I’m thrilled to share a parent-approved toddler and baby muffin recipe that my daughter loves. These easy and healthy baby apple banana oat muffins combine banana, applesauce, oats, and your choice of add-in like blueberries or small pieces of chopped apple. The batter comes together in a blender and the muffins freeze wonderfully.
We had a difficult time introducing chunkier solids to our oldest. She loved her pureed fruits and vegetables, but it took a long month of trial-and-error with “real” food. Once she began enjoying soft foods like scrambled eggs and small pieces of fruit, I made her homemade muffins. She loved them and I felt so proud! To this day, these muffins are her favorite. She doesn’t eat anything quicker. This recipe is a goldmine.
These Apple Banana Oat Muffins Are:
- Healthy and wholesome
- Naturally sweetened
- Made with real ingredients—no preservatives
- Loaded with fruits and oats
- Made without flour
- Gluten free if using certified GF oats
- Delicious for adults too!
- Adaptable with plenty of substitution suggestions
- Freezer-friendly
And, as a busy parent, you’ll be happy to know that these muffins are SO EASY! You put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, which breaks down the banana and oats, pour into muffin liners, and bake. That’s it.
How to Make Baby Muffins
As a parent, I appreciate how quick and easy these muffins are to make, and know you will too. If you’re using muffin liners, spray the muffin liners before filling with batter to keep the liners from sticking to the muffins. Simply place all of the ingredients in a blender in the order listed (see full recipe), except for the 3/4 cup of add-ins. Blend until combined, then stir in the add-ins. Divide evenly between muffin liners, top with a few oats—just for looks, and bake. I like to make a batch of these on the weekends to have on hand throughout the week—mixing up what add-ins I use based on what we have around.
I made 2 batches before we left for vacation and keep them in the freezer. Heat up/thaw 1 or 2 whenever you need them!
Possible Ingredient Substitutions
This blender muffin recipe can be easily customized to incorporate ingredients your baby/toddler loves. Here are some ingredient substitutions I’ve tried with great success:
- Applesauce: Instead of applesauce, use plain yogurt or your baby’s favorite fruit or veggie puree.
- Banana: Instead of a banana, use 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree.
- Coconut Sugar: Instead of coconut sugar, use maple syrup or any other desired sweetener.
- Add Ins: Use a combination of your baby’s favorite fruits like finely diced apples or pears, blueberries, or strawberries. I made the pictured muffins with finely diced apple and blueberries. Apples get nice and soft, but the blueberries can be a bit messy with little self-feeding hands.
Let me know if your babe enjoys the muffins too. And steal a taste—they’re good! Or give these healthy apple muffins a try. They’re made with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour and apple for a healthier muffin that’s still big on taste. You can’t go wrong with either!
PrintBaby (Mini) Apple Banana Oat Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 mini muffins or 9-10 standard muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy, quick, and healthy baby-friendly mini muffins made from banana, applesauce, and oats. Mixed in the blender and poured into muffin liners, this make-ahead recipe couldn’t be easier.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (106g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats or quick oats, plus extra for topping
- 1 large ripe banana
- 1/3 cup (60g) unsweetened applesauce or fruit/veggie puree (see note)
- 1 large egg
- 2 or 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar, maple syrup, or other desired sugar*
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup add-ins such as peeled diced apple, pear, or berries*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 24-count mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or use mini muffin liners. If using liners, grease the liners.
- Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor, in the order listed, except for the 3/4 cup of add-ins. Blend or process until combined. Stir in the add-ins. Divide evenly between muffin liners. Top with a few oats, if desired.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove and cool completely before serving.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw on the counter or defrost in the microwave.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 24-count Mini Muffin Pan | Blender
- Important: Consult with pediatrician about any possible allergies your baby may have before trying. The only substitutions I’ve tried are listed in the ingredients, but feel free to play around with the recipe using your best judgement.
- Sugar: I usually prepare the muffins with 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons of coconut sugar.
- Applesauce or Puree: I usually make these with unsweetened applesauce or a baby/toddler food fruit puree. You can use yogurt instead, but the muffins won’t be as flavorful.
- Add Ins: I made the pictured muffins with finely diced apple and blueberries. Apples get nice and soft, but the blueberries can be a little messy with little self-feeding hands. Our daughter also enjoys them with diced strawberries.
- Muffin Liners: If using muffin liners, grease the liners or spray with nonstick spray. Warm muffins will stick otherwise. With the first batch I made, I didn’t grease the liners and they stuck. However, the muffins peeled out easily after refrigerating.
- Standard Size Muffins: Add 1/3 cup oats to the recipe, adding them to the blender with everything else. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Top with a few oats, if desired. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time the standard size muffins take in the oven is about 22-23 minutes, give or take.
Keywords: baby apple banana oat muffins, baby muffins, blender muffins
I make 1-2 muffin recipes a week for my toddler and this one will definitely be in the rotation! I used 3 tbsp of date sugar for the sweetener, but will probably reduce to 2 next time.
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Hey there. Wondering if it’s possible to make these into a cake vs muffins? I am in search of a smash cake recipe and this looks perfect.
You can definitely bake these muffins as a small smash cake!
Hi Sally – I tried this recipe using a mixture of baby oats cereal (flakes, not powder) and regular rolled oats, with freeze dried strawberry for the mixin. The resulting muffins taste good but the batter didn’t rise or expand to fill the tins. I’m wondering whether it’s the use of the baby cereal that caused it, or this is just the way muffins recipes without fat usually turn out? (Next time I’ll tinker with the ingredients accordingly.)
The baking soda and baking powder have not given me issues in other recipes I have been making, so they are not the cause of the issue.
Everyone in our family enjoyed these muffins! I generally find baby-specific recipes to be quite bland, but these were full of flavour. I made these in an attempt to introduce new textures to our baby and I think the flavour of the muffin was a motivator for her to work past the way it felt different on her hands and in her mouth. The recipe is simple and my preschooler enjoyed making them with me. We will make these again – even when our babies aren’t babies anymore!
★★★★★
So yummy! I just made em and tried them. My baby is gonna love them!!
Is there a difference in bake time if you leave out the add instead? My 9 month old is starting baby led weaning and her pediatrician said I can try and make baby muffins as long as I don’t put chopped fruit in it until she’s been on table foods a bit longer
Hi Jessica, you shouldn’t need to adjust the bake time if you leave out any add-ins. Just make sure you check them at the minimum bake time (13 mins.) for doneness. Hope your baby enjoys them!
Thank you so much!! My baby girl tore them up. And they’ve made great on the go snacks for her and her older siblings too.
Another perfect recipe. A solid yet soft and moist muffin, you feel like you’re eating something healthy and still delicious. I rarely have apple sauce on hand so I chop up a small apple and heat it up in a small pot until it’s soft and then add it to the blender and it works perfectly. The entire family loves this recipe. it’s especially great when we’re in a rush and don’t have time to sit down for a proper breakfast, the kids (and grown ups too) can eat it on the go. It’s now in my regular baking rotation.
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Followed the recipe for standard size muffins. My addin was diced apple. These muffins were so dry. I ended up throwing them out. The idea of eliminating oils was appealing, at first, but now it seems that they need some fat to keep them moist.
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I would like to add melted butter to this recipe since my daughter needs more fat in her diet. What amount could work?
By the way, this is the only solid food she enjoys, thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Ana, we haven’t tested it, but you could try replacing some or all of the applesauce with melted butter.
Love it. But : this seems like a lot of baking soda and baking powder for such a small quantity, is that not bad for the toddlers? Especially if they eat this everyday?
Hi Chi, It’s best to consult with your pediatrician about any specific ingredient questions. But feel free to play around with the recipe using your best judgement!
Can this be modified into a cake? My baby turns one soon, I would love to bake this as a “healthy-ish” cake for her!! 🙂
Hi Saumya, you can make a small cake out of this recipe. Happy birthday to your daughter!
These muffins turned out perfectly! I generally avoid baking because things just don’t turn out so well when you’re trying to be a little healthy. But these were perfect. My (blueberry obsessed) 2year old loves them and my husband and I actually like them too (we both have a major sweet tooth and found these to be pleasantly sweet enough). I did have to extend baking time, but changes in baking time should always be expected since ovens vary. I also used frozen blueberries, so that could account for the difference.
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Can i omit the sugar in this recipe or will it alter the result? Thanks!
Hi Angela, you can just skip the sugar or add a little more unsweetened applesauce in its place.
Is golden syrup an ok substitute for Maple syrup
We haven’t tested that substitution!
Syrup is syrup, it’s fine! 🙂
We lovelovelove this and make it whenever we somehow wind up with a banana that hasn’t gotten gobbled up. Has all ingredients we have all the time in our house. My 3yo can help me put ingredients into teh blender and loves to cook this special treat. We actually just pour the batter into our big cast-iron pan and bake it as a cake for much longer because we use reusable muffin liners that are kind of a pain to clean! Makes it such a fun adn easy treat and activity!
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Wondering if I could use a hand mixer or magic bullet ? I don’t have a blender or food processor
Hi Laurie, the magic bullet should work wonderfully!
Great recipe! I omitted the coconut sugar because I didn’t find it at the grocery store. My food processor didn’t do a good job of breaking down the oats so I think the texture of my muffins are a little weird. But next time I’ll just process the oats separately. Glad to have found a baby friendly recipe!
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I’m hoping to bake these with pumpkin for my 11mo daughter to have at thanksgiving dinner. I normally do chopped nuts in my pumpkin muffins but obviously can’t do that for her, so I wasn’t sure what fruit or other addition would be a good combination. Does anyone have recommendations for what goes best with pumpkin?
Hi Michelle, dried cranberries could be a wonderful addition!
Hi there, excited to try these for my grandson wondering do I blend the oats to make a flour texture before adding the other ingredients ? Thank you
Hi Laurie, you can add the oats with the other ingredients to the blender – no need to blend separately. Hope your grandson loves them!
For me these are lacking fat to give moisture, they always come out a little dry and therefore a bit gummy in baby’s mouth! They also don’t ever seem to rise for me!
Hi there! Love this recipe and been making em for my 10 mo old weekly 🙂 wondering if you ever tried adding peanut butter and if not what your thoughts on that is? Thanks!
Hi Gina! We haven’t tested peanut butter in these muffins. You would have to play around with the recipe, most likely reducing the oats would help. Let us know if you try anything!
I want to make these for my 10 month old son but I was told no eggs until 12 months. Can I add another banana or two (they are VERY ripe) to take place of the egg?
Hi Samantha, yes! 1/4 cup of applesauce or mashed banana would do fine here or try a “flax egg.” They’re common in vegan baking.
Hi, can I make these with whole wheat flour instead? We don’t really use oats around here, and our child is already familiar with wheat.
Thanks!
We haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do!
We made these for our 11 month old and they are a huge hit for her and the rest of the family with maple syrup apple sauce and chopped apple. Thank you so much!!
★★★★★
I love this recipe. Just made for the second time. Followed the instructions for full-size muffins and got 7. Added 1 grated apple, a handful of dessicated coconut and raisins and a glug of olive oil at the end. They have a lovely crumb and really moist.
★★★★★
Can you substitute the maple syrup for honey?
Hi Jacqueline, if you’re making these muffins for a baby to eat, we don’t recommend honey. Consult your doctor or pediatrician for details, but it is important not to feed honey to infants under 1 year old. If you’re making these muffins for others to enjoy, honey will be a great substitute- same amount.
Would love to see more baking recipes geared to babies & toddlers (low sugar)! 🙂
How many calories are in 1 muffin pleasehun?
Hi Sabrina, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients, and many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients. However, there are many great online calculators where you can plug in your exact ingredients like this one: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076.
Hi, I was hoping to make these without sugar (or coconut sugar). Any thoughts on how they’ll bake without this (obviously will change the flavor but wondering if it’ll effect the texture)? Or are there any other alternatives you’d suggest?
Hi Michelle, there really isn’t a huge change in texture, but adding 1 more Tablespoon of applesauce/puree (bring total to 6 Tbsp) wouldn’t hurt just in case the muffins taste dry.
Hi, I came across your recipe after many failed attempts using few other recipes online.
First time I followed Your recipe it came out PERFECT.. I doubled the ingredients 2nd time and it came out sticky inside with an uncooked texture even cooking for extra time.
Any suggestions to making a bigger batch?
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Hi Shalom, when making more than one batch of muffins, we always recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. That makes sure the ingredients are mixed and incorporated evenly. That should help for next time!
I doubled the recipe with half banana half pumpkin and my one year old loves them!
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Excited to try these! Any suggestions on what I could use as a substitute for baking soda and baking powder? Thanks!
Hi Kelly Ann, the baking soda and baking powder are necessary in this recipe to help give the muffins a bit of rise. Hope you’ll give them a try!