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.
Hi! Do you think I can substitute the oats with more flour?
I haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure, but it might work similarly.
This is my second time making them – I completely forgot to add the coconut oil this time because I didn’t have any and was going to substitute it for butter….but they still came out what appears to be fine and my 14mo demolished one this morning, so I guess they still taste great even without that!
So quick and easy to make! We added one choc chip to each mini muffin for some extra sweetness. Delicious!
These are delicious! Added chocolate chips for me and the older toddler and we couldn’t stop eating!
Are you able to advise an adjusted time/temp if I were to use a regular muffin pan? I don’t have a mini one!
Temp would be the same though they may take about 4-6 more minutes to bake through.
Hi Amy,
I would love to bake these sugar free banana muffins for my 18 month old (First time baking muffins).
Wondering if I could swap rolled oats with instant oats (as that’s all I have at hand at the moment).
Hi, that should work similarly. I hope they enjoy them!
I made these with gluten free flour, a flax seed egg. They were so doughy inside so I baked them another 20 minutes checking every 5 minutes. Still doughy. They taste good but my family and I are not keen on the pudding like centers. What might I have done differently?
I would use a different egg replacer as flax eggs plus banana might just be too much moisture. You could try the egg replacer from bobs red mill.
Can I use frozen bananas?
Yes just thaw and drain first
If you use plain white gluten free flour mix instead of normal ‘whole wheat’ flour then the milk ratio is off. You need to reduce the milk by half to 1/2 a cup. You can add a little more milk during the mix if it’s too thick. Found this out the hard way myself (uncooked doughy muffins) and then trawled the comments to find the solution. Would be great if the recipe was clearer on this. You get the same issue on the ABC muffins too – but I think there’s a reminder note on the milk in the main recipe for that one.
Super easy and yummy recipe. Thank you 😊
Easy to whip up and the ingredients are something I feel good about giving my children. This is my third Yummy Toddler Mini Muffin recipe I’ve made and they all come out perfectly! Thank you!!
I’m so glad to hear it!
Bubs loved making it and eating it 🙏🏾
Hi, I am trying this recipe for the first time with the eggless version (adding 1/2 c coconut oil) but the oil turned into big blobs (chunks). Should I keep going ? Thanks
Hi- I’m sorry I was away from my computer, it should turn out fine even though it firmed up
I just had the same issue! It seems like maybe adding the oil last would help. My oil firmed up in the bowl while I was adding/measuring the other ingredients. Hope it turns out ok!
Love the muffins, I make them atleast twice a month.
I sometimes make half the recipe. In this case can I use a whole egg and less coconut oil instead of half an egg?
I would think so, maybe just 1 tbsp of the oil
The texture was good but I found these bland even though I used very ripe bananas. I would probably try to add some extra sweetness with applesauce next time.
Hey, so before I make this recipe I was curious, I was told that babies under one could not digest rolled oats. Is that true? And if it is, what could I use instead?
That’s not true if they are cooked until soft unless there’s a specific medical issue at play.
Thanks for sharing. Can I use whole grain self raising flour instead of plain flour?
I haven’t tried that so I can’t say for sure, but let me know if you try it out
I am a DISASTER in the kitchen. This was super easy and perfect for my 10m. We added chocolate chips on the half for us parents and they’re delicious.
Glad to hear that!
Baby loves this very much. Even hubs! I used butter instead of coconut oil and it came out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe. Love that there is metric conversion too!