formula.
Earth’s Best is the one of most pediatrician-recommended brands for infant cereals.
Important Notice:
When you choose a rice cereal (this one or others), it increases the risk of your infant’s level of arsenic, which is bad for your child’s growth and development.
That’s why the FDA recommends combining rice cereal with other grain cereals to feed in your child’s diet on different days, such as oatmeal quinoa, or multigrain cereal, to balance the arsenic content in rice cereal. (2)
Best Quinoa: WutsupBaby Organic Quinoa Infant & Baby Cereal
Ingredients: Pure organic quinoa, no added nutrients, no added vitamins.
The nutritional profile of quinoa is closest to breastmilk, and quinoa is a complete protein source, making it a nice first solid food for your baby.
Also, it is gluten free, no wheat, no soy, non GMO, which makes it a safe alternative to rice and oatmeal cereal.
It naturally contains Omega 3, 6, 9, which is helpful for your baby’s eye & brain development. Also has other supplements, such as Vitamin E and Vitamin B2, Iron, and Magnesium, which are necessary for your little one’s growth.
Simply mix with breastmilk/formula or water, or when your baby is bigger, mix with mashed fruit or veggies to create a chunkier texture.
The probiotics and fiber aid in your baby’s digestion and so that avoid constipation. Also, it helps your baby sleep a little bit longer at night.
The packaging is convenient to take to go and your baby will love it.
Best Single Grain Iron Fortified Oatmeal: Earth’s Best Organic Infant Cereal, Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal
Ingredients: Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour, Calcium Phosphate, Ferric Pyrophosphate, Folic Acid, Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Zinc Oxide, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6)), Alpha Amylase (Enzyme).
Notice: Oats May Contain Wheat
This Earth’s Best whole grain oatmeal cereal is high iron-fortified (you can see the ingredient ferric pyrophosphate (iron) is just behind calcium phosphate), which promotes your infant growth and development.
It is also unsalted, unsweetened and Non GMO. You can try this cereal if your baby has digestive issues (ex. constipation) in eating rice cereal. It is easier for your baby to digest. The taste is plain but the strong oat flavor makes the cereal taste delicious. Maybe your baby likes to try new tastes.
It’s easy to prepare with formula, breast milk or plain water and doesn’t clump. You can feed your baby a bowl of oatmeal cereal before bed at night, and it keeps your baby stays full a little longer and your little one can sleep longer.
Best Multigrain: Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oats & Quinoa Baby Cereal
Ingredients: Milled Organic Whole Grain Oats, Milled Organic Quinoa, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Ferrous Bisglycinate (Iron)
This multigrain cereal is made of oatmeal and quinoa. It is gluten-free but make sure your baby isn’t allergic or sensitive to both quinoa and oatmeal.
You can introduce this Multigrain cereal to your baby as the 2nd solid food just after single grain cereal to increase variety and nutrition. It is easy to mix, eat, and digest for your baby. This is a reasonably priced whole grain organic cereal.
We recommend Happy Baby cereal because it is organic and has the least amount of added ingredients we found in the market. This type is made of 4 ingredients and no added sugar or flavors.
Great to mix with pureed food. It mixes into baby food perfectly without clumping. You can mix it with any food for the desired thickness and substance to make it more tasty. Just add some pureed fruits/vegetables/meat into it. If your baby prefers a plain taste, mix it with formula or breastmilk.
Your Baby will love this from the start and you will be happy to give your baby good food!
Best Budget Friendly: Gerber Single-Grain Oatmeal Baby Cereal
Ingredients: Whole Grain Oat Flour And Oat Flour (contains Wheat), Potassium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Iron (Electrolytic), Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Niacinamide, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12.
Notice: Contain Wheat
If you look for a good oatmeal cereal at a lower price, you can save a bunch of money for this one. And it is much more convenient than going to the store to buy it.
This oatmeal cereal is gluten-Free, easy to digest, and convenient to blend in liquid (breastmilk or infant formula) to a desired consistency.
It tastes bland so that your child will not notice it when added to breastmilk or infant formula. It is also a good substitute for rice cereal if you want to reduce exposure to arsenic.
Your baby will love to eat it.
Buyer’s Guide of Baby Cereal
As a new mom or dad, you may confuse which cereal is healthier and more nutritious for your little baby. Here we list the 7 most important items you may consider when choosing cereal.
Which is Better, Rice or Oatmeal Cereal?
For years, rice cereal was traditionally considered as the best first cereal for babies.
However, nowadays oatmeal cereal is mostly recommended by AAP and CDC due to health concerns regarding the naturally high levels of arsenic levels in rice.
Plus, oatmeal cereal contains more fiber and can reduce the occurrence of constipation in your child. Also, oatmeal will keep your baby full and help your baby sleep longer at night.
Related: Oatmeal Cereal vs Rice Cereal for Babies: Which is Better?
Single Grain or MultiGrain?
Single grain cereal only contains one type of grain (usually are oatmeal or rice), and multigrain cereal has several types of grains, commonly more of two of rice, oatmeal, barley, quinoa and wheat.
It is best to start with single cereal when you start feeding your baby solid foods, which is easier to digest and less allergen risk than multigrain cereal.
When your baby is older, you can introduce multigrain cereal to his diet for different nutritional benefits and tastes.
Organic or Non-Organic Cereals?
Organic grain was grown without the use of potentially harmful chemicals and synthetic pesticides or growth hormones, while conventional grain farming does.
So organic cereal can prevent pesticides more than non-organic cereal.
Also, Organic is non-GMO because GMO crops are not organic. (3)
More or Less Added Ingredients?
Some parents may only need an unfortified cereal (except iron) as they think their baby only needs simple ingredients and doesn’t require all the extra vitamins.
For this reason, you can jump to the above Happy Baby’s cereal as they have less added ingredients than other cereal brands.
Fortified With Iron
CDC says, at the age of 6 months, infants need an external source of iron apart from breast milk as breast milk contains little iron that cannot meet your baby’s requirement at that time. (4)
So as a parent, you need to feed your child with iron supplements if your little only absorbs iron from breast milk. Then iron fortified cereal is one of your choices.
Additional iron supplementation is not necessary if your infant is receiving iron-fortified infant formula.
Gluten Free
To avoid an allergic reaction, it is important to consider a gluten-free cereal when starting solid food for your baby. Rice cereal is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than other cereals.
Variety
Let your baby try different tastes and balance various nutrition by eating several cereals. It is suggested to feed your little one to various cereals if he or she is eating only rice cereal, which will reduce the exposure to arsenic.
Baby Cereal FAQ
Why Arsenic Content is Highest in Rice than Other Grains?
Generally, rice is easier to absorb arsenic from soil and water than other cereal crops.
Related: Arsenic in Baby Rice Cereal: Why the Content is High, Is it Safe? and How to Prevent it?
When Can I Put Cereal in My Baby’s Bottle?
It is not suggested to feed your baby cereal with a bottle when your little one is just ready to eat solid food because it may cause choking, overeating and other risks.
What Nutrient Baby Cereal Doesn’t Have?
Most cereals lack protein, which your baby needs in their growth. Therefore, food rich in protein, such as fish, poultry, meat, eggs, and soy products should be added to your baby’s food.
Final Thought
When Choose Cereal for your baby, you may need to take many items into consideration, such as sourcing from oatmeal or rice, iron level, organic or not, single or multigrain, check allergen-free or not, fortified with vitamins or not, brand, price…and etc.
Every baby is different, and Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Oatmeal Baby Cereal may be an excellent choice for your baby.