These Healthy Toddler Muffins are delicious for breakfast, but also work as a healthy snack or lunch. This is an easy muffin recipe for kids. Make one batter and choose from 4 different mix-ins to get variety, including a vegetable muffin!
Toddler Muffins that are healthy, quick, and tasty
Coming up with toddler breakfast ideas has been one of the trickier things in the household recently. But these toddler muffins have become a favorite recipe.
- It is quick to make;
- mama is happy because it's healthy;
- the toddler likes the different varieties;
- and of course everyone devours them because they are tasty.
Sure, I often plop his favorite bowl of cereal (which I love, because it's made from beans, so extra health benefits!) in front of him and get to my morning coffee ASAP.
But I love making breakfast a family affair, and our toddler loves getting involved in anything we are doing. So we try to have him help make his own breakfast.
How can your toddler help in the kitchen?
Our toddler often demands to make these Toddler Pancakes when he wakes up.
With these pancakes, he likes to pull out the ingredients from the cupboard, help measure out the ingredients, and mix the batter together. I do the stovetop cooking, but he likes watching me scoop on the batter and flip the pancakes.
Another favorite breakfast idea is to allow our toddler to choose his own porridge toppings from these 10 toddler friendly porridges.
Our toddler looks at the pictures, points to the one he wants, and mixes everything together in his favorite oatmeal bowl, which is conveniently shaped perfectly to hold everything in it.
Recently, we introduced him to these Toddler Muffins - and it was a hit!
With these Toddler Muffins, our toddler can do the following:
- help pull the ingredients out from the cupboard,
- measure out the ingredients,
- mix the batter together,
- line the muffin tin with the cups,
- and scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
TIP: We love these 12-cup mini muffin tins. Small enough to rotate around so he can line the entire muffin tin with paper cups and scoop muffin batter into each of the cups. (The 24 cup pans are too big to reach in the middle.)
TIP: A small cookie scoop is the best way for my toddler to scoop the muffin batter into the cups. I help him squeeze it to release it, but I'm sure he'll figure it out soon!
It's quite a fun and involved process (albeit much neater and quicker when I just do it myself - 10 minutes tops).
This is an easy muffin recipe for kids that they can help make
This easy muffin recipe for kids is as healthy and easy as you want it to be.
With one batter, you can get up to four different toddler muffins. You choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 favorite ingredient mix-in, and simply split the batter into separate bowls, then add in the mix-in of choice at the end.
If you think you have a winning combo that will have your kid proclaiming these as the best toddler muffins, then by all means make the entire batch with only one mix-in.
Regardless, this recipe for healthy kids muffins offers flexibility and variety. You can even get a vegetable muffin for your kids by using the carrot and raisins mix-in option.
The four mix-in's I've made so far are:
- blueberry,
- apple cinnamon,
- carrot and raisins, and
- chocolate chips.
This Healthy Toddler Muffin is delicious for breakfast, but also works as a healthy snack or lunch
I chose what I thought were flavorful mix-in ingredients that were naturally sweet to make up for that fact that these kid muffins are made with little sugar added (you can leave out all the sugar if you prefer too). Instead, these Toddler Muffins use a grated apple in the batter as a natural sweetener.
After making this Toddler Muffin recipe a couple of times now, I have found my toddler's favorites are apple cinnamon and carrot + raisins. (As he loves apple cinnamon so much, he also loves this healthy apple pancakes!)
A healthy kids muffin recipe that also packs well for lunch and snack
He would happily eat those for breakfast several times a week, and then eat them for lunch and snack. It works out conveniently too, because they pack so well into his yumbox.
For a healthy kids muffin, I found them pretty tasty. I even spied my husband taking the occasional bite off my son's plate while he was feeding him.
The small size of these muffins makes it easy for our toddler to handle, while we eat eat them as if they were healthy donut holes. Enjoy these muffins with a cup of coffee, or in our toddler's case, a glass of oat milk!
Here's one more favorite toddler breakfast recipe that would fit in perfectly in that yumbox too: Easy Fruit Salad with Yogurt.
Our favorite tools for making these Toddler Muffins
Wilton Non-Stick Mini-Muffin Pan, 12-Cup (2-Pack)Wilton Primary Baking Cups, Mini, 150-CountOXO Good Grips Cookie Scoop, SmallYumbox Leakproof Bento Lunch Box Container
Toddler Muffins
Print Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
Muffin Base
- 1 ⅓ cups white whole wheat flour (also called golden wholegrain flour)
- ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats (jumbo rolled oats)
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (milled flax seeds)
- 1 small apple - grated with peel
- 2 medium eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter - melted
Apple Cinnamon (enough for ¼ of the muffin batter)
- ½ small apple - chopped into ½-cm pieces
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Blueberries (enough for ¼ of the muffin batter)
- 1 handful blueberries (blueberries vary in size, but aim for about 2-3 blueberries in each muffin)
Carrot and Raisin (enough for ¼ of the muffin batter)
- ¼ medium carrot - grated
- 1 tablespoon raisins
Chocolate Chip (enough for ¼ of the muffin batter)
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Grease or line a 24-hole mini muffin tin.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and flax seeds. Fold in the grated apples.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the milk and butter.
- Pour the egg mixture into the batter, and fold together, being careful not to over mix.
- Split the muffin batter evenly between 4 bowls. In each bowl, gently mix in the mix-in ingredient. You can adapt the recipe to make 1, 2, 3 or 4 varieties. Adjust the amount of mix-in as required.
- Using a cookie scoop, evenly distribute the batter into the mini muffin tin, filling each muffin cup about ¾ full. For each variety, you should be able to get 6 mini muffins.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until cooked in the middle and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack.
Jacqueline says
Hi Tina,
This recipe looked fantastic! Just wondering...is it possible to substitute apple SAUCE for the chopped apples? Or will that make it too soggy? I ask because my daughter dislikes fruit chunks. Thanks!
Tina Jui says
HI Jacqueline, you shouldn't get fruit chunks since the apple is grated. That being said, I think we've tried it with apple sauce before and it turned out ok (I can't remember how much we used though). Please do let me know how it works if you try it with apple sauce!
Samiya says
Hello, I only have a big muffin (regular sized muffin) tray. Any advice? So excited to make these with my daughter tomorrow !
Tina Jui says
Hi Samiya - I haven't baked them as regular sized muffins in a long time, so cannot remember exact adjustments. It should make about 12 muffins. Bake a bit longer, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. You might want to try making smaller muffins too, so you still benefit from a better muffin top ratio. Enjoy!!
vanessa says
Turned out great! I only had large eggs and goat milk (my daughter doesn't tolerate cow's milk too well) and added 2 minutes to the cooking time. I also sprayed the liners with some cooking spray to help the muffins release more easily. hanks for sharing this recipe!
Tina Jui says
Thanks for leaving the comment, Vanessa! It really brightens my day hearing that you and your daughter enjoyed the muffins.
Sheina says
Hi! What can I use instead of the grated apple?
Thanks!
Kim says
Can I use all purpose flour? I also don’t have flaxseeds can I just add an extra egg?
Tina Jui says
Hi Kim, I haven't made these toddler muffins before with those exact substitutions. That being said, yes you can use all purpose flour. I would also think the muffins should be fine without the flax (no need to add an extra egg), but I haven't done it before to be sure. With those changes, you might want to reduce the amount of milk.
Sym says
Hi, if I make them with gluten free flour do I need to add anything else in or will just that substitute alone work? Thanks
Tina Jui says
Hi Sym, I bake with the Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour (this one). With that GF flour, you don't need to add anything else.
Kausar says
Made the carrot muffins with my 2 year old who hates carrots. He loved them and so did I! Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
Tina Jui says
Hi - thanks so much for leaving the comment! It really makes my day to hear about other toddlers who love the muffins.
LP says
Can they be frozen and eaten at a later date?
Tina Jui says
Yes. After they cool, I throw them all in a freezer ziplock bag. Enjoy!
NICOLE REYNOLDS says
I can't believe how delicious these are! I didnt have any cow milk so i did half sour cream and half almond milk, so yummy! Thank you, Thank you!
Tina Jui says
Your welcome! Thanks for leaving the comment, and sharing how you made it.
Elana says
This looks and sounds so easy, excited to make them.
are there other fruit or veggie options you would recommend?
Tina Jui says
Hmm.. we add chopped pears sometimes! If you try any other combinations, please do share :)