These ABC muffins are nutrient packed and have a soft texture, making them a perfect baby muffin or muffin for toddlers! These muffins are also gluten free (made with almond flour), have no added sugar, AND have an added boost of iron since they include iron-fortified oat cereal, making them even more of a winner as a baby or toddler muffin!
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Why You'll Love These ABC Muffins
- Iron boost: These muffins contain an added boost of iron from the iron fortified baby oat cereal. I love finding ways to boost the iron since this is such an important nutrients for babies and toddlers.
- Fibre: These muffins get a good dose of fibre from the apples, carrots, bananas, almond flour and oat cereal. That fibre supports healthy digestion and helps keep kids satisfied between meals, great for busy mornings or snack times on the go.
- No Added Sugar: These muffins are naturally sweetened with only ripe bananas and apples, making them a great option for toddlers and for baby-led weaning.
For more information on iron, (such as how much your little one actually needs and food ideas) check out my post on iron!
Ingredients for ABC Muffins
Here are the ingredients you will need to make these yummy ABC muffins.
- Banana - Ripe banana brings natural sweetness and moisture, while also acting as a natural binder in this recipe. The riper the banana, the sweeter (and easier to mash) it'll be.
- Apple - My kids love apple in muffins! It adds natural sweetness plus a boost of fibre.
- Carrot - These muffins are a fun way to incorporate some carrot.
- Almond flour - Almond flour adds healthy fats, protein, and a soft, tender crumb. As with any tree nut product, introduce it according to your child's allergy history and your pediatrician's guidance. See below for swaps to make it nut-free
- Fortified infant oat cereal - This is an easy way I like to boost the iron in baked goods! If you don't have any on hand, you can grind up some oats into a regular oat flour.
- Egg - Egg adds protein and healthy fats and helps bind the batter together, giving these muffins some extra staying power between meals.
- Coconut oil - Or any neutral oil works here.
- Baking powder - This is what gives these muffins their lift, helping them bake up soft and fluffy instead of dense.
- Baking soda - Working alongside the baking powder, baking soda helps balance the acidity from the banana and apple and adds a bit of extra rise.
- Vanilla - A splash of vanilla always adds a nice subtle flavour.
- Cinnamon - A must in my books if you have apple in a muffin! Cinnamon adds such a delicious flavour.
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make ABC (Apple, Banana, Carrot) Muffins for Toddlers
Mash the banana, and grate the apple and carrot and add to a bowl. Add the egg, coconut oil, and vanilla.
Next, add the dry ingredients to a separate bowl. Stir to combine.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients by adding the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Stir to combine.
Portion out into a muffin tin. Bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes.
Hint: You can use a regular 12-muffin pan, or make mini muffins
Substitutions
- Milk- you can use any type of milk, or plant-based alternative beverage in these muffins. Full fat cow's milk, soy milk, oat, or almond are all options.
- To make these nut-free, swap out the almond flour and use oat flour instead.
- No iron fortified oat cereal? You can grind up regular oats into an oat flour.
Variations
- Swap out the carrot and mix in shredded zucchini instead (note: these will now be ABZ muffins!
- Add in optional mix-ins like finely diced raisins or dates
- Add some additional spices like nutmeg, ground ginger or a little pumpkin spice
Storage
Muffins can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or you put them in an airtight freezer bag and store up to 4-6 months. When ready to eat, just pull them out and heat them up in the microwave or toaster oven!
Toddler Tip
You can use either a regular size muffin pan or a mini muffin pan. My toddler loves mini muffins so we often use that size. Depending on how full they are in the mini muffin pan, you may need to cook for a few minutes less.
FAQ
These muffins are a great option as soon as your baby is showing signs of readiness for solids, generally around 6 months of age. They're soft, easy to hold, and have no added sugar, making them well suited to baby-led weaning.
Yes! With whole oats, almond flour, banana, apple, and carrot, these muffins offer a good amount of fibre which is important to support babies' and toddlers' digestive systems.
For babies 6–12 months, cut the muffin in half or into large chunks that are easy to hold and safe to gum. For toddlers, serve whole or in halves depending on their chewing skills. You can also pair them with fruit, yogurt, or a little smooth nut butter.
Recipe
ABC Muffins (apple, banana, carrot) for Toddlers
Equipment
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana about 2 medium size bananas
- ½ cup apple grated, about 1 small apple
- ½ cup shredded carrot about 1 small carrot
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil slightly cooled, or other neutral oil of choice
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup iron fortified infant oat cereal
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl add the wet ingredients (mashed banana, grated apple, grated carrots, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix together.
- In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients (almond flour, iron fortified infant oat cereal, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda). Stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together.
- Dish out the batter into a greased muffin pan. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Mary Z says
These turned out great! I didn’t have extra baby cereal on hand so I just used a full cup of oats, which I ground to a flour, and I used hazelnut flour instead of almond. My 10 month old gobbled these up!
Ali Ellis, MSc., RD says
Oh yum hazelnut flour!! So glad your little one liked them ❤️
Megan Z says
My boys are muffin addicts so I was so happy to find something they liked and had so much nutrients in them!