I cannot count the times I gave baby puffs to my kids as an easy snack on the go or while I was preparing meals. Baby puffs not only represent a light snack but a fabulous entertaining for the little ones, almost better than play dough 🙂
Yes, you can find very good baby puffs at the grocery store, but the homemade ones are so easy to make and you can really control every single ingredient and choose the flavor following your baby’s taste.
Today I would like to share a new baby puff recipe: mango and spinach with rice cereals. Done and, as you can see from the images, totally approved by my two lovely testers, Darien and Nolan. They are the cutest, aren’t they?
The procedure is super simple and easy as always.
In a food processor or tall container if using an immersion blender as I did place all the ingredients starting from the mango (yes, you can use frozen one), baby rice cereals, baby spinach, baking powder, egg yolk, coconut oil.
Puree everything to obtain a smooth consistency
Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and create small dots of mango/spinach mix with a teaspoon. Not too big or the puffs will not bake in the center. Small dots, 1/2 inch max.
Keep going up until you will use all the mango/spinach mix.
Bake the puffs in preheated oven to 375F for 15 minutes, than reduce the heat to 250F and bake for additional 55 minutes.
The baking phase is the tricky one and the one I receive more comments about. The whole idea is to dehydrate the puffs so that they will get crispy inside and melt in the baby’s mouth. In order to do that we are cooking the inside at the beginning (15min to 375F) and than we are dehydrating them at a low temperature (250F). Every oven is different so I would check them halfway. If you see that they are turning too browinsh, turn the heat down to the minimum allowed by your oven and bake them for longer.
Store them on the countertop in an air tight container with some paper towel inside that will absorb any moist. You want the puffs to stay crispy for as long as possible.
Easy to prepare homemade baby puffs with rice cereals, GF
- 1/2 cup rice cereal
- 1/2 cup fresh mango in pieces
- 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 egg yolk
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Place all the ingredients in a food processor or tall container if using an immersion blender
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Puree everything to obtain a smooth cream
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Create small dots of 1/2 inch max on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
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Bake to 375F for 15min. Reduce the heat to 250F and keep baking for additional 55min.
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Store on the countertop in an air tight container with some paper towel inside to absorb any moist.
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27 Comments
Did you make this recipe? Share the love, tag @buonapappa on Instagram and hashtag it #buonapappa I would love to see your creations!
Gabby
April 19, 2020 at 8:10 pmTotally burnt
Barbara Lamperti
June 18, 2020 at 6:49 pmOuch, sorry to hear that. The baking phase is the tricky one. Every oven runs a bit differently, I would suggest to reduce the temperature to 350 and 200. Thank you so much! ciao, b
Michelle
July 2, 2020 at 5:38 pmHi, I made the puffs today. Very delicious however I did end up making them a bit too big and the center did not bake through. What measuring spoomln size would you recommend? And would adding a bit more mango help smooth the consistency? I found mine to be a bit thicker then expected.
Thank you for your time,
Michelle
Barbara Lamperti
October 19, 2020 at 6:27 pmHi Michelle! you are right, the puff size really effects the final result in terms of texture. If the dots are too big they will stay a bit wet in the center once baked. With time I found that small puffs between 1/2 and 3/4 inch large are the best, they dry out completely all around and in the center. I’m usually using a coffee teaspoon to size them. If you see that the mix doesn’t have the same texture of the video and is a bit too thick, yes, adding a bit more mango will make it more moist. Let me know how it goes!! Ciao, b
Michelle
July 2, 2020 at 5:40 pmSorry meant to spell spoon
Olivia
August 7, 2020 at 10:06 amHi! What can I use instead of egg yolk?
Barbara Lamperti
October 19, 2020 at 8:07 pmYou can substitute the egg with 1 Tbsp flax seeds meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water. Let it rest few minutes. When it thickens, add to the mix. Ciao! B
Tina
August 14, 2020 at 5:49 pmIs 55 minutes at 250 degrees correct or a typo maybe ? That’s drastically longer than the recipe for kale/apple puffs( 250 for 20 minutes), just want to be sure before beginning.
Barbara Lamperti
October 19, 2020 at 8:05 pmHi Tina!
yes, the low temperature baking time here is longer. For the kale/apple is 30min at 250 whereas here it’s 55min at 250. In this recipe I used 1 egg less and the mango is more watery. I double-checked my notes and confirm the times. Still, every oven is different. I use a gas oven. My suggestion is to check them 10/15 min prior the end of the suggested time to test if they are done. The trick is to tap them on top with your finger. They should be dry and no mix should attach to your finger. I hope I was helpful! Let me know if you have any more questions, thank you!! Ciao, b
Olivia
August 19, 2020 at 1:28 pmHi! What can I replace the egg with?
Barbara Lamperti
October 19, 2020 at 5:53 pmChia seeds! 1 Tbsp chia seeds mixed for few minutes with 3 Tbsp water so that they will get gelatinous. The puffs might be a bit more dense than the version with egg, but they will still be yummy! Ciao, b
Anna
September 5, 2020 at 8:45 pmThis looks delicious! If I use frozen spinach instead of fresh, how much should I use?
Barbara Lamperti
October 19, 2020 at 5:28 pm1/4 cup will be enough! And squeeze them very well to remove the extra water. Ciao! B
am
February 9, 2021 at 6:07 pmConsidering baby food being found to contain heavy metals, and rice cereal in particular arsenic; what can I substitute the rice cereal with? is there an alternative than store bought rice cereal? would blended oat flour work?
Barbara Lamperti
May 26, 2021 at 9:25 pmHi! I totally understand your concern. Yes, you can substitute rice cereal with rolled oats blended in the food processor. I would suggest you two readings, one from consumer report.
– https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much-arsenic-is-in-your-rice/index.htm#rules
and the other from a friend of mine, Dr.Vivian Chen https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_zvzupKrW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Check out also solid starts post about rice.
https://solidstarts.com/foods/rice/
I hope it helps. Let me know if you have more questions.Ciao, B
Megan
March 26, 2021 at 10:49 pmCan you use rice flour?
Barbara Lamperti
May 26, 2021 at 7:38 pmHi Megan,
instead of using rice flour I would substitute with blended rolled oats, that’s the easiest solution. Rolled oats are steamed and rolled, that makes them more digestible. Ciao, b
Christina
March 29, 2021 at 3:55 pmCan i replace rice cereal with something else? Oats? Or blended quinoa ?
Barbara Lamperti
May 24, 2021 at 11:32 pmHi Christina,
Good question! I would substitute rice cereal with blended rolled oats, that’s the easiest solution. Blended quinoa might change the overall flavor. Ciao! B
Areli
June 6, 2021 at 7:19 pmI will try it but, can I make this recipe for pancakes or other way to make it breakfast?
The rice is cooked?
Or, you mean rice cereal like nestum?
Barbara Lamperti
June 14, 2021 at 5:20 pmHi Areli,
great idea! Sure, you can cook the mix in a skillet greasing it with some coconut oil and create small pancakes. It will work nicely!
Ciao,B
AJ
November 13, 2021 at 10:02 pmBurnt, even at lower temperature. Such a pity.
Barbara Lamperti
December 30, 2021 at 3:09 amOuch, sorry to hear that. Did you try lowering the oven to 300F and 200F?
Rebekah
January 10, 2022 at 5:29 amCan you use olive oil?
Barbara Lamperti
February 23, 2022 at 5:12 pmHi! Yes, it’s a good substitution. You might taste it as a background flavor 🙂
Heather
May 9, 2022 at 6:51 pmI’ve been using baby food to make yogurt bites for my LO. Would I be able to do that with the puffs? (It’s all pureed fruits so I don’t see why not♀️?) If so how much would you recommend?
Barbara Lamperti
May 31, 2022 at 11:49 pmHi Heather, I agree with you. The baby food mix should work. You will only need to test the time in the oven pending how much liquid the baby food is. The oven basically dehydrates the baby food making it dry enough to melt in the mouth. I would test it out with the same baking time. Let me know how it goes! Ciao, B