These healthy avocado muffins are perfect for baby or kid’s breakfast, lunchbox, or snack. Made with healthy fats, vegetables, and no added sugar, they will keep your child (and you!) happy and nourished.
I’m constantly racking my brain over unique flavors and food combinations because variety is always the name of the game when it comes to feeding our babies and kids. After many.many batches (baking is such a science, which I have a love and hate relationship with), I’m SO excited to share these veggie avocado muffins with you!
Slightly sweet with a subtle hint of avocado, these moist zucchini carrot muffins are perfect for babies 6 months and up.
Avocado for babies
Avocado is such an amazing first food for babies. And if you are unsure if your baby is ready to start solids, grab this FREE handout!
It has the perfect texture for babies and is such a wonderful source of healthy fats, critical for supporting their rapidly developing brains. It also contains fiber, zinc, and many B vitamins, including niacin, thiamin, and folate.
I encourage you to always have ripe avocados on hand as they’re so convenient and versatile. I like to buy some ripe, which I keep in the fridge, and some nearly ripe, kept outside.
Once it’s cut open and exposed to air, the green flesh will turn brown. It’s totally fine to eat, although can taste bitter due to a chemical reaction not spoilage. It also may be visually unappealing to you, in which case try squeezing some lime or lemon juice on top.
Ingredients
Oats – I LOVE baking with oats. So versatile, inexpensive, and nutritious! You’ll find a breakdown of all the different varieties of oats in this 3 ingredient banana cookies recipe post!
Avocado – Nutritious and is also a great substitute for oil and helps keep the muffins moist. Choose one that is ripe but not overly ripe. Otherwise you’ll end up with bitter muffins. not to mention the color won’t be very pleasing either. Here’s a really helpful guide.
Zucchini and carrots – These two vegetables that lend themselves beautifully into baked goods (try these zucchini bread breakfast cookies or peanut butter vegetable waffles!). If you wish to invite more variety, feel free to try adding different veggies.
Banana – You can control the level of sweetness by its ripeness. Read the “tips” section below for more details
Eggs – use room temperature eggs for best results. Take out of the fridge at least 20 minutes prior to baking. I haven’t tried it with flax/chia eggs but let me know how they turn out if you try it!
Greek yogurt – You may have noticed that a lot of my baked goods contain this amazing ingredient! Not only does it boost nutrition, it adds flavor, creaminess, and moisture. Be sure to use whole fat and plain.
Baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla extract
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add oats first and then the rest of the ingredients (minus zucchini and carrots) into a high-speed blender/food processor and blend until smooth.
- Stir in zucchini and carrots.
3. Transfer to a greased/lined or better yet, silicone muffin pan.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Super important: leave the muffins in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
If you prefer to watch instead!
Tips for making the best avocado muffins (a MUST read!)
- All of my muffins for babies are not very sweet and that’s intentional. You’ll notice that banana is the only sweetener in this recipe. You can control the level of sweetness by its ripeness. I’ve found that the perfect stage of ripeness for baking is when the banana looks like the above. Save the really ripe ones for this banana date bread.
- Be sure to squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can from the zucchini and carrots by using a dish towel or cheesecloth. It’s an extra step but you will be glad you did when you dig into a perfectly moist not mushy muffin.
- Make sure to use fresh baking powder and soda. Here’s how you can check to make sure they are still good to use.
- It’s best to work with room temperature eggs so take them out at least 20 minutes prior to baking.
- If you do not have a powerful, high-speed blender, like Vitamix, blend the oats first before adding the rest of the ingredients in. This is so you don’t over blend, which will result in a dense texture.
- Blend until combined. You want a smooth batter, but again don’t over blend (for a minute or two). Use a spoon to make sure all areas are mixed in.
- Do not take the muffins out of the pan immediately after pulling them out of the oven! Leave in the pan for at least 10 minutes to help firm up. Then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Storage suggestions
You can store at room temperature if planning to enjoy in 1-2 days. Wrap a paper towel around them and place in an airtight container.
Refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can also freeze using the flash freeze method. Will keep for up to 3 months.
Simply thaw in the fridge overnight or add straight to lunchboxes to keep foods colder (will thaw by lunch time but be sure to test it out). Can reheat in the microwave or toaster oven BRIEFLY, otherwise will get too soft.
Other Vegetable Muffins for Babies
- Vegan vegetable quinoa muffins
- Spinach sweet potato muffins
- Kid-friendly pumpkin bean muffins
- Healthy beetroot muffins
- Carrot cake blender muffins
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Zucchini Carrot Avocado Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats (200g)
- 1 ripe medium banana (145g weighed with peel on)
- 1/2 cup whole fat plain Greek yogurt (110g)
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 2 room temperature eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, aluminum-free
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup shredded zucchini (60g weighed before squeezing)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots (50g weighed before squeezing)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add oats first and then the rest of the ingredients (minus zucchini and carrots) into a high-speed blender/food processor and blend until smooth. Be careful not to overblend. 1-2 minutes until smooth. Use a spoon to make sure all areas are mixed in.
- Squeeze dry the zucchini and carrots. Stir into the batter.
- Transfer to a greased/lined or better yet, silicone muffin pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Super important: leave the muffins in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
- All of my muffins for babies are not very sweet and that’s intentional. You can control the level of sweetness by its ripeness.
- Be sure to squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can from the zucchini and carrots by using a dish towel or cheesecloth so you’ll end up with perfectly moist not mushy muffin.
- Make sure to use fresh baking powder and soda. Here’s how you can check to make sure they are still good to use.
- It’s best to work with room temperature eggs so take them out at least 20 minutes prior to baking.
- If you do not have a powerful, high-speed blender, like Vitamix, blend the oats first before adding the rest of the ingredients in. This is so you don’t over blend, which will result in a dense texture.
- Blend until combined. You want a smooth batter, but again don’t over blend (for a minute or two). Use a spoon to make sure all areas are mixed in.
- Store at room temperature if planning to enjoy in 1-2 days. Wrap a paper towel around them and place in an airtight container.
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can also freeze using the flash freeze method. Will keep for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Do you want to minimize picky eating and set a solid foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits?
Check out this 3 month mastering self-feeding program! It’s the closest thing to me being in your kitchen
What’s a sub for the Greek yogurt?
Hi! Any non-dairy alternative would work – make sure it’s Greek style (thicker in consistency) and unsweetened
Thanks for this recipe! I love these muffins. I’m always looking for barely sweet muffins and this hit the spot. They come out denser, I’m guessing because of the oat flour and/or use of the food processor, but this makes them less crumbly so I like that. To make them more appealing to my kids I sprinkled some brown sugar on before baking. They don’t love them but there are other ways to doll them up, like natural peanut/almond butter or cream cheese.
Yes!! My baked goods are intentionally not very sweet for that very reason! Can be enjoyed with both savory and sweet toppings ;). So glad you love these muffins!
Hi Min, I don’t have an oven but I have an instant pot. Would it work? I seen recipe of people making muffin using instant pot… but I’m not sure.
I haven’t tried so not sure..