These easy oat fingers require just three allergy-friendly ingredients. Plus, you can add all sorts of nutritious extras, such as sweet potato, apricot and apples!
This year’s Allergy Awareness Week theme (20th – 26th April 2020) is childhood food allergies, with a focus on the weaning journey for parents of babies growing up with allergies.
To mark Allergy Awareness Week and support parents, AVEENO® Baby challenged me to create a nutritious recipe that's free-from allergens, uses cupboard staples, and that's perfect to cook both with and for little ones. We're all at home at the moment, so baking is a simple, fun activity to keep everyone happy and entertained.
My simple recipe contains just gluten-free oats, oat milk and bananas, so it's easy to put together and great for little hands to hold on to, plus toddlers can help add their own extra flavours to keep the baking fun going even longer.
In the UK, the 14 major allergens are named as:
- celery
- cereals containing gluten – including wheat, rye, barley and oats (unless labelled gluten-free)
- crustaceans – such as prawns, crabs and lobsters
- eggs
- fish
- lupin - a legume belonging to the same plant family as peanuts
- milk - from animals, rather than plant "milks"
- molluscs – such as mussels and oysters
- mustard
- tree nuts – including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts
- peanuts
- sesame seeds
- soybeans
- sulphur dioxide and sulphites - if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million
Our son had a cow's milk protein allergy when he was small, so I know all too well the challenges of feeding a baby with allergies, and I know from my work with parents today that it can be a tricky and sometimes worrying time.
AVEENO® Baby believes ingredients play an important role in baby comfort and happiness, whether it be what fills up their tummy or what they put on their skin.
Oats are a core super-ingredient in the whole AVEENO® Baby range. Oats have stood the test of time, not only as a nutrient, but also externally, as an ingredient known to soothe skin prone to dryness and irritation by helping protect and restore the skin’s natural barrier.
The AVEENO® Baby Dermexa range has been clinically proven to help reduce flare-ups of very dry, itchy skin. The products which moisturise and soothe contain oats and ceramides which are known to help protect the natural skin barrier against external factors and drying, and are also suitable for little ones who may be prone to eczema.
The range consists of:
- AVEENO® Baby Dermexa Good Night Emollient Wash, formulated to gently cleanse skin without damaging the skin barrier.
- AVEENO® Baby Dermexa Daily Emollient Cream, clinically proven to moisturise and soothe skin.
- AVEENO® Baby Dermexa Good Night Emollient Balm, which intensely moisturises and soothes dry skin all through the night reducing itchy sensations, so your little one can sleep well.
AVEENO® products are an incredible source of soothing for my own children's dry skin and eczema-prone skin. I, too, use the AVEENO® Dermexa range as I find the range's emollient properties invaluable in helping protect my natural skin barrier.
Oats are definitely a winner for our skin, and here's how to make oats for our tummies!
Important note: Always give food at an appropriate size and shape for your baby or child. Cut small, round foods, like grapes and cherry tomatoes, into small pieces. Always keep babies supported upright while eating and supervise your baby when they're eating in case they start to choke. The NHS has some excellent advice on feeding babies. Always consult your health professional if you have any concerns.
How to make oat fingers
Ingredients
Basic oat fingers
- 110 g (3.9 oz) banana (peeled weight / 2 small)
- 50 ml (1.7 floz) oat milk (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) oats (buy gluten-free, if required)
Extra ingredients for apple and cinnamon oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) green apple grated
- 1 tsp cinnamon (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
Extra ingredients for sweet potato oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sweet potato grated
Extra ingredients for apricot oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chopped dried apricots (buy naturally dried apricots, free from sulphur dioxide preservatives)
Extra ingredients for blackberry oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) blackberries
Equipment
Instructions
Basic oat fingers
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
Put the bananas in a bowl.
Add the oat milk.
Blitz with a hand blender.
Add the vanilla and stir through.
Add the oats.
Stir through and leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
Tip onto a tray lined with baking paper.
Spread, aiming for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Enjoy!
Ways to flavour your oat fingers
The great thing about this recipe is that it's easy to add little additions to your oat fingers to make them even tastier.
Here are some ideas to try - the recipe is identical apart from the simple additions, shown in bold. All the ingredient quantities are in the recipe card below.
Apple and cinnamon oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the grated apple and cinnamon.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Sweet potato oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the grated sweet potato.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Apricot oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the chopped apricot.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Blackberry oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Put the blackberries in a sieve over the bowl and press with the back of a spoon. Keep pressing until as much juice as possible is released into the bowl. Stir through. (You can discard the blackberry pulp, or add it to your own morning porridge).
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Print this recipe for later
Oat fingers
Ingredients
Basic oat fingers
- 110 g (3.9 oz) banana (peeled weight / 2 small)
- 50 ml (1.7 floz) oat milk (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) oats (buy gluten-free, if required)
Extra ingredients for apple and cinnamon oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) green apple grated
- 1 tsp cinnamon (check the label to ensure it is gluten-free, if required)
Extra ingredients for sweet potato oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) sweet potato grated
Extra ingredients for apricot oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) chopped dried apricots (buy naturally dried apricots, free from sulphur dioxide preservatives)
Extra ingredients for blackberry oat fingers
- 50 g (1.8 oz) blackberries
Instructions
Basic oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Apple and cinnamon oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the grated apple and cinnamon.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Sweet potato oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the grated sweet potato.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Apricot oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Stir in the chopped apricot.
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Blackberry oat fingers
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan).
- Put the bananas in a bowl. Add the milk.
- Blitz with a hand blender.
- Add the vanilla and stir through.
- Put the blackberries in a sieve over the bowl and press with the back of a spoon. Keep pressing until as much juice as possible is released into the bowl. Stir through. (You can discard the blackberry pulp, or add it to your own morning porridge).
- Add the oats and stir through. Leave for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Spread onto a tray lined with baking paper. Aim for the mixture to be about 1cm thick.
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t over cook them or they’ll go rubbery when cool.
- Allow them to cool, then peel free from the baking paper and cut into slices.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This is a commissioned post for AVEENO® Baby.
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More oaty recipes to try
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Rebecca Davis says
These look so yummy and simple to make.
LetsCurry says
Emily
Thank you for such an incredible easy oats baking recipe. Baking is such a stress buster especially during this imposed lockdown. I'll have my girls to bake these fingers.
Donna says
These look like such a fantastic snack! And so easy too.
Helen Wills says
These look amazing and I love that you can add in healthy options to shake them up flavour wise
Caro | The Twinkle Diaries says
These look so fab for an easy snack Emily! At the moment, as it's quite tricky to go and buy things regularly, making a batch of these would be fab for home-schooling breaks!