Mix up a batch of these easy-to-make Sugar-Free Banana Muffins to share with your baby or toddler come breakfast or snack time. You don’t need any special ingredients and they are super moist and flavorful. (P.S. There’s a vegan option too!)
Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
When we’re feeding babies or toddlers (or ourselves) and looking to minimize added sugars, it can be hard to find homemade snacks and breakfasts for kids that still taste great. So I did my best to ensure that these muffins are delicious in their own right and just happen to have zero added sugars. I’ve made these a handful of times now and both of my girls enjoy them (aged 3 and 7), as well as the baby. And I do too!
Ingredients in Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
To make these healthy banana muffins you’ll need:
- mashed banana
- egg
- coconut oil
- milk
- pure vanilla extract
- whole wheat flour
- rolled oats
- cinnamon
- baking soda
- baking powder
TIP: You’ll want to be sure to use very ripe bananas with a lot of brown spots to ensure that the muffins are flavorful and naturally sweet.
How to Make Sugar-Free Banana Muffins Step-by-Step
Here’s a look at the process involved in making this recipe. (See the full recipe at the bottom of the post for the specifics.)
- Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
- Add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir together.
- Divide among a mini muffin pan and bake!
Dairy-Free Banana Muffins
To make these muffins dairy-free, use nondairy plain unsweetened milk.
Egg-Free Banana Muffins
To make these egg-free, you’ll simply omit the egg and add additional oil. So easy and delicious!
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
To make these muffins gluten-free, use gluten-free flour blend. I like the one from King Arthur best.
Will my older kids like these too?
I like to make these with half topped with mini chocolate chips and half plain to make them delicious for all ages. My girls love them with a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips (and I do too!) though you don’t have to do that—they’re impressively sweet on their own (though clearly not as sweet as a traditional banana muffin with added sugar.)
Baby Muffins with Bananas
Babies and toddlers under two are advised not to have added sugars and while that recommendation isn’t always possible to follow, these muffins are a great option for little ones. The textures is moist, so if you break them up into little pieces, babies eating finger foods can eat them too.
TIP: If your baby seems to have a hard time moving bready textures in their mouths, try topping each bite with a little applesauce or plain yogurt. And offer sips of water too.
Tips for Making the Best Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor and sweetness.
- Gluten-free: Swap in gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat to make them gluten-free.
- Egg-free: Omit the egg and use ½ cup total coconut oil.
- Use melted butter or canola oil instead of coconut oil if needed.
- Be sure to stir your batter together thoroughly. If you can see the oil, you need to stir it more. It should be uniformly mixed.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To serve from the fridge, warm for 5-10 seconds in the microwave to soften slightly.
I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe if you try it, so please comment below to share!
Sugar-Free Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed very ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (slightly cooled)
- 1 cup milk (dairy or nondairy)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan.
- Place all ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well but gently. Be sure to stir your batter together thoroughly. If you can see the oil streaking through the batter, you need to stir it more. It should be uniformly mixed and look like one consistent color.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
Hello wondering if you can substitute the whole wheat flour for almond flour or just more oats.
Thanks
Hi- I haven’t tested those options, but of the two oat flour (grind the oats up in a blender or food processor) would be a better choice.
Don’t fill the muffins too high or the coconut oil will over flow, causing smoke.
Made these (with butter instead of coconut oil) and they are delicious! I used a regular size muffin tin and lined it with parchment paper liners. They came out perfectly! Has anyone added peanut butter to these at all?
Thank you. You made Nana a hero. my 18 month old grandson loves them.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! My 10 month old babies love these muffins! This recipe is a keeper. 🙂
Making these for a today for a loved one with Heart considerations. Perfect that there’s no added sugar and I’m subbing out the coconut oil (saturated fat) for a more heart friendly oil (mono or poly saturated). Thanks!
Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats. That’s all I have at home. Will baking time need to change with it?
They should work very similarly
I love these muffins but my 10 mo old cannot have any milk – dairy or non. What would you substitute ? Is water ok?
I haven’t ever made them with water but I think that would likely work okay!
My little one really liked these muffins! But I’m still stumped on why so many “no added sugar” or “healthy” recipes for kiddos still have added salt? I was under the impression that excess sugar and sodium were both concerns.
It’s because if you omit the salt, baked goods have the tendency to taste really bland. (And when you divide the amount of salt by each serving, it’s such a tiny amount.) Glad that they liked it!
Good question! Salt in home cooking usually isn’t the culprit of high sodium diets, rather its the excess sodium used in processed foods.
In this recipe there is approximately 24 mg of sodium per muffin. Theoretically a child of at least 6 years of age could each the whole dozen batch of these muffins and still fall well below recommended daily sodium intake guidelines. Hope that helps.
reference: https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/children-sodium/index.html
Just what I was looking for– a healthy treat for my son that isn’t full of sugar. They taste great and I love them, too! It’s nice they’re low in calories so I can eat two and not feel guilty.
My 13 month old son and husband are crazy over these muffins!! I personally have a banana allergy, so I can’t enjoy the muffins with them.
I made a few changes: I add sunflower oil instead of coconut oil, and add about a 1/4 chia seeds to the recipe.
I also have a banana allergy but when cooked, the protein is denatured and I am able to eat banana! Maybe you could try it.
Thanks for sharing that!
So good, and so easy! My 2 year old and 4 year old picky eaters love them. I used olive oil instead of coconut oil because that’s what I had and the substitution worked just fine.
Turned out amazing! My son has an egg allergy so I substituted 1/4 cup apple sauce for the egg 🙂
I just had a question on the nutritional value. You had written 128K Cal but that converts to 128,000 calories?? That doesn’t sound right at all??
Should just be calories!
FYI a Cal (uppercase C) is a kilocalorie or kcal (lower case c)
So 128 kcal = 128 Cal
Can’t wait to try this for my 12 mo old twins! (with no honey/chocolate). One silly question. I see in your directions that you put oats into the blender with the ingredients (sans flour), however I didn’t see you put them in video. Do you need to create oat flour, or whole oats is fine??
Are you looking at the video for the Spinach Banana Muffins? This one here you just mix together in a bowl. For the Spinach ones, you add the whole oats to the blender so they grind up a bit and aren’t noticeable in the batter. Enjoy them (whichever ones!).
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. Although of course there’s sugar in the bananas, as a diabetic it’s great that no additional sugar is added. I don’t even use very ripe bananas but I’m used to more savoury tastes now! I’ve been making them for a few months, freezing them and then defrosting in the microwave, so I’m not tempted to eat more than one at a time. I use brown rice flour and mild olive oil and sometimes add a couple of blueberries to each one when baking. Big thanks 🙂