Aims/hypothesisAfter birth, the neonatal islets gradually acquire glucose-responsive insulin secretion, a process that is subjected to maternal imprinting. Although NEFA are major components of breastmilk and insulin secretagogues, their role for functional maturation of neonatal beta cells is still unclear. NEFA are the endogenous ligands of fatty acid receptor 1 (FFA1, encoded byFfar1in mice), a Gq-coupled receptor with stimulatory effect on insulin secretion. This study investigates the role of FFA1 in neonatal beta cell function and in the adaptation of offspring beta cells to parental high-fat feeding.MethodsWild-type (WT) andFfar1−/−mice were fed high-fat (HFD) or chow diet (CD) for 8 weeks before mating, and during gestation and lactation. Blood variables, pancreas weight and insulin content were assessed in 1-, 6-, 11- and 26-day old (P1–P26) offspring. Beta cell mass and proliferation were determined in P1–P26 pancreatic tissue sections. FFA1/Gq dependence of insulin secretion was evaluated in isolated islets and INS-1E cells using pharmacological inhibitors and siRNA strategy. Transcriptome analysis was conducted in isolated islets.ResultsBlood glucose levels were higher in CD-fedFfar1−/−P6-offspring compared with CD-fed WT P6-offspring. Accordingly, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and its potentiation by palmitate were impaired in CDFfar1−/−P6-islets. In CD WT P6-islets, insulin secretion was stimulated four- to fivefold by glucose and five- and sixfold over GSIS by palmitate and exendin-4, respectively. Although parental HFD increased blood glucose in WT P6-offspring, it did not change insulin secretion from WT P6-islets. In contrast, parental HFD abolished glucose responsiveness (i.e. GSIS) inFfar1−/−P6-islets. Inhibition of Gq by FR900359 or YM-254890 in WT P6-islets mimicked the effect ofFfar1deletion, i.e. suppression of GSIS and of palmitate-augmented GSIS. The blockage of Gi/o by pertussis toxin (PTX) enhanced (100-fold) GSIS in WT P6-islets and renderedFfar1−/−P6-islets glucose responsive, suggesting constitutive activation of Gi/o. In WT P6-islets, FR900359 cancelled 90% of PTX-mediated stimulation, while inFfar1−/−P6-islets it completely abolished PTX-elevated GSIS. The secretory defect ofFfar1−/−P6-islets did not originate from insufficient beta cells, since beta cell mass increased with the offspring’s age irrespective of genotype and diet. In spite of that, in the breastfed offspring (i.e. P1–P11) beta cell proliferation and pancreatic insulin content had a genotype- and diet-driven dynamic. Under CD, the highest proliferation rate was reached by theFfar1−/−P6 offspring (3.95% vs 1.88% in WT P6), whose islets also showed increased mRNA levels of genes (e.g.Fos,Egr1,Jun) typically high in immature beta cells. Although parental HFD increased beta cell proliferation in both WT (4.48%) andFfar1−/−(5.19%) P11 offspring, only the WT offspring significantly increased their pancreatic insulin content upon parental HFD (5.18 µg under CD to 16.93 µg under HFD).Conclusions/interpretationFFA1 promotes glucose-responsive insulin secretion and functional maturation of newborn islets and is required for adaptive offspring insulin secretion in the face of metabolic challenge, such as parental HFD.Graphical AbstractSupplementary InformationThe online version contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00125-023-05932-5.