Baby-led weaning muffins are hand-sized, perfect for babies from 6 months of age. They have a soft, moist texture that is easy to suck and munch by babies from 6 months old. They are the perfect first finger food to offer infants and introduce the stage 1 food for babies like apples, bananas, carrots, or sweet potatoes. Baby-led weaning muffins are also made of simple, wholesome ingredients. They have no added sugar and no added salt to encourage the discovery of real food flavors by babies.
Ingredients and Substitutions
It’s super easy to make baby muffins for babies and toddlers. All you need to make these baby-led weaning muffins are 8 ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour or white flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Melted Coconut Oil or any vegetable oil you have at home like light olive oil, canola oil Ripe Banana – one medium ripe banana, peeled, mashed with a fork into a puree. Mashed Orange Sweet Potato Puree – You can also make muffins with pumpkin puree. Baking Powder – To give them a little rise. Unsweetened Applesauce – Or more mashed banana.
How To Make Baby-Led Weaning Mini Muffins
First, prepare the orange sweet potato puree. There are two options. You can bake the sweet potato in the oven or microwave or steam the cubes of peeled sweet potatoes. Don’t boil sweet potatoes to make sweet potato puree. This makes the puree too wet to make baby muffins. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside. Cut a medium-sized sweet potato in half lengthwise. Prick the skin with a fork. Place the halves of sweet potatoes, flesh down on the baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the sweet potato goes through. Cool them down at room temperature, then scoop out the flesh and mash them into a smooth puree. Use the cooled mashed sweet potato puree in the recipe. For the steaming Method, Peel the sweet potato and cut it into small 1-inch cubes. Bring a saucepan with water to a high boil. Add a steaming basket on top of the saucepan with the sweet potato cubes in it. Steam until the sweet potato is soft. Remove from heat, cool down for 20 minutes, then mash with a fork into a sweet potato puree. In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed banana, mashed orange sweet potato puree, and applesauce. Then, stir the melted coconut oil into the wet ingredient mixture. Now, stir in the flour and baking powder until you form a smooth muffin batter. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two 12-hole mini muffin tins with coconut oil. Then, fill each hole up to 3/4 and bake the muffins in the center rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and a pick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool completely on a cooling rack before serving to little ones.
Add-Ons For Older Kids
You can adapt this recipe for kids above 12 months by adding sweeteners, fruits, or chocolate chips. For example, you can add 1/3 cup of:
fresh or frozen blueberries dark chocolate chips dried fruits like raisins, cranberries, chopped dates Nuts and seeds like finely chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans, or sunflower seeds
You can also replace the applesauce with real sweeteners like maple syrup or agave syrup to boost the sweetness.
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the day before or at least 3 hours before eating, at room temperature.
More Vegan Baby Food Recipes
I love to bake mini muffins for babies and toddlers. They are very handy to introduce food to babies or fill a lunchbox with healthy, fulfilling food. Below I listed more baby muffin recipe ideas for you to try:
