Tender, flavorful, and packed with protein, these fluffy Peanut Butter Muffins can have any add-in your family likes, and they store well for days (or longer in the freezer). They’re great to prep ahead and enjoy all week.
I started making muffins with a dose of peanut butter when my middle kiddo was a baby. She struggled with bread-y textures—they were just difficult for her to eat for months and months—and the muffins turned out to have the perfect amount of moisture for her.
Since then, I’ve tweaked and tested this recipe for Peanut Butter Muffins that is as versatile as it is delish.
These muffins for kids (or adults) are great on their own for breakfast or snack, or you can top them with butter and/or honey. You can choose one add-in for the whole batch or do a mixed batch to please everyone. And they work as full-size or mini muffins.
There are so many options so you can make them with your family in mind. They are a satisfying toddler breakfast, an easy Meal Prep Breakfast option, and an easy Summer Lunch for Kids to pack on the go.
(You may also like my Protein Banana Muffins, Banana Yogurt Muffins, Chocolate Banana Muffins, and Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
Here’s a look at what you’ll need to make these Peanut Butter Muffins so you know what to have on hand or pick up from the store.
- Whole wheat flour: I use a base of whole wheat flour, but there’s an option of using all-purpose. See the Notes at the end of the recipe for specifics.
- Baking powder and baking soda: These help the muffins rise nicely.
- Smooth peanut butter: I use natural-style creamy unsweetened peanut butter, usually a store brand or Smucker’s Natural.
- Milk: I typically cook and bake with whole milk, but any nondairy milk would work here, too.
- Applesauce: This adds flavor, some sweetness, and moisture. I use store bought unsweetened applesauce or homemade applesauce. If you are out of applesauce or don’t have access to it, you can use mashed banana or Banana Puree.
- Sugar: I add a little sugar, which when paired with the optional add-ins, provides nice flavor. (Or, as an alternative, you can use maple syrup.)
- Eggs: Large eggs help the batter to hold together nicely and bake up with a tender crumb.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla enhances the flavor of the peanut butter, making the flavors even more delicious.
- Optional add-Ins (choose one or do a mixed batch): Chocolate chips, finely diced strawberries, finely diced apple, white chocolate chips, blueberries, or diced banana.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make these Peanut Butter Muffins so you know what to expect from the process. Scroll down to the end of the post for the full information and amounts.
Step 1. Stir the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients. Gently stir together.
Step 2. Stir in your desired add-in. (Or you can plan to add it on top of each muffin if doing a mixed batch.) Divide the batter among a greased muffin pan.
Step 3. Press the add-ins into the batter if you didn’t stir your add-ins into the batter or you’re doing a mixed batch.
Step 4. Bake muffins until firm to the touch and lightly golden brown around the edges.
TIP: To make these as mini muffins, reduce the baking time by about 4 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gently stirring the batter, baking the recommended time until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly, and transferring baked muffins to a wire rack to cool fully helps create moist muffins.
I prefer to use creamy unsweetened peanut butter in baking.
You can make this recipe as standard or mini muffins to make a lightly sweet, tender toddler muffin.
product we love
Wilton Nonstick Muffin Pan
This muffin pan bakes evenly and makes clean up a breeze.
How to Store
Once cooled, store Peanut Butter Muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Warm slightly to serve from the fridge (they firm up a bit when they’re cold so warming slightly returns them to their softer texture) if you prefer.
You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15-second increments in the microwave.
Best Tips for Success
- Use one add-in per batch of Peanut Butter Muffins, or use 1 tablespoon of each to make a mixed batch.
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup all purpose gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flour.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg. Add ½ cup milk. Proceed with the recipe.
- Dice up muffins as needed for younger eaters.
- Top with butter, nut butter, or jam as desired, or serve with diced fruit, a toddler smoothie, or another easy food.
- Sub almond butter or sunflower seed butter if desired to make peanut-free muffins.
- Find more kid-friendly recipes to try, too and my Peanut Butter Granola Bars.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so please comment below to share and rate!
Favorite Peanut Butter Muffins
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup sugar (or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use natural-style peanut butter)
- 1¼ cups milk
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Optional Add-ins (choose one)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2 cups finely diced strawberries
- 2 cups blueberries (add 1 teaspoon cinnamon if desired)
- 2 cups diced banana (add 1 teaspoon cinnamon if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In another bowl, stir together the peanut butter, milk, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla.
- Gently stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture to make a uniform batter.
- Add your desired add-in. (You can also add 1 tablespoon of any add-in to each muffin cup, to make a batch with a few different flavors. Or you can bake them plain). Stir gently to combine.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin tin, using a little over ¼ cup batter in each cup.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool fully.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
Notes
- Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Warm slightly to serve from the fridge (they firm up a bit when they’re cold so warming slightly returns them to their softer texture).
- You can also freeze the muffins in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in 15 second increments in the microwave.
- Use one add-in per batch, or use 1 tablespoon per muffin to make a mixed batch.
- To make mini muffins, reduce the baking time to about 10-12 minutes.
- Gluten-free: Substitute cup-for-cup gluten-free flour in place of the wheat flour.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg. Add ½ cup milk. Proceed with the recipe.
- Nut-free: Use sunflower seed butter.
- You can make these with all-purpose flour. You may need to bake for an additional 2-4 minutes.
- Use mashed ripe banana in place of the applesauce if desired.
- Top with butter, nut butter, or jam as desired.
Nutrition
This post was first published August 2022.
Can i use almond butteR instead?
Sure
These muffins slapped. So yum! My husband and toddler approved. I added a couple extra spoonfuls of sugar, chocolate chips, strawberry pieces and blueberries in each muffin. Def will be making again.
I make these exclusively for myself…never offered them to my toddler lol. I’ve made these at least 5 times and keep them in the freezer. They are the perfect snack for me around 2 PM. I do mine with chocolate chips. Mine always take about 5 minutes extra, it may have to do with my peanut butter. I use Good and Gather “natural creamy.” Thank you for such a great recipe.
Hi! I subbed gfJules flour to make these gluten free, and used Just Egg instead of real eggs for an egg-allergic child. They turned out great! A lot of batter with these changes, so they baked a little longer, but very moist and delicious.
I did use a natural peanut butter that contains a touch of salt, but I wanted them to be saltier. How much salt would you recommend adding if using low- or no-salt PB? Hoping to push it toward PB cookie saltiness but don’t want to overdo it.
Thank you!!
I would actually try sprinkling the tops with coarse salt. That way you’d get the hit of salt without the whole thing tasting super salty if that makes sense?
Yes! Thank you. I will try that. The kids enjoyed them. 🙂 Will repeat soon. We have been enjoying Dinnertime SOS by the way, the lamb tacos were a huge hit and the teriyaki meatballs too, though we used beef because that’s what we had on hand. They were great!
Based on your comments for mini muffins, specifically the cook time, if we reduce the time by 10-12 minutes, we are then only baking for about 4-6 minutes which seems way too short. I generally only do mini muffins for my toddler so curious what time I should do for these.
Mini muffins usually bake for 10-12 minutes total. Hope that helps.
This is delicious! My picky kids didn’t care for it much but husband and I loved it and devoured most of it, within a couple of days 🙂
The recipe is tasty! But I had way too much batter for one tin; not sure what I did wrong?!
Did you happen to use more add-ins (fruit) than the recipe called for? I hope you simply got to enjoy extra though!
These are amazing! I didn’t have applesauce so I used mashed banana (1/4 cup) and was short on chocolate chips, so I used a 1/2 cup of mini chips instead of 1 whole cup. There were perfect! We took them outside and shared with all the neighbors. I’m sad they are all gone, but glad we could share haha! Will make them again!
I love this recipe. It is like a peanut butter cookie in muffin form. So yummy and moist! They do not last long at my house.
So delish! My toddler also struggles with bready textures and she loves these. Your recipes are wonderful, I’m so thankful for you and the work you do!
I’m so glad to hear that and you’re so welcome!
Love your website! Could mashed banana be used instead of maple syrup or sugar and if so how much?
I haven’t tried that but I would use 1/4 cup and know it may take a minute or two longer than the time I say to bake through.
My 2.5 yo and I made these last night. It was perfect! Recipe is easy to follow (we made as is in the mini muffin pan) and plenty for the little guy to do. We had a great time making these together. He chose chocolate chips to mix-in and they were obviously delicious! We served a few with dinner and will use the rest for breakfast/lunches during the week.
I’m glad to hear that!