Last updated on April 24th, 2023 at 02:04 am
If your baby is ready to start solids and you are wondering where to begin, look no further. Your guide to the best organic baby cereal is here.
Is your baby ready to start eating solids? If so, you came to the right place. We will quickly cover the basics of organic baby cereal and give you some of the top brands in the industry.
Most babies are ready to be introduced to the wonderful world of solids at around 6 months. It is best to check with your pediatrician before starting them, but here are some common signs you can look for to know if your baby is ready, according to the mayo clinic.
- Can your baby hold their head steady in an upright position?
- Can your baby sit with support?
- Is your baby mouthing his or her hands or toys?
- Is your baby showing a desire for food by leaning forward and opening his or her mouth?
If you answered yes to all those questions, it is probably time for your baby to start eating solids. How does a parent go about introducing solids to their babies? Don’t worry, we did the research so you don’t have to, here are the basics.
Table of Contents
How To Introduce Solids To Your Baby
Introducing food isn’t rocket science, but it is an important step in your baby’s journey. Here are a few things that should be kept in mind while starting them out:
- Continue feeding them breastmilk or formula while they start eating solids.
- Offer single-ingredient foods. Wait 3-5 days between foods to check for an allergic reaction.
- Make sure they are getting important nutrients, especially Iron and Zinc. These can be found in pureed meats and iron-fortified cereals.
- Start with single-grain cereals. Make them runny, and gradually increase the thickness over time.
- Do not give juice, cow’s milk, or honey until after age 1.
- If you have a family history of food allergies, be careful introducing these foods to your baby. It is best to use a very small amount at first and have an oral antihistamine available.
- Do not force your baby to eat. If they cry or turn away, they probably do not want to eat anymore.
These are just some of the basics. If you want to know more about the do’s and don’ts of solid foods, you can check out this article by the CDC.
What To Look For In Organic Baby Cereal
There are a few things to look for in a great baby cereal and a few to avoid. Here are some of the things to look for:
- Vitamin Fortified- Organic baby cereals fortified with vitamins, especially Iron, are best
- Simple Ingredients- Like most health conscious consumers know, if it has a long list of ingredients with a bunch of words that are hard to pronounce, it is best to stay away. Organic baby cereals don’t need much more than grains and vitamins.
- Grains- What type of grains are used in the cereal? It is recommended to first introduce single grains to check for allergies. Once you know that your baby does not have allergies, multi-grain cereals are suggested. Rice has higher levels of arsenic, you shouldn’t rely entirely on rice cereals.
Now that we have the basics covered, lets jump into our best organic baby cereal list. You can reference the sortable table below if you would like to choose based on what is important to you.
| NAME | PRICE | CUSTOMER RATING OUT OF 5 | MAIN INGREDIENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Else Plan-Powered Super Cereal | $.94/ounce | 4.4 | Buckwheat Flour |
| Earth's Best Multi-Grain Cereal | $.57/ounce | 4.6 | Barley Flour |
| Gerber Organic Oatmeal Cereal | $.57 | 4.7 | Whole Grain Oat Flour |
| Ready. Set. Food! Organic Baby Oatmeal | $1.12 | 4.5 | Whole Grain Oats |
| HiPP 100% Baby Rice | $1.65 | 4.3 | Organic Rice Flour |
| Amara Ancient Grain Cereal | $3.56 | 4.0 | Organic Oatmeal |
Organic Baby Cereal Brands
Here is our organic baby cereal list. We will start with the highest rated by customer review. Please note that the listed prices are accurate at the time of writing this. Prices change over time, so it is best to click the link to check current prices.
Gerber Organic Oatmeal Cereal
Cost: $.57 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.7/5
Main Ingredient: Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour
Iron Fortified: Yes
Read our in-depth Gerber Organic Oatmeal Cereal Review by clicking here.
The highest rated organic baby cereal on our list is also the least expensive. Gerber is arguably the most famous baby brand around. They are not a completely organic company, but they do now offer a wide variety of organic baby cereals, formulas, purees, and snacks.
This USDA Organic cereal contains 60% daily value of Iron. To buy this organic baby cereal or shop the entire Gerber line, CLICK HERE.
INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN OAT FLOUR (CONTAINS WHEAT), VITAMINS AND MINERALS: CALCIUM CARBONATE, CHOLINE BITARTRATE, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), ELECTROLYTIC IRON, ZINC SULFATE, VITAMIN E (ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE), NIACINAMIDE*, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), VITAMIN B12, FOLIC ACID*. CONTAINS: WHEAT *ONE OF THE B VITAMINS
Earth’s Best Organic Multi-Grain Cereal
Cost: $.57 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.6/5
Main Ingredient: Organic Whole Grain Barley
Iron Fortified: Yes
Unlike Gerber which sells normal baby foods, Earth’s Best has been focused on organic since their founding in 1985. This USDA Organic formula is also Certified Kosher.
This multi-grain cereal is Iron fortified and contains just 3 simple ingredients. They also make other organic baby cereals such as rice and oatmeal.
If you want to support a fabulous company that has been organic from the start, not just greenwashing to cash in on the new organic trend, shop Earth’s Best by CLICKING HERE.
Earth’s Best also makes a variety of extremely popular organic baby snacks that can be found by clicking the link.
Ingredients: Organic Whole Grain Barley Flour, Organic Whole Grain Oat Flour, Organic Whole Grain Spelt (Wheat) Flour.
Ready. Set. Food! Organic Baby Oatmeal
Cost: $1.12 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.5/5
Main Ingredient: Organic Whole Grain Oats
Iron Fortified: Yes
This is a truly groundbreaking and creative organic baby cereal. It was awarded the most innovative baby cereal by the Good Housekeeping’s 2022 Parenting Awards. Created by a mom and allergist, this cereal introduces your child to the top 9 allergens at once:
- Peanut
- Egg
- Milk
- Cashew
- Almond
- Walnut
- Sesame
- Soy
- Wheat
These 9 allergens account for 90% of childhood food allergies. Ready. Set. Food! Says that their groundbreaking formula follows USDA guidelines about introducing allergens to kids, you can read more details about that subject HERE.
You can shop Ready. Set. Food! by CLICKING HERE.
Ingredients: Milled organic whole grain oats, organic peanut flour, organic wheat flour organic milk powder, organic almond flour, organic sesame flour, organic soy isolate powder, organic cashew flour, organic walnut flour, organic egg white powder, mixed tocoperols (vitamin #), Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), Ferrous Bisglynicate (Iron).
Else Plant Powered Baby Super Cereal
Cost: $.94 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.4/5
Main Ingredient: Organic Buckwheat
Iron Fortified: No, but does contain 15% DV of Iron
Else Brand offers the 1st and only clean label project purity award certified baby cereal in the United States. The Clean Label Project Purity Award tests for over 400 different impurities.
This cereal isn’t iron fortified, but it is minimally processed with over 80% whole foods, so it does contain a decent amount of Iron through its natural ingredients.
Else Brand also makes a plant-based baby formula that can be found in our best organic baby formula article.
The first ingredient in this organic baby cereal is Organic Buckwheat, which many people consider a superfood. But the next ingredient is tapioca maltodextrin, which is a bit concerning, as it has a higher glycemic index than table sugar.
To Buy this organic baby cereal or shop the entire Else Brand line, CLICK HERE.
Organic Instant Buckwheat Flour, Organic Tapioca Maltodextrin, Organic Almond Butter, Organic Buckwheat Flour, Organic Rapeseed Oil. Less than 2%: Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Organic Sunflower Lecithin, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E Acetate, Phylloquinone (K1), Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacinamide, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (B6), Biotin, Folic Acid, Cyanocobalamin (B12), Sodium Ascorbate (C), Ferric Pyrophosphate, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Bitartrate, Inositol, Potassium Iodide, Organic Natural Vanilla Flavor.
Amara Ancient Grain Cereal
Cost: $3.56 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.0
Main Ingredient: Organic Oatmeal
Iron Fortified: No
The lowest customer reviews, and also most expensive, on our best organic baby cereal list is Amara. The bulk of the bad reviews were about it not mixing well and having a bad smell and/or taste.
One user described the smell and taste like vomit… This USDA Organic baby cereal is for babies over 12 months old. It has only 4 simple ingredients.
To Shop this cereal or explore the entire Amara line, CLICK HERE.
Ingredients: Organic oatmeal, organic mango, organic strawberry, organic banana and organic amaranth
Organic Baby Rice Cereal
HiPP Organic 100% Baby Rice
Cost: $1.65 per ounce
Customer Rating: 4.3/5
Main Ingredient: Organic Rice
Iron Fortified: No
Although Organic baby rice cereal does contain higher levels of arsenic, it is still safe for babies to eat. It is recommended that they do not eat too much of rice cereals, but it can be part of their diverse diet.
HiPP is a highly regarded German baby formula producer that produces much of it’s ingredients using biodiverse farming techniques. It should be noted that this cereal is not Iron fortified and does not contain a significant amount of Iron.
To Shop HiPP organic rice baby cereal or their entire line of products, CLICK HERE.
Ingredients: organic rice flour, Vitamin B1
Conclusion
That concludes our best organic baby cereal list. We hope you found what you were looking for. If you found this article useful, please consider sharing with others that may find value in it. Thanks for reading!