If you’re looking for healthy muffins for babies and kids, make these egg-free beetroot baby muffins today! Made entirely with healthy ingredients, like beans, peanut butter, and no added sugar, these blender muffins can be enjoyed as breakfast, snack, or added to lunchboxes! And yes! They are freezer-friendly.
Beets are one of those vegetables that I learned to appreciate in my late 20s. Luckily, my toddler has learned to enjoy them in the very short amount of time he’s been alive, while my 40-year-old husband continues to be on team “they taste like dirt.”
No matter where you are in your learning to appreciate beets journey, these beetroot baby muffins are sure to be a hit! When I offered one to my hubby, I conveniently left out the part that there were beets in there. And guess what?! The man actually really enjoyed it! When I told him, he said, “ah now I can taste it. But hey! I will happily eat these.” Enough said.
And my toddler ate 3 in one sitting (all the while I’m doing my happy dance).
Ingredients
The inspiration for these muffins came from one of our favorite dips, which contains beets, peanut butter, and chickpeas. I simply added some banana for extra sweetness and oats for texture, flavor, and extra fiber!
If you’ve never baked with beets before, I hope this recipe inspires you to do so! The beets add both sweetness and moisture, and of course nutrition!
Substitutions
- No chickpeas? can use other white beans, like cannellini
- No peanut butter? Can use other nut or seed butter
How to Cook Beetroot
- Steamed – insert a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with water to just below the steamer basket. Add the beets to the pot and cover with a lid. Bring water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes depending on the size. Remove from the pot. Allow them to cool. Peel the skin.
- Roasted – can find instructions in this post for turkey beet meatballs
- Using the Instant pot or pressure cooker
- OR use Love Beets precooked beets! They certainly have become a pantry staple as it’s just so convenient to have on hand.
Storage Suggestions
- On the counter: in an airtight container for up to 1-2 days
- In the refrigerator: Store in an airtight container up 3-4 days
- In the freezer – I like to use the flash freeze method and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave out on the counter for 1-2 hours or thaw in the fridge overnight. There’s no need to reheat
Other healthy muffins for babies and kids
- Pumpkin Bean Muffins
- Spinach Sweet Potato Blender Muffins
- Blueberry Blender Muffins
- Vegan Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Zucchini Carrot Avocado Muffins
- Southwestern Oat Muffins
Looking for more baby-friendly recipes that the entire family can enjoy? My cookbooks are packed with quick and easy, veggie-forward, freezer-friendly recipes!
Healthy Beetroot Muffins for Babies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (50g) rolled oats
- 3 small or 1 to 1 1/2 medium (170g) beetroot
- 3/4 cup (120g) no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup (125g) smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 medium (170g) ripe banana
- 1 teaspoons baking powder, aluminum-free
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add oats into the food processor/blender and pulse until flour-like consistency.
- Place the rest of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Spoon batter evenly into a muffin pan, about 1/2 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. See storage tips in the notes section below
Notes
- Steamed - insert a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with water to just below the steamer basket. Add the beets to the pot and cover with a lid. Bring water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes depending on the size. Remove from the pot. Allow them to cool. Peel the skin.
- Roasted or in the Instant pot - can find instructions in this post for turkey beet meatballs
- or use Love Beets precooked beets! They certainly have become a pantry staple as it's just so convenient to have on hand.
- On the counter: in an airtight container for up to 1-2 days
- In the refrigerator: Store in an airtight container up 3-4 days
- In the freezer – I like to use the flash freeze method and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave out on the counter for 1-2 hours or thaw in the fridge overnight. There’s no need to reheat. If you choose to do so, reheat for no more than 30 seconds in the microwave or toaster oven.
This looks great! Was looking for something to do with the rest of my beets! Would it be okay to sub almond butter for peanut butter?
Absolutely! Hope you and your family enjoy this recipe 😉
I don’t have any fresh beets but I do have canned. Any idea how much I should use or if it will work?
I haven’t tried but two concerns: the other ingredients, excess liquid. What other ingredients are in the can? If it’s just beets, think it will work. Perhaps you can try to rinse and drain really well. Then blot out the moisture as much as possible. I would add less than suggested..just afraid the muffins will turn out too wet…All this to say, I really don’t know and I’d be hesitant to give it a try during this time when every ingredient is so precious. I would actually try it with other ingredients like applesauce, pumpkin/sweet potato puree.
Hi! I have the Trader Joe’s Frozen beet chunks. Could I substitute these for fresh? If so, how many would you suggest using? And do I cook them beforehand? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi! I want to say it will work but can’t say for certain as I haven’t tried it myself. I’m assuming they’re already pre-cooked in which case no need to cook. Since frozen veggies tend to release out of moisture upon thawing, I would maybe thaw for 5 minutes or so before adding to the blender. Do you have a food scale? I’ve provided the weight in grams. Let me know if you give it a go and how the muffins turn out! I’m curious to know too!
Hi again! Thank you for the tips. I just made the muffins using the frozen beets and they turned out great! My son loved them! I didn’t have a food scale, so I just guessed on the amount of chunks to add. Thank you for another great recipe. My son also loves your lentil carrot bars and sweet potato muffins!
Yay!! Sooo glad to hear they turned out well!! Thanks for letting me know and for trying out my recipes 😉
Hi! My son has a chickpea allergy, what do you recommend as a substitute? Or can I leave out the beans?
Is he ok with other white beans like cannellini or Great northern?
These are amazing!! My toddler just loves them!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Woohoo!!! I’m so glad!!
Hi 🙂 what substitutes are there for the peanut butter?
Can we leave it out entirely?
*peanut allergy
Thank you !
Def need some sort of nut butter. Can you do tree nuts? If so try almond butter. If not, sunflower butter will work here as well!
Should we boil the chikpeas? I have dry chikpeas so asking.
Yes if you’re working with dried beans then def need to cook first
Hello, I tried the recipe today and had to add liquid (milk) as my blender was stuck… Also, took me for some reason more time in the oven than stated in the recipe…. However, the taste is very good.
Hi! I’m thinking the extra liquid may have affected the cooking time..every oven is slightly different too so always good to do a toothpick test ;). So glad you liked the taste!
This recipe was very easy and my kids (8 mo old and 3 yr old) loved it! Thank you!
Yay! So glad these muffins were a hit! Thanks for sharing 😉
Any suggestions for banana substitutions? I have applesauce on the shelf so I was thinking that plus a little sweetener.
That should work or even canned pumpkin or mashed sweet potatoes. Let me know how they turn out!!
I used 150g applesauce and about 2T regular sugar instead and baked for 25 minutes. They were a little underdone in the middle and slightly less sweet than I like but overall taste is good and I think my 3yo is a fan- so I’ll keep playing with it (or save a banana when we buy them next time)
Revising my previous statement – these were a great texture and the right amount of sweetness once they chilled overnight!
Hi Min. I’m excited to try this recipe and use up some beets we have at home. We actually have the Love Beets. Would each little ball be considered 1 “medium beetroot” you used in your recipe? I’ve seen larger beetroots than these Love Beets so I wasn’t sure. Thank you.
Hi! I would weight them if you have a scale. If not, 3-4 of the not so large ones. It doesn’t have to be super exact though so don’t worry too much ;). Hope you guys enjoy!
Excellent muffins! I had a beet that needed to be used up (which weighed in at exactly 170g!) so these were perfect for that. The bananas that I had were just barely starting to get brown spots so I added 1 teaspoon of honey to compensate. My 2 yo loved them! Thank you so much!
Hi! Wow that’s crazy that you had just the right amount of beets left! So glad to hear that your toddler enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 😉
Hi Min, do you think these would work with tahini instead of peanut butter? Or would that be too savory? Daycare is nut free so trying to sub with what I have on hand 🙂
I haven’t tried but I believe it will work! You can also try sunflower seed butter. Let me know how they turn out ;).
I ended up using peanut butter. My 14 month old loves them! I did sub more applesauce instead of banana and I think it made the whole mixture pretty wet – it took a while to bake all the way through as mini-muffins, and they deflated a bit once they came out of the oven (which I think is pretty normal for blender muffins, right?). I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture, and really think they’re good without any added sweetener. They freeze and defrost really well. Thanks for another winner!
My 7 m.o. & 2 y.o. loved it! They kept eating until I had to stop feeding. But I don’t like it hahaha. So glad I tried this recipe. My blender couldn’t blend it easily so I had to blend a quarter then add in more till its fully blended. Also, I think I took them out too early because the muffins got stuck to the base of my muffin tray – so I only managed to take out 2/3rd of the muffin. Tq for sharing this recipe!
Oh my goodness! I had run back to the blog to say thank you!! I’m in the very beginning of my love the beets journey, and I’ve tried beet hummus and beet pancakes so far. My 4yr old would eat the hummus, but my 14mos old was stubborn! I was determined to try all your beet recipes until he gets to enjoy that good nutritional powerhouse! And these muffins were the hit! Even after eating three Asian turkey meatballs for lunch, he ate 2 whole beet muffins too! I’ve got so many thanks to deliver to you. 🙂 Thank you for sharing all these wonderful recipes!!! Happy Beets!
Aww I’m so so glad to hear this!! Thanks so much for sharing!! I sense your excitement and it makes me so so happy as well 😉