Made with a nutrient-packed ingredient list, these tender Baby Muffins are a perfect first muffin. They are easier to chew than a regular muffin, have three kinds of produce, are added sugar free, and they boast a solid dose of healthy fats—exactly what the littles need!
Baby Muffins
I am a super fan of muffins for kids since they are so convenient and endlessly versatile. And they can be a helpful way to offer foods the kids aren’t always interested in eating straight up. But when making muffins for babies, there are a few specific considerations I like to keep in mind. Here’s what makes these special:
- These have healthy fats from eggs.
- The tender muffins are easier to chew than traditional ones as they are moister. (Bready textures can be tricky for some kids)
- The flavor and sweetness comes from fresh bananas, apples, and carrot.
- These are made without added sugars, which is recommended for babies.
- They freeze well, so you can store half of the batch for a future week—yay for easy meals
TIP: I am usually very straight forward in the way I name recipes, but I did think “ABC” was fitting here and it’s a helpful way to remember what’s in the muffins (Apples, Bananas, and Carrots…see? Fun!)
Sugar Free Toddler Muffins
You can, of course, totally serve these muffins to a toddler and they are great for one year olds I’ve been making them for my two younger kids and we top them with a little jam to add some sweetness (which is just their preference, you can try them plain first if you want!).
Ingredients in Baby Muffins
Here’s a look at what you need to make these muffins.
- mashed very ripe banana (about 2 small bananas)
- shredded apple (about 1 small apple)
- shredded carrot (about 1 small carrot)
- milk (dairy or nondairy)
- egg
- melted butter, slightly cooled
- pure vanilla extract
- whole wheat flour
- rolled oats
- cinnamon
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
TIP: To make these dairy-free, use melted coconut oil. To make them gluten-free, use cup for cup gluten-free flour.
How to Make Baby Muffins Step-by-Step
Here’s a look at the process involved in making this recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information.
- Preheat the oven and grease a mini muffin tin. Mash the banana and shred the apple and carrot on a box grater.
- Stir together the ingredients until uniformly smooth.
- Divide among the prepared muffin tin.
- Bake!
TIP: Serve diced to babies 9+ months. You can also serve a whole muffin to a BLW baby for them to munch on.
What’s the texture of these muffins like?
These are deliberately very moist (and moister than regular muffins) to ensure they are easy for baby to chew and swallow. They will be moist and very tender when fully cooked, so know that is on purpose! (My middle kiddo didn’t master bready foods easily until she was well over 1 year old, so I am mindful that this texture is trickier for some kiddos and did my best to make these very appropriate for little eaters.)
TIP: For veggie muffins for older kiddos who are fine with a variety of textures, you can also check out my Zucchini Carrot Muffins!
Finger Foods for Babies
I love having easy prep-ahead recipes that I can use for baby meals and these muffins work well for breakfast, lunch, or snack time. You can pair them with diced fruit, applesauce, scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, or any other favorite finger food or puree.
TIP: Find my Master List of the Best Early Finger Foods for Babies for more ideas.
Can I freeze these muffins?
You sure can! Freeze, once fully cooled, in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. You can also store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
TIP: You can serve these chilled, at room temperature, or slightly warmed. Diced up, they make a great baby snack!
Tips for Making the Best Baby Muffins
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or slightly warmed.
- Freeze, once fully cooled, in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
- To make these dairy-free, use melted coconut oil.
- To make an egg-free version, see this similar Sugar-Free Banana Muffin.
- Be sure to use a very ripe banana for the best natural sweetness—there are no added sugars in this muffins, so you need those natural sugars.
- You can serve topped with butter, applesauce, apple butter, or jam (especially for older kids!) to add more sweetness.
- If you want to make these sweeter, you can add ¼ cup sugar to the batter.
- Serve baby as much muffin as they want according to their appetite.
- For veggie muffins for older kiddos who are fine with a variety of textures, you can also check out my Zucchini Carrot Muffins!
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so please rate and review it below in the comment field!
ABC Baby Muffins (Apple, Banana and Carrot!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2-3 small bananas)
- ½ cup shredded apple (about 1 small apple)
- ¼ cup shredded carrot (about 1 small carrot)
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter (slightly cooled)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Place the banana, apple, carrot, milk, butter, egg, and vanilla into a medium bowl. Stir together.
- Gently, but thoroughly, stir in the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to the edge. (You'll use about 2 tablespoons batter in each mini muffin cup).
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. (I do 18 minutes in my oven.)
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. Dice up to serve to a baby eating finger foods or offer one whole to a baby eating baby led weaning-style foods.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or slightly warmed.
- Freeze, once fully cooled, in a freezer bag with as much air removed as possible for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
- Dairy-free: Use melted coconut oil instead of butter and nondairy milk.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg. Increase the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. Proceed with the recipe.
- These taste best when the banana is very ripe, so the outside should have a lot of brown spots (which indicate sweetness).
- I use a box grater to shred the apple and carrot.
- To make with all-purpose flour, make as directed but use ¼ cup milk only.
- To make without oats, replace the oats with the same amount of all-purpose flour.
- You can serve topped with butter, applesauce, apple butter, or jam (especially for older kids!) to add more sweetness.
- If you'd like to make them sweeter for older kiddos, add ¼ cup sugar to the batter.
What kind of apples do you use?
You can really use any kind—Fuji, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, etc.
FYI: If you don’t have super ripe bananas, all you need to do is mix the banana and egg together and let sit for 30 minutes. From an article on the subject (though originally put forth by Stella Parks): “The amylase enzyme found in egg yolks turns the starch in unripened bananas into a combination of maltose and glucose, or liquid sugar. This makes the banana ripen in about 30 minutes so it softens up and gets much sweeter.”
Otherwise, the muffins are pretty good! I only had a regular muffin tin, but no issue, I baked them for 25 minutes and they came out fine. Be sure to use room temperature milk or your butter will seize and lead to a bit of a greasy mess in the oven.
Hi, May I ask if I can substitute the milk to yogurt instead? My son is 9 months old. Thank you
I haven’t tested them that way but it may work. You can also use plain nondairy milk.
My 1 year old and 3 year old devoured these! The produce makes it perfectly sweet enough as is for all of us. 😋 We used an AP GF flour and about 1/2 cup or so of coconut milk to accommodate allergies, and a bit more cinnamon. They turned out perfect!
I accidentally left these out overnight in an airtight container— will they still be okay if I put them in the fridge today?
Totally fine!
Hello! Can the whole wheat flour be swapped for self raising or plain? (UK follower).
Thank you.
Hi-
You can do all purpose flour, but this is the Note: To make with all-purpose flour, make as directed but use ¼ cup milk only. Enjoy!
Hello I’m excited to try this for my 12 month old!
But I only have all purpose flour, but I still added 3/4 cup milk.. not realizing I was supposed to reduce the milk until after. Do I need to increase cook time or any other ingredients?
I am just seeing this and hope it worked out okay!
I’m excited to try these! A question for you: my baby is a bit anemic and we’re trying to get iron into him every which way we can since he doesn’t eat much 🙁 Can I add hemp seeds to these?
Yes, you can add hemp seeds and I think adding 1/4 cup to the batter won’t impact the texture. Though even if you add that amount, it will be a very small amount per muffin so I am not sure this is worth it (you’d need to eat 1/4 of the batch to get 1 mg). This list has more iron-dense options though! https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/iron-rich-foods-for-kids/
Not sure how it would affect chemistry but I would try replacing some of the flour with iron-fortified infant cereal! It is basically just ground up grains (like oat flour) mixed with other nutrients. Typically somewhere around 1/4-1/3 cup has an entire days worth of iron!
The one downside is that it might make the muffins mushy since it’s so much finer than oat flour. I am not 100% sure the muffins will bake through the same, but if someone tries it, let me know! (It also can have a funky flavor…)
Can you use Apple sauce instead of grated apples? These were great to make but the grating is a little annoying. They taste great and my son liked them.
If you replace grated apples with applesauce, there will be too much moisture for the muffins to bake through properly. I’m glad your son liked them!
Oh my goodness these are so yummy. I was looking for toddler recipes for my grandbaby and these hit the spot!! I want these in adult size. Love that there is no added sugar.
So good! Thank you for sharing!
Would you be able to freeze the batter? Then later let it thaw overnight in the fridge to easily make another batch?
I haven’t tried that and it’s possible the leaveaning agents might not work the same—that’s my one concern. But you can for sure freeze the baked muffins!
Even I like these as an adult! Big hit with the whole family!
These were so fun and easy to make! My baby loves them! Will definitely be making these a bunch!
Has anyone baked this in an air fryer? How did u guys do it?
Hi! Taste lovely but I found that the outside cooked much quicker and the inside was underdone… Kept putting back in the oven and then the outside was really hard. Any tips to rectify next time? Thanks!
The most likely reason for that is that the baking soda wasn’t fresh or active. I don’t know of another reason it would happen. Hope that helps and sorry it happened!