Fill your freezer with a big batch of this healthy, filling risotto for babies and toddlers! This is a part rice / part quinoa risotto which means extra nutrition, protein and texture. With creamy tomato sauce, peas and fresh mozzarella, this is a healthy meal which the whole family can enjoy. Freeze leftovers in baby or toddler portions and you’ll have a nutritious lunch or dinner in minutes.
Tomato and cheese based meals tend to be crowd pleasers and I think this risotto is perfect as one of the family meals for your baby to join in on.
So whether you’re doing baby led weaning or just starting to introduce your older baby to textured table foods, this is an excellent starting point.
Making This Risotto for Babies
Risotto is a fantastic meal for babies once they have embraced texture. You can pack in lots of veggies and hide some extra grains in with the rice if you’re so inclined (like I’ve done with quinoa today!).
Both spoon fed and self-feeding (baby led weaning) babies can eat risotto.
The sticky texture makes it easy to grab little bites to feed themselves. This is Odette’s strong preference, because she has almost never taken textured food off a spoon, needing to feel and examine textures before putting them in her mouth.
The mozzarella cheese is mixed in at the end, giving the risotto a super fun stringy effect! This does make it harder for smaller babies who might find it too sticky in their mouths.
So your Tot should be comfortable on thick, textured foods – if not, make it without the mozzarella and add a little cheddar instead.
Quinoa for Babies
I’ve packed some quinoa into this risotto, which adds an extra bit of texture, but more importantly it adds major nutritional points.
Quinoa is one of the only plant based complete proteins. This makes it a great choice for everyone, but quinoa is especially wonderful for vegetarian babies and toddlers.
Making this Risotto For Toddlers and Small Children
If you’re well beyond those years and looking for a toddler / child friendly meal, this risotto will serve you well too. Fussy toddlers and younger children often still like tomato sauce and white carbs, after all. As I said – its a crowd pleaser!
But at this age you can afford to add a few more flavor sources, because sodium is less of a concern than with the under 1’s.
Variations on this Tomato Mozzarella Risotto
And if you have a baby who enjoys stronger flavors…
- Use gruyere instead of mozzarella – you still get the fun stringy effect!
- Splash in some balsamic vinegar.
- Add a little tomato paste to enhance the tomato flavor.
If no one at the table is under 1, sodium is less a concern so the following variations are appropriate and delicious!
- Use a vegetable stock instead water, and add a little salt or salted butter during the cooking process.
- Add a few tablespoons of sundried tomato paste or red pesto.
- Add in a few handfuls of parmesean cheese.
And if you’re making this for adults or older kids with awesome tastebuds…
- Add some white wine.
- Add blue cheese and/or brie.
- Skip the peas and add roasted broccolini.
Creamy Tomato & Mozzarella Quinoa Risotto {for Babies & Toddlers}
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp of mixed Italian herbs
- ¾ cup (150 g) risotto (arborio) rice
- ¼ cup (42 g) quinoa
- 1 can chopped tomatoes, 400g / 15oz size
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of mascarpone*
- 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, this would usually be around 125g / 4.4oz
Instructions
- In a deep pan or skillet, saute garlic for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
- Add the herbs, risotto rice and quinoa and continue to saute for a few more moments.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and a cup of water.
- Simmer, stirring regularly, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add more water, about a cup at a time, stirring regularly, until the rice and quinoa are cooked and the sauce is thick. This should be 20-25 minutes total.
- Add the frozen peas and stir in until defrosted.
- Add the mascarpone and mozzarella, and keep over the heat until the mascarpone is mixed through and the mozzarella has melted.
- Garnish with basil if desired.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the recipe – it looks great! Just a question. Do you wash the quinoa beforehand? I’ve some issues cooking quinoa for my daughter as she tends to find it bitter. Thanks again!
Hi Eliza! This is a great question, thank you for asking, and I might add some thoughts into the main post on this. I personally don’t bother rinsing it – but many recipes do suggest that you do, and that it will result in a less bitter flavor and a softer texture. So it is certainly worth a shot, and adding rinsed quinoa to this recipe would not change the method at all. If you’re concerned, you could also try reducing the quinoa / rice ratio to test it out on your daughter. I do think the quinoa disappears into the background and tomato is definitely the dominant flavor. And if you’re using the mascarpone, that adds a little sweetness too. If you give it a try, I do hope it works well for you!
Thanks! Will rinse the quinoa and try it out. Fingers crossed it will be fine 🙂
Aren’t the peas a choking hazard for babies?
Hmm, it looks like some expert consider peas to be small and soft enough not to be a choking hazard while others urge more caution. In this recipe you can easily smush them up a little with a spoon while mixing them in, or mash with a fork in the bowl, if you’re concerned.
Made this tonight for my seven month old to have tomorrow and it’s sooo tasty. I’m really hoping my fussy three year old will eat it too. I’m certainly having it for lunch as well as them!
I probably put in too much mascarpone, so will likely reduce that next time. And, for me, perhaps serve with a bit of rocket too.
I’m also going to make a big match of your tomato and mascarpone sauce tomorrow, to use up what’s left of the latter.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for the feedback, I am so happy that you enjoyed it – good luck with the little ones! If you feel there’s too much mascarpone you can always mix some extra tomato puree in to reclaim the tomato flavor. Rocket is a brilliant idea to make it more of an adult meal too! Hope the pasta turns out well for you 🙂
Loved this! I ended up using fresh tomatoes because my garden is barfing them out right now and I can’t keep up. The flavors were awesome.
Loved this! I ended up using fresh tomatoes because my garden is barfing them out right now and I can’t keep up. The flavors were awesome.
Loved this! I ended up using fresh tomatoes because my garden is barfing them out right now and I can’t keep up. The flavors were awesome.
Hi,
Will this recipe work without cheese? My little girl is allergic to dairy.
Thanks.
Yes no problem, but you may want to add some nondairy milk and something like nutritional yeast for extra flavor.
Hi,
I know it says you can freeze this, but does it change the texture of it when reheated? I’m a little funny about reheating food, especially rice so want to make sure I know what I’m doing :-/
Thank you
It’s a little softer and mushier when reheated, I’d say. Still delicious. I hear you about reheating rice! Just make sure to freeze it quickly to avoid any chance for bacteria, and reheat until piping hot, and you’ll be fine!
Hi there, love this recipe but have a wee question – is it possible to defrost it in the microwave? Or to reheat from frozen? Thanks!
Yes I defrost and reheat in the microwave from frozen! Just make sure it’s piping hot and you’re good to go.
Hi how long can you freeze this for ?x
6 months! 🙂
Do I need to cool it down before putting into freezer?
Thanks! X
Good afternoon, what do you do with the garlic before cooking? Crush, slice or just leave whole?
Thank you
Crush it, sorry for the lack of clear instructions!
This recipe is an utter life saver for us. I’ve been making it since my daughter was 10 months, she turned 20 months today and there hasn’t been a day when we don’t have some in the freezer. She has always eaten this – and with 2 minutes in the microwave it’s a fall back when she refuses anything else – thank you!!
I’ve adapted it slightly over time, I add in onions, occasionally throw in some butternut squash. I also always keep an ‘orange veg’ mash in the freezer, carrots, squash, turnip maybe sweet potato so if she’s low on veg I chuck a cube of that in too and it goes down a treat. 🙂
That’s soooo nice to hear Megan, YAY! Thank you for the feedback!
Used veggie broth and cream cheese and it was delicious
Thanks so much for this recipe. I have a dayhome and the kiddos love this dish. They’ll often request it weekly.
This is one of my 8-month-olds favorite recipe! And I like that I can make a big batch and also give it to my husband for lunch. It’s delicious for the whole family! I make it into little balls after it’s cooked and just put it on the high chair tray. I put small portions into freezer baggies and just pull them out the day before for a quick and easy baby lunch. Easy and delicious!
Do you cook the rice before?
Nope, put it in dry and it cooks during the cooking process 🙂
Hey! Can you add another veggie without it affecting liquid amounts?
Thanks
Sorry for the delay! Yes, go for it, with risotto the liquid will just cook off so if you add something like zucchini which leaches a lot of liquid you may end up stirring it and waiting for the water for evaporate for a couple extra minutes – but you can’t go too wrong.
Hi,
What size spoon do you use for the mascarpone?
Just a normal dessert spoon, so sorry for the delayed reply!
Amazing! I used chicken broth and added tomato paste like it suggests for older kids. My toddler loves it and my husband and I can’t get enough. Yummmmm
So easy to make and my husband loves it just as much as my 13 month old. I love that he’s getting a good amount of veggies as well as Calcium
Hi the only risotto rice I could find at my grocery store was the quick cook risotto that you put in the microwave. So should I add it in after the quinoa is finished cooking? And should I add less liquid and cook for less time? Please let me know I plan on making this Wednesday and want it to turn out good! Thank you
Hi! I’ve never tried using that kind of risotto rice but I think your best bet might just be to cook the quinoa and the risotto rice separately according to their package instructions and then put them together in a pan, and then add the other ingredients and some water or milk to loosen it up if it’s too thick. Rather than cooking it risotto style. Does that make sense?
Yes that does make sense thank you! Just to clarify I should do the garlic and herbs as instructed and then add the canned tomatoes, would I still add the cup of water/broth at this step? Then add in the cooked quinoa and cooked risotto rice with the peas until defrosted then add in the mascarpone and mozzarella. About how much water/broth do you think I will need in total if you had to guess?
Sorry for all the questions I guess I didn’t look into the recipe enough before I decided to make it and buy the ingredients. Also it’s weird because I saw nothing that said risotto rice in the rice section of my store other than the instant cook kind. Is that the right section or maybe with pasta? Thank you so much for all your help!
I think you may not need any water or broth, because you won’t be cooking either of the grains in it, so don’t add any initially but then see if you think it’s turning out too thick and then add a little water if you want to! So this is a helpful point you have raised – the risotto rice I use is technically called arborio rice and is usually labelled as that. There are other types of risotto rice out there but this is what you’d expect to see in supermarkets in the US or UK. I should not have assumed anyone would make that link. I will change the recipe now to reflect that. Thank you, your feedback is super helpful.
Okay gotcha that makes a lot more sense! Clearly I’ve never cooked with risotto before haha. Thank you for answering all my questions and I will let you know how it turns out!
Looking at nutritional values, I don’t see the protein listed. How much protein is in this recipe?
I’ve re-run all the nutritional information on this recipe to fill in the gaps (I’d previously calculated it with a different tool and only pulled out some of the values, sorry about that!). It’s 4g of protein but note that using my new nutritional calculator, all of the values work out a little differently. And note that the information is based on 1/15th of the recipe.
Hey 🙂
Just made this for my 8 month old, excited for him to try it in the morning! Can I ask, how many portions can I leave in the fridge? Obviously I’m going to freeze lots of it, but want to know how long this keeps in the fridge to be safe 🙂
Yay! I’d say 3-4 days in the fridge is as long as I’d want to plan for. Hope he enjoys it.
This is my little ones favorite thing I’ve made her so far. Everytime i give it to her, she eats every. Single. Bite.
Thank you!
My 11 month old twins loved it! Thank you 🙂
Hurrah! So happy to hear this, thank you for the feedback.