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.
These came out as porridge cakes not muffins… taste nice but more than a little moist… 🤔🤔 is that right?
If it has the consistency of oatmeal, something went wrong. Did you make any changes?
I love these muffins so much!!! I have two questions
How can I adjust the time and temperature for regular sized muffins?
-when I make these, they come out of the oven looking great but as they cool they fall and turn into hockey pucks. Any ideas?
It’s another Yummy Toddler hit at our house. Adults eat it with coffee. Kiddo has it jelly and baby enjoys it with baby led weaning! Thanks for sharing such great recipes
I’m so glad to hear that!
Deliciously feeds our entire family! Haha. Healthy, easy, simple ingredients. I added hemp seeds and whole flax seeds to the mix. As well mini white chocolate chips to half the batch for my 3.5 year old. So good. Thank you for creating your amazing recipes. I have made several of your recipes and they all turn out just as you directed….delicious!
Really delicious!!! I used regular white flour (not whole wheat) and still used the amount of milk in the recipe (I didn’t see the below note to use less milk with white flour)- and they still turned out great! I put some sprinkles on top for my 2.5 year old, and my 8 month old also loved them (without sprinkles 🙂 ). Thanks for another delicious and healthy recipe! I have been making a lot of your recipes lately and my girls love them.
I love this recipe, I am a nanny making this
for a wonderful almost 13 month old.
I had trouble grating the apple and would
start over because it would get to runny
and dark, I put a little lemon on it. I decided
to dice the apples and added more carrots.
Muffins are good and works well with silicone muffin pan which is so straight forward.
OMG! Soooooooo good! My toddler really enjoys muffins so this was great having the ABC in it. I used soy milk. I will definitely make these again. I ended up offering my 14 month old a whole mini muffin for the first time (I always serve him cut up pieces of pancake/muffin/bread) and he just kind of slowly consumed (his hand/muffin) as he held the muffin but then he drank some water and it was all gone. Ready for another LOL. Thanks Amy!
Made this today and my 11 month old (and myself) loved them. I actally used plain greek yogurt instead of milk and they were perfection! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Its a keeper!
Hi! I don’t have a mini muffin pan. Would I need to adjust the baking time if I use a regular muffin pan? Thank you!
Would you be able to use apple sauce instead of apples?
It would make the batter too wet. You could omit the apple and use double the carrot amount though.
Hi! I love this recipe! I have made it several times and each time mine are raw in the center. I am using brand new ingredients. Could it be because I’m using a silicone muffin tray?
It’s possible. I don’t test recipes in silicone so I can’t say for sure if that is causing it, but it may not heat up as fast as a metal pan. You could lower the milk amount a little to see if that helps though.
How would you make these gluten free? Could I use coconut or almond flour instead?
Neither of those flours will work the same but you can use gf oats and a gf cup for cup style of flour blend like the one from King Arthur Flour.
Super tasty!
It made a bit more than my pan could handle (my bananas were medium-large). I did add about 1/8c sugar. The husband likes them and I am sure my toddler will too! I am very impressed, because so often with wheat flour, baked goods come out in edible. Not the case here. Will make again!
Glad to hear that!
Hi can i use instant oats instead of rolled ones?
I haven’t tested them that way but it may work similarly. Let me know!
Instant worked perfect for me!
Delicious. YummyMomFood. These are sooo good – they basically taste like a nice light banana bread. My bananas weren’t very ripe so I added maybe 2 teaspoons of sugar and they’re perfect. With ripe bananas, sugar is definitely not needed. [These are now my go-to breakfast for MYSELF (I jumped the gun in making them for my baby (turning 8mos this week) who is very into solid food, but still needs a little time for muffins. My daughter (5yrs) is apparently too picky for even a smidge of cinnamon – she prefers a couple of your other muffins that SAVE us, we make big batches and deep freeze them to give daily).] Thanks for the recipe!