Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins for To(toddler friendly!)
These healthy zucchini carrot muffins are the toddler snack we recommend to parents more than almost anything else. Each mini muffin has just ½ teaspoon of added sugar - the zucchini and carrot disappear right into the batter. We've packed in whole wheat flour, hemp hearts, and ground flaxseed for fibre, healthy fats, and omega-3s that growing toddlers actually need. Nut-free, freezer-friendly, and ready in 30 minutes. As Registered Dietitians and parents ourselves, this is the muffin we keep stocked in our own freezers.
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"These muffins were a hit for the whole family, plus the perfect recipe to bake with my 2 year old! Thank you for another tasty muffin recipe that packs a nutritious punch!" - Marie-Renee
Introducing yet another muffin recipe, Carrot Zucchini Muffins - the ultimate kid-friendly muffin that packs a nutritious punch! These muffins offer gentle vegetable exposure and are scrumptious all at once. You can likely make these year round but with the fall season approaching, we think it's actually perfect for right now. This recipe is sure to be a hit with both kids and parents alike.
If you're like us, you probably want a few batches of muffins in your freezer for snack-o-clock! We always have a batch of these and our baby friendly coconut banana muffins and double chocolate zucchini muffins! Muffins for all!
What makes this a dietitian-approved toddler muffin
🕒 15 minute prep time
🥕 Exposes your child to veggies in an approachable way
🔄 Easy to prepare in large batches and freeze
💚 Low sugar, sweetened with a touch of maple syrup and banana
👶 Toddler friendly from 18 months+
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Jump to:
- What makes this a dietitian-approved toddler muffin
- Why we love these muffins
- Key ingredients
- Allergen information & substitutions
- How to make these low sugar carrot zucchini muffins
- When can I serve these muffins to my child?
- Recipe FAQ
- Play + books that match this recipe
- Other recommended toddler snack recipes
- Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Why we love these muffins
We're Registered Dietitians, which means we kinda-sorta have a thing for vegetables! We know that children across North America often struggle with their produce intake buuuut they certainly love a good muffin. So, this is a combination of the best of both worlds: veggies + baking!
It's actually really normal for toddlers to become somewhat leery of foods they happily ate as babies, such as vegetables. But that doesn't mean we can't serve them in fun and unique ways to maintain that exposure. If your child rejects buttered carrots or zucchini fries, they might do well with a recipe like this where the vegetables are baked into a tasty muffin. This is a part of our strategy as dietitians, repeat neutral exposure when it comes to veggies.
Simply put, we love that this recipe offers exposure to vegetables in a way that's fun and approachable for children who are learning to eat.
And, we can't forget that these carrot zucchini muffins are also school friendly as they don't contain any nuts!
Key ingredients
Oats: we're using quick oats for these muffins because we find it results in a better texture for young eaters. However, you can also use large flake rolled oats too!
Flour: wholewheat flour works great - don't be afraid that you'll end up with a really dense muffin, it will be moist and airy!
Zucchini: this veggie is great for eye health! It contains beta carotene (a Vitamin A pre-cursor), lutein, and zeaxanthan - all nutrients needed for healthy eyes. Unless your zucchini is super moist, you don't need to squeeze out the water after shredding it. We've designed this recipe to accommodate the natural moisture found in zucchinis.
Carrots: yup- these veggies are also very supportive of eye health, thanks to their hefty dose of beta carotene.
Banana: you'll want a really ripe banana as this is what also contributes to the natural sweetest of the muffin.
Oil: we're using canola oil because it's a nutritious choice (hello omega 3 fatty acids!) and also neutral in taste. But, you can also use another oil that's liquid at room temperature such as avocado or olive oil if you'd prefer.
Maple syrup: this muffin relies on maple syrup for sweetness and you only need ¼ cup! This equals out to only ½ teaspoon per mini muffin. If you don't have maple syrup at home, honey or corn syrup would work too.
Ground flaxseed and hemp: these add-ins help boost the nutrition. Hemp hearts and ground flaxseed offer fibre, healthy fats, and other minerals!
Chocolate chips: these are totally optional but if we're being honest, the muffins taste extra yummy with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Definitely go with mini size if you can! Other add ins that will work include raisins or chopped dates!
Allergen information & substitutions
Allergies can be really frustrating and scary for both parents and children. This recipe contains a few allergens: eggs, wheat, and possibly milk if it's an ingredient in chocolate chips. Luckily, we have some solutions for you:
For the egg, there are several great egg replacements that can work and we've outlined those for you in this blog post all about egg free diets.
If your child or someone in your family is wheat free, replace the flour for a suitable gluten free or wheat free option that you're familiar with.
Finally, if you need to stay clear of milk due to a cow's milk protein allergy, look for dairy free chocolate chips.
For the most recent step-by-step recommendations for introducing food allergens to infants, visit our video lesson in Start Solids Confidently, your go-to resource for feeding babies.
How to make these low sugar carrot zucchini muffins
The full recipe is below, but here are a few key steps to visualize the process.
- Start by mashing the banana, eggs, oil and vanilla together. It's okay if you have some visible banana chunks.
2. Add in shredded zucchini and carrots.
3. Gently fold in the dry ingredients that have been mixed together in a bowl. You should have a thick batter that holds its shaped when scooped. Fold in chocolate chips, if using and get prepped to bake the muffins.
4. Bake until fully dry as gummy muffins are a choking hazard for young toddlers. You'll know they're done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If there's any batter sticking to it-bake at 3 minute intervals until doen.
When can I serve these muffins to my child?
As you know by now, we like to keep it professional in this space, but also add a dose of reality. Formally it is recommended that children under 24 months not be offered foods that contain added sources of sugar. In this recipe we utilize sweetness from maple syrup which by definition is an added sugar.
However, this recipe is very wholesome! It's also an opportunity for your child to enjoy a variety of other ingredients so you're welcome to wait until 24 months if you're a rule follower, or serve it at 18 months knowing that it offers a small bit of added sugar (½ teaspoon maple syrup per muffin, more on this later!).
If you're wanting to familiarize yourself with sugar, we talk all about sugar for babies and toddlers here.
Recipe FAQ
You'll see that this muffin recipe calls for one of our favourite ingredients, and something we try to enjoy often, flaxseed. Flaxseed, also known as linseed, is a small, brown or golden-colored seed derived from the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). Flaxseed is rich in nutrients, particularly omega-3 fatty acids -which is really important for toddlers and young children-, dietary fibre, and lignans, which are plant compounds with antioxidant properties. Basically…it's good stuff.
These tiny seeds are often consumed ground or in oil form and can be sprinkled over cereals, yogurt, salads, or added to smoothies and baked goods like these zucchini carrot muffins.
You can purchase flaxseed in whole seed form or ground form. Note that this recipe calls for ground flaxseed so you are welcome to purchase it like this or grind it yourself at home!
- Tip 1: be sure to store ground flaxseed in the fridge to maintain optimal freshness and taste!
- Tip 2: we've found that flaxseed sold in the international aisle of the grocery store is often less expensive!
Hemp hearts, also known as hulled hemp seeds or shelled hemp seeds, are the edible inner parts of the hemp seed. Hemp seeds come from the hemp plant but don't worry, they are safe for babies to consume.
Hemp hearts are a rich source of various nutrients, things like fibre, protein, fat, some iron and magnesium too! In particular, we love them for their omega-3 profile.
They have a mild, nutty flavour and a soft texture, making them versatile and easy to incorporate into various dishes. They can be added to smoothies, mixed into yogurt or oatmeal, or you can add them to baking recipes like we've done here!
Maple syrup is the sweetener we've opted to use in this recipe and yes, it is a source of added sugar! If you're concerned that these muffins might be "too sugary" we'd love to impart a bit of perspective. This recipe calls for ¼ cup of maple syrup and there is a yield of 24 mini muffins. That means that each muffin really only has ½ teaspoon of maple syrup. Trust us, you'll want to keep the maple syrup in the recipe to help with the taste and texture of a final product you and your family will love!
Yes, you absolutely can. Having a handful of muffin recipes is such a life saver. We generally recommend placing on a small baking sheet and slipping into the freezer so the muffins are frozen solid. Then, transfer to a ziploc bag and place this in the freezer, removing as much air as possible.
They should last for 3 months!
You can serve these around 18 - 24 months to your toddler. You offer it whole or you can slice into bite sized pieces depending on their biting/chewing ability.
You can serve these carrot zucchini muffins up for breakfast, as part of a meal or snack. And if you do, be sure to let us know by leaving a comment or tagging us on Instagram with your happy, healthy eater!
Nope, not at all! They are completely optional. We get it, toddlers + chocolate chips can mean extra mess!
Unless your zucchini is super moist, you don't need to squeeze out the water after shredding it. We've designed this recipe to accommodate the natural moisture found in zucchinis.
Play + books that match this recipe
When kids get the chance to interact with "food " during playtime, they become more comfortable with the food, and are more likely to want to eat it at mealtimes! Here are some options to include vegetables during play and story time!
If you tried this muffin recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup quick oats
- ⅓ cup hemp seeds
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large ripe banana
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup grated zucchini *see note
Add in - pick one:
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips use dairy-free if needed
- raisins
- chopped dates
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a mini muffin pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, hemp hearts, ground flaxseed, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash ripe banana. Whisk in oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Stir in grated carrot and zucchini.
- Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined, be sure to not over stir.
- Fold in chocolate chips, dates or raisins, if using.
- Evenly distribute batter throughout the mini muffin pan.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Absolutely love this recipe - it was a hit with the whole family! I made a few changes to suit what was in my kitchen (used pecans, swapped some of the oil out for natural peanut butter (more allergen exposure yay!) and used more banana because I had on hand). Love the flexibility!
Awesome! Those swaps sound delicious 😉
These muffins were a hit for the whole family, plus the perfect recipe to bake with my 2 year old! Thank you for another tasty muffin recipe that packs a nutritious punch!
High fives to baking with your toddler! Happy to hear your family loved them!
These were excellent! I followed the recipe as is and it was great. I was a little concerned because those muffin cups were filled to the point of more-than-heaping, but I resisted the urge to use extra muffin cups and distributed it evenly among the 24 and it worked out perfectly. These are so super and I'm really looking forward to using up more zucchinis with it!
Hehe, love that you trusted us with the muffin cup volume! Glad they turned out and you now have a use for all that garden zucchini!
Hi! Would this work with an egg free alternative like flax egg? Would I still need to add 1/4 cup flaxseed meal as well? Thanks!
We haven't tested it but I think a flax egg would work. I would use it in replace of the egg and keep the ground flax, as stated in the recipe.
We used a flax egg in place of the egg and didn’t take out the other flax seeds. They turned out good, a little soft on the bottom but good!
Awesome! Thanks for leaving your feedback.
What do I do if I don’t have hemp seeds? It’s not something I have on hand in my household. Can I replace it with anything?
For sure - you could substitute with sesame seeds or ground flax.
Love adding these muffins to the boys lunches/snacks for school. The muffins help them on their journey of learning to enjoy veggies!
Yes, these are nut-free so a great option for lunches 🙂 Glad to hear your boys enjoy them!
These muffins sound incredible! Any tips (eg: adjusted baking time) for baking them using a standard muffin tray? I don’t have mini muffin trays on hand. Thanks!!
Good question! Probable around 20 minutes 🙂
Hi! This recipe is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it a few times now. I was just wondering if it can be made in a loaf pan to make a bread and how to adjust the baking time. Thanks!
Hey Jasneet - you definitely could but we aren't sure about the timing - we suspect 40 min or so but all hail the toothpick test! Another idea is to start off by baking into a 8z8 or 9x9 dish.
Love these muffins! They are always super moist on the inside, sometimes worried it’s not cooked… is that how it’s supposed to be?
So glad you love this muffin recipe! We suggest using the toothpick test. They will definitely be on the moist side due to the fruit/veggies!
I don't know if I've ever left a recipe review before! These are amazing! So yummy and packed with nutrients! Make the double batch! 🙂
Well, there's a first for everything. We appreciate you taking time to leave a review and are so thrilled that it was a hit!
Hi! Wondering if it would work with more carrot subbed for zucchini?
We haven't tried this, but we definitely think it will work out just fine!
This has been a great addition to our breakfast. My kids are fussy about muffins and prefer them “fresh” (who doesn’t) and slightly warm. So I warm them up a bit in the microwave and serve alongside eggs, fruit and milk. Easy for busy mornings. I bake them ahead of time and pull out as needed.
Glad to hear you're enjoying the muffin. Thank you!
Staple in our house, you would never realize they’re so healthy! Love to freeze and pack for lunches
Right?! It's such an approachable way for kids to explore veggies.
These are our favorite muffins. I've had to stop myself from eating the freezer stash meant for daycare lunches.
So glad to hear that you enjoy these muffins and that they come in handy for daycare!
Love these so much because of the veggies, but they still taste delicious!
Was looking for an easy healthy breakfast for busy daycare/work mornings. Camels across this recipe and while ago, and finally tried it! they are so delicious! I made the mini muffins with no added optional toppings and regular sized muffins with chocolate chip. They are a hit!
P.S. I just doubled the time when making the regular sized muffins.
Thanks for this feedback - we are so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe. It's such a fun way to utilize veggies for young eaters!
Tasty little muffins that adults enjoy too!
Glad to hear it!