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Mini Zucchini Banana Muffins (No Added Sugar!)

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe for a long time! Harley’s been eating these Zucchini Banana Mini Muffins up and the best part? They have no added sugar! I always have a batch of these ready in the freezer for a quick snack or to add to one of her meals. They take minutes to thaw out in a toaster oven and she loves them! They are super moist, taste absolutely delicious and perfect for kids and adults.

Did you know toddlers under the age of two are supposed to avoid ALL added refined sugar? The only “sugar” in their diets should come from the sugar found in whole foods (like the sugar in a whole banana for instance). 

Yet, the processed food industry doesn’t care – they still add refined sugar to virtually everything. Almost all of the store-bought toddler snacks out there have added refined sugar, natural flavors and other processed ingredients I don’t want my daughter eating on a regular basis… even organic ones! 

I try to give Harley vegetables with every meal, and thankfully she loves them. If your kids aren’t veggie lovers yet, the zucchini in these muffins is a great way to sneak in some veggies, you don’t even know they are there. Just make sure to buy organic zucchini to avoid those that are GMO. 

When I bake for Harley, I often use organic oat flour – it is unrefined and a good source of fiber and nutrients. Oat flour is made from just 100% whole oats. In fact, if you can’t find oat flour at the store you can make your own by placing organic steel cut or rolled oats in a food processor or spice grinder and pulsing until it has become a “flour-like” consistency. 

To make these Zucchini Banana Muffins, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Then measure out one and half cups of oat flour into a medium-size glass bowl. Whisk in a teaspoon each of cinnamon and baking soda, a quarter teaspoon of baking powder, and half a teaspoon of sea salt. Mix until well combined…

In a larger separate bowl you’ll add all the wet ingredients… two eggs, half a cup of applesauce, a mashed banana, a cup of grated zucchini, and a third cup of organic butter or coconut oil…

I haven’t tried it, but you can use “flax eggs” to make these muffins vegan. For each egg (remember there are two in this recipe) simply mix together one tablespoon organic ground flaxseed with three tablespoons water (Let it sit for 15 minutes to thicken before using.)

Whisk the wet ingredients just until combined…

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Resist the urge to overmix the batter… 

Using a small ice-cream scoop makes this next step super easy. Line a mini muffin pan with non-bleached paper liners or grease your muffin pan with coconut oil. Fill each cup only three-quarters the way full so they don’t overflow… 

Place them in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until done.

You could probably make these in a regular-size muffin pan too. For that, the baking time will be about double (I would say 20-22 minutes). 

Let cool slightly before eating to ensure the muffins stay together. I know it’s hard to wait… but it’s worth it! 

Store extra muffins in the freezer. You can reheat them in a toaster oven or oven… or let them thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter the day you want to eat them.

Food Babe's Mini Zucchini Banana Muffins
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 36 Muffins
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups oat flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup apple sauce
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 cup grated zucchini
  • ⅓ cup butter or coconut oil, melted
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
  4. Line a mini muffin pan with liners or grease with coconut oil. Fill until ¾ way full. Place in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.
  5. Store extra muffins in the freezer - reheat in a toaster oven or oven or thaw overnight in the fridge or on counter the day you want to eat them. Enjoy!
Notes
**Please use all organic ingredients if possible**

I hope your family loves these muffins as much as we do. If you know anyone looking for healthy snacks for their kids, please share this recipe with them!

Xo,

Vani

P.S. I’m working on a BIG baby food and toddler food investigation that will include a lot more on what I’ve been feeding Harley + a big list of store-bought snacks to try! Stay tuned and make sure you are subscribed here to get this new investigation sent to your email. 

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49 responses to “Mini Zucchini Banana Muffins (No Added Sugar!)

    1. The “Gerber Baby” has got nothing on this little one. Must be what she’s eating.
      Thanks for the great report and recipe!

    2. These are amazing! I doubled the recipe and made them vegan (flax eggs) because I’m allergic to egg whites…saving to my favs.

  1. What a darling little girl! Thank you for this delicious and healthy recipe! All the best to you with much gratitude for all you do.

  2. I am so glad I can find this recipe with oat flour. My son is allergy to applesauce, can I replace to pear sauce, if yes then still can do with 1/2 of pear sauce as applesauce as you mentioned?

  3. Thank you for sharing! The investigation into baby food scares me! We stay away from it anyway (made kale chips for my almost 3 year old last night and he loved them) but still the thought of the ingredients listed in some of that stuff…sad. 🙁

  4. This recipe looks so good & easy, as well as healthy. I have added to my cookbook, using flax seed eggs instead of eggs to definitely give a try soon. Thanks for posting.

  5. The best suggestions, as always! BTW she is simply beautiful like you and lucky to have you as a mom. I am sure your parents are quite crazy about her…..

  6. Sounds delicious! Would it be possible to add Nutritional Information for your recipes?

  7. Can’t wait to try these out on my 5year old grand daughter! We need healthy treats for our little ones! Thanks and keep us posted on everything!! Your little pumpkin is adorable like her mommy!

  8. Can almond or coconut flour be substituted for the oat since I have it on hand? If so, same portion? Thank you!

  9. Vani, your daughter is absolutely beautiful,precious sweetie,so cute. SO glad you are checking into baby food. My glucose drops if I don’t eat well,while in Walmart one day I passed an isle of baby Gerber snacks .so I grabbed a box of cookies thinking I can’t go wrong with eating Gerbers baby items, but when I got home and read the awfull junk I dumped the box of cookies in the trash. Baby food with 2″ of bad stuff . What a shame and I wonder if most mothers and people read ingredients .

    Thank you for all you do and for the wonderful caring person you are.

    1. Why didn’t you read the ingredients before buying it? Even foods such as apple sauce and other fruit sauces and the fruit and veggie pouches of baby food you have to watch for. Some have added sugar and/or fruit juice concentrates, added acids or contain a lot of other things. I hope this didn’t sound rude it’s just that you have to watch pretty much anything.

      I don’t think most do read ingredients unless they have food allergies or sensitivities OR avoid certain foods such as soy, wheat, or milk or other foods/ingredients due to a dietary choice.

  10. It would be nice to get a reply to this. Have a family member severely allergic to egg, milk (dairy), peanuts, coconuts, soy, wheat, along with other allergies.

    Would like to know what to replace the oil and butter with since we wouldn’t use any oil or butter. Could a different type of flour work instead of oat flour?

    1. I had a similar recipe that used sunflower butter, it’s a seed so people who have nut allergies usually do okay with sunflower. I’m sure you could also probably just increase the amount of Apple/ banana ratito it may just not have the same texture as with the oil.

    2. I’m sure you can substitute some of the ingredients – but I haven’t tried every combination! Flax eggs work well and so does coconut oil. Good luck!

  11. Almond and coconut flours are fatty. The whole recipe would need to be re-figured to substitute them for oat flour. Organic Heirloom wheat (einkorn, Kamut®, khorasan, emmer) can be used. Do not use generic organic wheat as it is just modern hybrid wheat grown organically.

  12. Guess I’m used to a little bit of sugar. Made them last night, they are okay, even though I used 100% organic ingredients, it’s tasteless. Guessing farm fresh (recently picked) would be better in Northern VA.. Still, its a good recipe will modify next time by adding dates.

  13. I really love your recipes and wanted this one to work….but they simply dont taste good. I followed the directions to a tee. I think the one thing they actually need is sweetness – they dont taste like anything. By adding honey or sugar (I know!) these would be wonderful.

  14. Sounds so good to me! It takes time to change your palate when you have been raised with sugar in everything. Sugar is the main ingredient in making many diseases
    flourish at a faster rate.

    Thank you Vani for these recipes! Your little girl is a living doll!

  15. I have made something similar since my 4 year old was 1, but never thought to use oat flour!! Thanks for the recipe! With a 4 yo, 2 yo, and 3 month old we are always looking for easy snack ideas!

  16. Have you tried any other flours? Those with gluten intolerance can have reactions to oats (I know I do)

  17. I’m a 74 year old senior & have finally gotten around to making these muffins. They are delicious & very moist. I did make some changes however: substituted almond flour for oat flour (been on low carb for months now & have lost over 40#) & I used my regular-size muffin pan instead of the mini one. I baked the muffins for 21 minutes; they could have gone another minute or so. Yield is 12-14 muffins, depending on how much the cups are filled. Between my hubby & I, there will definitely NOT be any leftover muffins from lunch to freeze for another time!!

  18. My three year old daughter picked these when she saw the photo. She’d been sick and had not eaten anything all day (4:00pm!). She helped me make them and really enjoyed eating them! So happy to see her eat and thrilled her first post-sick meal was a healthy one. I’m going to print out the recipe for my binder! 🙂

  19. Thanks Vani for this recipe. I made these muffins today! I needed another healthy snack for my one year old and 14 year old son. My daughter has not tried them yet but my teenage son did and he wasn’t thrilled, haha. They were not sweet enough for him, I had to agree after I tasted them. Maybe next time I’ll add dates or even walnuts for more flavor. I’ll be trying your carrot muffins tomorrow, I’m sure they will be sweeter.

  20. Can we get the nutritional information for this recipe? I made them tonight and they are amazing!!

  21. I made these muffins, they came out delicious :-). I used sprouted Spelt flour instead of oat flour, I added 1 TB manuka honey & 1/2 cup walnuts. They were so easy to make, I highly recommend them.
    I made them with zucchini first, they were so moist & delicious. When I made them again I substituted carrots instead of zucchini (my husband loves carrot muffins), they were equally delicious.
    I used regular muffin pan instead of mini one, I baked for 18-19 minutes.

  22. Hey , Vani.
    Love you and your work! I was wondering about baby pouches. What about organic pouches that only have organic veggies and/or fruit. no lemon juice or acid preservatives. are those okay?

  23. Mine came out super super mushy. I continued to let them bake, testing every 5 minutes or so, but they seem totally hopeless. Any suggestion to revive them?

  24. Thanks for sharing. I love and already make a couple of muffin type recipes with grated zucchini, grated carrot. I love using vegetables in many of my dishes. Healthy and taste good!!! I also use vegetables in a high percent of my regular meals.

  25. I’ve tried making these twice and both times they deflated and were really wet. I measured everything precisely. Bought new baking soda, ,new baking powder. Any tips?

    1. I let mine cook for 20 minutes and let them cool completely in the muffin pan. After that, the muffins aren’t wet for me.

  26. Hi there, currently trying to make these muffins and they smell great! However, the middles do not seem to be cooking fully. I’ve had them in the oven for 12 min + 5 min + 5 min + 2 min. And still when I removed one and split it in half it still seems a bit under cooked in the middle.

    I have had this problem before with minimuffin recipes. I’m just wondering if you have any insights as to what I’m doing wrong for my muffins to take so much longer to cook/middles never cook. 10-12 min is vastly different in time from 24+ minutes.

    Thank you!

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