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.
Does this recipe work in a blender?
I wouldn’t recommend that as it will create a much more liquidy batter and it may not bake through properly.
I had a bunch of bananas to use up but I didn’t want to make regular banana bread. I stumbled upon this recipe and they were so good I ended up making 5 batches for the freezer! These might be my 2 year olds new favourite food!
Does the apple need to be peeled before shredding?
Nope!
Is there a way to make these into a cake? My son loves these and his first birthday is coming up so it would be great if I could make his cake out of this recipe!
I bet you could make it in two 6-inch round cake pans (line them with rounds of parchment paper and nonstick spray, let cool mostly in the pan) or in one 8 or 9 inch round pan, same thing with the greasing and letting cool. With the larger pan, the baking time will likely be longer to get the middle to set and bake through.
Egg allergy baby over here. Still learning how to adapt recipes with mixed success. Can I leave the egg out and add a bit more banana or applesauce? Also, the egg-free suggestion links to a muffin that contains egg…
For this recipe, you can make them egg-free by omitting the egg and increasing the baking soda to 1 teaspoon. Everything else is the same. Enjoy!
This worked perfectly, thank you! Have added it to bubs favourites 😀
My son is 2, and I have been making these muffins since shortly after he started solids. They are so delicious. They are easily his #1 or #2 favorite muffin ever. I love that this recipe makes so many because I can freeze all the extras. Thank you for this fabulous recipe. They are moist, sweet, and full of good nutrition.
I’ve tried multiple muffin recipes on this site with success and consider myself a fairly proficient baker. But I’ve tried this recipe twice now and even baking the muffins for the full 20 minutes results in gummy centers. The outsides and bottoms are nicely done but none of the centers are cooked…if cooked much longer than the 20 minutes I think they would be too brown/crisp on the tops and bottoms for my little one to manage. I’d like for this recipe to work, so I may give it one last try with either less liquid or cooked at a lower temperature for longer – or maybe both. Will update my review if I have success.
I would recommend either using fresh baking soda, increasing the amount of the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon, or lowering the milk slightly. It’s most likely the baking soda. I hope that helps!
I use baking soda regularly, so unlikely that is not fresh – just baked a sheet pancake with the same baking soda the other day with no issues🤷♀️ So may try one more time with a 1/2 tsp of baking soda and a little less milk. Thanks for the response!
Hi! I want make these for my babies egg allergy challenge because they seem healthier than the one the doctor gave us. But could I add 2 eggs instead of one? Thank you!
I haven’t made them that way but I bet it would be fine!
Is there a substitute for oats? My babe can’t have them unfortunately and it’s making breakfast time extra tough
You can use all purpose flour or quinoa flakes instead.
My son loves these! Do you think it makes a difference using quick cooking rolled oats vs old fashioned rolled oats? Thanks for such a great recipe!
It should turn out similarly!
These muffins turned out beautifully! Will be making these lots more. I used coconut oil instead of butter and a 12-tin but heat and cook time (18 min) gave me perfectly done muffins. Thank you!
Has anyone tried these using a 1:1 gluten free flour instead of wheat flour?
To do that, follow the directions for all purpose flour in the Notes at the end of the recipe.
Delish! I made with a flax egg because my baby’s allergic to eggs and it worked just fine.
Made these as full-size muffins and they took 23 minutes to bake. They did not come out of the pan very well, so I would use paper liners next time. Might try adding half a cup sugar (making them for older kids and adults). I added 3/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Nice texture.
After prepping realized I didn’t have any bananas 🤦🏻♀️ subbed sweet potato and a little applesauce and they came out great! My baby doesn’t like the texture, but I bet she’ll love the ones made as intended by the recipe. More for me!