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.
Delicious and so easy to make. I just blitzed the ABCs in the food processor to save time grating – worked perfectly! I also substituted spelt flour. Will be making again, my 15 month old can’t get enough of them for a healthy snack.
Love it!
I made these for my two year old grandson. They are sweet even though they do not contain sugar, moist, and full of flavor.
If I were to make this without banana, what would you replace that with? Maybe more egg and some more flour? Wondering what quantities. Thank you!
Hi Stefanie. You could try to sub the banana with applesauce. Use 1 cup of applesauce and proceed with the recipe as normal.
I made the cake. Think it took about 50 minutes at 180 degrees. It came out perfect, rose evenly and smoothly. Let’s see how it goes down at school x
I need to make a healthy cake for my son’s birthday for at school. I was thinking of doing this as one big cake, using the x2 recipe. How long would you recommend cooking it for?
Do you know what size pan you want to use?
think it’s a 22cm round pan 🤔
This looks like a great recipe. I’ll be trying it soon! I was wondering if you’ve also tried making it with non-wheat flour? Any recommendations on what could be a good substitute if I don’t want to use wheat? Many thanks.
Can you share what you are hoping to use?
I was thinking to use Coconut flour ideally. But can also use almond flour.
Hello I followed the 2x recipie amounts and ended up with enough for 24x 2 mini muffins (48) not sure where I went wrong? I used three small bananas and followed everything exactly. The oats were quick oats. Is that the issue?
Hi Laurel. The original recipe makes 24 mini muffins. If you doubled the recipe then there would be 48.
I wish I never made these because now my toddler won’t stop yelling “muffin, muffin, MUFFIN!!!” while pointing at the muffin tin right before bed or dinnertime! It was a huge hit with him!
Hey Amy! Do you recommend red or green apples to grate? What do you use? Thank you
Hi- You can use any apple you typically use for cooking, so firmer ones like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and the like.
These are sooo good. I missed the note about using less milk for all purpose flour and didn’t have any issues. I made them for older kids, lower elementary and preschool age and they love them!
Hi- could I substitute coconut flour or would that not yield a good consistency?
I am pretty sure that will not work since coconut flour absorbs liquids very differently than wheat based flours.
Really love these! I did a batch though and it was very soft/runny in the middle, is there any reason that could happen? Too soft apples? Also can I substitute milk for plain yogurt? Thanks!
It’s possible that could happen if the apple was super juicy or if the baking soda wasn’t active. And I haven’t tried it with yogurt but it actually might work!
Where are the measurements for the flour / oats / vanilla etc?
The full recipe is always at the end of the post.
Curious if you think the egg is necessary, since bananas are sometimes used as an egg replacement. My son is allergic to eggs, so I can always sub applesauce. Thoughts??
This recipe holds together best if you use an egg. I would recommend a flax egg here, not applesauce, as applesauce is likely to make the batter too wet to bake through properly given the other ingredients.
I substituted the egg for 1/4 cup of whole plain Greek yogurt and it worked just as well as when I add egg 🙂
Thank u so much for your recipes, feels like a life saver!! my 18 month old son is obsessed with this ABC muffins. If i gave it to his own free will, he would have it as his breakfast, lunch and dinner!! Hence i have to make something else and keep, so that i can stop him fro overeating the same thing over and over again! will be trying the Blueberry yougart muffin next! P.S. love it that your recipes does not really require sugar!