Simple Chickpea Muffins For Baby & Toddlers (No Added Sugar)

These Chickpea muffins for baby-led weaning & toddlers are packed with protein and nutrients that kids need to grow.

They’re naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, making them perfect for families with dietary restrictions.

Why I Love These Chickpea Flour Muffins For Babies & Toddlers

They’re made with chickpea flour 

These muffins don’t use traditional all-purpose flour. Instead, I use blended chickpeas to make chickpea flour.

They’re much healthier and contain more protein this way.

They’re gluten-free 

Those whose babies or toddlers need a gluten-free diet will be happy to know these are gluten-free.

They don’t use any grains such as all-purpose flour. The batter is made of oat flour.

There’s no refined sugar 

I used maple syrup for this chickpea muffin recipe because I don’t like using refined sugar (like white sugar). 

You should always reduce the amount of sugar you feed a baby who’s less than 12 months old. 

If you don’t have maple syrup, you could use an alternative like stevia which comes from plants. 

You could also use brown sugar for this recipe. Although brown sugar should be used in small amounts.

Tools You’ll Need For This Chickpea Muffin

A high-powered blender like the Vitamix

The Vitamix is a great high-powered blender that makes making blender-style soups, pancakes, and muffins very easy.

I got mine 4 years ago and it still works amazingly. It’s one of my favorite equipment in the kitchen. This Vitamix made doing baby-led weaning so much easier.

Allergy Considerations for Toddler-Friendly Chickpea Muffins 

These chickpea muffins contain peanut butter 

Peanut butter is among the most common allergens in babies and toddlers. 

So make sure you watch for signs of peanut allergies after feeding these to your kids.

Peanut butter is used to make the chickpeas and all the other ingredients bind together. 

It also gives these muffins a deep savory and slightly sweet flavor. 

These chickpea flour muffins contain eggs

Eggs are another common allergen you should watch out for. 

These muffins use eggs as a binding agent for all the ingredients. 

You can try making them without the eggs if you want, but your muffins may fall apart more easily.

Important Recipe Notes on Baby-friendly Chickpea Muffins

Make sure you puree the chickpeas until smooth 

To make the best chickpea muffins for your baby and toddler, puree the chickpeas until they’re smooth.

Having chunks of chickpeas in the recipe may be an unpleasant texture for your baby.

My kid didn’t like having chunky chickpeas in the muffins and had a hard time eating them. 

So the next time I made this, I made sure to puree the chickpeas very well.

Add water if the batter is too thick 

Sometimes, pureeing the chickpeas may result in a very thick batter. 

If you think the batter is too thick and you’re having a hard time blending it, then add a little water to loosen things up.

Alternatively, you could use a little bit of the chickpea liquid from the can.

Ingredients For BLW Chickpea Muffins 

Rolled oats – you can use rolled oats, quick oats, and any other type you prefer.

Chickpeas – make sure you drain and rinse them if using canned chickpeas. Those tend to be salty. 

Eggs – eggs are needed to help the muffin mixture bind together. You could use an egg alternative if you prefer, although I’ve never tried it.

Peanut butter – peanut butter gives these muffins a richer flavor and taste so don’t skip this step. You could use a different nut butter like almond, pistachio, or cashew butter if you want. 

Maple syrup – this is my alternative to white refined sugar. 

Baking soda and baking powder – help the muffins to rise.

Milk – helps loosen the batter so it’s not too thick. 

Jump to Recipe

Step-by-Step Instructions 

Bake and enjoy!

Cooking Directions For Baby-led Weaning Chickpea Muffins

• Set the oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray.
• Add all the ingredients into a high-power blender and blend to combine.
• Pour the mixture into each well of the muffin pan (don’t overfill)
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Serve when cool

Why Chickpeas Are Good For Babies and Toddlers

Chickpeas are a great source of protein for babies and toddlers. 

They’re also high in fiber, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins, and minerals which kids need to grow. 

Some of the vitamins and minerals they contain include manganese, folate, and copper. (Source)

How To Cut Chickpea Muffins For Baby-led Weaning

6-9 Months old

You can serve chickpea muffins cut in half to babies between 6 and 9 months old. This will allow them to easily grasp and feed themselves.

9-12 months old

Babies between 9 and 12 months old can be fed chickpea muffins cut into bite-sized pieces. 

At this age, they would have developed their pincer grasp, so they’ll easily be able to grasp these pieces.

12- 24 months and older

Toddlers can be fed whole chickpea muffins. At this age, they can take bites out of whole muffins on their own.

Storage Tips for BLW Chickpea Muffins 

Can I refrigerate chickpea muffins?

You can refrigerate these chickpea muffins for up to a week. Store them in a ziplock bag or airtight container for best results.

Can I freeze chickpea muffins for meal planning?

You can freeze these chickpea muffins for as long as you need.

To prevent them from sticking together, wrap them individually in parchment paper.

Parents who meal-prep or meal plan will appreciate this fact.

Reheating Chickpea Muffins 

Reheating from frozen

Allow the muffins to defrost on the counter then reheat them in the microwave or oven until they’re hot.

Reheating in the oven 

You’ll want to reheat the muffins slowly on low heat. Set the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Heat the muffins for 20 minutes or until they’re hot all the way through.

In the microwave 

Microwave the muffins on high power for 1-4 minutes or until they’re hot. 

Tips for Picky Eaters

Don’t pressure

Give your baby or toddler a chance to say no. It’s okay if they don’t like what we serve them. Keep trying. 

It takes at least 30 exposures for a baby to begin liking a food, so don’t give up.

Make it into a game

Sometimes I create games around the food I serve to get my kids interested in eating. 

A game we’ve played in the past is called “Here comes the airplane… open the garage”. This encourages them to open their mouth as I bring the food in like an airplane.

Sometimes my kids will try new foods this way.

Related recipes 

Did you make this baby-led weaning lunch recipe? 

Let me know in the comments how it turned out!