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These homemade baby puffs are pumpkin-spiced and everything nice! They are dairy-free, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened making a great snack for babies and toddlers!

These baby puffs are another variation of the very first puffs that I made, spinach apple puffs. I used bananas and pumpkin puree as the base for these puffs and those two ingredients provide the perfect hint of sweetness and fall flavors!

What You’ll Need

Here is what you’ll need to make these baby pumpkin puffs:

• Rolled Oats: I love baking with rolled oats as they are packed with nutrition! Gluten-free rolled oats make these pumpkin puffs gluten-free.
• Pumpkin Puree: Be sure to get the unsweetened variety, not the ones that are marked pumpkin pie filling.
• Banana: The main source of sweetness for these puffs. Try to use a banana that is very ripe with several brown spots. The riper the banana, the sweeter the puffs!
• Egg Yolk: Used as a binder to help the puffs maintain their shape.
• Oil: I used extra light tasting olive oil. Any other mild-tasting oil works as well.
• Baking Powder: Leavening agent to help the puffs rise.
• Pumpkin Spice: Warm spice combination for added flavor.

Step By Step Instructions

1. Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner tip cut off. 
3. Pipe out small dime-sized circles onto a pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the oven and let the puffs sit in the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes (or until the edges slightly begin to brown). They will continue to bake from the residual oven heat.
4. Let them fully cool and serve!

Ingredient Substitutions

• Eggs: For an egg-free version, substitute the egg yolk with a flax egg by mixing one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of water and letting it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes to set and thicken.
• Pumpkin/Banana: You may replace this fruit combo with any puree! If you are using a different fruit and/or veggie combo, puree them first and measure out ½ cup of that puree to blend together with the other ingredients.
• Oil: I used extra light-tasting olive oil in this recipe, but you may use coconut oil or any other oil.
• Pumpkin Spice: The pumpkin spice may be replaced with a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Storage Instructions

Once cooled, store the puffs in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

• These puffs do not melt in your mouth the same way the store-bought ones do (since those are usually freeze-dried), but they are pretty soft and easy for babies to break down! They break down pretty easily with saliva but use your discretion to decide if you are comfortable offering them to your baby. Try testing a few in your mouth first to see how easily they break down!
• The batter should be a smooth consistency, similar to that of a pancake batter. It should be easy to pipe out into small circles. There should be no chunks in the batter.
• When it comes to baking these puffs, oven temperatures vary, so check on them a few minutes after lowering the temperature. You will know that they are done when they are dry to the touch and leave no sticky residue on your fingers.
• Depending on the type of blender you are using, it might be good to blend the oats into a flour first before adding in the other ingredients. This recipe makes a small amount of batter, so it might be hard for a larger blender to break down the oats with such little batter. I love using this nutribullet blender to obtain a smooth batter!

You may also like:

• Spinach Apple Puffs
• Strawberry Kiwi Puffs
• Pumpkin Muffins