Baby-Led Weaning Muffins
If you're a parent looking for the perfect baby-led weaning recipe that is nutritious, easy to make, and actually delicious — you just found it. These plant-based baby-led weaning muffins are the ultimate first finger food for babies from around 6 months old, and they're so good that the rest of the family will be reaching for them too. Soft enough for tiny hands and developing gums, perfectly sized for little fingers, and packed with the kind of nutrition that makes a parent feel genuinely good about what they're putting in front of their child. Oh — and they taste like pumpkin spice. Because why should baby food be boring?
Let's talk about what's actually inside these little muffins — because the nutrition is seriously impressive. A single mini muffin contains 56 calories, 2.8 grams of protein, 5.2 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.1 grams of healthy fats including 0.1 grams of omega-3 and 0.6 grams of omega-6 fatty acids — both essential for your baby's brain development and growth. It also contains 1.9 grams of fiber which supports healthy digestion, helps regulate blood sugar, and aids with heart health from the very beginning. And the vitamins and minerals packed into every single mini muffin are genuinely remarkable — 0.6mg of B12 for brain and nervous system development, 30mg of folate, 24.3mg of vitamin K for healthy bone development, 44.4mg of calcium, 0.8mg of iron to support healthy blood and energy levels, and 26.7mg of magnesium. They're also a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, copper, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. In a mini muffin. Let that sink in.
This recipe uses 6 out of our 10 Must-Have Healthy Pantry Staples for Easy Plant-Based Cooking — which means if you've already stocked your pantry with our recommendations, you're more than halfway there before you even start. Several of the nutritional booster ingredients are optional, but we highly recommend including them because they add so much nutritional value without changing the flavor or texture in any meaningful way. And for everything in this recipe there are easy substitutes available, making it one of the most versatile baby-led weaning muffin recipes you'll find. Whether you have every ingredient on hand or need to make a few swaps, these muffins are going to turn out wonderfully every single time.
Our daughter absolutely loves these muffins — they were one of her first foods and she has never once turned them down, which as any parent knows is basically the highest praise a recipe can receive. Our dog is also a huge fan, although she is still working on the whole eating gracefully thing. We make big batches of these regularly and pop them straight in the freezer — they freeze beautifully and are the ultimate grab and go snack for busy parents. Simply defrost in the microwave on the defrost setting for 30 seconds to a minute and they're good to go. Toss a few in a bag on the way out the door and you've got a healthy, nutritious snack for your little one no matter where the day takes you.
Nutritious. Delicious. Freezer friendly. Baby approved. These are the plant-based baby-led weaning muffins every parent needs in their recipe rotation.
Baby-Led Weaning Muffins
These plant-based baby-led weaning muffins are packed with nutrition, perfect for babies from 6 months and up, and taste like pumpkin spice. Freezer friendly and family approved.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Servings
- 24
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Other Ingredients
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
Add to a blender or food processor 2/3 cup Oats, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2+ tsp Pumpkin Pie Spices or Cinnamon and your optional dry ingredients 2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast, 1 tbsp Hemp Hearts, 1 tbsp Chia Seeds and 1/2 tbsp Ground Flaxseed.
We recommend using optional these dry ingredients for added nutrition, but if you don't have them they're fine to omit and it won't impact the flavor of the recipe.
Blend your dry ingredients until the oats have been blended into a fine flour like powder.
Drain and rinse 15 oz Canned White Beans or Chickpeas (see notes for all the different white bean options), then add them to the blender/food processor along with 1/2 cup Plant Milk (see notes for different options), 1/2 cup Nut Butter, 1 cup Spinach or Kale and 2 Medjool Dates or banana if you're using that instead.
NOTE: If you aren't using a high speed blender like a Vitamix, we recommend soaking your medjool dates in hot water for about 5 minutes first. It makes them much easier to blend.
Blend your combined mixture on medium high until fully blended. It should be a very thick, smooth consistency.
Grease a mini-muffin tray, if you're using a silicon one you can skip that (I prefer silicon). Add a large spoonful of batter until you fill up 24 mini-muffin divots. Place in your pre-heated oven and let bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and fully cooked through.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 56 kcal
- Protein
- 2.8 g
- Carbs
- 5.2 g
- Fat
- 2.1 g
- Fiber
- 1.9 g
- Sugar
- 1.5 g
- Sodium
- 31.7 mg
- Vit. B12
- 0.6 mcg
Notes & Tips
- While many of the dry ingredients are optional, but we really recommend stocking all of these in your pantry and using them in this recipe because they're super healthy not only for you, but your child.
- You can pretty much use any white bean in this recipe including the following:
- Navy beans (pea beans)
- Great northern beans
- Cannellini beans (white kidney beans)
- Baby lima beans (butterbeans)
- We like using white beans over chickpeas in this recipe because they're richer in vitamins and minerals, containing about a quarter more iron, and about a third more calcium, phosphorus and about three times more potassium while being higher in protein and lower in fat.
- You can pretty much use any nut or seed butter in this recipe, we like to switch it up between batches so we're exposing our daughter to a variety of nut & seed allergens.
- We like using medjool dates in this recipe because they're higher in fiber, copper, iron, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin B5 than bananas. You can totally substitute 1 medium banana for every 2 dates in the recipe, you'll just miss out on some of the added vitamins and minerals that come from dates.
- If not using a high speed blender like a Vitamix, soak your dates in hot water for about 5 minutes and they'll blend much easier.
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