Today I thought it might be fun to share a recipe that our son has been enjoying lately.
He’s recently become interested in finger foods, so we’ve been trying to add more flavors and textures into the mix with creations like these healthy banana muffins. These aren’t your typical muffins– they look more like little hockey pucks, but luckily my little guy doesn’t mind (nor does he know any differently). He thinks they’re fantastic!
And despite their looks, they are pretty darn tasty.
Naturally sweetened with ripe banana, these muffins are free of refined sugars and added oils, and they are loaded with protein and fiber. Because baked goods made with coconut flour can tend to be dry, I’ve made these muffins extra moist to reduce the risk of choking, so they may not be the kind of snack you want to make for kids or adults who are expecting a traditional muffin. But, they are certainly healthy enough to serve to any of your loved ones!
This recipe only makes 6 small muffins, because our guy only eats about 1/4 of one at a time, but feel free to double the recipe and freeze the extras. They thaw well when stored in the fridge overnight!
—
Banana Snack Muffins for Baby
Makes 6 small muffins
Ingredients:
2 large bananas (roughly 1 cup mashed)
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with 6 baking cups. (In my experience, these silicone cups work best.) In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they resemble a relatively smooth puree. Stir in the egg, then add the coconut flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix well, until a thick and uniform batter is created.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking cups, then bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until the centers are firm. Allow to cool completely before serving. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to two months.
*Note: As you can see in the picture above, these muffins stuck pretty badly when baked in parchment baking cups. That doesn’t happen when you use silicone baking cups! Since parchment paper is lined with silicone anyway, I’ve preferred to use the reusable silicone version for my most of my baking needs lately.
Banana Snack Muffins for Baby (Paleo, No Added Sugar)
Ingredients
- 2 large bananas (roughly 1 cup mashed)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a standard muffin tin with 6 baking cups. (In my experience, these silicone cups work best.) In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they resemble a relatively smooth puree. Stir in the egg, then add the coconut flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix well, until a thick and uniform batter is created.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking cups, then bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until the centers are firm. Allow to cool completely before serving. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to two months.
Notes
Nutrition
Notes:
- You may be able to use a flax egg instead of a whole egg, but I haven’t tried it myself yet. (Our boy hasn’t been introduced to nuts or seeds yet, so we’ll get to that someday!) Flax eggs do not rise like chicken eggs, so the resulting muffins will be even more dense and moist than the recipe is already.
- To my knowledge, coconut flour has no substitute. Experiment at your own risk!
Enjoy!
—
Reader Feedback: Do you have any healthy baby recipes to share? Feel free to link below!
Forget the baby, I want these! They look great!
Well, I think these muffins look really tasty despite what you said to the contrary. They look just as good as the sugar laden ones to me.
And I love how you used a ripe banana to sweeten them……that’s fabulous. Perfect for the kids, perfect for any adult avoiding sugar and other junk.
Now that fall in here, I’m craving fall comfort foods….like casseroles and muffins. I’ve been thinking muffins nonstop but don’t want to eat the “Traditional” ones loaded in excess junk. Who needs that? Not me, not the kids, and definitely…NOT the husband!
If I replace the egg with unsweetened applesauce or flaxseed and water do you think it will be the same?
How about the silicon muffin pans? Have you tried those? I’ve been thinking about purchasing as I have noticed that when baking grain free, it does stick terribly to regular liners.
would love to know how to add some zucchini to thes
they look wonderful!!
I don’t have any kids so I think I’ll eat the whole batch myself 😛
I agree with Danielle – I would happily munch on these! When my nephews were small mash banana and avocado was a fav or mine and theirs!
Hey, I made these for my 9 month old and he at an entire one. Thanks so much for sharing, any other baby friendly recipes would be great. I used silicone muffin tins and they did not stick.
Thanks for the great recipe! I will be making these for my 10 month old.
Who knew something so simple would taste so good! Thanks!
Do you think adding sweet potato or pumpkin in place of one banana would work?
Yes, they will just add a little less sweetness than a banana would.
Looks delish!
Will definetely give it a try soon and let you know!
Megan–thank you for the baby recipes!! Keep them coming 🙂
My baby (8 months) just devoured one! They taste great and are not dense at all. Great for on the go. Any recommendations for websites with similar style recipes (e.g. gluten free, protein rich, nutrient rich whole foods finger foods)
I have tried so many different banana muffin recipes and none have received the big thumbs up from both my daughter and husband but these….they received two thumbs up. I’ve been asked time and time again to make them but lost the recipe and couldn’t remember where I got it from. All I remembered was that they only had 4-5 ingredients. I found the recipe on my phone this morning and my daughter is ecstatic lol. Thank you so much x
Great!!! My 9 month old son loves them and they smell so delicious
My 12 month old daughter loves these! I give them to her for breakfast a lot. Love how super fast & east they are to make.
I done this, now i wait the muffins to bake ???
hi! I just had to share with everyone that I have been mixing this recipe in my ninja blender and I think it’s making the batter fluffier. They haven’t stuck to parchment paper liners once!!! Fyi 🙂
LOVE this recipe! I used these to make a healthy version of cupcakes for my son’s first birthday party. Everyone loved them!
I was wondering if you had tried these with other fruits or mixing half banana with half fruit puree. These look great and I look forward to trying them with my daughter.
I’m making our second batch today. Last week it was Banana and sweet potato. Today I used apple, half banana and steamed white carrot. I figured as long as I keep the puree to a cup, it should work. They were baked in a silicone mini Madeline pan. My 10.5 month old loves them. She holds one “puck” in each hand and chows down. Thank you for this recipe.
Another great muffin recipe! Easy to make with real ingredients makes them ideal. Perfect size for snacking. Mom and toddler approved!
Has anyone tried to do a frosting with these? I don’t really cook very much but I guess you would just add it once the muffins have cooled ? Maybe Greek yoghurt and cinnamon or just simply cream cheese?
I just made these and they are so yummy. Looking forward to seeing if my daughter likes these… Or I’ll just eat them all!
Can I add blueberries to these with the same amounts of ingredients?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try them.
These are excellent. My son cannot eat eggs so I used an egg substitute (2 tbsp water, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp baking powder). Thank you so much!
I was wanting to make this or the applesauce cupcake recipe for my child’s first birthday in cake form. I was thinking of using the applesauce cupcake recipe but substituting the maple syrup with bananas to sweeten it. I don’t want to use any non-fruit sweetener. Would that work? How much banana would you use? Or could I just substitute the applesauce & maple syrup for bananas in the applesauce cupcakes? I’m wanting to make a 10 inch round cake. Thanks.
I have been looking for something just like this for a while and every recipe I have tried is really bad. These came out really good! One thing to note is that I think I will play with the flour/banana ratio next time depending on the banana size because these ended a little wet.
Made these for my 9mo old son, he loved them. Quick and easy, loved the basic ingredients. I didn’t have coconut flour, so I sub’d about 3/4 cup of rye flour. Did 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1/4tsp ground ginger, a bit of nutmeg and added some molasses. Thank you so much for your recipe ♥️
These were delicious! My 3 year old loved it and no sugar or oil which is great, even for me. Great with a cup of coffee.
I tried these today and used a mix of chickpea and rice flour as I did not have coconut flour. I also substituted the egg with flax meal. They were great, soft and moist! My 14 month old ate a whole one in 2 mins!!! Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! WOW, I add 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbps chocolate chips, 1 tsp of maple syrup. These are for me not baby 🙂
Hi, Ive just tried the muffins(still in the oven) but I had some problem with measurements. In Europe we use weight of products so one cup of coconut flour is a little bit ambiguous. How much is one in your baking? Thanks
Hope they turned out great! One cup of coconut flour is the equivalent to 128 grams.
I subbed with graham flour and they are delicious and quite fluffy. Nice recipe. Baby loves these.
I have Have made these about six times since my 9 month baby is so interested in feeding herself. Lately I’ve been doing half puréed zucchini and banana and stir in shredded carrots. These are adult friendly my mom said they are the most delicious zucchini muffins she’s had. I K making a double batch now as I type!
Just made these but used almond flour instead of coconut flour and my son loved them!
Kara did you use the same amount of almond flour?
My granddaughter celebrates her first birthday. Imade these today and had fantastic results. Healthy and fun alternative.
*Love this* My son just turned 1 and I’ve been looking for a “healthy snack”…I’ve found it!! ( For the three of us!!) I love how its simple and easy to make. Thank you!
These are yum and were a huge hit with the whole family especially my 1yo. Simple and quick to make. I used a mini muffin tin lightly greased with coconut oil and baked for 16 minutes came out perfect 🙂