Homemade Baby Pumpkin Puffs
on Oct 04, 2021, Updated Oct 28, 2023
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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!
Table of Contents
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
- Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner tip cut off.
- 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.
- 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!
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Pumpkin Puffs
It’s officially fall season which means all things fall flavored! These pumpkin puffs are pumpkin spiced and everything nice!
Ingredients
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup banana puree, about 1/2 large overripe banana
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tbsp oil, mild tasting
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp pumpkin spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the corner tip cut off.
- 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.
- Let them cool and store in an airtight container at room temp!
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 347kcal, Carbohydrates: 46.78g, Protein: 9.49g, Fat: 14.84g, Saturated Fat: 2.87g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.71g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7.39g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 195.3mg, Sodium: 226.95mg, Potassium: 497.51mg, Fiber: 7.4g, Sugar: 9.44g, Vitamin A: 9829.21IU, Vitamin C: 7.58mg, Calcium: 183.95mg, Iron: 3.53mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Amazing! My baby loves these and I make a batch at least once a week.
Made these today. I do wish I had blended the oats alone first as my batter def was not entirely smooth. The banana I had was only a tad overripe so I added maybe 1/4 teaspoon of maple syrup for a little extra sweetness.
These are delicious! I have even made them with spinach and flaxseed, they aren’t as sweet, but they’re still good! I brought these on an 11 hour flight to Hawaii for my one year old and she, along with my husband and I, ate them the whole way!
What could I use instead of egg in this recipe? I’d love to try it but my baby has an egg allergy. Thanks!
Hi! You can either use a flax egg or liquid egg replacer in place of the egg here😊
Do you refrigerate to store?
Hi Cynthia! I usually store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.
Can you use baby cereal instead of rolled oats?
Hi Mercedes! I haven’t tested out using baby cereal in this recipe so I can’t say for sure, but I have found that it generally is not a good replacement for rolled oats in most baked recipes because of its texture.
Have you ever tried anything to replace the banana?
Yes, you can use any combo of pureed fruits! Here is a recipe for a strawberry kiwi version (https://feedingtinybellies.com/strawberry-kiwi-puffs/) and a spinach apple version (https://feedingtinybellies.com/spinach-apple-puffs/)
All your recipes are incredible and our grandbaby has liked everything so far! Thank you so much for sharing all these great recipes. Just a question about these puffs, can they be frozen? I just made a batch for our grandbaby.
Thanks for sharing your great review, Szasza! 🙂 These puffs can be frozen, the texture just may be slightly different when thawed but they will still have the same taste!
Can these puffs be made with a/p flour? And would the measurement change? My daughter is highly allergic to oats and almonds which many of your recipes use. I would love to do puffs or bliss balls without those ingredients. Can you help?
Hi! I tested them out with all purpose flour once and they came out very light and airy! They didn’t have the same texture as when I used rolled oats, but they were still great and my little guys still enjoyed them! You can use all purpose flour, just keep in mind the texture difference but the taste will be the same. I hope that helps!
I make these puffs probably twice a week! Thank you for such a great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you like them!😊